Beyond The Bushels

Big Sky Barley and Resilience with Mitch Konen (Montana)

Third-generation farmer Mitch Konen works just east of the Rocky Mountains near Fairfield, Montana—about 35 miles northwest of Great Falls. On 1,100 irrigated acres and 500 dryland, he raises malt barley and wheat on the century-old Greenfield Irrigation Project. Mitch also serves as president of the National Barley Growers Association, representing producers across the U.S. and advocating for fair policy in Washington. He shares the story of how this federal irrigation project came to life in 1926, how 12 pivots now replace the old flood ditches, and why water management and canal maintenance drive his daily routine. Mitch describes the shift from hand-kept ledgers to digital platforms, the reality of paying for 24 inches of water while receiving only 12, and the quiet faith behind each crop cycle. He also opens up about family succession, the weight of business decisions, and what it means to keep a farm alive in a nine-month Montana winter. For Mitch, stewardship comes down to endurance and perspective: “You’ve got to learn to work with what you’ve got—and still have faith it’ll grow.” 🎙️ Pass the Mic * Kyle’s question to Mitchel: “When you make business decisions, are you planning for the next generation—or just keeping things steady for now?” * Mitchel’s question for the next guest: “Is the farm your first job or your second? If it’s your second, are you farming the ground—or farming the programs?” Thanks for listening to Beyond the Bushels, where farm stories go deeper than yield. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow and leave a review. Every story helps us celebrate the legacy, leadership, and lessons of American agriculture. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes clips, episode highlights, and more: * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tractionagllc] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tractionagllc] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@tractionag] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/tractionag] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tractionag] * Website [https://tractionag.com/]

Rebuilding After the Fire with Kyle Witkowski (New York)

Fourth-generation dairyman Kyle Woodkowski runs the last dairy farm in the town of Boston, just south of Buffalo, New York. At 31, he’s carved his own path—starting from scratch in his early 20s, renting barns, and slowly growing a herd through grit, debt, and late nights. Today, he’s preparing to move his 55 milking Jerseys into a brand-new freestall barn on land owned with his family—built after a devastating barn fire in 2024 nearly ended everything. Kyle walks through that morning in vivid detail: the smell of smoke, rescuing cows, and watching a century-old barn collapse. Within hours, neighbors and local farmers rallied to get him milking again, proof that rural New York’s ag community still shows up when it counts. He also shares the business decisions behind financing new facilities, his steady adoption of better recordkeeping and precision tools, and the family’s informal approach to succession through shared work and trust. For Kyle, farming means resilience: “You can start dairy farming from scratch—but you better get used to the hard times before you reach the good ones.” 🎙️ Pass the Mic * Zach’s question to Kyle: “What do you think the next generation of agriculture needs to bring to the table to not disappoint the previous generation?” * Kyle’s question for the next guest: “When you make business decisions, are you planning for the next generation—or just keeping things steady for now?” Thanks for listening to Beyond the Bushels, where farm stories go deeper than yield. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow and leave a review. Every story helps us celebrate the legacy, leadership, and lessons of American agriculture. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes clips, episode highlights, and more: * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tractionagllc] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tractionagllc] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@tractionag] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/tractionag] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tractionag] * Website [https://tractionag.com/]

Young Farmer on the Move with Zach Kampwerth (Illinois)

