The Fabulous Farm Babe shares why women farmers are flourishing | S06E09

Just in time for International Women’s Day, meet the legendary Pam Jahnke from The Mid-West Farm Report. Also known as “The Fabulous Farm Babe,” Pam discusses the inspiring evolution of women’s roles in agriculture. Discover what kinds of barriers women used to face and some they continue to face today. Also, you’ll learn how female leadership has made a powerful impact in the industry. Enjoy this fun and spirited dialog about a very important topic!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hello, and welcome to the Topcon Talks Agriculture
podcast, where we dive into theworld of farming and its impact
on our daily lives.
My name is Dan Hendricks, andI'm your host for today.
I serve as the Senior BusinessDevelopment Manager at Topcon
Agriculture, and I get thepleasure to work with an amazing
group of talented individualswho love agriculture.

(00:35):
They enjoy technology, and theystrive to help farmers and
growers find solutions and feedour planet.
Today's episode is all aboutcelebrating and understanding
the role of women inagriculture.
Some of you may know thatInternational Women's Day is
coming up in March.
At Topcon, we strive to promote,empower, and appreciate women

(00:55):
every day.
We know that females play a hugepart in agriculture.
So in today's episode, we aregoing to celebrate women and
learn how their role in farmingand ranching is ever evolving.
Our guest for today's episode isPam Yanky, otherwise known as
the Fabulous Farm Babe.
Pam is a Wisconsin native whogrew up on her family's 200 acre

(01:19):
dairy farm.
Pam is also dedicated toagriculture throughout her life,
being actively involved in bothfour H and FFA activities.
While in college, she startedthe campus's first ever farm
show on the radio and receivedtop national Scholarship from
the National Association of FarmBroadcasters.
More recently, Pam served as the2010 president of the National

(01:42):
Association of FarmBroadcasting, and in 2013 was
named Farm Broadcaster of theYear and was just inducted into
their hall of fame in November.
Pam, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
My pleasure, Dan.
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, and you're a hall of famer.
I, I think that's the first timewe've had a hall of famer on the
podcast.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
I gotta try to figure out how I'm gonna, they said
some of my buddies were teasingme about how you have to sign
your name and then h o f on thebottom now.
So

Speaker 1 (02:11):
, right?
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, that's so cool.
Congratulations on that.
Well, tell us a little bit moreabout your personal background
growing up on a farm inWisconsin.
What were some of your duties asa young woman?
Sure.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
I'm the oldest of three, so, uh, there was my
younger sister, my youngerbrother.
I didn't, uh, you know, myneighbors were relatives and
family farming back thenliterally meant all of my family
was kind of around the area.
So it was, uh, interesting wayto grow up.
And the reason I say that isbecause, uh, there was a lot of,
uh, camaraderie trying to farmtogether.

(02:47):
If, uh, we needed help pulling acalf, the boys were always
across the 40 and would comeover and help do that, bailing
hay, things like that.
Now, one of the things that waschallenging for me on the farm
is I'm asthmatic.
Um, and that time back in that,you know, that day they didn't
really know how to handlechildren with asthma, especially
kids that were on the farm.
So a lot of it was learned bydoing.

(03:09):
Uh, if we were bailing hay andit was really dusty, then I'd
have to head into the house.
But generally, where you alwaysfound me was wherever my dad
was.
Um, I knew how to change oil inthe tractor faster than I knew
how to, uh, make anything in thekitchen.
I've always gravitated towards,uh, doing that kind of stuff.
I showed dairy cattle, uh,despite my pediatrician's

(03:29):
recommendations.
Uh, so I was always foolingaround in the barn.
And if you ask my parents, thatwas, that was my forte fooling
around in the barn.
Things got done, but I had funwhile I was doing it.
So, uh, like I said, I'm one ofthose kids that grew up in a
very joyful house.
Um, it wasn't necessarily fifinancially fantastic all the
time, but I had no idea cuz Ihad all my family there.

(03:50):
So you always had playmates.
Uh, there was always somethingto do fun on the farm.
Uh, you know, you jump jump onyour bike and drive o right over
to the neighbors if you werebored at your place.
So I, uh, I had, you know,meager chores really.
Um, like, like I said, I wasalways as loud as I am now, so
they didn't really want me walking in the barn,

(04:11):
skiing the cows.
I like to keep cabs and do stufflike that.
But like I said, uh, a lot ofmy, a lot of my duties, uh, and
things that I ended upultimately being engaged in were
off-farm.
Uh, my dad always said that, uh,they saw less of the 73 olds
mobile as soon as I got adriver's license, just because I
was always gone.
I was in livestock judging, Iwas in extemporaneous speaking,

(04:33):
I was doing all that kind ofstuff.
So, like I said, I am one ofthose farm kids that grew up
with a lot of joy about where Iwas and what was going on.
And now mind you, our farm was20 miles north of Green Bay, so
you're in challenging terrain asfar as agriculture's concerned.
Corn, soybeans were not beinggrown in that region when I was
a kid.
Uh, and corn was a challenge.

