AgWomen Strong

Mary Kraft is part-owner and CFO of Kraft Family Dairies, a family dairy operation in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Kraft Family Dairies consists of two operations: Badger Creek Farm and Quail Ridge Dairy. Between the two operations, the family milks about 6,000 Holstein cows. They also farm 850 irrigated acres of corn and alfalfa, which they feed to the cows as forage.

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer talks with Lia Biondo, Executive Vice President of the United States Cattlemen's Association, about her journey into high-level leadership. Without a background in production ag, she has proven that she belongs in the ag industry and that she belongs as a leader. Biondo talks about not only why USCA is important to the cattle industry, but also why she deserves to be in leadership. She shares how she worked her way up the chain of command before being named the executive vice president with the help of her mentors, discusses personal goals and offers her words of empowerment to other women in the agriculture field.

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer profiles The American Doorstop Project, a unique collection of historical stories about how American agriculture shaped the nation, co-written by Jody Lamp and Melody Dobson. Currently, the project has two published books: "A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living" and "A History of Montana Agriculture: A Life of Discovery."

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer sits down with Ailie Elmore, an agricultural instructor with the University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics. They discuss Ailie’s background, her work at the University and her Central Illinois farm upbringing.

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer sits down with self-proclaimed “Cow Nerd” Kathryn Bosley, an Animal Science grad student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and an advocate for the dairy industry and women in agriculture.

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer sits down with Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, a Washington, D.C.-based biofuel trade association that represents producers and supporters of ethanol. They talk about Emily’s background, her mission with Growth Energy, and how growing up one of four girls in the family led to a culture of female empowerment.

On this episode, host Lorrie Boyer sits down with Cari Rincker, an attorney, mediator, writer and adjunct professor at the University of Illinois School of Law and Vermont Law School. She also previously taught food law in the New York University Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. Rincker discusses growing up on a farm in Central Illinois, as well as her passion for agriculture, food and environmental law.