Rebuilding After the Fire with Kyle Witkowski (New York) Artwork

Beyond The Bushels

Beyond The Bushels is where real farm stories and practical strategies come together. This isn’t just another ag podcast—it’s a place where we get past the surface to hear the heart of farming. From generational transitions and growing pains to new tech and old tractors, each episode puts the spotlight on the people behind the work—their values, their challenges, and the wisdom they’ve earned along the way.

Some are just getting started. Others have weathered decades of droughts, markets, and midnight repairs. But they all have one thing in common: a deep-rooted commitment to doing it right, passing it on, and building something that lasts.

Powered by Traction—the farm management software that connects your numbers to your acres—Beyond The Bushels is more than acres and yields. It’s about legacy, resilience, and the everyday moments that define life on the farm.

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Beyond The Bushels

Rebuilding After the Fire with Kyle Witkowski (New York)

January 01, 2026 • Beyond The Bushels • Episode 9

0:00 | 1:07:38

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.

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