This week we're talking to Courtenay DeHoff, who is a television presenter, part owner of the PBR bucking bull Top Dollar, and founder of Fancy Lady Cowgirl, a global community of women who know that being a cowgirl is about attitude, not hats.

Thank you for joining us today on Barnyard Language. If you enjoy the show, we encourage you to support us by becoming a patron. Go to Patreon to make a small monthly donation to help cover the cost of making a show. Please rate and review the podcast and follow the show so you never miss an episode.

 You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as BarnyardLanguage, and on Twitter we are BarnyardPod. If you'd like to connect with other farming families, you can join our private Barnyard Language Facebook group. We're always in search of future guests for the podcast. If you or someone you know would like to chat with us, get in touch.

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Welcome to Barnyard Language.

We are Katie and Arlene and Iowa sheep farmer, and an Ontario dairy

farmer with six kids, two husbands, and a whole lot of chaos between us.

Kick off your boots, reheat your coffee, and join us for some barnyard language.

Honest.

Talk about running farms and raising

families.

In case your kids haven't already learned all the swears from being in the barn,

it might be a good idea to put on some headphones or turned down the volume.

While many of our guests are professionals, they

aren't your professionals.

If you need personalized advice, consult your people.

So we may have updates that do not actually come from the house, the farm,

or it'll probably involve the kids, cuz I believe that they went along with her.

Katie, what's new?

What's going on?

Arlene, hopefully this third attempt at recording

this week's update will work.

Yes.

Now that we have fixed all our computer problems, and as I know you

keep reminding me, this is an audio medium, but for our Patreon members,

you can see this huge pile of papers that my children dumped out of their

backpacks onto the floor of my office.

When I told them that they needed to pack up some toys for our

adventure, they dumped everything from the last day of school out.

There's something about the last day of school

backpacks, every little scrap.

Oh my God.

I'm sure the teacher just dumps the desk into the backpack, which is fair.

They don't wanna deal with all the stuff, and there could be

valuable treasures in there that the children don't want to lose.

But yeah, last day of school backpacks are a whole thing

and as I think I've mentioned before, the girl child has a real tendency

to make things at school and at daycare.

She cuts out whole.

Villages of small paper animals and accessories for these animals.

And we're talking, the animals themselves are less than two inches tall, so

the accessories are even smaller.

And she makes backgrounds and she makes houses.

And it's astoundingly creative, but I have one of those five gallon totes

that I just dump the contents of her bag into because I love all the

little things, but I also don't want them floating loose around the house.

Yeah.

It's just like confetti.

Yes.

Basically.

Anyway, they were packing all the toys because we, this weekend one of the very

cool things in our area is the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Baraboo was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and

Bailey Circus for quite a few years.

And the National Circus Museum is there.

They also have a big top circus that performs daily.

And at the end of this season they are retiring the elephants and the

girl child was too afraid to ride the elephants last year and has been

talking about riding the elephants at least a few times a week since the

day we got home from visiting Right.

Last

summer.

So yeah.

For building herself up for this year.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But knowing that the elephants were retiring at the end of

the year, we decided to take the kids back this weekend.

Had a great time.

Went to a restaurant where the food was not great, but the food

comes on a model train to your table, which was pretty dang cool.

That's delightful.

Which is good cuz it was real spendy.

Yeah.

But there was a train.

But

It was neat.

And in the process of sending pictures of the restaurant to one of my cousins,

she mentioned that my, one of my favorite aunts, I don't wanna get in trouble

by, Declaring who's the favorite, just in case family members are listening.

Was also in Baraboo this weekend from Pennsylvania with one of her daughters and

the grandkids which I was not aware of.

And so we got to see them on Sunday and we rode the elephant and we, the girl child

rode a circus pony and we got a ride in a golf cart and we got to go to the circus.

And did

you actually

ride an elephant?

It was great.

And we came home.

I actually rode an elephant.

It was very slow, very bumpy.

Yeah, very tall.

And recently I found out that I've developed tendonitis in my hip.

And I can say that riding elephants is not, Great for that situation.

Oh, okay.

So keep that in mind.

Next time the opportunity press presents itself.

Yeah.

Yes.

That's good to know.

Just on the off chance that any of our listeners are also dealing with

hip tendonitis and are offered the opportunity for an elephant ride.

Sure.

Yeah.

You should still do it cuz it'll be cool, but just be for words.

Yeah.

Don't get into it professionally.

Pass some extra pain medication.

Yes.

Yes.

Professional elephant riding.

We came

home about how far away is it from you guys?

We

it's about two

and a half hours.

It's so long enough to stay over, but it's not like a gigantic Yeah.

Expedition.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Baraboo is very close to the Wisconsin Dells, which is basically

the Disney world of the Midwest.

It's a small town that is now.

90% waterparks and escape rooms.

And our hotel gave us a brochure with an incredibly creepy ad for a teenage

magician who will come to your hotel room.

Oh.

Which seems to me like probably the stuff that true crime podcasts are made of.

Yeah.

So you didn't book that And this

weekend we got rain on Father's Day, but that was the first rain

we had gotten since Mother's Day.

So we got more rain this weekend and we came home to our corn and being

pretty close to literally twice as tall as it was when we left on Saturday.

Yeah.

To when we came back on Sunday.

So you

could have stayed home and watched it grow instead of seeing a circus.

Yeah.

I'm not quite that boring yet.

Like I'm pretty close.

Yeah.

But I'm not quite that boring yet.

Other than that, the kids got to go to the pool twice this weekend because we

were at a hotel and they were home three days last week because daycare was closed.

And then yesterday they got to go on a play date for a

half day at a friend's house.

So having to just go to their normal routine this morning was a little rough.

It was not as exciting as the last week has been.

Yeah.

Not

quite the attraction.

How are things in your world, Arlene?

Things are good.

So the day we're recording is the last day of school for the my

two that are still in elementary.

So my tween and my eight year old are having their last day of school as

we speak, and the teenagers are done.

So I have one who is going to graduate from high school tomorrow.

So that's a whole new thing for our family.

So we.

You can only get four seats for the graduation ceremony.

And we have, we are lucky to have lots of living grandparents and she has

siblings and cousins and aunts and uncles and all that kind of stuff.

So we ended up deciding that since they're live streaming the ceremony and its likely

to be hot and crowded and long, that everyone except my husband and I are going

to live stream it from my in-law's place.

And they're gonna watch the ceremony there.

And then when she's done walking across the stage, then they can chat and not

have to sit in a folding chair, in a high school cafeteria and they brothers

can go play and all that kind of stuff.

And then, we'll, we will come and have lunch at their place afterwards.

So we're looking forward to that.

So I've been doing some.

Menu planning.

My mother-in-law's doing some of the meal, but I'm bringing a bunch of stuff as well.

So getting food ready.

And then this past weekend, my daughter's boyfriend is also graduating

from high school and he's actually moving back to his home province.

He had been here for a little over a year and his dad, who he lived

with, ended up moving back to Quebec.

So he's moving away a couple hours, almost three hours away.

So as anyone who has teenagers knows, that is a pretty big change for a

couple of teens who have been pretty much joined at the hip for a while.

And he's actually been doing a high school co-op placement with us.

So he's been working here on the farm with us, and the last month or so

has been living at my in-laws because his dad had already moved back.

They've been spending a lot of time together, which is wonderful.

But yeah, so he's moving away and so we had a goodbye party for him

on the weekend, so that was nice.

We got to have a bunch of his friends and people from four H and local families

and people come to wish him well.

So that was fun too, and it's always a good excuse to get things cleaned up and

organized and all those types of things.

So it was an outdoor party, which worked out well.

We actually got a little bit of rain on the weekend, but not at party time,

so that was good too because my my house is spacious for a big group.

Old farm houses, right?

There's, it's not like we have a big open concept zone for people to gather in.

