We discuss the upcoming Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) Conference and Trade Show with Blake Thaxton, AFVGA Executive Director; Ellie Watson, Sweet Grown Alabama director and event sponsor; and Dr. Susan Fant Cassidy, Founder of eMarketing Director LLC and conference speaker, about the event. The conference and trade show that will take place Feb. 5-7 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Please visit www.AFVGA.org for more information and to register...
Jan 13, 2025•33 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Marlee Jackson has a conversation with the 2025 State Women's Leadership Committee Chair, Rachel Chastain; and Hunter McBrayer sits down with Denzil Dees, the 2025 State Young Farmers Committee Chair. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Jan 06, 2025•32 min•Season 6Ep. 1
President and CEO of Alabama Ag Credit, Doug Thiessen, will soon be retiring. We sit down with him to reflect on his long and successful career. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Dec 30, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 42
We talk about 10 years of Simply Southern with Kevin Worthington , Mary Wilson and Matt Wilson . Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Dec 27, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 41
We meet Legislative and Policy Assistant, Morgan Desselle .
Dec 17, 2024•11 min•Season 5Ep. 40
Learn the best strategies for choosing a layer with advice from Alabama Farmers Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols.
Dec 06, 2024•13 min•Season 5Ep. 39
We celebrate with five, lucky recipients of the annual JumpStart program, sponsored by Alabama Ag Credit. The JumpStart program rewards five individuals or couples who are new to agriculture to help jump start their operations. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Nov 27, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 38
Russ Durrance speaks with several elected officials from Alabama about their impressions of the FFA National Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana in late October. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Nov 18, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 37
Every year, Alabama Farmers Federation hosts a group of young people at the 4-C Center in Columbiana, Ala. to expose them to leadership skills and inspiring speakers. The event is call the Youth Leadership Conference. We caught up with six attendees, and the event organizer Hunter McBrayer, about their experiences at the conference. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation ....
Nov 14, 2024•26 min•Season 5Ep. 36
Maggie Edwards has conversations with John Gilbert, assistant director of the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Andalusia, and Todd Langston, forestry management specialist with the Alabama Forestry Commission.
Oct 29, 2024•22 min•Season 5Ep. 35
We attended the 2024 Youth Dairy Show in Montgomery where we spoke with Richie Traylor, a dairyman from Randolph County, David Daniel, one of our good friends from Extension the show’s superintendent and three competitors; Gabriel and Gracelyn Bristow and Mason Patterson - all from St. Clair County.
Oct 24, 2024•26 min•Season 5Ep. 34
We speak with State Forester Rick Oates on the centennial of the state forestry agency. In the wrap up, please contact Marlee Jackson with your health care stories so we can inform legislators and the public on the need for affordable health care.
Oct 08, 2024•30 min•Season 5Ep. 33
We caught up with Eve Brantley. Eve has just recently been named the new Associate Director of Extension here, in Alabama. We get to know Eve and her vision for Extension. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation .
Oct 01, 2024•18 min•Season 5Ep. 32
Maggie Edwards caught up with Daniel and Kim Mullenix on her new promotion and their work in the Ag community. If you have storm-related damage, visit this USDA webpage more information about preparing for and recovering from a hurricane. Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , and also about Alabama Farmers Federation ....
Sep 25, 2024•17 min•Season 5Ep. 31
Drought is a constant threat to producers so we brought in the experts. Alabama Associate State Climatologist Lee Ellenburg, Extension Specialist Kent Stanford and Coordinator of the Alabama DroughtReach Program Breanne Minton. Here are some useful links from the conversation: - Drought Impact Toolkit - Alabama Drought Monitor - Alabama DroughtReach Program - DroughtReach on Facebook...
Sep 18, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 30
Each year, the Alabama Farmers Federation hosts the Heritage Cooking Contest. This event, sponsored by our Women's Leadership Committee invites entries from around the state to prepare dishes, based on a theme selected by the committee, for a chance to win prizes. This year's winner, from Tuscaloosa County, is Cindy Landers. Cindy won first place with her recipe called Strawberry Crack Salad. Read more about the contest on our website here . Find our more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit , a...
Sep 11, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 29
We visit with Alfa Insurance's Senior VP of Property, Casualty and Life Operations, Rex Seabrook, and Senior VP of Technology and Business Innovation, Crystal Johnson, on the conversion of our farmowner policy to the faster Guidewire system. Contact Kaelin Lockhart with questions about your policy being converted. Marlee Jackson wraps up with information about an important health survey as we prepare to re-introduce legislation next year to offer affordable health coverage. Click here to take th...
Sep 05, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 28
We talk with David Helflin, Area V field man, Tyler Monday, Area II field man, and John Allen Nichols, agriculture counsel, on what county annual meetings are and how important they are to the structure of the Alabama Farmers Federation. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation .
Aug 23, 2024•18 min•Season 5Ep. 27
We speak with Preston Roberts, Director of Agriculture Legislation, about the upcoming health plan legislation that will be re-introduced in the 2025 Alabama legislative session. For the survey referenced in this episode, click here . Send your health coverage story to Mary Wilson here . Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation ....
Aug 16, 2024•19 min•Season 5Ep. 26
This week's wrap-up includes an ag law update from Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols. www.fincen.gov/boi
Aug 07, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 25
Dr. Adam Kantrovich, Extension Specialist of Agribusiness at Clemson University, gives us a sneak peak at what he will cover for his talk at our upcoming Farm & Land Conference. He references RuralTax.org . This is a useful website to help with tax education.
Jul 25, 2024•27 min•Season 5Ep. 24
In this episode Alabama Farmers Federation Agricultural Communications Specialist Maggie Edwards sits down with Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association President Dr. Arlie Powell. They discuss Powell's history with AFVGA and the growth of the organization. This week's wrap-up includes an ag law update from Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols. www.fincen.gov/boi
Jul 18, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 23
With the Farm & Land Conference coming up in August, we sit down with Young Farmer Director, Hunter McBrayer, about leadership development programs and competitions that will be highlighted at the upcoming event in Montgomery. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation .
Jul 11, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 22
We sit down with Dr. Jeremy Pickens, who will be speaking on how to start a Christmas tree farm during our upcoming Farm & Land Conference beginning August 1 in Montgomery. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation .
Jul 03, 2024•12 min•Season 5Ep. 21
Mitt Walker catches up with Daniel Mullenix, of Lee County, and Whitney Haynes, from Cullman County, on their experiences in our nation's capital as the Agricultural Leaders For Alabama (A.L.F.A) participants meet with decision-makers to gain insight and to discuss issues facing Alabama farmers. Mitt also spends some time with Pennsylvania Congressman, G.T. Thompson, who chairs the House Ag Committee. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation ....
Jun 27, 2024•20 min•Season 5Ep. 20
We speak with the Farmers Federation's Kim Earwood about the Ag In The Classroom program in Alabama and the Summer Institute that just wrapped up. We also speak with Kimberly Moore, a teacher from Montgomery and first-time attendee of the summer program. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation .
Jun 21, 2024•21 min•Season 5Ep. 19
Here are some of the latest news stories we have been working on from our publication, The Cultivator.
Jun 13, 2024•7 min•Season 5Ep. 18
Dr. Tracy gave a talk about stocker cattle health during the Beef Cattle and Forage Summit.
May 30, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Learn more about nutrition for finishing beef cattle in Alabama with producers Chris Upchurch, David Lee and Zane Troxtel.
May 16, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 16
From the recent Beef Cattle and Forage Summit, we discuss forages with Mason Henson, Ph.D. Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation .
May 08, 2024•18 min•Season 5Ep. 15