(04:54):
It it was really good tofeed deer, but as far as number
two yellow, that was, that was astruggle in that geography at
that time with the technology wehad at that time.
So, like I said, still all inall, I grew up with a lot of joy
about where I was, my family,what we were doing.
And that kind of has carried methrough, honestly, in my entire
career.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah.
Well, it sounds like a, a great,uh, a great upbringing, you
know, a fantastic childhoodstory, and you told us about
your asthma, but, but being so,and you told us about kind of
being your dad's little, uh,right hand helper, but a as a
female, were yourresponsibilities around the
farm, did they differ from yourbrothers or from men or, I mean,

(05:38):
did you find anything differentbecause you were a girl that you
were treated different as far asresponsibilities?

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Well, yeah, and some of that was for my own good,
quite honestly.
I mean, um, I was the young, soall of my cousins across the 40,
the youngest was two years olderthan me.
So when it came to the physicalside of agriculture, I could be
there and try to help, but youreally needed the guys on some
of the big projects.

(06:04):
Um, and, and when that happened,I just remember standing back,
back and watching, payingattention to how they were doing
what they were doing.
Um, and remember my sister was,uh, five years younger than me.
My brother was 13 years youngerthan me.
We laugh.
That was the one night mom anddad got in early from chores
.
And so I didn't, I, I mean,there was no comparison as to

(06:25):
what the, what the chores were.
If there was something to bedone, I was the one doing it.
My sister would feed the cats ordo something like that.
But there was just enough ofthat age gap as far as, uh, you
know, physical development andthat type of thing.
It was just easier for me to dowhat had to be done.
And like I said, my dad wasalways there.
Uh, my mom grew up in downtownMinneapolis, but she ended up

(06:47):
with 16 degrees, uh, in collegecourses or, you know, doing the
night work stuff.
So, like I said, my parents wereboth equally engaged in getting
things done.
And, you know, like you said,was I physically doing
everything?
Not necessarily, but I had, um,an example of how to do it, how

(07:07):
to do it right, how to learnthat we shouldn't have done it
that way.
And it involved both my, both myparents, my mom and my dad.
And then, like I said, with theextended family there too.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
Well, what has maintained your interest in
agriculture after all this time?

Speaker 2 (07:21):
I just love it.
You know, it's, uh, when I, whenI initially went to school at UW
River Falls, uh, my goal was tobecome an agriculture attorney.
And my goal there was, wasprimarily because at that time,
farms were dealing withtremendously high interest
rates.
We were seeing a lot offoreclosures.
Um, I suddenly felt that theindustry I love was in a very

(07:42):
precarious position, and Iwanted to try to do something to
mitigate that.
Well, fast forward to RiverFalls, but my sophomore year,
one of my professors said, yank,why don't you wake up and smell
the coffee?
You never shut up.
You're talking to everybody.
Do you really wanna have to goto school another six years?
Why don't you go over tojournalism and see if they've
got, uh, something that, uh, youknow, can kind of combine your

(08:03):
strengths.
Uh, farm broadcaster, I did myfirst internship with the farm
broadcaster in westernWisconsin.
Bob Bosal, who is still mymentor today, and I kid you not
Dan, the day that I interviewedand found out what a farm
broadcaster can do and does, itwas like a switch went off in my

(08:23):
entire body.
It was like, this is what Godhas meant for me to do.
This is it.
And, uh, I haven't looked backsince.
Honestly, I've always loved theindustry because I've got such
fun, you know, like I said, whenI'm out doing my job, everybody
in the audience reminds me of myfamily.
So I, I very much, uh, havealways been tapped into that.

(08:44):
But like I said, when I found aprofession that spoke to me so,
so deeply, so suddenly I knew Iwas hooked.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
So you knew that was it.
So you gave up on the, the, thelaw career, huh?
Correct.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
I mean, I, I'm, you never look back.
I, I admire those that are init.
I don't think at that time I, Iwouldn't have had the financial
bank roll to keep going.
So, like I said, I'm justblessed that when I left River
Falls, I had a broad areaagriculture degree and a
broadcast journalism degreebecause, uh, ag journalism was
not a thing at that time.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right, right.
So, who are some of yourmentors?
And you told us one of them, butwhat are some of the biggest
lessons that you've taken fromthem?

