Katie Serbinski has spent her entire career communicating the message about making healthy food choices, and she’s raising four children who are her toughest food critics. As Director of Nutrition & Consumer Communications for the Michigan Beef Industry Commission and a registered dietitian, she works with health care professionals and consumers on spreading awareness on resources, recipes, and research. On the side, she also runs her own business, Mom to Mom Nutrition.

Listen as Katie talks about:

• The health benefits of beef and how to make every bite count
• Why she tries burgers at every restaurant
• Why her career path led her toward working with farmers and communities
• What she likes to do with her kids in metro Detroit
• Why she’s been making a chipotle sloppy joe with crunchy coleslaw topping recipe for a decade

MIBeef.org

Beefitswhatsfordinner.com

MomtoMomNutrition.com

Tera Baker is the applications and marketing manager for Nedap Livestock Management, North America. She’s been working in ag tech for seven years, and her position involves working with technology that helps farmers manage their herds – like with devices that are similar to Fitbits for cows. She and her husband Shawn also farm their own crops, own a precision ag business, and help on her family’s farm.

Listen as Tera talks about:

• The transition from ag tech solving problems to preparing for the future
• Her first Disney princess calf
• Why her husband wanted her to win second place in the national Farm Bureau discussion meet
• The way the cows look in the morning with the steam rising from the herd, and why she loves it
• The moment she knew she made the right decision about her career

facebook.com/newviewprecisionag

facebook.com/Tri-Koebel-840463816023495

Riley Brazo is a 2020 Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmer Ag Employee Finalist and sweet sixteen discussion meet finalist. He works with Fawn River Farms, where they raise seed corn for Bayer Crop Sciences, commercial corn, and 6,000 hogs. Riley’s favorite time on the farm is seed corn harvest, because he loves the satisfaction of seeing the completion of all their hard work. He and his wife Ashley love – in a normal year – going to concerts and attending MSU games, and they always enjoy camping.

Listen as Riley talks about:

• Interesting details on how flaming and detasseling actually work
• What day makes him as excited as Christmas morning
• Why he jokes he married Betty Crocker
• How a video on a blue jacket led to his community involvement
• What new data collection technology he has seen over just a short time

Phil Dougherty is a turkey farmer in Alto. He, his wife Jennifer, and his four kids have been raising heavy toms for three years. Phil worked on dairy farms while he was growing up, and he started his career as an electrician. His wife’s family also has their own turkey farm, so he became interested in the business when he met her, and years later they decided to start their own. Phil spends his time watching his kids play sports, running, and volunteering in his community.

Listen as he talks about:

• Details on how turkey farming works
• Different turkey personality traits
• Challenges in the poultry industry
• The mini-date he and his wife go on each week for Meals with Wheels
• What community organizations mean the most to him

Listener note - Phil wanted to make a correction. During the podcast he said Coccidiostats when he meant Ionophores. Coccidiostats are allowed in No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) production.

Courtney Matthias grew up on a livestock and crop farm, and she wanted a job that combined her love of science, cattle, and people. She went to MSU to become a large animal veterinarian, and she has been with the Sterner Veterinary Clinic for three years. She spends most of her time on dairy farms checking for pregnancy and maintaining care protocols. She, her husband Zac, and her daughter Zoey live in Ionia, where they love making use of the extensive trail system.

Listen as Courtney talks about:

• How her first surgery patient became her best friend
• What farmers do to make sure cows are comfortable – fans, beds, climate
• How being blessed with long arms makes some vet work easier
• What surprises people about her job
• Her latest hobby – cake decorating

Paul Pridgeon is a seventh generation farmer on Pridgeon Farms, where he and his family raise hogs and crops. He, his wife Nikki, and their three daughters just moved closer to the farm to secure a 30-second commute to work. Paul went to Central Michigan for his business degree and MSU for his MBA before deciding to farm in Montgomery. He really enjoys working with and laughing with his family, especially when it’s at his expense.

Listen as Paul talks about:

• The breakdancing ballet dance parties that occur when you live with four beautiful women
• The very real effects of Covid on the supply chain and prices
• Barns of the 80s, 90s, and today
• Why his least favorite crop surrounds his house
• What kind of fitness he’s embracing as a dad
• Why pigs prefer sleeping indoors

Tye Thompson started selling produce at 14 years old. He continued running his business as he earned his horticulture degree from MSU, and now he has four roadside stands where he sells multiple varieties of fruit and vegetables. Tye isn’t from a farm and didn’t grow up farming, and people telling him he couldn’t own one made him work even harder to make it happen. He spends his free time fixing up his home, spending time with his family, and seeing his fiancée, Holly.

Tye talks about:

• How learning from other people and doing his own work has helped
• The amazing process of grafting trees
• What he loves about having regular customers
• His ultimate business goals
• How this unusual year was actually great for business
• What are the easiest and hardest foods to grow

Link to Facebook page

Matt Munsell owns Munsell’s Poultry Processing in Fowlerville, where he lives with his wife Amanda and daughter Elnora. Along with processing poultry for farmers markets, restaurants, and backyard growers, he and his family grow 1000 acres of crops, plus raise steers and pigs. They run a greenhouse and roadside stand right on the farm. Matt enjoys horseback riding with his wife, being active in Farm Bureau, and spending time with friends. Since they’re also farmers, that means they see each other when it’s raining.

Listen as Matt talks about:

• How poultry processing actually works
• His positive experience giving a farm tour to his wife’s city friends
• His thoughts on changing and volunteering
• What steps his farm took during the spring shutdown

Links:

Munsells Poultry Processing

Munsell Farms

Deidre Iciek is a comprehensive nutrient management plan consultant, and she and her family also own Iciek Dairy in Gladwin. As a CNMP consultant, she works with farms to make sure their manure management systems are compliant, which includes help with reporting, permitting, and training. Deidre, her husband Walt, and her two sons love traveling domestically and internationally, camping at Higgins Lake, and going to MSU football games.

Listen as she talks about:

• Food tours with her siblings in Brooklyn, NY and Colombia, SA
• The continual need for evolution in the agriculture industry
• Her path through ag that led to her job now
• How you get a field named after you
• Her future trip to Ireland with her whole family

Afton Blight of Blight Farms took a year off before college and worked at a non-profit in South America. There she learned she liked working outside, enjoyed the seasons of Michigan, and wanted to see the results of her work – namely to watch crops and livestock grow. After graduating in animal science from MSU, she now farms with her family in Albion. She and her husband Branden also own and run River Dell Venue, an event barn on the Kalamazoo River.

Listen as Afton talks about:

• Her daily routine, which starts and ends with hogs
• Why bookwork isn’t her first choice
• How she loves that her husband is a plumber, but what career would save her the most money
• How to tell when a pig isn’t excited to see you
• The hair smell test for going out

Mentioned in podcast - blightfarms.com