Podcasts have been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years – and they’ve been growing in options too, especially in the dairy and agriculture communities. Like the newsletter recommendations highlighted in my previous blog (Keeping up with the news: How?), I wanted to sort through the seemingly endless options and build a list of podcast must-listens. The timing of this is right on track, with plenty of driving and tractor time coming up this season.
But first – why podcasts? Per usual, I sought out an expert opinion on the topic. I talked to Peggy Coffeen, founder and host of the Uplevel Dairy Podcast and former host of the Progressive Dairy Podcast. Let’s be real … she was an easy choice! Explaining the hype, she says, “You can’t beat the convenience of a podcast for learning on the go when you’re driving down the road or working on the farm. What’s more, they say you become the average of the five people you spend the most time around. Podcasts allow you to create your own circle of influence and choose the voices you want to speak into your life, without the limitation of geography or proximity. My tip is to listen to podcasts that feature the people who already are where you hope to someday be. They were once you, and they will show you what is possible and how to achieve a goal, create a habit, build a business or make your dreams into reality.”
She’s invested in the podcast game. Speaking as to why she started her own show, Coffeen says, “As a dairy editor and journalist, I spent years sitting down with dairy owners and managers to tell their stories, and I kept hearing the same challenges as they grew and scaled. It was really hard to go from managing cows to managing people and running a business. That’s why I created the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, to be the go-to place to find dairy-specific resources on business, management and leadership.”
After “sitting down” (Facebook messaging) with Coffeen, I turned to my LinkedIn network and the Dairy Girl Network Exchange Facebook community and asked them for their recommendations, which can all be found on at least one of the main podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple, etc.):
- Progressive Dairy Podcast
- The Uplevel Dairy Podcast
- Dairy Intelligent
- The Secondairy Podcast
- Midwest Farm Wives
- The Moos Room
- Legacy Farmer
- Positivity in Ag
- Real Food Real People
- Herd Quitter Podcast
- The Milk Check
- Cow Side Conversations
- No-Till Farmer Podcast
- The Dairy Show
- Farm Family Harmony Podcast
- Barnyard Language
- The Shark Farmer
- Girls Talk Ag
- Ag State of Mind
- Discover Ag
- The Rural Woman Podcast
- Forward Farming
- BoviNews
- Beyond the Ring
- The CowPots Podcast
- The Dairy Download
- Ag Chicks
- The Business of Agriculture
- Future of Agriculture
- RaboResearch Food and Agribusiness
- Animal Agriculture Podcast
- Field Work
- Cattle Chat
- Farm Her Talks
- Agriculture Today
- The Dairy Podcast Show
I felt excited, and a bit overwhelmed, by this list I was able to build. I know many of you may feel the same, so I will leave you with more wisdom from Coffeen on how she keeps up: “I don’t. That’s the beauty of podcasts. You can jump back and listen to episodes from years earlier if that’s what meets you where you are at today.”
I can’t wait to start crossing these off my list – happy listening!