Speaker 2 (09:26):
I'd say probably, you know, obviously, uh, mentors to
me, somebody that's managed tosurvive in the industry
regardless of sex.
Um, uh, you know, anybody inagriculture knows that we've
seen a lot of changes, a lot ofevolutions.
Uh, some people gravitatetowards it, can handle it, can
move on.
Others decide that they're gonnapivot, go in a different
direction or exit the industryin its entirety.

(09:48):
So I have always been thinkingabout the endgame.
How am I going to continue to dowhat I love, be around the
people that I enjoy and love?
And so I'm always strategizingon how I'm going to do that, and
taking both positives andnegatives from people I have
watched, uh, when I was buildingmy farm network, um, I saw what

(10:09):
was happening in agriculture.
Farms were covering more acres.
They were buying up ground, theywere getting bigger.
I knew that as a farmbroadcaster, I had to do the
very same thing.
You cannot stand alone on one,let's say for example, AM
station when I first started mycareer and expect that to give
you enough through retirement.
So I started building my networkand I looked at all of my peers

(10:32):
in farm broadcasting, and ifsomebody had failed, I
recognized what they might havedone wrong and made sure I, my
game plan didn't go that way.
Uh, for others that were maybeahead of the cut, I was paying
attention to them.
So a lot of my, a lot of mypeers are fellow farm
broadcasters, um, most of whichthat are still in the game.

(10:54):
Um, and then, you know, like Isaid, uh, I'm fortunate, my
husband's involved inagriculture.
Uh, he's a, a a salesprofessional with a major
company.
And so I'm in that orbit ofseeing what other professionals
are doing.
And although they may not bedoing the same thing, I think
we're all generally in the samecareer track of trying to make

(11:14):
the right decision.
So, like I said, I take fromanybody that's got it, got it
going on, and that, uh, hassomething to offer for me.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
Yeah.
Well, you've done a fantasticjob with that.
Tell us about a pivotal momentin your career and walk me
through some of the biggesttakeaways from what you've
learned in your career.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
Sure.
Um, I think probably the firstwas when I got that national
scholarship from the farmbroadcasters for doing a campus
radio show.
My, my running buddies atcollege, all my posse could not
believe that as a collegestudent, I was getting up and
going to the station and signingthe station on at 6:00 AM and

(11:55):
then going to class and thenfuture talking, in talking some
of my other buddies that wereinterested into doing the same
thing,.
I see.
So, yeah, you know, it was kindof the pied piper and all of a
sudden I had a little trail ofpeople behind me that were, are,
were seeing what it provided.
So getting that nationalscholarship suddenly, um, was

(12:18):
kind of that snap on the snotthat said, Hey, you could do
this.
You, you have the right cut ifyou keep doing the right things.
So that was the first time I,and I liken it, especially when
I talk with other women.
The way I approach what I do isas my career, it is not a job.

(12:38):
This is my career.
And a career requires attentionevery day.
A req a career requiresthoughtfulness, not just on what
you're going to do today and whoyou're going to touch today, but
what's gonna happen five, 10years down the road.
I very much take my careerseriously.

(13:00):
And, and like I said, because ofthat, I'm always kind of
strategizing or always trying tofigure out what's coming up
next.
And that started with thatscholarship and, and being
exposed.
I got, I went down to thenational convention.
First time I'd seen people justlike me doing the same thing
that I wanted to do, and therewas a lot of them.
So it was, it that wasinteresting.

(13:21):
So I think that was probably thebig one.
One of the big ones.
The other thing was when I, whenI got the call to come to
Madison, I am very much a smalltown girl.
I e you know, everybody's truckthat drives by, uh, the hub of
activity is the grocery store atchurch and the post office, that

(13:41):
kind of thing.
Uh, you know, your neighbors,you're the casserole queen When
something goes wrong or whensomething is good, you know, run
with casserole.
So I interviewed for the job, myfirst job in Madison in 1990 on
a dare.
One of my buddies said, Hey, uh,this fellow's gonna retire.
I dare ya.
Well, in my circle, you ca you,you don't back down on a dare.