So yeah, party planning with larger groups gets a little complicated in old

farm houses, so I was glad that we were able to use the front porch and the

driveway and all that kinda stuff and have people over and not feel like we

were all in different rooms all the time.

Beyond that, starting to talk about what we're gonna do all summer.

So talk of cow shows and things that people would like to do.

Making lots of trips to our local beach.

There's a little beach in the town that's, five minutes away.

So we're really lucky that way and that we've got a close place to go and swim.

And our neighbors across the road very generously let us use their pool too.

So these hot days, we've got places to cool off.

So that's been nice and it's something that they all still enjoy doing

together, which is getting harder and harder to find as our ages stretch out.

So did the did the boyfriend take his cow?

I with him?

Or is

she still, she has been sold, so she's not going with

him and she's not staying here.

So we have one less jersey, but in the spring we ended up acquiring

a new one for a four H member.

My daughter borrowed another one and.

The jersey that we bought for my daughter last year has had a calf.

So we still have a few jerseys, but we'll only be be milking one, which

I must admit, I'm not too upset about because his cow was a kicker

and she was not my favorite kicking and flicking her tail really fast.

Yeah.

Which is obnoxious too.

That is

weird.

Yeah, and we don't trim tails very because especially if they're gonna get

shown, you don't want to trim them back.

They need to look beautiful, but it's definitely a pain when it, she's

trying to flick you away with it and fling her feet in your direction.

At the same

time, for any of our other non-dairy farmer listeners, one of

the most surprising things I've ever seen was upon attending the World

Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, finding out that they use the.

I don't know.

What would you call them?

Prosthetic tales?

Yeah.

They're like

hair extensions.

I'm sure there's a real name for them.

Like women use.

Yeah.

But there was a, yeah.

Just tuck them in

there.

Yeah.

There was a whole line of them drying in a doorway just hung on a clothes line.

And having never seen such a thing, I was really quite shocked.

Yeah.

Yeah.

They're like extensions and that they bulk up the volume, they're not,

sometimes you're replacing a lot of hair, but sometimes it's just to Yeah.

Give a little bit more fullness to maybe a cow that has lost

some of her natural hair.

Yeah.

That fitting of cows for showing, especially at the World Dairy Expo

level is really, Oh yeah, for sure.

Yeah, for those of us who don't show animals and we're not aware of Yes.

Yeah.

And they have a competition there too.

That's really Yeah.

Really a big deal.

I know that one of the herds that my daughter has worked for, they actually

fly in a guy in from Europe to do their fitting for their shows because

it's that important to the people who to the people who it's important to.

So it's, yeah.

And when you're talking about that kind of money it's especially for

breeding stock where you're potentially getting more than one sale at.

Yes.

Yeah.

For sure.

All right.

Should we bring on our guest for the,

I think we should.

Welcome to the podcast.

Today we are so excited to be talking to Courtney DeHoff, who's

a speaker television personality, and is also a fancy lady, cowgirl,

which is both a mindset and a community that she has created.

Courtney, on our podcast, we start each of our interviews with the

same question, and this is a way to introduce yourself to our listeners.

So we always ask, what are you growing?

So for our farmers, that's usually crops and livestock, but it can

also include careers, businesses, and all kinds of other stuff.

Courtney, what are you growing?

Ooh.

What am I growing?

I'm growing a community a community of like-minded women who are

trying to live legendary lives.

Like I always wanted so much more for my life and my story.

And so through my community, fancy lady cowgirl, I am just growing this space

where women from all walks of life, I don't care if you're a farmer, I don't

care if you've never been on a farmer ranch in your life, if you live in a

big city, like everyone is welcoming.

I am just, I guess growing a community that is the best

kind of growth as far as we're concerned.

That's one of the things we're trying to grow too.

So I also heard that you might have a part in growing a bowl.

Is that another thing?

Oh yes.

My.

My pride and joy.

So yes, I am part owner of a PBR bucking bull named Top Dollar.

I came onto the ownership team when he was a yearling.

He's four this year.

I came onto the ownership team, no, clueless, like he had four legs and

I was like, okay, he's, he looks sound like I, I suppose he can buck.

Katie and Laramie of Hook and w Ranch reached out to me because

they saw me on TV with the pbr.

So I was doing commentary work.

I didn't a little bit, but I didn't really know much about bull, about the bull

side, about the stock contractor's side.

And they reached out and they were like, Hey, do you wanna own a bucking bull?

Katie messaged me on Instagram.

I had no idea who she was.

I was like, no.

Crazy lady.

Yeah, this sounds stay outta my idea.

This sounds like a scam.

Dunno who you're, that's how I remember.

Yeah, that's how I remember the story.

Katie's no, you responded and then you just ghosted us.

And so as the story goes, I became a bucking bull owner.

But part of why I said yes, honestly, the whole reason really that I said yes.

I asked Katie and Laramie, I said, why me?

Like why me?

Of all the people who could own a bull, they said, because we want to

show people that anyone from any walk of life can be a stock contractor

and we'd love for you to document it.

Like we wanna show that women do have a place on the back of the bucking shoots

because, and this is not a fault, but bull riding is a male dominated sport, right?

Like it's men who ride bulls.

There are some women, but not at the elite level.

And so I was like, okay, like women empowerment, heck

yes, through bull riding.

That's an interesting angle, but let's see where it leads.

And it has been the most incredible journey.

He made his P B R debut late last year.

I nearly did not make it.

I sat in the stands and I just thought, oh my gosh, I hope he does good.

I hope he gives the rider a fair shot.

I hope he doesn't embarrass the family.

Like I hope he bucks, and he did so amazing.

And his career has just taken off.

This is his big year, his four year old year.

He was in Madison Square Garden earlier this year, in January.

So it has just been so much fun.

And now he has this, rabid fan base.

We're having to like, keep the people at bay because they wanna do meet and greets.

They're like, where can we come and see you?

Because he is really kind and he loves people and he loves little kids.

And he like, goes to these big events and we, they stall the bulls so you

can see all over their heads and we're always like, where is top dollar?

What's, what pin do they have him in?

You can never tell.

Cause he's always sleeping, he's always napping, there's, they're like testing

the pyro, top dollar's, napping.

I'm picturing like that.

It's just a really fun journey.

Sorry, I'm just picturing the book Burden Edge.

Do it with the totally chill.

But he can't actually walk when it comes down to it.

Yeah.

Or Oh.

I feel like one of the big bad raps that rodeo gets is that, these that

the stock are treated so badly.

And I think especially at the elite level, people really miss that.

They make a lot of money.

They're worth a lot of money, and that they have fans of their own,

that they're not, you're not going out like scooping up some bull from

the back paddock of God knows where and horribly abusing it in some way.

They lead a pretty damn cushy life.

They do know.

They're working for, what, eight seconds at a time?

It's, yeah.

Yeah.

They top dollar lives a better life than I do if we're being honest.

We are a hundred percent transparent and I actually just last week,

I'm not very good at TikTok.

I just throw videos up and like hope for the best, but I had this like inspiration.

I was like, I'm gonna make a video about.

What really goes on behind the scenes?

Do we make him buck?

No, he's an American bucking bull, which is a registered breed.

It's an inherent trait.

He loves what he does.

What does the flank rope do?

Never touches his testicles, which is a common misconception.

And all of these sort of misconceptions that are out there, they were

started by animal rights groups.

And animal rights groups have been pushing these false narratives for decades.

So I was like, I'm gonna make a video about top dollar and I'm just gonna

show people everything, the flank, what it's made out of, how we put it

on, what does the stock contractor do, what does he eat, what does he weigh?

Like what does he do in his off time?

And I posted one video.

And it had 900,000 views in the first night.

And so I was like, oh, I'm gonna post another.

So I've just been sharing these videos on TikTok.

Now, unfortunately, my TikTok is no longer mine.

It's top dollars.

