I was so excited to sit down with Leslee Tell for this episode. Leslee is a former classroom teacher who took her passion for education and channeled it into becoming a farm-to-school program coordinator right here in our home state. Let’s talk about it.

If you’ve spent any time in a rice field, you know the distance between the mud on your boots and the bag on a grocery store shelf can feel awfully far apart. Most farmers spend their lives focused on what’s happening on the turn row, but my friend Meryl Kennedy has spent hers working to bridge that gap.

If you’ve been around the rice industry or followed my journey for a while, you know I’m passionate about sustainability and what happens to our crops after they leave the farm gate.

If you’ve lived in the Arkansas Delta for any length of time, you know that the line between a rice field and a duck blind is pretty thin. For some, it’s a hobby; for others, it’s a paycheck. But for folks like my longtime friend Rusty Creasey, it’s a way of life that requires a whole lot of grit and even more heart.

I sat down with Peter Bachmann, and we dove into the world of rice. If you’ve looked at a rice budget lately and wondered how in the world this still works… you’re not alone.

I had the chance to sit down with Senator Boozman the other day, and I’ll tell you what stuck with me wasn’t all the policy talk; it was how much they still need to hear from us.

Cooperatives don’t get talked about much unless something goes wrong. No one’s posting glamorous elevator photos on Instagram with a hashtag about agricultural economics. There’s no influencer campaign for the cooperative business model.

Agriculture doesn’t stand still. It never has. Sterling walked us through how farming has changed — from the way we manage crops to how we lean on data, research, and relationships more than ever.

Farming will wring you out some days, and it’s not just the weather or the markets. It’s the pressure, the pride, the isolation, the unrelenting rhythm of seasons that don’t stop when your body or mind says it’s had enough.

When I hit record on the first episode of the Field Good Life podcast, I didn’t know where it would go. I just knew I wanted to have real conversations with real people in agriculture, the kind you don’t hear enough. Not just about yields and weather, but about the grit and grace it takes to keep going in this business.

I sat down with Amy France, chair of the National Sorghum Producers Board, and let me tell you—she’s a powerhouse. Amy didn’t grow up in agriculture, but she found her way to the farm and never looked back. Her story is one of grit, grace, and a deep commitment to doing right by her land and her community.

I sat down with Michael Klein on the latest episode of the Feel Good Life podcast. He’s the Vice President of Communications and Strategic Development at USA Rice, which sounds like a mouthful, but what it really means is this: he helps tell the story of rice, and the people who grow it, to the rest of the world.

The 2026 lending season is coming fast, and for a lot of row crop farmers, the numbers aren’t penciling like they used to. That’s not just a gut feeling, it’s economic reality. Interest rates are high, inputs are still expensive, and a lot of folks are carrying more debt than they were just a few years ago.

Let’s talk about culture. Not the kind you find in a corporate slide deck. The kind that’s built over back-to-back harvests, family meals in the shop, and a quiet promise to do right by your neighbors.

This week on Feel Good Life, I sat down with two of my favorite people to talk about something that doesn't get nearly enough airtime in ag: support systems.

Explore 'Rooted in Resilience,' a keynote on the future of rice farming in Arkansas—covering challenges, mental health, and the power of authentic storytelling.

On my latest episode of the Field Good Life podcast, I dive into a lively conversation with Dr. Tim Walker, CEO of Horizon Ag. Friends for many years, our conversation touched on everything from family traditions to the intricacies of rice production.

As a rice farmer in Arkansas, I’ve always been curious about how the other half lives—especially out west.

Let’s talk about agricultural economics—but don’t worry, this isn’t a lecture hall. It’s more of a cab style conversation with Dr. Hunter Biram from the University of Arkansas, and he brought along a whole lot of real-world smarts.

We covered a little bit of everything: the wild ride of launching a podcast while trying to farm through the wettest spring in 133 years, the grit it takes to keep going when plans change, and why staying rooted in community matters more than ever.