(14:05):
So, so I did, just thoughtnothing of it really.
And, uh, by golly, two weekslater they called me and made me
an offer.
And I had just gotten married.
We'd only been married for likea year and a half.
We had just bought a house innorthwest Wisconsin.
My husband at that time had hisown independent crop consulting
business.
And now all of a sudden, bam, wegotta make this major life

(14:28):
decision.
And so my husband and I came toMadison, visited with
management, worked out all thedetails, and, uh, you know,
basically my husband said, Ican't afford to keep you home.
You know, you, you've gotta dothis.
So for four years we were acommuter marriage and wow.
Um, I never imagined living inMadison ever, ever, ever.

(14:50):
Um, I need to know my neighbors.
I need to, I need to feel thatcohesiveness.
And I thought, man, this ain'tgonna last.
Madison's not going to like me,or I'm not going to like
Madison.
Something's gonna give.
And it has not, it has beentruly a blessing.
And so, like I said, four yearsworth of burning tires and gas
up and down the interstate.
Um, but I'm still married to thesame guy,.

(15:11):
And we're, you know, like Isaid, we're both, uh, still in
love with the industry.
So I'd say those are probablythe two pivotal times in my
life.
One was kind of that firstreckoning that you are going to
be committed to an industry andyou're gonna have to hustle to
stay in the industry.
And then the second was, was, ohmy gosh, are you kidding me?
This kid from Abrams is goodenough.

(15:34):
I say with air quotes, goodenough to be in the Madison
market.
And like I said, my firstbroadcast was, uh, and Madison
was World Dairy Expo in 1990.
So I guess me and Madison aregetting along all right so far.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
Yeah.
Well, well those are great lifelessons to share and uh, that's
really, really a coolexperience.
Let me switch over now to somestatistics that, um, I dug up
about women in agriculture, andthen we'll talk a little bit
about, more about the, the roleof women.
The agriculture departments justunveiled census of agriculture

(16:06):
revealed that 36% of US farmersare women, and 56% of all farms
have at least one femaledecision maker.
Also, in 2019, more than half,51% of all farm operations in
the United States had at leastone female operator.
Arizona and New Hampshire havethe greatest number of farms

(16:28):
whose principle owner is awoman.
One out of every three NewHampshire Farms is run by a
woman, and that's more thantwice the national average.
So hearing those statistics,which I'm sure you're aware of,
what are some of the mostcritical characteristics
required to success in thisindustry as a woman, Pam?

Speaker 2 (16:47):
Well, you know, Wisconsin's got more than 10,000
operations that are run by womenas well.
So we've got a very strongpresence in that arena, and
you'll see it in the commodityorganization's, uh,
associations, events that happenin the state.
And I think the characteristicthat you see, uh, through and
through, especially for thosethat are my generation a little
bit older, is, uh, thecommitment, whether it was your

(17:11):
family farm or whether it wasyour husband's or what have you,
it's that commitment to makingit work, sticking with it,
making good decisions, uh,perhaps a legacy piece so that
the kids have a chance, uh, tocome back.
So I think that that's onecommon thread is just the
commitment to the industry.

(17:31):
And that can show in a lot ofdifferent ways.
Um, maybe it is, uh, the four Hand FFA connection that you
value because you saw your kidsgrowing up in it and you still
wanna see your grandkids doingit.
So there's that kind ofcommitment.
Uh, maybe it's the stories aboutthe individual farmsteads, which
we love to share on our network,but I think that, that, that
flat out, Dan, is the commitmentto sticking with it.

(17:54):
If you're looking for, you know,this, if you're looking for
something easy to do, don't comearound agriculture, because I
have yet to find anybody thatconsiders it an easy way to
build a career or make a life,uh, the day, maybe one day he'll
feel that, but all the restyou're gonna find challenges.
So that commitment to stickingwith it is without, without

(18:16):
question one of the majortenants, tenants that I see of
their success.
And then, you know, really afterthat, it's just like every
individual, they, they approachit differently.
They have different strengths,uh, they focus on different
areas and uh, and you know, likeI said, they make it work.

Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah, definitely as a calling.
Yeah, that, that's good wisdom.
Tell me about some of thechanges in the industry that
have happened, uh, for women inyour lifetime in sure.
In your, your time on radio andin your role and in your career.
What have you seen changed?
Yeah,

Speaker 2 (18:52):
It's, it's been very interesting.
I think that in my age bracket,we've probably witnessed, uh,
more change.
And I will say to the positive,for women that wanna be involved
in agriculture, and remember,you, you cited the statistics.
Women in agriculture is not juston the farm.
More than 50% of our FFA kidsare female.

