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 ..read more

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 profitabil ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 Min ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

Merry Christmas to all from Straight Talk with NDFB! In this episode, hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Courtney Lesmeister, part-owner of Wayne-N-Jean's Evergreens.  Courtney Lesmeister, friend of Alisha, married into a family owned and operated Christmas tree farm when she married Lloyd Lesmeister, son of Wayne and Jean, owners of Wayne-N-Jeans Evergreens. Courtney now works on the family tree farm along with Wayne and Jean, Lloyd, and two children. Although the farm sells trees year-round, Wayne-N-Jean's is best known for their cut-your-own and pre-cut Christmas tree s ..read more

In this episode, Straight Talk hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Nic de Castro, founder and CEO of LandTrust.  Nic grew up hunting and exploring the outdoors. After several years in the corporate world across the United States, Nic found himself in Bozeman, Mont., with a passion to begin his own company founded on his love of the outdoors. Enter LandTrust. LandTrust is an online platform connecting landowners and recreators. Similar to AirBnb, Vrbo and other hosting platforms, LandTrust allows landowners to sign up their land for free. In today’s episode we talk about how ..read more

Hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Chelsey Erdmann, a 6th generation farmer and social media influencer. She also serves on NDFB's Promotion and Education Committee. Chelsey lives with her husband Kyle in Fessenden, N.D., and farms with her brother, parents and three children on the family farm.  Chelsey is a North Dakota native and has an Ag Economics degree from NDSU. She originally began her career after graduation at an equipment dealership, b​ut Chelsey wanted to come back to the farm.  Growing up, Chelsey's parents made it clear there would always be room on the ..read more