What happens when a physician falls in love with alpacas and discovers a whole new purpose in life? Meet Kerri Harting, owner of Eagle Eye Farm in River Falls, Wisconsin!

Kerri joins Mary and Leah to share how a visit to an alpaca farm turned into a thriving agritourism business with approximately 130 animals, including alpacas, kangaroos, porcupines, mini Highland cows, donkeys, and plenty of other surprises.

Kerri talks about building her farm, opening to the public during COVID, the importance of agricultural education, and creating a welcoming place where families can slow down, connect with animals, and enjoy time together. She also shares the challenges of running a farm while continuing her career as a breast radiologist, and how she has grown into running the business on her own.

Plus, hear about the farm's handmade products, including alpaca and sheep wool goods, goat's milk soap, and an impressive variety of infused honey.

It's a conversation about following unexpected dreams, building community, educating people about agriculture, and finding joy in the animals and people who make it all worthwhile.

Find Eagle Eye Farm:

• Website: https://eagleeyefarm.net

• Instagram: @EagleEyeFarmWI

• Facebook: Eagle Eye Farm

• Also on TikTok and YouTube

Eagle Eye Farm is located in River Falls, Wisconsin, and welcomes visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Self-guided tours do not require reservations.

Join Mary and Leah for another conversation celebrating the women, stories, and ideas shaping agriculture in the heartland!

What would you do if the power went out for several days? Could you feed your family, find clean drinking water, cook a meal, or keep everyone warm without relying on modern conveniences?

Mary and Leah sit down for a practical conversation about emergency preparedness, sparked by recent government recommendations encouraging households to keep emergency supplies on hand.

But this isn't about building a bunker or preparing for the end of the world. It's about being ready for the unexpected, whether that's a winter storm, a prolonged power outage, or simply being stuck at home for a few days.

The conversation covers the importance of keeping basic pantry supplies, having essential medications on hand, storing drinking water, and learning practical skills like starting a fire, cooking without electricity, and finding information without the internet.

Leah shares her family's experience living without electricity for 21 days after a severe Nebraska snowstorm in 1994. It's a reminder that resourcefulness, problem-solving, and a little planning can go a long way.

The biggest message? Don't panic. Think ahead, learn some basic life skills, and make sure your family knows how to make do with what you have.

Because being prepared isn't about fear. It's about confidence, common sense, and taking care of the people who depend on you.

In this episode:

• Why emergency preparedness deserves everyone's attention

• Basic pantry staples and household supplies worth keeping on hand

• The importance of having drinking water and essential medications

• Cooking and making coffee without electricity

• Learning to start and maintain a fire

• Why children should learn practical life skills

• Leah's experience surviving 21 days without electricity

• How to prepare without panicking or spending a fortune

A little reminder from Mary and Leah: Don't wait until the power goes out to figure out what to do. Take some time now to make a plan.

Learn more about emergency preparedness at Ready.gov.

What does it mean to grow up on a farm, carry on a family legacy, and preserve the stories that make agriculture special?

Mary and Leah welcome AJ Hein, a fifth-generation dairy farmer and author of Home on the Farm, a children's book inspired by her childhood growing up on an Iowa dairy farm. AJ shares why she wanted to preserve her family's memories, the simple joys of farm life before smartphones and the internet, and how she turned a dream into a published book.

AJ also talks about the realities of dairy farming, including long hours, family sacrifices, and the challenges of finding time away from the farm. She reflects on raising children in agriculture, passing traditions from one generation to the next, and helping people understand the hard work and rewards behind the dairy industry.

This conversation is a heartfelt reminder of the importance of preserving agricultural history, sharing our stories, and building strong communities for future generations.

In this episode:

• Growing up on an Iowa dairy farm in the 1990s

• The inspiration behind Home on the Farm

• Self-publishing a children's book and chasing a dream

• AJ's family's farming history and dairy farming traditions

• The realities of dairy farming and the commitment it requires

• Raising children with an appreciation for agriculture

• Why preserving family stories and rural communities matters

Find AJ Hein: Website: www.ajhine.com Facebook: AJ Hein Author Instagram: @author_ajine

Find Mary and Leah at gritandgraceintheheartland.com and on Facebook at Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women in Agriculture.

Mary and Leah catch up on everything from Nebraska's unpredictable fall weather to the joys and challenges of farm life in this lively conversation on Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women in Agriculture.

The conversation begins with changing weather, the approaching winter season, and the importance of getting crops out of the fields. In honor of National Black Cat Day, Mary and Leah share stories about their beloved cats, including the funny, affectionate and sometimes heartbreaking realities of caring for outdoor and barn cats.

They also discuss the growing presence of artificial intelligence in everyday life, concerns about privacy and financial security, and why human connection and independent thinking still matter. Along the way, they celebrate the creative people, small businesses and entrepreneurs who make agriculture such a diverse and fascinating world.

As Mary and Leah look ahead to the holiday season and their upcoming podcast anniversary, they reflect on the friendships they've built and the wonderful people they've met through the show.

In this episode:

• Nebraska weather, fall harvest and preparing for winter

• Black cat stories and the realities of outdoor cat life

• Artificial intelligence, privacy and protecting our critical thinking skills

• Creative entrepreneurs and the many faces of agriculture

• Building friendships and sharing inspiring stories through podcasting

• Family traditions, Thanksgiving plans and the joys of everyday life

Join Mary and Leah for an honest, funny and heartfelt conversation about agriculture, community and finding common ground.

Visit gritandgraceintheheartland.com to connect with the show and share ideas for future episodes.

