Merry Christmas to all from Straight Talk with NDFB! Our final episode of our "Best Of" season was originally released on December 20, 2023. Hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visited with Courtney Lesmeister, part-owner of Wayne-N-Jean's Evergreens.

Courtney, a friend of Alisha's, married into a family-owned and operated tree farm when she married Lloyd Lesmeister, son of Wayne and Jean, the owners of Wayne-N-Jean's Evergreens. Courtney now works on the family tree farm along with Wayne and Jean, Lloyd, and two children.

Although the farm sells trees year-round, Wayne-N-Jeans is best known for its cut-your-own and pre-cut Christmas tree sales, wreaths, and gift shop.

From the middle of November to Christmas Eve, Wayne-N-Jean's Evergreens is open to the public, allowing them to choose and cut down a Christmas Tree. The farm hosts several Christmas events, including a visit from Santa Claus, the Grinch, Ladies Day, and much more!

To find Wayne-N-Jean's Evergreens, visit

https://www.wjevergreens.com or find them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064651511013 .

To contact Straight Talk with NDFB, email emmery@ndfb.org

In this "Best Of" season of Straight Talk, we travel back to Season 3, episode 9, as our hosts, siblings Emmery and Ezra, drive to Carrington to visit with the van Bedaf siblings, Piet and Maartje, and learn more about the family's dairy farm and creamery.

Tune in as they talk about:

• The history of the farm and why Carrington, N.D.
• The importance of animal agriculture to North Dakota
• Building relationships with the community as the key to successful diversification
• Managing businesses, large or small
• Finding true joy and fulfillment in your work

Links

Piet van Bedaf’s Youtube channel

Maartje’s Cows & Co. Creamery

Email Emmery at emmery@ndfb.org

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In this "Best of" season of Straight Talk, we step back to Season 7, episode 15 as hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord travel to Wimbledon, N.D., to visit with Matt and Bethany Peterson, owners of Aligned Ag.

Aligned Ag offers precision ag services, crop protection, soil sampling services and sells Pioneer seed to the Wimbledon and surrounding areas.

Matt and Bethany began growing their business in 2021, and Bethany recently left her job at BASF to work full-time in the business.

In today’s episode, we talk about:

• How precision ag and profitability go hand in hand
• Working together as husband and wife
• How to start a business from the ground up

To contact Matt and Bethany at Aligned Ag, call 701-425-2100 or visit them at their location west of Wimbledon.

Contact Emmery and Alisha, email emmery@ndfb.org

Matt and Bethany are also finishing their term on the NDFB YF&R Committee. Learn more about NDFB's YF&R program.

This Best of Straight Talk episode is from November 2021, when Emmery and her brother, Ezra, interviewed Dallas Mount, owner of Ranch Management Consultants, the company behind Ranching for Profit seminars.

The episode focuses on what people who take the Ranching for Profit seminars learn, including why profit is more important than productivity.

At the heart of the seminars are three strategies that farmers and ranchers need to consider to be successful. Learn more about them in this episode.

To learn more about Ranching for Profit, visit About Us - Ranching For Profit.

Ranching for Profit can also be found on Facebook at Ranching4Profit

To get in touch with Emmery, please email emmery@ndfb.org

This Best of Straight Talk excerpt is from Season 7 and was released on October 18, 2023. It features Doug Ferguson, who owns a stocker/backgrounding operation in SE Nebraska and is the author of Doug's Market Intel. Doug teaches a cattle marketing school focused on helping people become Master Marketers in the cattle industry.

He also writes a weekly blog about becoming a master cattle marketer. Check out the Mr Cattlemaster blog https://mrcattlemaster.com

Information on Sell/Buy Marketing Schools: https://mrcattlemaster.com/marketing-school/

Doug Ferguson, BEEF Magazine https://www.beefmagazine.com/author/doug-ferguson

Doug’s Market Intel, Farm Progress https://www.farmprogress.com/series/doug-s-market-intel

Find him on X:

https://x.com/mrcattlemaster

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Mr-CattleMaster-100068903720827/ .

To listen to the full podcast, click here.

Learn more about NDFB at ndfb.org.

Contact hosts Emmery Mehlhoff or Alisha Nord at emmery@ndfb.org

This Best of Straight Talk episode excerpt is from Season 7, which debuted on March 20, 2024, and features Dr. Amy Missling.

Hosts Emmery Mehlhoff and Alisha Nord visit with Dr. Missling about stress on the farm and how it can turn from something seasonal to more permanent: chronic stress.

Dr. Missling is a licensed clinical psychologist who practices in rural Minnesota. She specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, trauma, and stressor-related conditions. She provides behavioral health services to adults with various life circumstances and occupations, including local farmers and ranchers.

Outside of her work as a psychologist, she and her husband, Jeffrey Missling, feed cattle and hogs and co-own a meat locker in Devils Lake, N.D. Marrying into agriculture has given Dr. Missling unique insights about the kinds of stress farmers and ranchers face.

To take a deeper dive and listen to the entire episode, please click here.

Contact Emmery and Alisha at emmery@ndfb.org

In this episode of Straight Talk with NDFB, host Emmery Mehlhoff visits with NDFB lobbyist Rachel Grosz. Rachel is a rancher from Mott, and a homeschooling mom to 3 kids. She previously lobbied for NDFB in the 2017 session and has been an advocate for agriculture policy on the state and federal level.

We talk about some of the bills relating to property tax, agriculture chemicals, livestock initiatives and more. Join us for this episode.

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Don’t miss NDFB’s legislative review by subscribing to Legislative Front.

Contact Government Affairs Liaison Rachel Grosz at rachel@ndfb.org or Pete Hanebutt, Director of Public Policy at pete@ndfb.org.

If you have any questions about Straight Talk with NDFB, contact us at emmery@ndfb.org

In today’s episode, host Emmery Mehlhoff visits with Senator Greg Kessel from Belfield, North Dakota. Senator Kessel farms in Belfield with with his wife and four children. Along with farming, the family is involved in small businesses and recently opened Two Track Malting Company in Bismarck.

We visit about:

• Farming in western North Dakota
• Malting grains for beer
• Value-added agriculture
• Vertical integration can help your bottom line

They talk about some of his legislation pertaining to the wheat and barley commission, converting abandoned oil wells into cattle waterers, and career programs for high school students. The podcast concludes with a conversation about the mining of rare earth elements and property rights.

To contact Senator Greg Kessel, visit https://ndlegis.gov/biography/greg-kessel

Learn more about Two Track Malting Company: https://twotrackmalting.com/

Session is drawing to a close. Be on a look-out for our session wrap-up as part of Legislative Front. Sign up for Front here: https://ndfb.org/news/signup/