I post a video of me doing like a keynote or something.

It gets a hundred views, top dollar, it's like a million.

But I saw that in the comments over and over again and it said,

oh my gosh, we had no idea.

We totally thought you were like they were bucking because they are hurting

because you guys are doing things to the people don't know what they don't know.

And what they do know are those narratives that animal rights groups

have been pushing out literally.

For decades.

I saw one comment that said, so did they used to tie up

their testicles in bull riding.

And I said, no, they never have.

And groups like the pbr, the professional bull Riders, there are incredibly

strict animal welfare guidelines.

Even the cowboys spurs, they have to be dull.

There are so many things in place.

And so I love it.

I love teaching people about top dollar and what really

goes on and how much he loves.

He knows who his family is, like he loves Katie and Laramie.

And so it's just been, it's just been really fun to show that side because you

don't necessarily, when you tune into CBS and you watch a bull riding, you see 'em

buck for eight seconds and off they go.

You don't get to see the behind the scenes.

And I think it's not to be too crude about it, but if you have an

intact animal that's worth that kind of money, the last thing you're gonna do is

endanger those balls because it's so true.

They're a profit center.

It is, you're not gonna put a rope around them.

That's, yeah.

Because you went there.

I'm gonna go there.

One time Laramie said to me, he goes, I said, how do we explain it to people?

And he said the flank never is done up any tighter than a belt.

It's just like how a person would wear a belt.

And then he said, think about it, Courtney.

He's you, Utah, that tied up any other males, what, are we gonna

jump and run and move around?

Or are we gonna stand real still and not move?

And I said, that's so true.

If we were doing that, these bulls would not be bucking

because it would hurt so bad.

And to your point, that's the most prized possession of top dollar.

So yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna take care of those bad boys.

So what does he do in his off time?

I envision bull ownership as being like a timeshare.

Do you get.

A third of the bull, do you get like the front half, the

middle half, the back half?

Do you get like four months, a year?

Like

how does that work?

That's a great question.

So every partnership is different that the number one question I'm getting on.

On TikTok is how much does it cost to own a bucking bull?

It's just like anything with a horse or any kind of animal.

Every partnership's different.

It depends on the breeding, it depends on the stock contractor

that you're partnered with.

So I do own a percentage.

My percentage primarily means that I'm the stage mom.

That's the side of top dollar that I get.

I video everything Katie videos, everything.

She sends me the videos cause I'm not always with him and then

I edit little things together.

But he lives, at Katie and Laramie's Place, he lives at Hook and W Ranch.

I live in a highrise in downtown Dallas, in this major city.

So I don't have anywhere to keep top dollar, but I just did a video actually

like Top Dollar has the weekend off.

What's he doing?

He's getting scratched, which is his favorite thing in the world.

He loves scratches, he's napping, he's snacking, and.

He digs holes and I, my dad said, lol we're it's funny because he's not at

our house, he digs holes in the pasture.

Like I said, he's really hard on the good thing.

He's cute because he is very hard on the landscaping, but he's just out

in the pasture being a bull, doing what bulls do, sleeping, napping,

eating occasionally, maybe he'll see a chiropractor if he needs it, or a masseuse

or, it's just, he's living the life.

So is he out making little half dollars now or is

that like his retirement plan?

No, he already has, we're just getting into this bull situation.

Yeah.

We're not gonna talk about anything

else.

That's, no, it's a great que I love talking about top dollar.

He's like my pride and joy.

Yes, there are top dollar babies on the ground already.

We have collected him.

And so he, and he's been turned out on cows as well I think they turned

him out on cows maybe during his three year old year a little bit.

So yeah He's doing what bulls do living, like I said, really he is living a life.

He's been, yeah, he's living a life.

I do, I'm loving the idea of you bringing him home for a couple months.

A year, like to your high rise and your neighbors just can you getting in

the elevator with this huge ass pbr.

Dairy farmer question.

I, we are often using sex semen because we want heifers.

Go ahead.

In the, in your industry are using sex semen because you want bulls

question.

That's a really good question.

I, when we, when can Katie and Laramie collected him?

I don't believe that we, I don't know.

That's a really good question because it would make a lot

of sense to use sex semen.

So the heifers, they will buck them like yearlings two year olds a little bit, but.

Once a bull matures, those heifers just can't compete obviously.

And it's all bulls, that you see like at the elite level in the pbr?

That's a really good question.

I'll have to ask Katie and Laramie.

Sometimes, like I grew up raising Angus, so my family has a small Angus

operation and a lot of times, people do use that sex semen to try to get

heifers if they're in, we always wanted heifers because we showed heifers.

But so yeah, I don't have an answer.

That's a good question.

I would assume they probably

are somebody there, there's probably doing it probably somewhere.

Sorry, now that we're talking women in sports do you think we're gonna

see women coming into the rodeo arena and I don't wanna say harder classes

because I've watched barrel racing and those women are plenty badass.

But do you think we'll start seeing more women riding rough stock?

I don't know.

That's a really good question.

So there are women who do ride bulls who do ride rough stock, and

there are associations that are built or made ju just for that.

There's at the elite level, so I'm talking pbr like when I say elite

level, I'm talking the Unleash the Beast Tour, which is the top, 50,

30 or so bull riders in the world.

It's just, I don't, I'm trying, I don't wanna get, I don't wanna dig

myself in a hole here cuz I'm the biggest like raw rah women empowerment.

You can do all things, but there's no way in hell I'm

strong enough to ride top dollar.

They're just physically, genetically.

I don't think, I don't know if I could ever get to the point

where I could be competitive with the men at the elite level.

And that's not a slam against women.

Like we're just built a little differently.

But I think women in rodeo are definitely having a moment.

You look at what's happening in the breakaway, they added it, to the nfr.

It's not in the Thomas and Mack, but like they have now a breakaway

at the NFR during Las Vegas.

You're seeing things like the American rodeo come in, you're

talking million dollar purses.

That was unheard of when I was in college coming up, like through

the college rodeo ranks and stuff.

It was like if you wanted to be a professional and you wanted to make

a living, you were a barrel racer.

That was it.

And now I tell you what, those breakaway ropers are making money and I mean

it, they're making enough money at the top level to sustain themselves

and to be able to actually make a living out of it, because for a long

time, breakaway wasn't necessarily something that was financially that you

could justify doing it for a living.

I don't know.

As far as the rough stock though I don't know.

It'll be interesting to see, but the way things are going with others, time events

and stuff, I, it wouldn't surprise me.

It seems like most, most women I know also have too strong of a self

preservation to ride rough stock orals.

Watching bull riders, they're fucking crazy.

That's the different, there's no nice way to put it.

Those guys are fucking crazy.

There's, but for our non rodeo listeners, Breakaway is calf roping, right?

Steer roping.

Yeah.

So essentially, so calf roping is what the men do.

They rope a calf, they jump off and tie the calf down.

Breakaway is the same thing.

Only the girls don't get off and tie the calf down.

They literally rope a calf.

It's the rope is tied to their saddle horn with a thin piece of string.

It breaks off.

And the minute that rope breaks off, they put the flag down.

And these girls at the top level of my friend Kelsey chase Domer now, who's one

of the best in the world, just broke the arena record at San Antonio with a one,

I don't even know, something stupid.

Like a one six.

They are roping.

I don't even know how you get outta the box fast enough to do that.

So we're talking like sub two seconds, so fast.

And I think it is cool to see women competing in more events because

yeah, I am 41 and even when I was watching Rodeo, to college age, it was

barrel racing before the guys came on.

It was the event that was on while everybody went to get their beers.

Yep.

And it's awesome to see women getting to compete at a level where

it's something people are watching and actually, participating in.

Yeah, absolutely.

So where did you grow up and what is your

background in ag?

So I grew up in Kansas in a small town in northeastern Kansas.

My mom and dad had a small cow calf operation, but I like to tell

people I was just a little cowgirl.

