040 | Is Ag Having its Moment? A Candid Conversation with Natalie Kovarik & Tara Vander Dussen
Listen to this week’s Candid Conversation: Is Ag Having its Moment? with Natalie Kovarik and Tara Vander Dussen now available on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a Candid Conversation! Natalie and Tara are back from traveling and are shaking things up for this weekly series. The candid conversation isn’t changing but some of the segments have changed. Take a look!
Updates from Natalie and Tara
Ag Fact: How big is a bale of cotton?
Industry News: Follow Up on White House Nutrition Conference, China’s Fishing Habits and a Pledge to Sustainability
Weekly Discovery: Gucci
Last 3 Tabs
Updates From Natalie and Tara
Lots of new and exciting in this episode as we head into the final two months of 2022. To kick off this episode, Natalie shares that she picked up some magazines at the airport discussing some of the nuances of ingredients in beauty products. Essentially the meat and potatoes of this story are that just because we can’t pronounce something doesn’t mean it’s bad for us. This not only applies to the beauty industry, but it applies to our food industry as well. Just your friendly reminder to not let the labels scare you!
Ag Fact: How Big is a Bale of Cotton?
Last week while Natalie and Tara were filming for Discover Ag, Tara was determined to find out how much cotton is in a full bale. She finally found her answer and just to give you an idea, one bale of cotton can make about 680,000 cotton balls, 215 pairs of jeans, 750 shirts, or 4,300 pairs of socks. Are you shocked with that amount per bale? Make sure to tune into the episode at the 6:17 mark for this tidbit of information!
Agriculture Industry News
The White House Food Conference
This week Natalie and Tara are following up on a couple of old episode topics. The first topic they wanted to touch on was the White House Food Conference that took place last week. Some key conversation points that came out of this conversation are that this conference’s end goal is to solve hunger problems by 2030, there were no farmers or ranchers involved in this conference, and the different pillars of the plan to attack hunger and food insecurity in the US.
Source Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/28/1125575122/biden-hunger-america-conference
China Targeting Global Fish Supply
In the same conversation on sustainability, Natalie and Tara are bringing aquaculture into the conversation. The specific topic today is China being the largest leader in international fishing practices. China has since depleted their local waters of the fish needed to support the needs in their own country, but also the needs to fulfill exports. The New York Times article below covers all of the details but there is a whole slew of problems that comes with China fishing in these international waters. If you’ve watched any of the conspiracy documentaries then you know there’s a problem with sustainability in fishing BUT at its core is how do we prevent places like China from over-fishing in waters that aren’t their own?
Source Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/briefing/china-fishing-galapagos.html
Pepsi Co. & ADM Pledge to Help More Farmers Implement Regenerative Farming Practices
Natalie shares this last segment of Industry News with a focus that more and more companies are turning towards an interest in sustainable farming practices. With the help of companies like Pepsi and ADM, farmers can not only be incentivized to update their farming operations, but the companies also get the benefit of lowering their greenhouse gas footprint as well. Overall the world of sustainable ag is on the up and up and we can’t wait to see the changes that take place in the coming years.
Weekly Discovery: Let’s Talk Gucci
Last week, Tara shared that she was given a Gucci wallet as a gift. Now before you start making any assumptions, this was a very intentional gift. Gucci is publicly owned by a company called “Kering” which is on a mission to “craft tomorrow’s luxury”, stating that “Luxury and sustainability are one and the same.” It’s exciting that a name brand like Gucci is taking the initiative to make a larger impact on sustainable agriculture. * Claps for Gucci * Learn more below or by checking out their website.
New Segment: Last 3 Tabs
Welcome to the newest segment of Candid Conversations where Natalie and Tara share the last 3 tabs that were open on their computer. Tune in at minute mark 34 for all of the deets!
Natalie’s Last Three Search Tabs
Successful Entrepreneurs Who Have Failed
VRBO.com (To find their VRBO for Stagecoach next year. Don’t miss this part of the convo!)
Tara’s Last Three Search Tabs
Bill Gates Admitting That Not Eating Meat Won’t Save the Planet
Flight for Natalie to Denver for a Conference (full explanation in the show)
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
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About Elevate the Podcast
Where can I find tools and strategies to confidently and effectively share my story online? How do I monetize my brand? Where can I find community among women in agriculture and business? Can I cultivate my passion while also making money?
Welcome to Elevate the Podcast where we will answer ALL of these questions and so much more! Hosts Tara Vander Dussen and Natalie Kovarik, along with their guests, will bring you tangible advice, useful tools, and bold strategies that you can implement to drive your business forward and elevate the voice of agriculture. This business interview and storytelling podcast serves agriculture, western and rural entrepreneurs who want to excel in the social space and make their dreams a reality. Tune in every week to dig into entrepreneurs’ stories as they share the problems they encountered and opportunities they created as a way to educate, inspire and encourage the dreamer inside of all of us.
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