That Farm Life

After a drunk driver hit Carey Portell and her two daughters, their lives were forever changed. Her daughters healed from their injuries over the next few months, but it would take years for Carey to walk again. Even now, her mobility is limited. 

Through these challenges Carey and her husband continued to raise cattle. With adaptive equipment to help her around the farm, Carey can continue farming. Her most recent venture is raising sheep.

You can learn more about Carey, her journey to healing, and her strong faith that carried her through at the following sites. Definitely check out her YouTube channel to see videos of their new lambs!

Website: CareyPortell.com

Facebook: Carey Portell-National Speaker

Instagram: cp_sty

YouTube: @CareyPortell

Carey’s book, Facing Life Head On, is available at Amazon or any other online book retailer.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Arkansas State Representative and farmer DeAnn Vaught shares her story in today's episode. Her work on a variety of House committees - including the Agriculture, Forestry, & Economic Development Committee and Education Committee – shows her passion for advocacy, agriculture, and education for the future.

 As a survivor of sexual abuse, Ms. Vaught encourages other survivors to find someone to talk to and to seek help. There are many resources available for those who have been abused, including:

 National Sexual Assault Hotline
800-656-HOPE (4673)
Chat online at: online.rainn.org
Other resources from RAINN available at their website. 

 1in6 – an organization for men who have experienced sexual abuse

 National Sexual Violence Resource Center

 Representative DeAnn Vaught can be reached through her Arkansas State Legislature website, or by emailing her at [email protected].

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

This week on the podcast Archie speaks with a very special guest – his wife, Angie Mason. A former schoolteacher, Angie now spends her days managing their cattle operation, bottling honey from her own bees, and spending time with her 4 young grandsons. 

If you had asked them thirty-four years ago, neither of the Masons would have thought they’d end up where they are today. But they see the blessings of God in both good times and tough times.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Many people find exercise and fitness overwhelming. Others have heard that you need to give up meat and dairy products to be healthy. Emily Shaw from Dairy Girl Fitness wants to inspire people to be healthier while also advocating for the dairy industry. From growing up around dairy farms in Pennsylvania, Emily knows the blessings and stresses of the agricultural way of life. In this episode she gives very simple and practical ways to begin taking better care of ourselves, one small step at a time.

You can reach Emily through her website, DairyGirlFitness.com, by emailing her at [email protected], or through these social media accounts:

Instagram: dairygirlfitness

Facebook: @DairyGirlFitness

TikTok: dairygirlfitness

“People within agriculture, they’re doing so much for everything else – for other people, for their animals, for their land – and if we’re constantly running ourselves into the ground, we’re going to feel stressed, we’re going to feel tired, we’re going to feel anxious and we’re not going to be able to perform at our top capacity.” -Emily Shaw, Dairy Girl Fitness

“The entire point is building a foundation, and really building it brick by brick, and taking those baby steps. Because when we start with the smaller changes that you feel more confident about, it feels more do-able, it feels more maintainable.” -Emily Shaw, Dairy Girl Fitness

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

In this episode, Archie speaks with Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward. In addition to his career serving those in the ag industry in Arkansas, Secretary Ward has been a part of the Marine Corps for over two decades. At present he is an officer in the Marine Corps reserve. 

 With his unique background, Secretary Ward understands the stress that can come from military service as well as an Ag career. He shares with us the importance of finding your community and people to talk to when life gets tough.

 “I think there’s strength in community…. We share that within the military. There’s adversity, there’s challenges, there’s difficulties, but when you’re doing it with people that understand and get that it makes it – not better – but a little bit easier that you’re not in this alone.”      -Secretary Wes Ward

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Veterinarian Dr. Chelsea Bland Smith has experienced both failure and success in life. With transparency, she shares about her struggles with ADHD and depression in order to reduce the stigma around mental health issues. 

To speak to her about her veterinary practice or if you need support in a difficult time, contact her at:

870-557-8404

[email protected]

BrokenLVets.com

Facebook: Broken L veterinary Services

If you or someone you love are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

You can find more resources on ADHD at the following websites:

 Children and Adults with ADHD – CHADD.org

 Managing Adult ADHD from the American Academy of Family Physicians and the AAFP National Research Network

 Understanding ADHD and How it Affects Adults and Children from ADHD Online

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Brent Cooper of Cooper Cattle near Fort Smith, Arkansas, grew up in an Ag family that raised cattle and turkeys. After school at Arkansas Tech University, he began working with cattle and specializing in AI and cattle genetics. Brent had the opportunity in 2012 to join his son in Russia to train their cattle ranchers in AI and herd-building protocols. 

Through his company, Cooper Cattle, Brent teaches AI classes in Arkansas regularly. To find out more information on these classes or his company, you can check out their website or email him at [email protected]. Brent can also be reached by calling (479)252-0570.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

In today’s episode Archie talks with Craighead County Farm Bureau Agency Manager Mark Horton about hunting, fishing, time with family, and the need to take a break when you can. 

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Content warning: This episode discusses death by suicide. If you or someone you love are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call 911 or the National Suicide Hotline at  988.  Resources for those outside the U.S. are listed below.


With over 650 downloads in 2022, Autumn Furhman's story of losing her father to suicide has impacted many of us.  In this episode - the most listened to of 2022 - Autumn shares frankly about her grief and the way his death changed her life. She encourages those who are struggling to reach out for help. Talking with a friend, therapist, pastor, or doctor can help.

This time of year can be difficult for many of us. You are not alone. There is help. There is hope.


If you or someone you love is struggling, call emergency services or one of the hotlines below:

U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – available 24 hours a day
Dial 988 or 800-273-TALK
Or text “HELLO” to 741741

The Canada Suicide Prevention Service – available 24 hours a day
833-456-4566

Find hotlines for other countries: https://blog.opencounseling.co/suicide-hotlines/

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].

Whenever we share with people about That Farm Life podcast, there's one episode we always recommend. As our second year of the podcast draws to a close, we wanted to share that episode with you once again. This episode about a young man who was ready to plant his own crop originally aired in October of 2021. 



Many people start out helping on the family farm or ranch, but how many have their own plot of soybeans? This season fifth grader Lane Fitzgerald has planted, watered, and is now getting ready to harvest his first crop. In this episode he shares about managing his fields, balancing farming with fifth grade, and his passion for farming.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Please reach out to us if you have ideas for future shows or how we can make That Farm Life even better! Email us at [email protected]!

That Farm Life is produced by Eagle Farms at Williams Baptist University. That Farm Life Podcast is also a resource of Agri Health Network. For more information and to find more resources, check out AgriHealth.net.

Are you interested in graduating from college debt free? Check out the Williams Works program at WBU! For more information, call 870-759-4120 or email [email protected].