I was just a little cowgirl from Kansas.

Grew up riding horses.

Competed heavily in high school rodeo, eventually went to Oklahoma State where I

was on the college Rodeo team, and we also showed Angus cattle all over the country.

So showed Angus heifers at all of the big shows and just had this,

really robust, beautiful childhood that was centered around agriculture.

Everything we did was centered around agriculture.

So that's my background.

My dad, we had crops.

We farmed a little bit, but we would not probably call ourselves farmers.

We, you

talked a little bit already about what Fancy Lady Cowgirl is,

but can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind it

and what the background story is?

Yeah, fancy Lady Cowgirls.

Been a culmination of my tenure journey.

I graduated Oklahoma State and immediately got into television.

I interned at a television station, wanted to be a TV host.

I wanted to work in cities like New York, LA, Dallas.

I wanted to work in these top American markets for mainstream networks.

And when I first got into television, my first job, I

was like interviewing cowboys.

I was going to the Calgary Stampede and I was talking about

rural America and agriculture.

And when I left that job, I discovered that I needed an agent

to help me get the next job.

And all of the agents who would watch my tapes were like, you have talent,

but what are you wearing on your head?

Like the cowboy hat.

You gotta take that off.

If people are gonna take you seriously, if you seriously want to work in

mainstream American television, they're gonna think you're uneducated.

I literally had someone tell me that if you wear, your hat and your

cowgirl boots, and I was young.

I was like 23 years old, 24 years old.

And I was like, okay, I guess I have to choose.

I can be the cowgirl from Kansas or I can be the television host.

And so for 10 years I was the television host and I put the cowboy hat away.

I didn't talk about my background, my own co-hosts.

They knew I grew up in Kansas, but I, they don't know.

They didn't know what I had done or where I had come from really.

And I was working in Dallas for a syndicated morning news show,

and there were wildfires that were ripping across parts of the Midwest.

And no mainstream outlet was talking about it.

And this had been going on for three days.

I was working for one of these media giants and I pitched the story to my

executive producer because I thought, this is a story worth telling.

This could affect supply chain, this could affect grocery store pricess.

This is why.

People all over this country should care because it was a

syndicated show, so it was national.

And I'll never forget, she literally looked at me when she got the story

pitch and she said, need, I remind you, this is a real news network.

Stop bringing me your little cowgirl problems.

And that was about 10 years in.

And I'd had enough, like I had worked so hard in my TV career,

television is a tough industry.

It's volatile, it's fast paced.

Everybody's out for themselves.

And I was just beat down.

I was tired.

I had the fancy job title.

I was working on a syndicated show, but I was just still feeling half

full, like something is missing.

I've got the big fancy career and I'm getting to do the big

fancy things and interview these cool people, but what's missing?

And so I pitched that story, she blew it off, and I told the

story anyway on my Facebook page.

I was like, screw it.

If you don't think it's newsworthy, like I'm gonna post it on my Facebook page.

And I thought, if one person sees it, One person sees it,

it's a story worth telling.

And in one night, the video that I made telling this story was viewed

one and a half million times.

And I was like, oh, okay, so this isn't just a cowgirl problem.

This isn't just a little agriculture problem.

People do care what's happening in rural America.

People are interested in agriculture.

It's just like top dollar.

Like he's a perfect example.

I threw up some videos on TikTok and people are invested.

Their minds are blown.

They're like, we had no idea.

And so I started telling more and more stories like that in agriculture.

People start asking me to come keynote, speak in agriculture.

I'm like, oh, this is awesome.

Like I'm still getting to be a TV host, but I'm also speaking and doing things.

But what agriculture didn't realize about me is that in the year and a half

or so that I was telling these stories on my little social media account, I

didn't have a big following at the time.

I was living in Dallas and then I was living in New York City.

What they didn't realize is that the cowgirl who was the

voice for rural America, wasn't living the cowgirl lifestyle, the

stereotypical cowgirl lifestyle.

And I posted a photo, I was headed to New York Fashion

Week in this like fancy outfit.

And I'll never forget the first message I got said, oh, we thought

you were an actual cowgirl.

The second one said, oh, all this time you're, you've been a fraud.

And I was like, what the heck?

The, this is agriculture.

The community who was like, oh my gosh, this girl, where has she been?

She's telling our story.

She's fighting for us.

She's showing up for us.

The minute I didn't fit the part, the minute I didn't look the part or live the

lifestyle, agriculture was like, bye girl.

And they it was before canceling people was cool.

I was like, I just, I got canceled.

Like looking back, I'm like, wow, they tried to cancel me.

And so that's a very long story of how Fancy Lady Cowgirl was born to me.

I got pissed off, essentially is how it was born.

And I thought, you know what?

I have spent 10 years trying to be the blonde perfect makeup skinny girl on

TV that the television industry wants me to be, and then I try to be the

cowgirl that's that I've always been.

And I couldn't, I didn't measure up for either, right?

And so I was like, I'm gonna be both.

I'm going to be a fancy lady.

And a cowgirl and fancy lady Cowgirl was really just a hashtag that I put on the

bottom of a post where I was just saying, look, you can advocate for agriculture

and live in the biggest cities in America.

The hat on your head does not define you.

The lifestyle you live doesn't matter.

You can still be a part of this community, and you can still tell agriculture

stories and you can still help shift the narrative, when it comes to agriculture.

So that's a very long-winded answer to your question, but that's the story

of how Fancy Lady Cowgirl was born.

I think that's really great.

Courtney, I, one of the quotes I came across recently was Dolly

Parton said to figure out who you are and then do it on purpose.

And of all the people who just has been who she is and has

been successful because of it.

Dolly's definitely at the top of that list.

So as an Iowan, I guess they don't have the Midwest in Canada is kinda

my understanding, but how far west do we have to live to wear cowboy hats?

Cuz Midwestern farmers we don't have a style.

Our style is like John Deere t-shirt, wranglers maybe.

Ha, we got at the feed store.

It's not fun, it's not inspirational, but it feels weird to get

all Western when you raise.

Sheep and don't have horses and drive a tractor.

So I'm wondering how we can have our own ag fashion moment here before we get

into like back into more serious topics.

Yeah.

Cause it, it feels like a costume and I feel like we need

something, but I don't know what

that is.

I'm so glad that you asked this question because I wanna challenge you, I wanna

challenge everyone listening here is the thing about Bance Beyonce, lady

cowgirl, my sort of like motto is that anyone gets to, it's not about the hat.

Anyone can wear the hat, right?

Wearing a cowboy hat or not wearing a cowboy hat doesn't

make you a cowgirl, right?

To me, there's I've created what I call the cowgirl code.

And this cowgirl code is the seven sort of things, the seven steps to

living a legendary life, because that's what being a cowgirl is about.

Being a cowgirl is about a set of values, right?

It's about living that legendary life.

And when you think of the word cowgirl, like c o w it's courage, it's

originality, it's worthiness, it's grit, it's resiliency, individuality.

I forgot I but all of these things come together to help

you live this legendary life.

And one of the things that I really push with my fancy lady cowgirl narrative is

that you wanna wear the hat, wear it.

If it brings you joy, if it gives you power, if it makes you feel,

like you can do legendary things.

Wear the hat.

I don't care if you've never ridden a horse in your life.

I don't care if you live in Iowa and you're a farmer, right?

And your hat might not look like my hat, and that's great.

One of the things that is important to me through my fancy Lady cowgirl

community, is to tear down the gates.

That we have been keeping so tightly shut in agriculture for so many

generations, and just like you saying, oh my gosh, I feel silly.

It feels like a costume.

That's what we've put that on each other, right?

Like that whole, oh no, you're a farmer.

You don't wear that cowboy hat.

Have you, do you even own a ranch?

Have you, what gener, I had someone say you can't wear a cowboy hat

until your ninth generation.

