Dirt Diaries

In this episode of Dirt Diaries, we’re sitting down with Jennifer Boka, Senior Livestock Director and Industry Relations Leader for the National Western Stock Show. She reflects on a career that has connected every corner of the agriculture industry, gives insight into the rich traditions that make National Western so special, and tells us how meaningful experiences can connect consumers with the people who raise their food. ...

This week, we're joined by one of the most connected and creative minds in the Western industry—Jessica Shae Craven. While many know Jessica as the woman behind rodeo superstar Rocker Steiner's brand, her story stretches far beyond the arena. From producing fashion shows and building partnerships in Nashville's music scene to working with major brands across NASCAR, country music, and Western sports, Jessica has built a caree...

Today, we’re honored to sit down with one of agriculture's most influential voices, Chief Aubrey Bettencourt, Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). From growing up on a diversified family farm in California's Central Valley to helping shape conservation policy in Washington, D.C., Aubrey's career has been driven by a passion for protecting natural resources, advocating for farmers and ranchers, and ...

Today we're sitting down with a woman who has helped shape one of the most recognizable brands in the western industry. Erin DeLong is the Marketing Manager for Durango Boots, where she's spent more than a decade helping grow the brand, building meaningful partnerships, and telling the stories that connect western lifestyles to consumers around the world. From her roots in agriculture and 4-H to leading marketing campaigns, athlete...

We’re sitting down with Sarah Daniels, Product Marketing Manager for John Deere's largest tractors and a proud farm kid from the Iowa-Minnesota border. Sarah shares how growing up on a first-generation family farm shaped her work ethic, passion for agriculture, and understanding of the people who power rural America. From study animal science and agronomy at Iowa State University to building a career with John Deere, Sarah's ...

This week, we're catching up with a familiar face and one of agriculture's biggest champions for women in leadership—Svitlana "Lana" Synkovska, Portfolio Director for Women in Agribusiness. With more than 20 years of experience spanning consulting, communications, international trade and event leadership, Lana has built a career connecting people across the agricultural value chain. Today, she's leading one of the industry's ...

This week, we're sitting down with Mamie Brown McKee—a Texas native, boutique owner, mother of three, and passionate advocate for western culture and community. Mamie grew up between Texas and Colorado before finding her way back home to Texas, where she now helps lead Tucker Brown, her family's clothing business that has been serving customers for more than four decades. From the heart of Fort Worth's Stockyards, she's helpi...

On this episode, we have Emily Jackson, Vice President of Arcadia Commodity Opportunity, to talk about the business side of the cattle industry and the unique path that led her there. Raised in Canada by a family deeply rooted in the cattle business, Emily originally pursued a career in finance before discovering her passion for cattle feeding, risk management, and commodity markets. From buying cattle across North America to navig...

Today we’re joined by Lauren Lovelace Murray, Executive Vice President of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo and the first woman to hold the role in the organization's 130-year history. Lauren shares her remarkable journey from a horse-crazy kid growing up in Grapevine, Texas to helping lead one of the most iconic events in agriculture and Western heritage. Along the way, she reflects on the mentors who shaped her career, ...

Intro: We're welcoming back a familiar face and one of our favorite advocates for agriculture, Krista Soda. As a leader with Nationwide Agribusiness, Krista has spent more than two decades helping build the future of agriculture through talent development, youth engagement, and support for women in the industry. But beyond her impressive career, Krista is known for her infectious positivity, practical wisdom, and genuine passion fo...

On this episode, we’re sitting down with author, storyteller, and marketing strategist Caroline George Larson. Caroline shares her remarkable journey from publishing novels with HarperCollins to discovering an unexpected calling in agriculture and ranch life. Going from city life to wide-open spaces in Wyoming, Caroline learned the language and culture of the cattle industry from the ground up, and built a career helping ranc...

On this episode, I sit down with Dr. Liz Fiedler Mergen—a nurse practitioner, flower farmer, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and host of the Rooted Agritourism podcast. Liz’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and building something beautiful from unimaginable loss. In 2020, Liz found herself facing difficult decisions about family, legacy, and the future of a fifth-generation Minnesota farm. What began as a small ...

Today we’re taking a broader look at agriculture — how what happens on farms here at home connects to markets, policies, and decisions being made around the world — with one of the most respected voices in global commodity markets and agricultural strategy

My guest today is Emily French, CEO of Global Ag Protein. Emily grew up on a farm in Idaho, giving her a front-row seat to the realities of ag pro...

Today’s episode is going to be a little different... and a whole lot of fun.

I am welcoming two guys who I call my coworkers and good friends: Johnny Clark and Zach McCann — the producers, videographers and visionaries behind FarmHER + RanchHER. These guys are normally behind the camera, but today I am putting them in the hot seat to share all the dirty details of making the show.

Together, we’ve spen...

Today I get to sit down with someone who I’ve known for a long time. We’ve worked together, traveled together, learned from each other, and I’ve watched her build a life and a voice that is as bold as it is genuine.

Today’s guest is the one and only Brandi Buzzard — cowgirl, rancher, mom, writer, speaker, communications pro, and self-employed powerhouse who somehow man...

Hey y’all—welcome back to Dirt Diaries. Today I’m joined by someone who has her boots firmly planted in both the fields and the financials of legacy farming.

Jenny Weg is raising her daughters on the same land her family has worked for generations in Ocheyedan, Iowa. She’s also a digital strategist by day, a farmhouse renovator by night, an ag and finance influencer online, and t...

Today’s guest is someone who truly does it all—with a whole lot of style.

She’s a champion barrel racer, a chart-topping country music artist, fitness influencer and an entrepreneur whose fashion collections —including Shea Baby and Shea Michelle Buckles—have become Western staples.

But beyond the arena, the stage, and the studio, Shea Fisher Durfey is also a wife, to World Champion Tie-Down Roper T...

Today we’re diving in with a gal who is as sweet as she is inspiring. I had the pleasure of getting to know Katey Jo Evans while filming season 7 of FarmHER, and I couldn’t wait to catch up with her again on the podcast!

Katey is a third-generation farmer from Delaware who took a big risk, a little creativity, and a whole lot of faith—and turned it into The Frozen Farmer, a nationally recognized...

Today’s guests are a mother-daughter duo whom I’ve not only long admired but also make me miss my own mom and sisters!

I’m joined by the incredible women behind TrailblazHER Co., Jan and Erin Johnson, who together created TrailblazHER Magazine, a publication that’s become a lifeline and a love letter to rural women everywhere.

What started as a wild idea during...