Women In Ag Banquet Held
The thirteenth annual Mountrail County Women in Agriculture banquet was held on Wednesday, Apr. 8 at the Mountrail County South Complex in Stanley. The evening started with a social and time to shop at the various boutiques, followed by dinner and guest speaker Amanda Radke. Music was provided by Ty Taylor and Jerilyn Wiseman this year during the social hour, dinner and after the speaker.
Pam Germundson welcomed everyone to this annual event that celebrates the vital role women play in agriculture and building stronger communities. She said this is a good night to step away from daily life to celebrate the women that are all tied to agriculture in one way or another.
This year’s game featured Ladies’ Feud, led by Tess Jarmin. This playful take on Family Feud saw two teams of five women trying to find the top answers to questions like someone you might call if you needed advice, something women have now that may not have been common 50 years ago, women from the Bible, things women are better at than men, and something women buy too many of.
This year’s guest speaker was Amanda Radke, a fifth-generation rancher from Mitchell, SD, who has been recognized for her extraordinary commitment to advancing agriculture, rural communities, and food security. Radke, alongside her husband, Tyler, and their four children operate Radke Land & Cattle, an Angus seedstock operation. She is the host of “The Heart of Rural America” podcast and radio show, a syndicated columnist, and a children’s book author focused on fostering agricultural understanding among youth. As a cattle industry consultant with CK6 and co-founder of the auction platform Bid On Beef, Radke exemplifies innovation in agriculture. She also serves on the National Agriculture Campaign Advisory Council, offering insights to the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee.
She started by talking about the similarities between women in ag as they find their place, purpose and next steps through all of the seasons of their lives. They find laughter in tough seasons. They also find that the lessons learned and the journey along the way write that beautiful story with meaning and purpose.
Eighty percent of farm families rely on off-farm jobs. That means having a career for many women, along with being up all night calving or running for parts. It comes down to a shared passion for farming and ranching. Nights like this are a celebration of the heart of rural America with farmers and ranchers doing something in service of others.
She tells her story of 2021, which was a season of hardships coming off of the pandemic. In March of 2020 she was slated to go to Louisiana for a conference. At the same time, her husband was looking at his dream tractor in an online auction. She thought they should pause, but he said, “don’t worry, you have all these speeches coming up.” She flew to Louisiana, but in the middle of her speech, she said she looked at the faces of the women in the room and wondered what she did wrong. As she wrapped up, she found out they were getting texts that schools were closing. What she saw was panic and the terror of it all.
As she got on the plane to head home, she saw the uncertainty and then found out that schools were shutting down at home as well. A year’s worth of work was cancelled, but the payments were still there. Everything was falling apart.
As she looked at the challenges, she was asked to speak to a banker’s conference. She did not know what message to deliver, but she remembered her and her husband’s start in ag. A dream farm came up for sale. She remembers being a scared 22-year-old kid, looking for the funds. She thought she needed to share that story of the farm and ranch families, carrying the legacy and traditions of generations on their shoulders as well as that of the generations to come. They are rooted and connected to the land and feeding the world.
Life slowed down and she contemplated what would be next. She started writing more children’s books. She started her website to market them, all from home, and it exploded.
In May of 2020 she was asked to be part of an international conference. She was asked to speak on the optimism in agriculture. At that time, it was mass chaos. She realized that in rural America, though, farmers and ranchers were doing positive things. They were finding a way to create opportunities.
She also received a call from a man from New York City that she met during her travels. He had questions for her. The first related to stories about zoo animals contracting COVID. He was worried about his daughters and their pet cat. He wanted to make sure they were protected and was thinking about getting rid of the cat. She encouraged him to keep his cat.
His next question was about bare shelves in grocery stores. He wanted to buy ground beef to make burgers, but there was none to be found. He wondered if she shipped beef.
It hit her like a ton of bricks. She said she didn’t, but she had friends that did. He found a family from Nebraska and made that connection. It was an “ah ha” moment, when she realized that farmers and ranchers continued to do the work. Solutions were going to come from everyday people. Those people kept that pride, heritage, tradition, grit, hard work and faith, delivering what people need to thrive.
Bid on Beef came from that moment. They had their first auction in Texas, with bidders so excited that bids averaged $68 per pound. She couldn’t believe it, but the program has grown to selling to all 50 states. It is connecting rural America with their story and values to others. It opens the door and invites people into a culture they cannot find anywhere else.
All of these changed their lives, but as a family they were about to change more. Her husband, one day, said he thought they should do foster care. She said no, but then watching the movie “Instant Family” changed her mind. They jumped in and got licensed. Their first call came almost immediately in the middle of the pandemic. They have had over a dozen kids in their home, loving them and teaching them the values and things they hold dear. One of their foster children was adopted and is now part of their family.
As she tells her story, she says that during the hardest times, the way we reach outside of ourselves to others is how we find our purpose.
The annual event is sponsored by the Mountrail County Ag Improvement Association, Mountrail County Ag Agency, and the Mountrail Soil Conservation District.