I'm like, what?

There's these crazy things that people say, but I love when I'm in

New York City during fashion week and I see a model wearing a cowboy

hat, and I'm like, you know what?

She probably never seen a cow in her life, but she is

representing the cowgirl lifestyle.

She's living her own legendary life.

And to me, that's what being a cowgirl is about.

It's not about a hat.

It's not about the horse she rode in on or didn't ride in on.

I think it's it.

Its a mindset.

So I just encourage everyone to think of it like that being a cowgirls mindset.

And you don't have to wear a cowboy hat to be a cowgirl either.

Like maybe you hate them and that's fine.

I don't know if I answered your question, but I say just wear it.

So what you're

saying is it's the one time an egg that it's good to leave

the gates open instead of shutting them like our father-in-laws do,

where it takes literally two people to open the damn thing again.

Yeah.

I thought maybe it was just our farm, but I was at Arlene's house just

yesterday and it took two of us to open the gate somebody else's shut.

I'm like, you know what?

Just leave the damn thing open.

Always.

Maybe not literally, because that's how you end up with Yeah.

Lamb at weird times, but,

Yeah.

I think that's something that leave our metaphor are working hard on too, is that

idea that you have to be in the club.

That you have to be, have been here for a certain amount of time.

You have to do a certain thing, you have to do ag a certain

way, but there isn't one way.

That's the amazing thing about agriculture.

And in turn, we're also a parenting podcast.

Same thing with parenting, right?

There's no one way, we've all got different kids, we've all got different

livestock, we're all working different land, so there's no one way to do it.

And the gatekeeping just, it doesn't serve anybody.

I it doesn't help.

No.

And you know what?

No.

And I always say agriculture.

Yep.

We are our own worst enemies, and truly, and I bring a unique

perspective because I was born in it.

I was raised in it.

I'm fourth generation, but I have lived.

In major cities.

I've lived in urban cultures, I've lived in other countries so I've been out of it.

And when you get out of it for an extended period of time, like I have,

man you, you see a different perspective.

And what I see is that we are so just like trying to keep everything the way

it is and not let people who don't look like us, think like us, act like us in

that we're just hampering our own growth.

And the other thing that kills me about agriculture is we are the first to

complain when people don't understand us and don't wanna share our stories.

And they don't care where their food comes from.

And I'm just like silently in the back, like with my hand raised

but no you weren't nobody, you weren't willing to tell 'em, you

weren't willing to welcome them in.

And so I, that's one of the things I do, through my fancied,

cowgirl, it's just like top dollar.

It's a perfect example.

Nobody ever told those 900,000 people who watched my video, what really

goes on behind the scenes because nobody was willing to open it up

and say, look, here's what we do.

Here's a full transparent, here's how it works.

Here's, the ins and outs.

And I think that's something that we need so desperately to do a

little better job of in agriculture.

And I take a great pride in being able to do that because the way that

I help carry on my family's ranching legacy, my Pappy who's running, who's

calving right now is not gonna be on social media sharing his story.

He doesn't even, he calls it the Book of Faces.

It's not Facebook, it's the book of faces.

But I may not live on the ranch or the farm or be involved in agriculture,

but I can help tell the story.

And I think there's so many of us out there and I think

women are very good at it.

There's just something about that women have this really beautiful

way of telling great stories.

And so I think, there's a lot of us who can.

Still help share the story and open those gates up just a little

bit to allow some new people in.

Through fancy Lady Cowgirl, I have truly been astonished, truly, and I don't just

say this, I was truly astonished how many people want to maybe wear a cowboy hat?

How many people would love to go to a bull riding and see a bull?

How many people would love to go to a farm and learn how what they're buying at the

grocery store is actually about people are interested and they do want to learn?

Because I think there's this narrative sometimes in agriculture

people just don't get us.

They don't care.

They're, I don't think that's true.

And now more than ever, people want to know who's behind their food.

They want to know who's running the businesses that

they're, spending money at.

I think we have this really special opportunity.

To start sharing the story, but man, I get on social media and I realize

I'm saying things like agriculture is their own worst enemy, blah, blah, blah.

I'm not hating on agriculture.

I show up every day and do what I do because I love this community.

It's the people you don't make people like they do in agriculture anymore, right?

Ag kids that are being brought up.

They are so gonna be set up for success in anything they want to do

because ag kids are raised different.

I show up and I preach and I preach, and I even get tough on agriculture sometimes

because I love agriculture, because I want to see this cowboy and cowgirl and farmer

and whatever you wanna call yourself, way of life, continue for the next

generation and the generation after that.

But I think we're gonna have to do a little better job of sharing the story.

For

our listeners, Arlene, and I look like bobbing head dolls over

here about this because I think it's so easy in ag to just get pissed off

that people believe the animal rights stuff, and I'd be the first one to

be concerned about animal welfare.

Absolutely.

But you can't blame people for believing stuff if they're only hearing one side.

And if they're not hearing our side, you can't be pissed that they don't just

magically psychically understand it.

It's just that's not how it works.

I if we're not telling them somebody

else is.

Yeah.

I pulled up a, I wanted to read this cause like, oh, you're so right.

To prove, you know the point.

I had a comment that I screenshotted on my TikTok cause I was like, wow.

Even if no one else watched this video, this was worth it.

I had this comment that said, thanks for educating us.

I am an animal activist.

I work with animal rights groups and I always worry about animals being abused.

I had no idea.

I hope they're all treated this well.

That right there was worth me editing that two minute video about my bucking bull.

We are, we're so defensive, but sometimes people like that are willing to learn,

but I think we just write them off.

We're like, oh, they're crazy.

Those crazy people, they'll never understand us.

Not if we don't give 'em the opportunity.

I think maybe we need to worry more about cowgirl hats,

which would just be whatever hat is on the head of the cowgirl.

Cuz I see you're wearing a ball cap right now.

Yep.

And less about cow cowboy hats.

Let the cowboys have their cowboy hats and the cowgirls can just wear whatever

the hell they want on top of their heads.

Yeah.

And if they don't want anything on top of their heads, cool.

That might just be your invisible cow for the

people who are already in the advocating space and who are trying to

make that change and communicate with people, how do we work on not just

talking to each other, because that's what the ag space sometimes feels like

for those of us who are still on the farm.

We want to reach the public.

We want to reach people who aren't an egg, but we end up following each other and

encouraging other, which is great, but if all of our followers are just fellow

farmers and ranchers, then it doesn't feel like we're making much progress.

Do you have any thoughts on how do we expand our reach?

Yeah.

Arlene, could we just have a moment for the irony that this is three ag podcasters

not just talking to each other podcast about, not just talking to ag podcasters?

Yes.

No, but that's a really great question and I think.

It.

It starts here.

It starts just like this.

We talk about it amongst ourselves in agriculture, right?

And I think that's great.

Fancy lady cowgirl, for example.

When that started and when my following started to grow and people started

to latch onto that and wanted to be a part of the fancy lady cow cowgirl

community, largely, most of them were in the agriculture space, right?

Because that was my audience.

But as I continued for a year after a year to share the story and say, wear the hat.

Wear whatever hat makes you happy.

Here's what it really means to be a cowgirl.

This is the cowgirl code.

Here's how you live.

Legendary.

The more I started to share, then I started to see the mainstream

people start to come in, and I think it's not a bad thing.

Advocacy is always good, right?

Sharing the story is always good, even if it's agriculture, people listening.

But what I've discovered, my own personal experiences, You share the

story long enough, the mainstream audiences are going to start to come.

And now that's one of my big focuses.

I'm like, okay, how do I get on stages to do keynotes in

front of mainstream audiences?

Because I think true advocacy is not advocating to one another, right?

We have to be advocating and sharing the story outside of

the agriculture community.

And people, I say share the story.

And I largely do that on social media.