(19:13):
You go to most of our land-grantuniversities, and you are going
to find a heavy percentage thatare female.
They are our professionals thatmake up agriculture as well.
So I'm not just gonna focus inon the farm, but, uh, what I,
what I've really noticed, and,and, again, it depends,
it depends how you grew up.
My mother was very vocal with myfather about what was gonna

(19:34):
happen on the farm, which bullcalf's gonna go, which cow were
we gonna keep, you know, therewas constant, there was constant
conversation.
She was an active participant inthat farm, despite the fact that
she grew up in downtownMinneapolis.
You know, when she got hergroove on with what she knew,
then she was articulate about,what are we going to do?

(19:55):
Plus, as I'm sure wastraditional at that time, ma was
in charge of the books.
Ma wrote the checks, she knewwhat the balance was.
So I saw that interaction.
Then what I noticed is as I grewolder and when I was, um,
started, started to do my farmbroadcasting stuff, going out
and interviewing, uh, people, Isaw that other farm families

(20:16):
were very much that way.
Uh, the female always has had arole in decision making, but it
just might not have beensomething that she demonstrated,
you know, she didn't go out tothe barn necessarily when, when
the milk man came, she didn't,you know, it wasn't that it
wasn't that way, but when shegot, when the kitchen was where
decisions were made, she wasvery much asking questions and,

(20:38):
and being vocal.
So I loved that.
Um, and then now, like I said, Icredit many of those women with
the generation of women that arein, in agribusiness now.
We saw that our mother's auntswere involved in the process, so
we assumed nothing less.
We, we, we knew that it had tobe that way.

(20:59):
And a lot of it also, Dan, quitefrankly, are the fellas on the
other side.
My dad, I could do no wrong.
My dad was my number one fan.
There is nothing I can't do.
The, the pep talks on, you know,what's a chubby kid from Abrams
gonna do, uh, work going by a TVstation to wear they absolute

(21:22):
number one fans?
So I always had that support.
And then when I take a look at,uh, how rec well Received
females are, a lot of that is ifthe fellas had a daughter, did
they have a daughter that, uh,you know, I reminded them of
there's a lot of that that stillgoes on today.
Um, and I see how the, the manyof the fellas have really had to

(21:46):
come to grips with taking advicefrom somebody that reminds them
of their daughter.

Speaker 1 (21:51):
I see.

Speaker 2 (21:52):
And, and being comfortable with those
recommendations and, and, andbeing professional about, you
know, how they're handling it.
It's, it's new territory for alot of them.
Same thing with theseagribusiness partners that are
now finding themselves paired upwith the next generation of
sellers or of advisors orconsultants.
And now it's like, wow, this,I'm not, I nobody trained me for

(22:15):
this.
I don't know how to deal withthis.
Um, you know, so it, it, it isinteresting to watch the
dynamics go forward, but like Isaid, for a lot of us that are
in the game, we either had astrong parent that was there,
uh, making it very clear there'snothing we can't do.
And that's carried over.
And then, like I said, uh, whenI look out at the farms today,

(22:40):
be very, very careful.
If you decide you are going todiscount that female that might
be sitting at the desk doingbooks or on the computer or
heard records or whatever, she'spaying attention.
And if you don't pay attentionthat she's in the room, she has
a thought, she has a question,then, uh, you may not find

(23:02):
yourself welcome back.
So, like I said, I think we'reall feeling our way, but, uh, I
think for a lot of us that, likeI said, grew up in agriculture,
maybe with a strong parent, auntor somebody else, uh, we always
knew we could do it.
We might have to be a little bitmore, people call me driven by
my buddies have always said, I'mvery driven.

(23:23):
Well, maybe that's part of theelement that I've found is
necessary for success to bedriven.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
Yeah.
Well, that's a positivecompliment to you and uh, it's
good to hear your, your take onand the growth, you know, uh,
that, that we've made in anindustry of, uh, of accepting
women.
But, um, what are some of, ofthe changes that you hope to see
like that maybe areas inagriculture and the role of
females that we haven't yet gotto, that you would look 10 or 20

(23:54):
years down the road and you say,I hope that this is where we're
going.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
Well, I'm, I'm hap I like, I like seeing what I see.
Um, I get excited with peoplelike Beth Ford, uh, you know, c
e o of Land O'Lakes.
I, I very much admire her.
I, I'd like to see more women inscience that are confident and
focusing on the future.
I think that that's a excellentway to continue to elevate, uh,

(24:21):
you know, the women in involvedin agriculture.
You know, my goal,obviously, I hope we get to the
point where it doesn't re, itdoesn't matter if Pat is a boy
or a girl, you know, where itgets to a neutral spot you want.
And agriculture is a reallygreat place to have this happen.
What are we, we are science,science is facts.