Fresh out of Southern Illinois University, 22-year-old Zach Kampwerth has traded college papers for feed buckets. Now farming alongside his dad and grandfather near Carlyle, Illinois, Zach balances 50 acres of his own row crops with the family’s 125-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation. It’s a full-time return to the fourth-generation farm where he grew up—and his first harvest as a full-time producer. He shares how those early 25 acres at age 18 taught him financial discipline, why QuickBooks didn’t cut it, and how he brought new precision tools and electronic recordkeeping to a paper-based system. Zach also walks through the nuts and bolts of daily hog chores, GPS upgrades, and managing feed efficiency with homemade rations. Along the way, he talks about his dad’s openness to change, his grandpa’s loyalty to old Olivers, and the gradual family planning that’s setting up a smooth transition. For Zach, progress means blending generations—new spreadsheets and old tractors, data and sweat equity. “I know I’m lucky to be here,” he says. “So I just want to make the most of it.” 🎙️ Pass the Mic * Doug’s question to Zach: “How do you get involved with your community through agriculture?” * Zach’s question for the next guest: “What do you want the next generation of agriculture to bring to the table?” Thanks for listening to Beyond the Bushels, where farm stories go deeper than yield. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow and leave a review. Every story helps us celebrate the legacy, leadership, and lessons of American agriculture. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes clips, episode highlights, and more: * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tractionagllc] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tractionagllc] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@tractionag] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/tractionag] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tractionag] * Website [https://tractionag.com/]

Generations, Grain, and Global Perspective with Doug Goyings (Ohio)

Doug’s farming story started in the veal barn—long before he had the acres or the equipment to call himself a grain farmer. What began with milk-fed calves in a specialized building grew into a 5,000-acre grain operation, a rebuilt bin site after a 2012 derecho, and a transition plan that now includes his son, grandkids, and two full-time employees. In this episode, Doug shares the labor-intensive world of raising veal calves, the near-disasters that taught him persistence, and the homegrown innovations that carried his farm from 600 to 5,000 acres. He talks about tile machines and strip-till rigs he built himself, the 2012 storm that flattened 13 bins, and why he still believes in doing the work with family first. But Doug’s story doesn’t stop at the fencerow. As a past chair of the U.S. Wheat Board, he traveled nearly 100,000 miles in a single year, shaking hands with world leaders and sitting front-row at global trade agreements. Through it all, he’s carried one lesson home: farmers matter most when they speak for themselves. 🎙️ Pass the Mic • Kent & Melissa’s question to Doug: “If you had to start over, would you follow the same path—or would you make different choices along the way?” • Doug’s question for the next guest: “How are you getting involved in your local community or farm organizations to help promote and educate people about agriculture?” Thanks for listening to Beyond the Bushels, where farm stories go deeper than yield. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow and leave a review. Every story helps us celebrate the legacy, leadership, and lessons of American agriculture. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes clips, episode highlights, and more: * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tractionagllc] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tractionagllc] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@tractionag] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/tractionag] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tractionag] * Website [https://tractionag.com/]

Debt, Determination, and the Drive to Farm with Kent & Melissa Williams (Illinois)

For Kent and Melissa Williams, farming was never handed down in neat rows—it was built acre by acre, loan by loan, and long night by long night. From a small grain farm on the Indiana side of the Wabash to running combines across the line in Illinois, their story is about grit, faith, and refusing to quit when the odds (and the interest payments) stacked high. In this episode, Kent shares the leap from service trucks and yellow notepads to running a multi-generation grain farm, the near-impossible start-up years when lenders took a chance on him, and why he still views every tractor and truck as tools, not trophies. Melissa opens up about stepping into the books with zero ag background, the shock of borrowing money to pay interest, and how Traction helped her turn chaos into clarity. Together, they talk about meeting in a small-town bar, raising three kids between two states, the struggle to find and keep good help, and why succession and asset transfer will be the make-or-break challenge for the next generation of farmers. Their perspective is honest, raw, and grounded in what it really takes to keep a farm alive—and a family together. 🎙️ Pass the Mic • Tracey’s question to Kent & Melissa: “Where do you see agriculture growing most in the next 10–20 years—and where will the next generation need to step up to fill the gaps?” • Kent & Melissa’s question for the next guest: “If you had to start over, would you follow the same path—or would you make different choices along the way?” Thanks for listening to Beyond the Bushels, where farm stories go deeper than yield. If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow and leave a review. Every story helps us celebrate the legacy, leadership, and lessons of American agriculture. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes clips, episode highlights, and more: * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/tractionagllc] * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/tractionagllc] * TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@tractionag] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/tractionag] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tractionag] * Website [https://tractionag.com/]