Recently, I had an incredible opportunity to be a guest on Shark Farmer’s podcast. It was the first podcast I’ve ever been asked to appear on, I really wanted to do a good job! Rob and I have been social media friends for ages, so I knew he would be kind. We scheduled a time for an interview and well, the rest is history!
I am very proud of this podcast because Rob brought up something we don’t talk a lot about in agriculture: mental health. I’ve been very open with my struggles throughout the years with anxiety. Having this new and larger platform to share my message, that everyone has problems and it’s OK to talk about them and seek help, was phenomenal.
Please check out this podcast! It was a lot of fun to do, and it was wonderful getting to know Rob a little better! And please remember, if you need to talk, shoot me an email, I’m here for you.
Tag Archives: anxiety
Podcast, Mental Health and Agriculture
Filed under Ag, agriculture, Humor, Know a California Farmer, Media, Pigs, Ranch life, Uncategorized
Croplife America 2014 National Policy Conference
About a month ago I got an email inviting me to take part in a National Policy Conference in Washington D.C. As a speaker. For CropLife America. I immediately disregarded it. You see, I tend not to leave the Ranch. In fact, the last time I successfully left the Ranch and the general Chico area for over a night was in 2007.
The reason for my lack of traveling has been anxiety. I suffered from chronic anxiety for several years, traveling was a guaranteed panic attack. But therapy has helped me overcome that obstacle, so it was no longer a valid excuse.
Another reason I don’t like to leave the Ranch is, we’re busy. Like 97% of other American farms and ranches, we are family owned. Leaving my Parents here, while I tra la la in the big city, doesn’t sound like a nice thing to do. But I shared the e-mail about attending the Conference with my Parents, and they said “go, you need to do this”. There goes another valid excuse not to leave.
The more I thought about attending, the more it sounded like a good idea. I love to talk about agriculture. I love policy. I think it is important for farmers and ranchers to tell our story to anyone that will listen. I need to practice what I preach on a grander scale. It’s time for me to move beyond speaking to high school classes and local government groups.
I received another e-mail urging me to respond. I did. The e-mail turned into a phone call, the phone call turned into a decision. I am going to Washington D.C. to talk about Ag policy. I haven’t been to the East Coast since I was 15!
I never imagined that I would ever do something like this. I feel like all my years dedicated to telling my story, talking about agriculture and urging others to do the same is being noticed. I’m excited. And determined to make my supporters (you, reading this) proud.
If you are in the greater DC area during this time, won’t you consider joining this conference? I would love to see some “familiar” faces in the crowd!
Filed under Ag, agriculture, family, Field Trip, Know a California Farmer, Media, photos, Ranch life, Rants, Uncategorized
Changing of the Salts
Due to some technology fail in my office, I had the amazing opportunity to work from home for a couple days this week. It made me giggle because I was out in the middle of a field sending office related e-mails, I bet my great grandparents never planned on that happening, lol.

My Dad asked me to move salt today. I always make sure to bring a rifle with me, in case something bad happens or I see a coyote. We have a bad problem with coyotes eating our calves.
My Dad told me he had a job for me to do today. He wanted me to change the salt our cattle have access to, from block salt to bagged salt. We change from block salt to bag salt in the winter because this bag salt offers more trace minerals than the block salt. Our ranch in the valley is deficient in copper and selenium. This deficiency can make our cattle work a little harder than we like, so we supplement them to make sure they are in the best health possible.

I had to stop and pick up trash someone threw from the road. This is the bane of cattle rancher’s existence, please don’t litter!
My Parents have been really great about getting me more involved with the Ranch lately. Since I started going to therapy for my anxiety, I’ve been getting to the root of it and a major part of my anxiety is, surprise! the Ranch. I have watched my Parents struggle to keep this ranch in production, they’ve had to battle estates, family, bad feed years, bad weather years, neighbors, the government, attorneys and our own naivety. My whole life, so it’s no wonder I am so attached to this place. We’ve worked hard for it.
Until this point, all of my life experiences and education has been to benefit this Ranch. My Ag degree, jobs off the farm, jobs on other farms, law school, friends, clubs, have all be cultivated to give me as many tools as I can have to help ensure the success of the Ranch. Now that I am an adult and I’ve started articulating this to my Parents, they have opened up. They are letting me do things by myself, or with my crew. Not only have I been working with the animals more, I’ve been involving myself with the business side of the Ranch. I’ve been putting my off the farm experience to good work. And the whole family is starting to feel better. It’s glorious when we all work together.

I had to first go to the “Adobe” field to get the tire that was made into a salt trough. Ranchie helped.

We then drove to the “Gob 80” field, where the cattle are, to exchange their block salt for bag salt.
I wanted to get some pictures of the cattle for you, but they were being shy. They had crossed the creek and went into another field. I was tempted to try and cross that creek and get you some pictures, but there is a lot of water in that creek right now. I’ve been doing so well with not breaking anything, or getting anything stuck, I just didn’t want to chance it. One of the most embarrassing things is having to walk back to the house and get someone to pull you out.
It’s one of the most gratifying moments of my life when I am able to tell my Parents, that I did what they told me to do, without problems. And that is what I did today.
Filed under Ag, agriculture, Beef, photos, Ranch life, Uncategorized