(24:42):
Science is research.
Science is data sciencestechnology.
And that has nothing to do with,uh, male female.
Just bring me the goods, bringme the information, bring me the
content.
Stay true to that.
And I think that's, that's oneof the best platforms that, uh,
females can make sure thatthey're standing on.
Like I said, you've gotta knowwhat you're doing, but everybody

(25:03):
in agriculture does.
You, you cannot take this.
You have to be serious aboutwhat you're doing.
But like I said, I, I like tosee what I'm noticing.
More women in the sciences, morewomen that are looking at
engineering, um, you know, um,veterinarians, those types of
things.
You know, there was a time whenit, your jaw would drop if you

(25:24):
saw a female jump out of thetruck at the farm for a
veterinarian, unless it wasmaybe small animal.
And now I see gals half my sizethat are out there, you know,
palpating and taking care ofthings.
So you're, you're only limitedby the boundaries of your mind.
Just keep going.

Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah, that's good advice.
What advice would you give to aa, a female that feels like that
they are facing barriers?
And you've kind of touched onthis, but you know, if there's a
young woman that's listening tous and feels like it, it it,
she's maybe somewhat living in amale dominated world, what, what
would advice would you give toher?

Speaker 2 (26:00):
Well, we, we are even this old broad, we are still in
a male dominated profession.
Uh, don't, don't, uh, justbecause I am still plowing
doesn't mean that it has, hasall been, you know, roses.
I remember when I first came toMadison, and now mind you, they
didn't tell me this and prountil probably almost 10 years
after I was hired, they showedme letters from men in the

(26:23):
audience that questionmanagement's decision making on
bringing a female in to replacea male farm broadcaster.
And I still have those lettersjust to make sure I'm keeping
sharp.
But, uh, I guess what, what I'dsay is network with others.
If you're not getting the rightanswers or the right support
within your little circle, get abigger circle.

(26:45):
Uh, with social media today,there should be no bounds on
where you find a mentor mentee,where you get those
relationships, where you accessthat blog, that, that, uh,
support mechanism.
Uh, you know, like I said, um,I, I kind of kick it.
Old school, when I started,there were no computers.
There were no cell phones.

(27:06):
Uh, you had to get out andhustle and that meant physical
presence at meetings and that.
But you can still get a readwhen you're in a room.
You, you can get a read onpeople's body language.
Do they wanna talk to you?
Are they somebody that isgenuinely interested in what
you're doing and how you'redoing it?
Gravitate towards those people.
You know, you don't have to havea lot of people that are your
cheerleaders, if you will, uh,just make good choices on who

(27:29):
they are.
And like I said, with to, withregard to technology today, they
don't have to be in the sameneighborhood, the na same
county, the same state, Iventure to say the same country.
So reach out to those sources.
There are a lot of associationsthat have been created just for
that kind of networking.
Uh, and I, and I also wouldchallenge, don't necessarily

(27:51):
limit yourself just toagriculture.
There are fantastic ideas andfantastic women leaders outside
of our area of passion that canalso share and give you, uh,
insights into maybe some of thethings that they've already
challenged and how they've comeup, uh, how they've managed to
go through it.
So, like I said, I am great attrying to find new energy cuz

(28:15):
sometimes it's just that youjust need a little more energy
from other arenas, from otherwomen, uh, just anybody.
And it doesn't ma matterdemographic.
I don't care how old or howyoung they are.
I, uh, I can get that vibe from,from all of'em.

Speaker 1 (28:30):
What is something that most men don't know or
understand about the femaleexperience in the agriculture
industry?
How can you help us guys?

Speaker 2 (28:40):
Well, I don't know if it's helped the guys or helped
the gals.
The one thing that really kindof still corks me is women are,
women are expected to make adecision on career or kids that
is still a bugaboo in thisindustry.
And that goes for almost anybodyin any part of agriculture.

(29:01):
And I'll tell you cuz I've seenit in action.
The under your breath commentsor the snarky little, you know,
comments that are made when allof a sudden you find out one of
the up and comer young women isgoing out on maternity leave,
that irritates me to no end.

