In today’s episode, cohosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord round out season 7 of Straight Talk with NDFB, reflecting on the season, and discussing plans they have for summer 2024.

We discuss:

• How to prioritize the important things in life
• Letting things go that no longer serve
• The importance of showing up
• How discipline can set you free

Our hosts will be taking a break from podcasting for the spring and summer to chase calves and plant fields. To contact our hosts about anything, email emmery@ndfb.org.

To find all the NDFB happenings, visit ndfb.org.

NDFB Straight Talk hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord travel to Wimbledon, N.D., to visit with Matt and Bethany Peterson, owners of Aligned Ag. Aligned Ag offers precision ag services, crop protection, soil sampling services and sells Pioneer seed to the Wimbledon and surrounding areas.

Matt and Bethany are active in NDFB and serve on NDFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers committee. The Peterson’s began growing their business in 2021 and Bethany recently left her job at BASF to work full time in the business.

In today’s episode, we talk about:

• How precision ag and profitability go hand in hand
• Working together as husband and wife
• How to start a business from the ground up

Join us for this episode!

To contact Matt and Bethany at Aligned Ag, call 701-425-2100 or visit them at their new location west of Wimbledon.

Contact Emmery and Alisha, email emmery@ndfb.org

Learn more about NDFB's YF&R program.

NDFB Straight Talk hosts Emmery and Alisha visit with Jeff Schafer, a farmer and rancher near New Rockford, N.D. Jeff is a 5th generation farmer who currently works with his children (6th generation) and grandchildren (7th generation!) on the family farm.

Three county Farm Bureaus teamed up to bring Jolene Brown, a farmer and award-winning speaker, to Fessenden, N.D. to talk about succession planning and bridging the gap between the generations.

Jeff was part of the group that brought Jolene to North Dakota. Following her presentation, Jeff sat down to talk about his takeaways and the lessons he's learned as he continues to keep his business thriving through the generations.

We talk with Jeff about:

• What it's like to be a 5th generation farmer working with the 6th and 7th generations
• How to begin the conversation with kids and parents
• Expectations between the generations (ie: "What do you expect from me?", "Here's what I expect from you.")
• How to find the "expert" you can trust to help you take the next step
• Why your farm is worthy of the respect of being treated like a business.

To hear Emmery and Alisha's conversation with Jeff's daughter, Chelsey click here.

To learn more about Jolene Brown, visit here.

Keep an eye out for other events hosted by NDFB at ndfb.org/events

Contact Emmery and Alisha at emmery@ndfb.org

Calving, planting, and harvesting are the lifeblood of the farm and ranch. The new beginnings of spring calves and seeds and the completion of harvest in the fall are the things we as farmers and ranchers live for. But what happens when these busy seasons start to pile up and you go from excited to a little bit more… stressed?

In today’s episode, hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Dr. Amy Missling about stress on the farm and how it can turn from something seasonal to more permanent: chronic stress.

Dr. Amy Missling is a licensed clinical psychologist and practices in rural Minnesota. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders as well as trauma and stressor-related conditions. She provides behavioral health services to adults with a variety of life circumstances and occupations, including local farmers and ranchers. Outside of her work as a psychologist, she and her husband, Jeff Missling, feed cattle and hogs and co-own a meat locker in Devils Lake, N.D.

Dr. Missling shares her experience as a psychologist and agriculturalist. Marrying into agriculture has given her a unique experience about the kinds of stress farmers and ranchers are facing.

We talk about:

• The kinds of stressors farmers and ranchers face
• Warning signs to look out for that stress is becoming chronic
• Is stress always bad?
• What you can do to manage stress on your farm and ranch

Check out your level of stress here

For more information about how to find a behavioral health specialist, visit with your primary care doctor.

Farm Bureau Member? Visit KonnectMD on NDFB’s member benefit page https://www.ndfb.org/benefits/

Contact Emmery and Alisha at @emmery@ndfb.org

Hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Jolene Brown, a walking, talking spokesperson and champion for the people of agriculture.

