Raised on the Farm

We sit down with Vanna Prestage Johnson to talk about what it’s like to help lead a third generation family farming business while working as both general counsel and director of communications. She shares how legacy, transparency, and people-first culture shape Prestage Farms across hog and turkey production plus meat processing. • growing up in Sampson County while staying close with siblings and cousins in the business • building a life outside work with dogs, hunting, and fami...

A spinning PTO shaft. A ripped T-shirt. A moment that could have ended a farm career and a life. We talk through that close call and what it reveals about real farm safety: the shortcuts we justify, the risks of working alone, and the small rules that make the difference when equipment does not give second chances. We’re joined by Dr. Alyssa Spence, executive director of the North Carolina AgroMedicine Institute, to break down what the institute actually does for farmers, foresters, fi...

We sit down with Tim Evans to trace the path from tobacco warehouses and charity auctions to leading agribusiness insurance work for farmers in eastern North Carolina. We also get blunt about rising premiums and the practical decisions that keep you protected without getting insurance poor. • Tim’s upbringing in Warsaw and early respect for farmers through his dad’s “farmer’s jeweler” roots • Learning auctioneering young and using it to raise money at banquets and community events...

We sit down with Ashley Collins, CEO of the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association, to follow the peanut from contract to harvest to ballpark snack while hearing how her ag education path shaped the way she leads. We also dig into why peanut acres have climbed, what might be behind shifting demand, and what peanut farmers wish every consumer understood. • Ashley’s path from FFA and ag education to commodity leadership • Why getting out of your zip code changes careers • H...

We trade stories about growing up as farm kids and how those memories shape the adults and parents we become. Then we get into what happens when farm life gets misunderstood or even used against a family in a legal fight, and why that feels so personal. • grandparents and parents clearing land, tending livestock, and doing backbreaking work that built today’s farms • sensory memories that stick, from plowed dirt to feed sounds to live hog prices at lunch • early responsibili...