(29:21):
Now, full confession, I have nokids.
I have two spoiled, she dogs.
I have no kids.
I made a conscientious decisionthat, that this career is my
baby.
This is where I wanted to focus.
That's all on me.
But like I said, I watch otherwomen and all of a sudden when
they decide they're gonna have afamily, well, something's

(29:45):
supposed to change, stay home,or they're, they're not supposed
to advance to the next levelwithin a company.
I mean, there's still a lot ofthat that still goes on.
And I would say for any womanthat feels that reach out to
others, um, I don't wanna getinto a big swirl about it, but I
still notice an undertone.
There's still those littlecondescending comments about

(30:07):
she's out on maternity, shewon't come back.
Or the the guys that are out inthe field are out there doing
it, they don't know now I gottapick up all the slack or now
she's not, she's gotta get, youknow, she's gonna need more time
to get to that next level oftraining or whatever.
That is a bugaboo until we canfigure out how he can carry the
kid and deliver.

(30:28):
It's, it's, it's, it's thegorilla in the room for a lot of
, especially young women.
And like I said, and then all ofa sudden, uh, they decide maybe
that it is they are going tostay home or they're going to
work remotely or it's going tobe part-time.
And again, that condescensioncomes background and that, that
lights me up.
That makes me very, I, I get, ifI notice it, I, I, uh, very

(30:51):
quickly engage in conversationto try to stave it off.

Speaker 1 (30:54):
Right, right.
Well, I I definitely can senseyour passion and, and yeah,
there's definitely more workthat needs to be done with that.
Let me go this way with you.
What are some of your biggestcurrent sources of inspiration
and motivation as a woman inagriculture?

Speaker 2 (31:11):
Well, I think I cited one, uh, Beth Ford, the c e o
and for Land O'Lakes, I just, Ilike, I like, uh, strong women
that are put together, wellorganized, uh, able to think on
their feet very well in front oflarge, large audiences, making
big decisions that have bigfinancial implications.
I pay attention to thosetrendsetters, if you will.

(31:34):
I also like, uh, thoughtfulwomen that are using social
media, social platforms, perhapsto advance an idea in a little
bit different way that otherpeople may not have even
considered thought-provoking andthought-provoking, not just in
agriculture, but consumers, thattype of thing.

(31:56):
And do it in a, do it in a veryeloquent or thoughtful correct
way.
Uh, there's a lot of people thatconsider themselves, uh, you
know, social media, um, starsand I, I might take issue with
that.
You know, I, I look for factualsolid, well presented

(32:18):
information across all streams.
And like I said, when I findfemales doing that, I'm really,
I'm very imp impressed.
I'm also really impressed andlike to see how women are
moving.
Um, maybe they got started inone area of agriculture and
they're pivoting to another,having their own businesses,
their their own firms, uh,things like that.
I, I'm also noticing that andpaying attention to that.

(32:40):
I like that.
Uh, and what I see there.
And like I said, the other partis a lot of the, uh, students
that I speak to on campus or atdifferent events are not, uh,
they're not going to be told no,they have no reason as they
stand in front of me to believethat they are not going to have
incredible success.

(33:00):
And I think just that mind frameis healthy, you know, you're
gonna, everybody get, getsdinged, everybody gets dinged.
But just to be able to go inwith the confidence and the
unfettered excitement that youare not going to be stopped, you
know, for older people maybeit's, it's still an issue for
the younger generation that Ihave the pleasure of working

(33:22):
with and watching.
They don't think about it somuch.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, thank you for thatinspiration, you know, inspiring
o other young women.
That's fascinating.
So let me ask, what's next foryou?

Speaker 2 (33:35):
World domination.
That is my standardthat's my standard answer when
my buddies ask me that.
Um, you know, again, I alwayswanna do, this is the job.
I love talking to farmers,sharing their stories, bringing
consumers.
I'm in Madison, so 80% of myaudience doesn't know what in
the blazes I'm talking about.
So I have to keep thementertained and I have to give

(33:57):
them a reason to wanna engagewith the fabulous farm ba pay
attention to what she's saying.
So that is the daily conquest.
That is what I constantlyimpounding on.
The long term is to continue tobuild the brand, the fabulous
Farm Babe and Midwest FarmReport.
Keep building the brand.
I only wanna, I mean, although Itease about world domination, I

(34:19):
only wanna own Wisconsin.
I am a homer.
I am a homer.
Grew up in Northeast Wisconsin,college in northwest Wisconsin,
now I'm in southern Wisconsin.
Some of my, uh, you know, the,the young ones that I talk to
say, Hey, why didn't you ever goto Texas?
Or some, you know, you farmerscan smell BS a mile off and this
dairy kid trying to talkfeedlot, cotton, rice, wheat,

