Humble Ground

What does it take to get the next generation excited about agriculture?

Cade Fiske isn't your average ag teacher. A Kansas State University graduate, FFA leader, and growing personality on TikTok, Cade has a passion for teaching agriculture and connecting with the next generation.

Growing up raising greyhound dogs, Cade's path into agriculture wasn't necessarily what you'd expect. Today, he's using the classroom, FFA, and social media to share his love for the industry and inspire young people to get involved.

On this episode of Humble Ground, we sit down with Cade to talk about his upbringing, his journey into agricultural education, the impact of FFA, and how social media is helping him reach audiences far beyond the classroom.

Watch this episode and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com

Follow Cade at https://www.tiktok.com/@mr_fiske_ag

What if the future of your family farm meant doing everything differently?

Levi grew up on a small Ohio farm where his dad worked multiple jobs just to keep things going. There wasn't enough income for Levi to come home and farm full-time. So they took a chance on something different: organic farming.

Today, Levi and his father farm approximately 1,500 acres of certified organic crops in northwest Ohio.

In this episode of Humble Ground, we talk about what it really takes to farm organically, from controlling weeds without conventional herbicides to maintaining competitive yields, improving soil health, and finding markets that make the extra work worthwhile.

We also dive into the economics of organic farming, why Levi switched equipment brands, how he's saving tens of thousands of dollars in fuel, and what it takes to keep a family farm going for the next generation.

Organic farming isn't for everyone, and Levi is the first to admit it. But his story is proof that sometimes finding a future in agriculture means being willing to try something different.

A special thanks to Fendt for helping make this conversation possible at the Farm Progress Show.

Subscribe to Humble Ground for real conversations with the farmers and ranchers behind our food, fuel, and fiber.

Watch this episode and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com

Since 1919, the Sargent family has been ranching under the wide-open skies of south central Montana. Today, Wes Sargent is helping carry on that legacy as the sixth generation of his family grows up on the ranch.

In this episode of Humble Ground, we sit down with Wes to talk about life on Sargent Ranch, their cow-calf operation, and the challenges of raising cattle in a landscape shared with wildlife.

We also dive into how Wes and his wife, Lydia, started Cayuse Hills Outfitters, turning their passion for the outdoors into another source of income for the ranch while helping manage the wildlife that competes with cattle for grazing resources.

It's a conversation about cattle, conservation, family, and finding ways to keep a ranch that's been in the family for more than 100 years going strong for the next generation.

Every meal has a story. This is theirs.

Watch this and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com

If you are looking for a Montana Elk, Mule Deer or Antelope, visit https://www.cayusehillsoutfitters.com

At just 17 years old, Dalton lost his father unexpectedly. With a family farming operation to carry on and college just around the corner, he faced a decision that would shape the rest of his life.

Some told him it might be time to walk away from farming. But Dalton never imagined doing anything else.

Today, he's farming 5,500 acres in northeast Arkansas, growing rice, corn, and soybeans while navigating changing markets, new technology, and the challenges of keeping a family operation going for the next generation.

We sat down with Dalton at the Fendt booth during Farm Progress Show to talk about overcoming adversity, the realities of growing rice and cotton, his longtime loyalty to RoGator sprayers, and what it takes to keep a family farm alive for another 100 years.

Because sometimes farming isn't just what you do. It's who you are.

For this episode and more, visit https://www.humblegroundag.com

Presented in partnership with Fendt.

What really goes into raising healthy cattle—and ultimately the beef on your plate?

Dr. Tim Parks, DVM, spent years working directly with producers as a private-practice veterinarian before joining Merck Animal Health. In this episode of Humble Ground, we talk about his path through veterinary medicine, what cattle health and animal welfare actually look like on farms and ranches, and some of the biggest questions consumers have about beef.

We dig into vaccines, hormones, antibiotics, animal welfare, food safety and why cattle producers make the decisions they do.

No sponsorship. No sales pitch. Just an open conversation with a veterinarian who has spent his career working with cattle and the people who raise them.

Watch this episode and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com

Austin and Justin Petry grew up around their grandpa’s farm, but by the time they were old enough to help, Grandpa had stepped away from farming and was renting out the ground.

The twin brothers went on to Kansas State, earned engineering degrees and started their careers. Then Grandpa decided they had a little too much time on their hands and told them they ought to start farming.

There was just one problem: they didn’t really know how.

They figured it out.

Fifteen years later, Austin and Justin are both farming full time and have turned their engineering backgrounds into another business, Progressive Ag Innovation, where they manufacture roller crimpers, planter parts and equipment built from problems they’ve encountered in the field.

We talk about learning to farm from scratch, leaving engineering careers behind, building an operation together as brothers, and how farming ultimately led them right back to engineering—this time on their own terms.

Watch this episode and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com

Where does the grape juice in your refrigerator actually start?

At Farm Progress Show, we sat down with Washington grape producer Carter Kilian to talk about what it takes to grow grapes for Welch’s.

Carter takes us inside grape production in Washington—from managing the vineyard and raising a quality crop to harvest and ultimately seeing those grapes become a product recognized in households across the country.

It’s another reminder that behind the brands and products we see every day are farmers, families and a whole lot of work most consumers never get to see.

Recorded at Farm Progress Show with Fendt.

Every meal has a story. This is Carter Kilian’s.

Episodes and more https://www.humblegroundag.com

Learn more about Fendt at https://www.fendt.com/us/

We caught up with Logan and Bobby Lee from the Talk Dirt Podcast at Farm Progress in Boone, Iowa, for a conversation about farming, storytelling and where agriculture is headed.

We talk about farming back home in Tennessee, the growing role of social media in agriculture, how podcasts are helping connect people inside and outside the industry, and some of the dream guests we'd love to sit down with someday.

We also look ahead at what's next—for farming, ag media and the stories we hope to keep telling.

Recorded live at Farm Progress 2026 in Boone, Iowa.

For more episodes visit https://www.humblegroundag.com

Sometimes the best podcast conversations are the ones you never planned.A few weeks after meeting Jory while filming another project in southern Iowa, we found ourselves back at his farm, sitting down to talk about a lifetime in agriculture.Jory grew up riding alongside his dad on an Allis-Chalmers, farming ground shaped by the rivers and rolling hills of southern Iowa. He came home from Iowa State in the early 1980s—just in time to experience one of the hardest periods American agriculture has ever seen.We talk about 20% operating notes, selling land to keep the farm going, raising cattle, the evolution from open-station tractors to GPS and RTK, and eventually making the difficult decision to retire from active farming.But this conversation became about much more than one farm.Jory shares why he believes agriculture has to do a better job telling its story as more generations become removed from the farm—and why remembering where we came from matters just as much as embracing where agriculture is headed.From picking corn by hand to modern precision agriculture, this is a conversation about risk, resilience, family, legacy and a lifetime spent on the land.For this episode and more, check out https://www.humblegroundag.comLearn about Boa Safra at https://boasafraag.com/tim-strathman-xe03

What does it take to raise and market roughly 425,000 pigs every year?

On this episode of Humble Ground, we sit down with the team behind the Swine Division at J-Six Enterprises to hear how the operation got its start, how it has grown, and what it takes to produce hundreds of millions of pounds of finished pork.

We talk about the people, facilities, logistics and decision-making behind an operation of this scale — along with the challenges of raising livestock, managing growth and getting that much pork to market.It’s a look behind the scenes at a Kansas agricultural operation helping feed people across the country.

This is the J-Six Enterprises Swine Division story.

Episode and more at https://www.humblegroundag.com