But when I do my keynotes, so I always want to point out, I always say

things like advocacy might be having a conversation with a mom standing

wide-eyed in the grocery store who doesn't know if she should buy the

hormone free or the antibi, what, whatever the hell stupid labeling that

is in accurate is on the beef, right?

That could be advocacy.

Go to your, go to the grocery store in your town or your city.

Have a con, and you don't even have to educate.

I think sometimes when we hear the word advocacy, we're like,

we gotta teach people something.

Nah.

Let's use the grocery store scenario again.

You're walking through, just pick something up and say,

oh, this is my favorite.

I actually know the farmer.

I know the farmer who produced this.

It's local.

Put it in your cart and walk away.

Because that gets the wheels.

They're like, wait, what?

They, oh my gosh.

They know the fuck.

This is local.

This is, this was actually raised in my state.

It doesn't need to be some huge, monumental, you don't need to

launch a brand and a TV show and do be a keynote speaker.

And all of the things like advocacy can just be as simple as having

a conversation with someone.

And I encourage everyone listening, have a conversation this week with

someone outside of agriculture.

Just have a conversation with them.

You don't need to teach 'em anything.

People remember how you make them feel.

They don't remember what you taught them or what data or research or

greenhouse gas emissions you like.

Nobody cares.

People remember how you make them feel.

So that's my challenge.

Talk to somebody outside of agriculture.

Have a conversation, share a cup of coffee.

Say hello.

Yeah, so while we're talking about having conversations, and I promise

this is gonna circle back around to a point that'll hopefully make some sense.

As a blue-haired, middle-aged white lady, a lot of people are

shocked that I love listening to nascar, but only on the radio.

I would rather be punched in the face than have to watch a race.

And it is entirely because of the commentators cuz you listen to NASCAR

on the radio, all you're seeing of the cars is when they come back past the

mics, and you hear all the engines.

Maybe you hear a wreck.

But that's it.

And all you're engaging with is how people are presenting that story.

So I'm wondering as a professional commentator, it seems a lot like

doing standup comedy or improv.

There's a lot where you can tell that they're bullshitting because

they're on a two hour rain delay and they're just trying to fill air.

But how can we improve, how can mom at the grocery store use some of these skills to

really improve how we engage with people?

Because it's boring to just be like, greenhouse gases, blah, blah, blah.

You don't, nobody wants to hear that.

Yeah.

You talk about bold testicles.

People want to.

Weirdos like me want to hear that, yeah.

But you just talk emissions.

Blah.

I don't even wanna talk about that.

The next time you're at the grocery store, walk up

to someone and say, did you know that they don't tie up bulls nuts?

They, no, don't do that.

No, I

totally would.

That's a good question.

Television, we're obviously we're, I've done everything from hard news

to lifestyle and entertainment.

It's always like the human interest stories that attract me the most.

And I love that you use the sports analogy because I think nobody tells

stories as well as sports commentators.

I use the Kentucky Derby a lot of times, as an example, short I, what is it?

I don't even know.

Two and a half minutes, two minutes.

I don't know.

It's this short race, right?

And you watch these horses run around the track and it's

over, like it's literally over.

The Kentucky Derby on N B C starts with four hours of coverage right before

this like minute, two minute race.

That's just instantly over.

But I eat up every second of that coverage because just like to your point,

they're telling the stories, right?

It's like top dollar.

They're telling the stories of the horse.

You know the horse, like I, I love the story about mine.

That Bird 50 to one, they roll up to the Kentucky Derby in a horse trailer.

They have on cowboy hats.

These like these dudes from New Mexico and NBC is like freaking out.

They're like, who the hell are these people?

Who are these guys?

This is a joke, and they're interviewing 'em because like they look different.

Whatever.

It's a good storyline.

Mine.

That bird goes on to win the Kentucky Derby.

They paid 9,000 bucks for that horse as a cult.

You know those, that's why you get invested.

Top dollar is a great example.

You say, how can we have these conver, I could do videos about here are the feed

rations that we feed our bowl because we care for him and we want him to perform.

But no, I'm like, this is top dollar.

Top dollar loves scratches.

Top dollar loves Nats.

He digs big ass holes in the pasture, which are a pain in the ass.

But it's just what he does because he's a bull.

I think you have to allow people to form those like personal connections.

People feel like they know top dollar.

Personally, it's hilarious.

Go to event or after he bucks it like a pbr, I have dms and people

are like, watch they're recording their tv, like as if I'm not watching

it and they're tagging me in it.

They're like, oh my god, it's top dollar.

And when I think about agriculture, And sharing our story, you are like

such a beautiful example of this, Kate, like blue hair loves NASCAR because

you're not the stereotypical, like when people, when we see a farmer in a movie

or on tv, you know they've got the piece of straw in their mouth and the

over, and you're like, what the hell?

And so I think embracing the unexpected is a beautiful way to

really form a connection with people.

Because Kate, when you walk away, they're gonna be like, huh a fuck.

Who knew?

If she can do it, she doesn't look the, like I could probably, do it too.

I'm not sure if I'm answering your question, but I think you have to be

able to form those connections and you have to give people permission.

To ask all the questions, right?

I always say there are no dumb questions.

I can't tell you how many times people will like, send me a DM and

or, and say something like, okay, I know this is probably stupid,

but like, how do you tell the front of your cowboy hat from the back?

Don't tell anyone I asked you.

And I'm like, that's not a stupid question.

That's a totally valid question.

If I always say I know how to drive a car.

I've been driving a car since I was 16 years old.

You put me in a NASCAR car, you put me in an F1 car, I

would be like, okay, excuse me.

Are there gas pedals?

What are we, and it's, you just don't know what you don't know.

And so I think you just have to be willing to answer the questions

that might seem silly or mundane.

You have to be willing to form a personal connection.

People remember how you make them feel.

Yeah.

And sometimes that's just being friendly.

That's just a hello.

I think we get in these big picture in agriculture, we're like, how do

we teach the world about what we do?

I don't know, like maybe we just be nice to each other.

Like, why don't we set that example for people?

Now I'm just getting on a rant, so I'll stop and let you

continue asking your questions.

No, a hundred percent because even as a cattle farmer, I don't give

a rat's ass what top dollar eats.

I'll admit it.

I'm not gonna start feeding my beef cattle.

What you're feeding your, top of the line bucking bull because my cows will

get so god damn fat on what he eats.

Just guessing that his caloric needs are a little bit different than my mama

cows out sitting around in the pasture.

But I am very interested in the fact that he digs big goddamn holes.

That's interesting to me.

And if you treat somebody like they're stupid for having a

question, it may very well be stupid.

They're gonna remember that you made him feel like shit.

Yep.

That is exactly.

And they are not gonna come ask you anything else that is Exactly.

And so when it's about something more important, quote unquote, than which

side of their cowboy hat as the front, they're gonna go to whoever they find

on Instagram or TikTok or whatever.

And that may not be somebody who's gonna give them the who's not

gonna have the conversation that we would want them to be having.

Let's put it that way.

Yeah.

And you just, you gotta be kind to people even, animal rights obviously

as farmers, ranchers, people in agriculture, we battle with that a lot.

We're not gonna change most of their minds.

But what we can do is either delete the comments or whatever it is on

social media and just don't partake.

But what I just fires me up is when I see people in agriculture

responding with you dumb as o b, you don't know shit about shit.

No.

Of course they don't, Karen, because all you're doing is

fueling the fire with hate.

Instead, if you have to comment, say something like you know what?

Thank you.

I'm so glad that you care about the an, the welfare of animals, because as a

rancher, that's of my utmost priority.

I love that we both care about animals and leave it at that.

You cannot just attack people with negativity, and you can't just attack

people with facts and figures and data, because like you said, people don't give a

shit, they're gonna remember how you make them feel, and we have to get that through

our brains because I just, it makes me so sad to see some of the conversations that

are happening online and in person too.

