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Former Market to Market host and Ag News Daily co-founder Delaney Howell shares why her motto is “Progress Over Perfection.” From farming in Tama County to running a boutique marketing agency and launching her new initiative She Creates Rural, Delaney reveals how to start before you’re ready, build momentum, and trust yourself in business.

We cover:

• Progress Over Perfection: why action beats polish every time
• Permission vs. knowledge — finding the confidence to start
• Designing She Creates Rural: marketing, finance, and biz-dev tracks
• Partnerships, mentors, and balancing five businesses + a farm
• Succession planning and picking one authentic platform for your brand
• How Delaney uses AI as a practical accelerator for small teams

👉 Learn more about Delaney’s new conference here: She Creates Rural

Connect with Delaney:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/delaneyhowell
  
  
• X (Twitter): @DelaneyHowell07
  
  
• Instagram: @delaney_howell
  
  

Guest: Delaney Howell — marketer, podcaster, farmer, founder of She Creates Rural.
Host: Jim Smith, Ph.D. — farmer, swine nutritionist, storyteller of agriculture & life.

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In this solo episode of Patio Pondering Podcast, Jim reflects on the art of interviewing after listening to Patrick Bet-David’s podcast conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The experience sparked a key question for every podcast host: who’s really the star of an interview — the host or the guest?

Drawing on stories from his own podcasting journey, Jim shares practical podcast interview tips and lessons for hosts. He explains why the best role of a podcaster is to step back, ask simple inquisitive questions, and let the guest shine. From the power of silence to moments when guests offered surprising stories, this episode explores why less host and more guest often leads to better interviews.

Whether you’re new to podcasting, an experienced podcast host, or a leader who wants to ask better questions, these reflections offer actionable insights you can apply today.

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Farmers often say, “My land is my retirement plan.” But what happens when that plan never gets cashed in?

In this solo Patio Pondering episode, Jim Smith, Ph.D. dives into the hard realities of retirement planning in agriculture. From the trap of buying equipment at year’s end to minimize taxes, to the risks of relying on farmland as a “retirement plan” that never gets sold, Jim explores why so many farmers find themselves still running combines into their 80s.

He contrasts the lack of young farmers entering the industry with ag media celebrating 86-year-olds still harvesting, raising the question: is this passion — or poor retirement planning?

Key points in this episode:

• Why minimizing income can hurt your Social Security eligibility
• How off-farm income and retirement accounts (401k, IRA) provide real security
• The Platte River problem: wide retirement talk, but shallow planning
• Why farmland and machinery aren’t true retirement plans without a plan to liquidate

👉 Whether you’re a farmer, an ag lender, or anyone thinking about succession planning, this episode will challenge how you see farming as both a lifestyle and a business.