Alabama AgCast

We sit down with Assistant Director Aisling Walden and Anna Grace Thompkins, intern, of Sweet Grown Alabama to hear how the state's agriculture branding program is going and what's coming up.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We speak with Mitt Walker, director of Governmental and Agriculture Programs about the latest news for farmers from DC and also about two important award program deadlines coming.Alabama farmers are encouraged to nominate research and Extension personnel whose work tangibly impacted their farms for two awards from the Alabama Farmers Federation. Nominations close June 6.The Rittenour Award for Production Agriculture & Forestry Research recognizes Auburn University faculty for creative and original research. The winner receives up to $10,000 in program support, which can fund graduate students or research operations.The Duncan Award for Excellence in Production Agriculture & Forestry Extension honors Alabama Extension staff developing or implementing solutions for stakeholder-identified problems. The winner receives up to $5,000 for programming costs.Winners will be recognized in August during the Federation's Farm & Land Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Morgan Desselle brings a special legislative report about passage of the Alfa Health Plan legalization and Maggie Edwards visits the cut-flower operation on the McLeod Family Farm.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards gathers organizers and participants from the conference held Auburn to get their take on the conference.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.Want to support Alfa Health Plans legislation? Contact members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. 

We visit with Carla Hornady on the USDA's Prospective Plantings report, released on March 31, 2025.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards sits down with Sidney and Sheryl McKathan. The McKathans live in Andalusia, Ala. and sell honey and strawberries on their U-pick operation.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.Want to support Alfa Health Plans legislation? Contact members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. 

Brian Hardin and Russ Durrance, both with the External Affairs division, speak with Rep. David Faulkner, the Alabama House sponsor or the Alfa Health Plan legislation. In the wrap-up, Morgan Desselle recaps the hearing that took place and gives a glimpse of all the legislation Alabama Farmers Federation is working with.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

On today's AgCast, we will hear a conversation between Tanner Hood, of our Communications staff, and Preston Roberts, director of Agricultural Legislation, as the Alabama legislature reaches its calendar midpoint.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We recap speakers from the annual Forestry & Wildlife Seminar held at the Federation home office to discuss the latest information about areas of interest for landowners and researchers.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We sit down with Colton Christjohn, superintendent of the Jr. Livestock Expo and two competitors to get background and insight into the hard work that goes into this event and the memories made.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Tanner Hood has a conversation with Ben and Whitney Haynes, from Cullman County, about their experiences at this year's Washington Legislative Conference.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We sit down with new Alabama Ag Credit, Nick Hartley, and Ag Credit VP of Communications, Amber Pratt, to get to know the new CEO.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards visits with several attendees of the annual, Taste of Alabama, legislative reception held in Montgomery at the Alabama Farmers Federation.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards speaks with attendees of the 2025 Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association annual meeting recently held in Gulf Shores, Ala.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Marlee Jackson has a conversation with newly elected North Area Vice President, Mark Byrd, and Tanner Hood speaks with newly elected Southeast Area Vice President, Chris Carroll.Find your elected representatives here.Visit the Alabama Farmers Federation website to sign up for the Capitol Connection.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Mary Wilson, of the Federation communications staff, recaps the American Farm Bureau convention recently held in San Antonio.Morgan Desselle begins a new weekly look at our efforts in the Alabama Legislature.To subscribe to the Capitol Connection e-newsletter, visit this link.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We sit down with Federation Agriculture Council, John Allen Nichols, to discuss issue arising from passing on property to heirs with and without a will.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We speak with the Federation's Mitt Walker about what Alabama farmers can expect with the 119th Congress and the new political climate in our nation's capital.To sign up for Alabama Farmers Federation e-newsletters, click here.For more information on the Washington Legislative Conference, click here.

We discuss the upcoming Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) Conference and Trade Show with Blake Thaxton, AFVGA Executive Director; Ellie Watson, Sweet Grown Alabama director and event sponsor; and Dr. Susan Fant Cassidy, Founder of eMarketing Director LLC and conference speaker, about the event. The conference and trade show that will take place Feb. 5-7 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Please visit www.AFVGA.org for more information and to register before Jan. 19.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Marlee Jackson has a conversation with the 2025 State Women's Leadership Committee Chair, Rachel Chastain; and Hunter McBrayer sits down with Denzil Dees, the 2025 State Young Farmers Committee Chair.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

President and CEO of Alabama Ag Credit, Doug Thiessen, will soon be retiring. We sit down with him to reflect on his long and successful career.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We talk about 10 years of Simply Southern with Kevin Worthington, Mary Wilson and Matt Wilson.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We meet Legislative and Policy Assistant, Morgan Desselle. 

Learn the best strategies for choosing a layer with advice from Alabama Farmers Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols. 

We celebrate with five, lucky recipients of the annual JumpStart program, sponsored by Alabama Ag Credit. The JumpStart program rewards five individuals or couples who are new to agriculture to help jump start their operations.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Russ Durrance speaks with several elected officials from Alabama about their impressions of the FFA National Convention held in Indianapolis, Indiana in late October.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Every year, Alabama Farmers Federation hosts a group of young people at the 4-C Center in Columbiana, Ala. to expose them to leadership skills and inspiring speakers. The event is call the Youth Leadership Conference. We caught up with six attendees, and the event organizer Hunter McBrayer, about their experiences at the conference.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards has conversations with John Gilbert, assistant director of the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Andalusia, and Todd Langston, forestry management specialist with the Alabama Forestry Commission.