People do this shit in person too, and I'm like, oh man.

That was not the way to handle that conversation, because they're gonna

walk away not remembering anything you just told them, but they're gonna walk

away remembering that you were a dick.

And then that sets us back another 10 years in the conversation.

I have

gotten those comments and it is goddamn hard not to come out swinging.

Oh yeah.

When somebody's, you're a murderer, you're, blah, blah, whatever.

But if what they're gonna remember is that you're an angry elf who wouldn't

talk to them about their actual concerns.

And they may have valid concerns, they may come at it in a ridiculous manner,

but they may, it comes from a good place.

It does.

It comes from their concern about the animals, about our planet, about whatever.

And I think you're absolutely right

that we, that's my big issue with a lot of the co.

I was just gonna say, a lot of the conversations about greenhouse gases,

like farmers get so angry about it, but do we not all want the same thing?

We want a healthy planet for the future generations.

We don't want to destroy the resources that we have.

So yes, some people are coming after, the livestock industry, but why

not address those concerns rather than just try and yell out Yeah.

Or get angry about it.

Let's look at the research.

Let's see what we can do.

Let's look at our own industry and make the changes that we can so that

then we can say, we did these things.

Now how about the other industries?

Rather than just be like, not our fault.

We didn't do it someone else's horse off.

Let's take accountability for the things that we can control.

And then, hopefully other people in other

industries are gonna do same things.

That's such a good point, Arlene, because it's not like they're

being worried about greenhouse gases because they hate farmers.

They're worried about global climate change.

Exactly.

Because they don't want to die in a fire or, have their home

state flooded out or whatever.

Like it's not about us.

Yeah.

And yeah.

And the conversations about eating less meat.

I think a lot of that comes down to people are looking for something they can do.

What can I do?

Yes, I can drive less, maybe I can ta take less flights, but I'm not going

on a air airplanes every other week.

Yeah.

Like I'm not, I don't have a private jet.

Yeah, for sure.

But like the things that people can do on an individual basis, often if you're

looking at a news article or watching tv, they're trying to give people ideas of

things that they can do to make an impact.

And one of the things they suggest is eating less beef.

And sure, maybe that's a thing you can do.

I don't know that's necessarily the answer, but.

The media, the news story is trying to, give a little idea.

Give us permission.

You're right.

So yeah.

If our industry can provide some examples, then we can also suggest some

other things.

Yeah, you're right.

And I love that last line.

Suggest some other, some other things that you could do or like things that could,

people can do on an individual basis.

And I'm, I don't say this to like bash anybody, advocates, cuz I'm not perfect.

I've come a long way in my advocacy journey.

I used to be the first person in the comments like, oh yeah, guess what?

I was that person.

I would fight back, I would post the nasty comments like, I've evolved.

But when you talk about climate change, I think that's a great

example about, greenhouse gases.

I'll see people making these videos and doing things that are

like, cows are not the problem.

Okay.

And that's it.

That's the post.

I'm like, okay but you didn't give the mainstream audience.

What?

That doesn't.

Move the conversation.

Like you can't just scream cows are not the problem and then show a bunch

of airplanes and then not give us any like steps or not give the general

population like any sort of like educational component to go with that.

And that's sometimes that's a perfect example of advocating

within agriculture, right?

Because when you make a little video or whatever and post on your Instagram,

you're like, cows are not the problem.

Who's gonna share it?

Everybody in agriculture.

But are we moving the needle?

Are you changing the conversation?

No, because it's the people who already are on your side that

are just circulating the video.

Yeah.

You may be getting a hundred thousand views on your reel and you've

got a hundred thousand followers on, TikTok or whatever, but what

are you actually teaching people?

What are you teaching The people who live in Dallas or New York

or in the big cities in Canada?

Like.

How are we?

And that's hard.

I'm not saying that it's easy to do cuz I'm like, how would I make a reel that's

cows are not the problem, but here's what you can do on a, i, I don't know.

I think we just have to be a little more intentional maybe with

how we're like trying to start conversations and shift narratives.

So Courtney, and I'll probably edit this out, but I feel like we

need a TikTok series of top dollar, like digging in to climate change

with his holes and then taking a deep dive into this hole about, I love it.

This could be a whole new series, like Top Dollar does a

deep dive and it's like some random, like just something random every

week and they're like, what the

hell I would seriously about this shit outta that because it's

boring to talk about climate change.

It is.

We're all gonna die.

There's no way to fix it.

And it's really a lot easier to yell.

Cows are not the problem.

I, nothing we can, there's nothing we can do.

It is, and that's just everything.

Like to your point, like everything in life, like I was

laughing with my mom this morning.

I found this really great protein powder and it's six ingredients and it's like

beef bone broth is like how it's made.

And my mom's looking at it and we're looking at the macro and we're

like, dang, this is really good.

This is a great clean.

And I said, lol, they'll probably come out, next week that bone broth is

killing people cuz you just can't win.

And I think we just have to sort accept that mindset.

Like it wor it's all gonna come to an end at some point.

Like we can do what we can do while we're here.

And my mom, when I first started advocating, I would get so worked

up and I would take mean things.

So personally, and I say this to everyone, my mom used to say, Courtney, You

cannot single-handedly save the world.

And damn, I damn I was trying.

She would be like, you cannot single-handedly save agriculture.

And I was like by God, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try.

And so I think we have to just remember that it's gonna take all of us.

We can't single-handedly solve all the problems.

Yeah, that's true.

So you just segued perfectly into my next question because

we are a parenting podcast.

So let's talk about your mom.

I was listening to your episode on your podcast the other day with your mom.

What do you think it was about the way you were raised that gives you

the confidence in your, like this.

I don't know this fancy cowgirl spirit, right?

That, that, lets you, blaze your own path and be yourself and like

hopefully we can all raise kids who have this kind of enthusiasm for life.

Yeah.

Tell us about your mom or tell us about your upbringing and how they

How they helped, I didn't realize it at the time,

but like growing up, there was nothing that my mom didn't do.

There was nothing.

And my mom and dad obviously ran the ranch together, but like my

dad has a job outside of the ranch.

Like he runs two companies in Kansas City.

So he goes to work every day.

So it was my mom home pulling calves, riding horses, taking kids, doing places.

That was my mom.

She was a truck driver, right?

Like she was driving us up and down the road to rodeos and the older I

get now, I can look back cuz people are like, how do you, like, where

did you get your confidence from?

Like, how come you just think that you can do whatever the hell you want?

And I'm like, oh, I don't, I don't know, I just have a lot of courage

and then I like look at my mom and I'm like, oh, there it is.

When I think of my mom you know that Shania Twain song that's let's Go Girls.

And like you see it on TikTok and people are like, every time I hear

that I just wanna kick a door down.

That was my mom.

She'd be there just like kicking doors down.

We used to always laugh, if mom showed up at school, It was about to go down, not

because one of the kids was in trouble cuz she would take care of us at home.

But like mom was always there.

Like she was defending us.

She had our backs.

She was hard as hell on us.

But I think it, it shaped, and I say us, I have a little sister, it shaped my sister

and I into these like humans who truly think that we can do anything, right?

I really believe that I can do whatever I want.

It doesn't matter that I'm a woman, it doesn't matter where I came from.

And I think that's just how our, my mom raised us and it

wasn't like a sit down lesson.

Like girls, you can do anything you put your mind to.

Like my mother would never, it was just she showed us.

She just showed up every day and showed us.

And yeah, I'm really, I have a really cool mom.

She's a little bit of a loose cannon.

Sometimes the things that she posts on Instagram, I'm like,

oh my God, please take that off.

You have the same last name as me.

What are you?

Very political.

She's very, I'm gonna

censor you now.

But she just, even like her political posts, I'm a little more like new.

I don't, that's not what my account is about.