Until next time, have some grit and grace!

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and personal experiences involving inappropriate sexual behavior. Listener discretion is advised.

Harvest season brings long hours, physical demands, and the need to look out for one another. But this week, Mary and Leah take a deeper look at an issue that reaches far beyond the farm: sexual assault, consent, and the importance of teaching personal responsibility.

In this candid and emotional conversation, Mary and Leah discuss the challenges facing young adults, the importance of talking with children about bodily autonomy from an early age, and why consent matters in every relationship. Mary shares a personal experience from her teenage years and reflects on how fear, embarrassment, and uncertainty can keep people from speaking up.

Together, they explore the role of parents, education, communication, and community in preventing sexual assault and supporting survivors. They also discuss campus safety, alcohol, peer pressure, and the importance of accountability.

This is a difficult but important conversation about respecting others, protecting our children, and building a culture where people feel safe, heard, and supported.

In this episode:

• The importance of consent and bodily autonomy

• Talking with children about boundaries at an early age

• Why sexual assault is never the victim's fault

• Campus safety, alcohol, and peer pressure

• Supporting survivors without judgment

• The roles of education, communication, and community

• Teaching personal responsibility and accountability

Find Mary and Leah at gritandgraceintheheartland.com or on Facebook at Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women in Agriculture.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, support is available through the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or online at RAINN.org.

Thank you for joining Mary and Leah for another honest conversation from the heartland.

Winter gardening in a harsh climate is possible, and Heather Goddard of Lusk, Wyoming, is here to tell us how she does it! Join Mary and Leah for a conversation about growing food for a family of eight, improving challenging soil, conserving water, and keeping fresh vegetables available well into winter.

Heather shares practical tips for overwintering root vegetables, choosing cold-hardy crops, using deep mulch and plastic for insulation, and preparing the garden for colder weather. She also explains how compost, aged manure, cover crops, and gray water can help make a garden more productive and sustainable.

Along the way, we talk about seasonal eating, food security, the value of traditional gardening knowledge, and why sometimes the best way to prepare for winter is to work with nature instead of against it.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Heather gardens in Wyoming's challenging Zone 4B climate

• Preparing and improving difficult garden soil

• Using buckwheat and rye as cover crops

• Planting fall vegetables at the right time

• Protecting carrots, beets, and turnips through winter

• Using straw mulch and plastic to insulate crops

• Conserving water and making the most of available resources

• Growing food to stretch the family budget

• Why seasonal eating and traditional food storage still matter

Heather is a busy ranch wife, homeschooling mom of six daughters, photographer, and passionate gardener who has learned to make the most of the resources available to her family. Her experience is a wonderful reminder that growing food is about more than gardening. It is about resilience, creativity, and providing for the people we love.

Find Heather: Look for Heather Goddard on Facebook and Goddard's Garden on social media.

Visit gritandgraceintheheartland.com or find Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women in Agriculture on Facebook to connect with Mary and Leah.

Thanks for listening, and until next time, have some grit and grace!

Fall is one of the busiest seasons on the ranch, but there is more to this time of year than harvest and cooler weather. Mary and Leah catch up on family life, the challenges of changing seasons, and the important reminder that we all have value, no matter what our work looks like.

Leah shares reflections from a women's Christian retreat, where conversations about comparison, grief, purpose, and finding joy in different stages of life made a lasting impression. She also talks about how Maggie is adjusting to college, learning to face academic challenges, and finding her own way away from home.

Then the conversation heads to the ranch, where Leah explains what fall and winter look like in a diversified farming and ranching operation. From weaning calves and monitoring their health to managing harvest delays and preparing for winter, there is plenty of work to keep everyone busy.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Fall weather, pesky insects, and delayed harvest

• Carol Connare and the new 2027 Old Farmer's Almanac

• Letting go of comparison and learning to appreciate others

• Finding purpose through life's changes and challenges

• The emotional ups and downs of sending a child to college

• What calf weaning involves and why animal care never takes a day off

• The demanding rhythm of harvest season

• Why ranching is about responsibility, purpose, and caring for God's creation

Join Mary and Leah for an honest conversation about family, faith, farming, and finding meaning in every season of life.

Connect with us:

Visit gritandgraceintheheartland.com or find Grit and Grace in the Heartland: Women In Agriculture on Facebook.

What happens when you take a dream, plant 1,500 lavender plants, lose the entire crop, and decide to keep going? Donnita Jimmis of Loup Lavender in Nebraska knows the answer.

In this episode, Mary and Leah talk with Donnita about building a small agricultural business while working a full-time job and raising a family. She shares the challenges of growing in sandy soil, dealing with unpredictable weather, drought, wildfire, weeds and the loss of her first lavender crop.

Donnita also talks about starting flowers from seed, running a weekend farm stand, creating bouquets, using conservation funding to install drip irrigation and establish pollinator areas, and her dreams of eventually opening a storefront and gathering space.

It is a conversation about perseverance, learning as you go, family, community and finding new ways to make agriculture work.

In this episode:

• Starting a lavender farm from seed
• Losing a crop and starting over
• Growing in Nebraska's sandy soil
• Conservation grants and drip irrigation
• Flower farming and building bouquets
• Farm stand life and community support
• Dried flowers and future plans for lavender
• Balancing farming with a full-time job
• Keeping land productive for future generations
• Dreaming about a storefront and community gathering space

Connect with Loup Lavender LLC on Facebook or visit louplavender.com.

A big thank you to Donnita for sharing her story and reminding us that sometimes the biggest part of farming is simply deciding to keep going.