We attended the 2024 Youth Dairy Show in Montgomery where we spoke with Richie Traylor, a dairyman from Randolph County, David Daniel, one of our good friends from Extension the show's superintendent and three competitors; Gabriel and Gracelyn Bristow and Mason Patterson - all from St. Clair County.

We speak with State Forester Rick Oates on the centennial of the state forestry agency.In the wrap up, please contact Marlee Jackson with your health care stories so we can inform legislators and the public on the need for affordable health care.

We caught up with Eve Brantley. Eve has just recently been named the new Associate Director of Extension here, in Alabama. We get to know Eve and her vision for Extension.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Maggie Edwards caught up with Daniel and Kim Mullenix on her new promotion and their work in the Ag community.If you have storm-related damage, visit this USDA webpage more information about preparing for and recovering from a hurricane.Find out more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

Drought is a constant threat to producers so we brought in the experts. Alabama Associate State Climatologist Lee Ellenburg, Extension Specialist Kent Stanford and Coordinator of the Alabama DroughtReach Program Breanne Minton.Here are some useful links from the conversation:- Drought Impact Toolkit- Alabama Drought Monitor- Alabama DroughtReach Program- DroughtReach on Facebook

Each year, the Alabama Farmers Federation hosts the Heritage Cooking Contest. This event, sponsored by our Women's Leadership Committee invites entries from around the state to prepare dishes, based on a theme selected by the committee, for a chance to win prizes.This year's winner, from Tuscaloosa County, is Cindy Landers. Cindy won first place with her recipe called Strawberry Crack Salad.Read more about the contest on our website here.Find our more about our sponsor, Alabama Ag Credit, and also about Alabama Farmers Federation.

We visit with Alfa Insurance's Senior VP of Property, Casualty and Life Operations, Rex Seabrook, and Senior VP of Technology and Business Innovation, Crystal Johnson, on the conversion of our farmowner policy to the faster Guidewire system.Contact Kaelin Lockhart with questions about your policy being converted.Marlee Jackson wraps up with information about an important health survey as we prepare to re-introduce legislation next year to offer affordable health coverage.Click here to take the survey.

We talk with David Helflin, Area V field man, Tyler Monday, Area II field man, and John Allen Nichols, agriculture counsel, on what county annual meetings are and how important they are to the structure of the Alabama Farmers Federation.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

We speak with Preston Roberts, Director of Agriculture Legislation, about the upcoming health plan legislation that will be re-introduced in the 2025 Alabama legislative session.For the survey referenced in this episode, click here.Send your health coverage story to Mary Wilson here.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation. 

This week's wrap-up includes an ag law update from Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols. www.fincen.gov/boi

Dr. Adam Kantrovich, Extension Specialist of Agribusiness at Clemson University, gives us a sneak peak at what he will cover for his talk at our upcoming Farm & Land Conference.He references RuralTax.org. This is a useful website to help with tax education.

In this episode Alabama Farmers Federation Agricultural Communications Specialist Maggie Edwards sits down with Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association President Dr. Arlie Powell. They discuss Powell's history with AFVGA and the growth of the organization. This week's wrap-up includes an ag law update from Federation Agriculture Counsel John Allen Nichols. www.fincen.gov/boi

With the Farm & Land Conference coming up in August, we sit down with Young Farmer Director, Hunter McBrayer, about leadership development programs and competitions that will be highlighted at the upcoming event in Montgomery.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation. 

We sit down with Dr. Jeremy Pickens, who will be speaking on how to start a Christmas tree farm during our upcoming Farm & Land Conference beginning August 1 in Montgomery.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation. 

Mitt Walker catches up with Daniel Mullenix, of Lee County, and Whitney Haynes, from Cullman County, on their experiences in our nation's capital as the Agricultural Leaders For Alabama (A.L.F.A) participants meet with decision-makers to gain insight and to discuss issues facing Alabama farmers. Mitt also spends some time with Pennsylvania Congressman, G.T. Thompson, who chairs the House Ag Committee.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation. 

We speak with the Farmers Federation's Kim Earwood about the Ag In The Classroom program in Alabama and the Summer Institute that just wrapped up. We also speak with Kimberly Moore, a teacher from Montgomery and first-time attendee of the summer program.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

Here are some of the latest news stories we have been working on from our publication, The Cultivator.

Dr. Tracy gave a talk about stocker cattle health during the Beef Cattle and Forage Summit.

Learn more about nutrition for finishing beef cattle in Alabama with producers Chris Upchurch, David Lee and Zane Troxtel. 

From the recent Beef Cattle and Forage Summit, we discuss forages with Mason Henson, Ph.D.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

As part of the Beef Cattle and Forage Summit, we visit with presenter, Perry Mobley of Greenpoint Ag.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

Alfa Eminent Scholar and Auburn University Professor Dr. Mykel Taylor discusses a research project that focusses on how stress affects some farmers. She also discusses some of the latest news and thinking regarding ag economics.Check out Alabama Ag Credit and Alabama Farmers Federation.

Mike Moody visits with Jena Owens, teacher and organizer of the Choctaw County Ag Day, to discuss what the sixth graders  learned during the annual event.