Michelle Bufkin Horton works for Arkansas Cattleman association and also is involved in her husband’s family’s cow calf operation. Michelle and I have been friends for sometime now but recently she reached out to me and wanted to record a podcast on the importance of hobbies. Especially in the cattle industry, we both felt like producers will say that their cattle are their hobbies. We both wanted to challenge that and say that there needs to be something outside of the industry that you can immerse yourself in so you can take your mind off of it. We each talk about our own hobbies and how we are not necessarily good at them but how they are so good for our mental health. I really had a fun time recording with Michelle. Check her out on instagram at @agandadventure https://www.instagram.com/agandadventure/
Andrea Paquette is the founder of Stigma Free Society, A Canadian non profit based out of Vancouver. We chat about Andrea’s history and how her journey with mental health lead her to found SFS. We also chat about SFS and Andrea’s newest project, the Rural Mental Wellness toolkit. We chat about the needs of the rural and agriculture communities across North America and how they need better mental health resources. This is the reason Rural Mental Wellness was born. I had a great time chatting with Andrea. You can find SFS online all across social media and at https://stigmafreesociety.com/
I feel like diversity is a word that gets thrown around a lot without really getting down to its core meaning. Diversity should come in all forms. We should be willing to surround ourselves with people who think a little bit differently than us so we are not living in an echo chamber. Within agriculture, there is so much nuance and subtle differneces in the way we practice and how we operate in our individual lives that it should be celebrated... not used as a point of contention. I chat also about diversifying our own lives. This episode was influenced by a couple of Instagram posts from a couple of great gals... Kylie Epperson (@thegratefulfarmwife) and Kathryn Mentzer (@everydayillinoisfarmfamily)
Today We welcome back our friend Sam Goldberg of Silo The Film. If you are following along, we chatted with Sam last year about Silo and the impact it had made in the time since its release. As many of you know so much has changed in the past year and we chat to Sam about how Silo and Sam have been affected this year. We also chat a little bit about a new project that Sam and his team have in the works dealing with the mental health side of agriculture. So excited for Sam and for all the new things he has going on. Find all things Silo at SiloTheFilm.com
Back to interview podcasts today. A few months ago, Elizabeth Lewan from American Psychological Association reached out to me regarding the impact COVID has had on America’s farmers. She put me in contact with Dr. Holly Roberts from the Psychology Department at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Holly and I chatted about her background in a farming community and how getting mental health care treatment into farming communities is often a challenge. We discuss that although COVID is a challenge, it also produced the opportunity to showcase that Telehealth can really work. I am very flattered that APA reached out to me and put me in touch with Holly. I’m also quite impressed that APA is recognizing this need and is going to work on it. To get in contact with Holly send her a message at hroberts@unmc.edu
Today I chat about my journey of running and how it has improved my overall health. I talk about my first half marathon and how it was likely where the idea for this podcast came about.
“Boundaries are rules you create for how other people can behave toward you” - @melrobbinsAn overarching theme in all of the content I have been consuming lately is talking about boundariesNow I’m not sure if it’s like when you get a new car and all of a sudden you see that new car everywhere... but it has been showing up significantly nonethelessI believe it is essential to set boundaries around what is most important to you.To have boundaries, you must first set priorities and then set core values around them.Everyone has different priorities.Mine are as follows...1) My faith in God2) My own health and well being3) The health and strength of my marriage4) My children5) My job6) My farm7) My church calling8) Everything elseOur priorities and the boundaries we set around them are totally up to us and we must stand firm in them... unfortunately this doesn’t mean that everyone is going to respect them how we would like them to.... and that’s ok and totally not up to us.Set firm boundaries and stick to themWhat are your priorities and boundaries?Do you have a difficult time saying “No?”Do you feel like you let others down when you can’t always be there for them?I struggle with this mightily. But setting clear boundaries can help us show up as our most authentic self.
We always talk about how busy we are… but I do think this is the busiest season of my entire life. Right now we have calving, baseball x 4 kids, a new business, and highly demanding church callings… and this silly little podcast that I release every week. This is all in addition to a 40 hour/week job at the hospital.Just whenever you don’t think you can add anything in… something else comes up. Whenever this happens, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and only see the bad in a situation. I had this very thing happened to me this past week. Levi had a plethora of school events that all occurred on the same day. Today I talk about how that I initially reacted to that situation... and then about how I shifted my mindset around that.
Have you ever had someone come on to one of your social media pages and make outrageous claims about you and what you do? Unfortunately I had a situation like this pop up a few weeks ago. An animal activist came to my Instagram page and made some ridiculous comments. I made a video and posted it across my social media telling about this. My friend Markie Hageman reached out to me afterward and offerred her support. That prompted me to have Markie back on the podcast to talk about how to handle these types of situations. We chat exclusively about animal activists because that is who we both have come into contact with... but the lessons within can be applied to everyone with a presence on social media. This was a very valuable conversation as Markie is an incredible asset to the industry . Check her out across social media as Girls Eat Beef Too https://www.instagram.com/girlseatbeeftoo/
Veterinarians have a special place in my heart for lots of reasons. What some may know is I planned for a lot of years to be a veterinarian. But more so is the fact that I have relied for years on the expertise of vets to aid me in my cattle operation. My guest today is one of the best spokespersons for vets everywhere. Marissa Hake aka Calf Vet is a great advocate for both agriculture and veterinary medicine. We chat today about her journey as a vet. We then spend a good time talking about the mental health of vets and how that is affecting the profession. As livestock producers, I feel like we need to pay special attention to the mental health of our vet doctors. They are such integral parts of our operations. Find Marissa online at Here