And she literally, I'm like, mom, why do you keep, and she's cuz

by God I'm gonna take a stand and I'm not gonna let them roll over.

And but that's how I was raised.

She's no, if I don't speak up, who will?

And I'm like you go girl.

You speak up.

Yeah, you'll get there eventually.

Probably as we get older, I'm sure that our filters come off right.

I see my, the way my grandmothers are.

Yeah.

She's I'm, they don't care anymore.

I'm whatever.

I don't care.

I'm like, that's clear, clearly.

Yeah, that's right.

Could you change your name on Instagram at least?

So I was also looking at your address, your address at the FFA

convention, and you're talking about, and you've talked earlier too, about

being an Ag kid and what that meant.

What do you think are the values that our ag kids are bringing

out into the world and what is it that's unique about Ag kids?

I've heard that before and I'm, I know that I've gotten jobs in the past

because I was from a farm, not cuz I necessarily had experience, but what

is it that, that our kids are getting that they can't get other places?

Almost simple things that I notice the most.

And I say that because I was raised in agriculture and I've been out of it.

I've been living out of it for over a decade.

Little things add kids when they shake your hand, they shake your hand and they

look you in the eye When they do it.

Add kids.

Say, yes ma'am.

No ma'am.

Yes sir.

No sir.

Their word means something.

Like in agriculture, when we say we're gonna do something, we do it

because that's how we were raised.

Ag kids are taught to take care of their neighbors, and that

continues well into their adulthood.

It's integrity, it's humility, it's showing up, working hard, understanding

the value of hard work, right?

Like I had to get out of agriculture to realize that is very rare, right?

People don't shake hands anymore.

They don't open doors for each other anymore.

They don't look each other in the eye.

They don't have real conversations anymore.

But when I go to an organization like ffa, those kids, I always say, after doing the

National FFA convention, I am way less worried about the future of agriculture

because those kids are topnotch.

They understand it, they get it.

They are sharing agriculture's message.

I did a podcast or something or a, a session with a couple of

'em, and I literally was laughing because there were a couple of words

that I literally had to look up.

I'm like, what did this 16 year old just say to me?

They are so just ahead of the curve.

They're ahead of their peers.

Who are not raised in that industry because they get up in the mornings before

school and they go do chores, right?

They come home from school, they do chores, then they go

to basketball practice, right?

Ag kids aren't sleeping in ag.

Kids aren't playing video games because there is work to be done.

And that translates into adulthood so beautifully, and it is going

to set them up for success.

Whether they wanna work in an office in a high rise in Dallas, or they

wanna run the family ranch, they're gonna be so well equipped to do it.

So another thing that we are always talking about is not just

talking about the good stuff, because it's easy to be like, it's all gonna

be great, and raising kids on the farm is fantastic and everything's

wonderful and beautiful, but we also acknowledge how hard it can be both for

our kids and for ourselves as parents.

So what gaps do you see that ag kids have that, as parents we can maybe fill in?

Or what are the things that you, they're just gonna have to

learn when they get out there?

That we can't teach them that, that they're not learning.

Yeah.

That's a, if they're question on the farm or on the ranch,

that's, I'm trying to think back to like me, one of the hardest

things that I struggled with in my television career was just how mean

and nasty people can be human beings because, I think in, we in agriculture,

we're surrounded by each other, right?

And largely agriculture is made up of really good, honest, hardworking

people who have the same set of values.

And when I got out into the real world, I was like, holy cow, you wanna talk

about a lack of values and morals?

And I was working in the television and entertainment industry, so I'm

seeing it at the highest level, right?

At its most heightened form.

Because television, entertainment, you hear it on the news all

the time, it's a shit show.

It truly is.

I loved telling stories.

I loved being a part of the industry, but there was a lot of stuff that

went on behind the scenes that I just I just fought back with.

I would just get mad because I had never been raised around people who weren't

brought up the way that I was brought up.

Even in my small town, my high school, not all of them were ag

kids, but like we were still small, Midwestern, rural America kids.

And so when I got out of the real world, it was a little bit of a, of

an eyeopener and even silly things like, oh, you don't lock your door,

your car door in Dallas, Texas.

First of all your stuff's gonna be gone.

Second of all, there'll be a homeless guy in the back seat.

Like just little things that growing up on like a farmer ranch that we just never had

to worry about, and so I think it's really important, and my parents did a great job

of this and it was through agriculture.

Like it was going to National Junior Angus shows in major cities, place places

like Indianapolis and these big cities.

You can still be involved in agriculture, but you can help get

your kids like out into the world a little bit because I, they need

to see the ugly that's out there.

They need to see what it's really like in some of these places to one,

really appreciate and understand where they came from, but to

also be a little more aware and.

I don't wanna say less trusting, but honestly like I had to get a little less

trusting, living in places like New York and Dallas and like now I go home to

the ranch and I pull into my driveway in our like two mile gravel driveway.

And my car that I drive, when you put it in park, it

automatically unlocks the door.

And the first thing I do is lock the door.

And like I do that in my own driveway at the, and on the farm in Kansas.

And I'm like, what am I doing?

But that's because I've been conditioned living in these big cities.

So I think maybe that's a gap, just remember to like, let your kids get

out into the world a little bit.

Let 'em, when they're old enough and you feel comfortable, let 'em go to the city

for the day and let 'em experience, what it's like I guess in other cultures.

Yeah, and I think too that it's also important to remember that.

There's, there are people who don't look like us that are also good.

And like that sometimes we can get into this mindset of the good

people are from the country and we'll just have to get back to that.

And keeping our eyes open to where the good is everywhere else too, because there

are lots of people who don't look like us, who, even if they don't farm or, and

just travel, doing great things, I always encourage

people, let your kids travel.

If they wanna travel, let 'em travel.

Maybe it's like across the street, maybe it's to the next town.

But I moved to the Czech Republic on a whim and my parents, I don't

know if they supported it, but they were like, okay, see you.

Yeah, see you later.

I've been to, I've been to, yeah.

Like I've been to good luck.

18 countries now all around the world.

And man, you wanna talk about a different perspective.

When you get even outside, and it can be outside of your own county,

outside of your own state, maybe even outside of your own country.

It just gives you such a different perspective.

Much to your point, there are incredible people all over the world of all shapes,

sizes, colors, religions, like even people that I've met traveling who don't believe

in the same, God I do, or whatever.

At the end of the day, we have a lot more in common than we do

not, and I think allowing your kids to travel and experience new

things is one of the most greatest.

It's just one of the greatest gifts that you can give them.

Absolutely.

So Katie has left us because her laptop died, but we're gonna keep going.

So what have you got in the future?

Where, what are you, what else are you working on right now?

What are you looking forward to?

Yeah.

Can you give us any hints on right now what's on the horizon?

Right now we are madly prepping behind the scenes because we,

my partner Kaya Twisselman and I, my back road to cowgirls partner so Back

Road Cowgirls is a digital series.

It's on YouTube.

There's eight episodes out.

We're releasing new ones every week.

This was like this wild, crazy dream.

We were eating pasta and drinking wine one a year ago, almost exactly a year ago in

Dallas, because Kaya had a, got stranded.

Yeah.

That's when all.

That's when all the best

ideas come out happen over wine and pasta.

And we were just what?

What's the dream?

And I said, my dream is to have a TV show.

And Kyle was like, I'd like to have a TV show too.

And I was like, yeah, I want to show mainstream audiences

who we are, who agriculture is.

I wanna introduce people from all walks of life to the diverse faces of agriculture.

Right?

And Kyle was like, yeah, me too.

And we're like, we should do it.

So we rented a 2002 Euro van and in one month we planned and

booked 16 different stories.

I had an old D S L R camera, I shoot and edit in my television career,

so I know how to shoot and edit.

Didn't have great gear, but I was like, I got this old dusty camera,

let's go shoot some stories.

And we spent two weeks driving up and down the California coast and in the