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.
Episodes
10 episodes
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 Greenfie...
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 thro...
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 fami...
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 ...
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...
Harvest, Heart, and Handing It Forward with Tracey Clifford (Indiana)
Tracey Clifford didn’t plan on coming back to the farm—until life changed her course. A third-generation farmer from northeast Indiana, Tracey spent years with FSA (county office to state leadership) before returning home in 2021 after a tra...
Tassels, Tank Mixes, and Family Transitions with Ethan Carothers (Ohio)
For Ethan Carothers, farming is equal parts grit, faith, and forward motion. A fourth-generation farmer from northwest Ohio, Ethan came home from Ohio State in 2016, launched a custom spraying business with a HAGIE high-boy, and built a life...
Between the Rows and the Rescue Calls with Josh Carlson (Iowa)
Josh Carlson didn’t just come back to the farm—he carved out his place before graduation. From renting 10 acres at 14 to hauling pigs and hustling through Iowa State, Josh’s story is grit, faith, and family-first farming in small-town Iowa.<...
Whiskey, Community, and the Future of Farming with Quint Pottinger (Kentucky)
Quint Pottinger didn’t plan on returning to the farm. He was headed for med school when one phone call from his grandmother changed everything. What started as 80 acres has grown into a multi-thousand-acre operation in the heart of Kentucky ...
Old Tractors, New Tech, and the Heart of a Farm Family with Laura Ehnle (Illinois)
In the very first episode of Beyond the Bushels, Mitchell sits down with Laura Ehnle, a third-generation farmer from central Illinois who’s carrying her family’s legacy into a new era of agriculture. From family cabins in Minnesota to to...