(34:44):
that would be bs.
I, I speak to what I know and,uh, the Temple of Wisconsin
agriculture.
So I, I just kind of wanna keepdoing that.
You know, I, I have been soblessed with all, with all the
awards and the opportunity totravel the world and, you know,
it's like a lot of things thatyou do, Dan, the longer you're
in it, the deeper yourresources, the deeper your

(35:07):
relationships.
Um, and especially inagriculture, we are a small
pool.
So when you've been in it likeme for over 30 years, all of a
sudden you, you get to knoweverybody in the room.
And, and I like that.
It's comforting to me.
I like that It gives me, uh,like I said, it gives me

(35:28):
perspective on how I wanna keepbuilding the brand, uh,
spreading, spreading it out andtrying to take care of it.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
So it sounds like you've found success in being
comfortable is staying in yourlane, knowing what you're good
at, and doing it and just doingit well.
And that, that's, that's greatwisdom.
So Pam, this is a part of thepodcast where you are a
contestant on Fast and FuriousFarming Facts.
And this will help our listenerslearn a little bit more about
you.
And I'm going to ask you 12questions and I just need you to

(35:56):
give me the first answer thatpops in your head.
All right?
You got this?

Speaker 2 (36:01):
Sounds good.

Speaker 1 (36:03):
Okay, here we go.
If you could farm anywhere inthe world, where would it be?

Speaker 2 (36:07):
Green Bay.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
Name your favorite tractor, manufacturer.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
K S I H.

Speaker 1 (36:14):
Carhartt or Wranglers?

Speaker 2 (36:17):
Carhartt.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
What college sports team do you cheer for?

Speaker 2 (36:21):
College Badgers,

Speaker 1 (36:24):
Ford Dodge or Chevy Truck?

Speaker 2 (36:26):
Ford.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
What?
Manure smells the worst.
Cattle, hogs, chickens orturkeys?

Speaker 2 (36:34):
Jesus.
That's, I've been around cattleall my life.
Hog's catch my attention.
Mm-hmm.
Hogs catch my attention.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
So do you prefer whole milk, 2% skim or lactose
free?

Speaker 2 (36:46):
Nope.
I go 2%.
I'll go whole if it's available,but generally 2%.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Choose one of these.
Johnny Cash, George Strait,Blake Shelton or Luke Combs?

Speaker 2 (36:59):
Geez, I'll go.
Luke Combs.

Speaker 1 (37:03):
Hmm.
New school.
Yeah.
Who's your favorite character onYellowstone?

Speaker 2 (37:08):
Oh, Kevin.
John.
John.
John.
John.
Um, John

Speaker 1 (37:13):
Dutton

Speaker 2 (37:14):
There.
Thank you.
Gosh.
Yeah.
I all of a sudden saw him goingoff in the sunset with Matthew
McConaughey.
Come

Speaker 1 (37:19):
, right?
Favorite coffee brood at HomeGas Station or Starbucks?

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Ooh, brood at home.

Speaker 1 (37:28):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Who spends the money on Starbucks?

Speaker 1 (37:30):
Would you rather go to Disney World, the county fair
or Bucky's?

Speaker 2 (37:36):
You know, really?
County Fair?
It's, it's friendlier on mypocket.

Speaker 1 (37:42):
Okay, last question.
Who is the greatest stock carracer of all time?
Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt.
Jeff Gordon or Ricky Bobby?

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Oh my gosh.
You know, those are feud wordsright there.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
Why can't I have my kid from Cambridge, Wisconsin?
Matt, Kens

Speaker 1 (37:59):
Well, we can throw him in there.
Okay, we'll throw him in there.
Chance?

Speaker 2 (38:03):
I'm a homer.
Dan, I told you.

Speaker 1 (38:04):
Yeah, go on with the hometown.
There's nothing wrong with that.
These are your answers.
So there's no right or wronganswers here.
So, Pam, I can't thank youenough for joining us here on
the podcast today.
It's been a pleasure.
You've done a great job inhelping us understand the
important role that women playin agriculture, and we greatly
appreciate that.
And I wanna thank each of ourlisteners for tuning in today.

(38:25):
Topcon appreciates all of ourfriends in agriculture who work
so tirelessly to put food on ourtables, cuz we believe farmers
are the best.
If you've enjoyed this episode,remember to like, share, and
subscribe to Topcon TalksAgriculture podcast on Spotify,
apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, orwherever you get your podcasts.

(38:47):
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See you next time.
Go out and make it a great day.