Jolene is a farmer in eastern Iowa, contributor to Successful Farming magazine’s popular family business column, author of two great books, and an inductee into the prestigious CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame.

In this episode, your hosts discuss ideas from her upcoming workshop entitled: “If we huff and puff, will we blow your house down?”

Jolene shares lessons learned from her 30+ years of working with farm families. She addresses the issues of communication and conflict, fair and equal, entitlement and transition.

During the workshop, she will provide 10 template tools to help with the transition of labor, management, leadership, and ownership.

When your business is constructed correctly, not only do we have a productive and profitable result, but we have also laid the foundation for the legacy of a family business.

To find out more about the March 22 workshop visit the NDFB website's event Jolene Brown succession planning event. RSVP for this free event to jpepple@nodakins.net

To hear more from Jolene Brown, visit www.JoleneBrown.com

Contact our hosts at emmery@ndfb.org

In this episode, Straight Talk with NDFB hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Randy Martinson, founder of Martinson Ag Risk Management. Martinson Ag offers a variety of crop marketing and crop insurance packages to its customers.

Randy grew up on a family grain and livestock farm near Milnor, N.D., where he farmed for ten years. Randy is well-known for introducing complex marketing strategies in a simple, straightforward manner.

In this episode we talk about:

• Grain prices: Where the market is going and what to plant this spring
• Cattle Prices: When is the cattle market going to crash?
• And three strategies every producer should implement for a successful marketing year: 1) Know your cost of production; 2) Write your plan out and look at different levels you want to sell at; and 3) Have the discipline to stay with the plan (don't chase the highs!).

Join us for this insightful marketing episode.

Contact Martinson Ag Risk Management at https://martinsonag.com/contact-us/ or give them a call at (701)205-4200.

Download their app https://martinsonag.com/contact-us/

Contact Emmery and Alisha at emmery@ndfb.org

Our Straight Talk hosts, Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord, were live and in person at NDFB’s 2024 Young Farmers and Ranchers conference., February 2-3 and spoke with Dahltin Pahl.

Dahltin is a farmer from Ellendale and active NDFB member, who joined our hosts to talk about his experience with NDFB. Dahltin is an ag lender for Ag Country and has been involved with NDFB for several years. He has served on the NDSU Collegiate board to as well as the NDFB’s Board of Directors as the chair of the NDFB Young Farmer and Rancher Committee.

Join us as Dahltin shares his:

• Experience coming back to the family farm
• Experience as a bank lender and farmer
• Insights on why you should be involved in NDFB
• Favorite memory from Farm Bureau

To get in touch with Dahltin Pahl, contact him on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dahltin-pahl-7828b5123

To learn more about YF&R, visit https://www.ndfb.org/aboutus/yfrcommittee/program/

To contact our hosts, email emmery@ndfb.org or visit ndfb.org

In today's episode, we answer the question “What are you going to do today so your great-grandkids can farm someday?”

Hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Andy Junkin about his business “Stubborn Farm.” Andy is originally from Bobcaygeon, Ontario, but now lives in eastern Iowa with his wife and four kids. Andy helps stubborn farmers work better together.

Join us as we talk about how:

• 77% of farmers do not have a succession plan
• Many farms that have a succession plan have parties who are not happy about it
• Farm succession should not happen in the funeral home
• The first land every farmer should buy should be the cemetery plot

Learn how to turn stubbornness into:

• Stubbornness at listening to each other
• Stubbornness in improving your character
• And stubbornness in having good relationships with your family and your partners

Together, we talk about how to save the family farm.

Learn more about Andy and Stubborn Farm at https://stubborn.farm

Listen to his audiobook for FREE https://stubborn.farm/stubbornbook/

Take the next step to save the farm https://stubborn.farm/nextsteps/

Contact Andy at caygeon@stubborn.farm or 1-800-474-2057

Or schedule your call here https://stubborn.farm/schedulecall/

Contact Emmery and Alisha at emmery@ndfb.org