That Western Life

In this episode of That Western Life, Katie sits down with Tyler Schuster for a conversation about cattle, leadership, relationships, personal branding, and the invisible infrastructure that keeps people connected to agriculture. A fifth-generation cattle producer from Brackettville, Texas, Tyler's career has moved through agricultural development, university leadership, cattle-industry programs, speaking, podcasting, fundraising, and work supporting emerging professionals. Her career may look broad on paper, but there is a clear thread running through it: helping people find their place, build meaningful relationships, and navigate an industry that can sometimes feel difficult to enter from the outside. Katie and Tyler talk about the importance of institutional fluency — knowing how to walk into a room, understand who makes decisions, build relationships, and advocate for an idea. They explore the difference between simply knowing people and building real relationship capital, why fundraising is ultimately about trust, and how young professionals can become more intentional about the networks they create. Tyler also shares the thinking behind her podcast Basically Famous, her work highlighting women in agriculture and the Western lifestyle, and why personal branding does not have to mean manufacturing a version of yourself for social media. This is an episode about far more than networking. It is about belonging. It is about understanding how industries actually work. And it is about creating pathways that make agriculture stronger for the people coming next. Learn more about Tyler on her Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.  Learn more about Brands & Blazers HERE.  Stay Connected with That Western Life Subscribe to That Western Life for thoughtful conversations about rodeo, agriculture, ranching, Western business and culture—and the people shaping the future of the Western industry. Explore more from That Western Life: Website & Show Notes Join the Newsletter Instagram Facebook TikTok Pinterest YouTube Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify Podcast RSS Feed If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, leave a rating or review, and share it with someone who cares about the future of the Western way of life.  

In this episode of That Western Life, Katie sits down with Rizpah Bellard, founder of Nova Farming, for a conversation that stretches far beyond cattle. Raised on a Black Angus ranch in Northern California, Rizpah has built a career at the intersection of agriculture, education, public health, housing, community development, and food access. Through Nova Farming, she works to close the gap between people and their food system, especially for students and underserved communities who may not otherwise see agriculture as a career path, business opportunity, or source of connection. Rizpah shares how her upbringing shaped her understanding of land, livestock, and responsibility; how her work in anti-trafficking, housing, and marginalized communities informs the way she approaches agriculture; and why she believes community leadership starts before a title is ever attached to your name. This episode explores agriculture as more than production. It is about access, exposure, succession planning, education, food systems, representation, and what it means to use what you have been given to build opportunity for others. Make sure to learn more at Nova Farming & to connect with Rizpah on LinkedIn. 

That Western Life is officially back, but what actually worked? Katie, Kaycie and Taylie unpack the first month of the Season 7 relaunch, including unexpected social growth, 17 new leads, the content that sparked conversation and the lessons western businesses can apply to their own marketing. The biggest takeaway? Getting attention is only the beginning. The real challenge is turning it into an audience—and building a system capable of sustaining the growth. From social growth and podcast downloads to content strategy, audience behavior and 17 new leads, the team shares what they learned about rebuilding a dormant brand, creating content that earns attention and building systems that can sustain growth. Plus, practical takeaways for rodeos, ranches, associations and western creators looking to strengthen their own digital presence. Core Takeaways Operational capacity precedes sustainable growth. A successful content strategy eventually becomes an operations problem, not merely a creative one. Reach and followers measure different things. Modern distribution allows small accounts to reach large audiences; the harder challenge is converting borrowed attention into an owned community. Content libraries are business assets. Rodeos, ranches and associations should capture reusable photography and video before spending heavily to advertise thin or outdated feeds. Disagreement reveals audience structure. Thoughtful controversial conversations can expose generational, cultural and professional divides that deserve deeper coverage. Search behavior is strategic intelligence. Evergreen questions such as how the PRCA circuit system works reveal durable information gaps the western industry can own. Leads matter more than vanity metrics. Seventeen inbound opportunities offered stronger evidence of commercial relevance than follower growth alone. Growth does not require immediate monetization. Building audience density and repeatable systems before aggressively selling sponsorship may create more valuable inventory later. Professional resilience requires uneven skills to be strengthened. Careers increasingly reward portfolios of capabilities and networks containing both mentors and sponsors. The next measurement problem is conversion. July proved the brand could earn attention. The more important question is whether August can turn that attention into habit, trust and durable business value. Interested in hiring our digital media team? Send us an email at [email protected] to check for pricing and availability.  Read more at https://www.thatwesternlife.com/podcast/episode133 

In this episode of That Western Life, Katie Schrock speaks with Dr. Emily Melchior, a cattle scientist, Zoetis outcomes research lead for ruminants and equine, and Cowgirl 30 Under 30 honoree. Her work sits at the intersection of animal health, applied data science, and the increasingly global economics of livestock production. Melchior's trajectory—from a horse-focused upbringing in suburban America to a PhD in animal science at New Mexico State University—offers a case study in how modern agricultural expertise is formed: not only through traditional production experience, but through formal scientific training, statistical rigor, and exposure to global production systems. Today, she works on outcomes research that evaluates how interventions in cattle and equine health translate into measurable results for producers, veterinarians, and broader supply chains. The conversation highlights a central tension in contemporary livestock systems: the need to balance scientific innovation with on-the-ground practicality. What This Episode Covers The role of early animal affinity and FFA in shaping agricultural career pathways The academic and applied focus of a PhD in animal science at New Mexico State University The integration of range cow-calf nutrition, herd health, vaccination strategy, and calf development into system-level outcomes The function of outcomes research in translating veterinary and nutritional interventions into producer-relevant metrics The often underappreciated empirical knowledge embedded in cattle producers' decision-making around land, nutrition, and animal health The constraint that innovation in livestock health must remain operationally viable, not merely technologically advanced Structural differences in livestock production systems across the United States, Europe, Brazil, and other major markets The convergence of sustainability metrics, genomics, productivity, and emissions accounting in modern dairy and beef research The growing demand for interdisciplinary fluency among the next generation of producers, veterinarians, and agricultural communicators Subscribe to That Western Life for conversations about rodeo, agriculture, ranching, western culture, western business, country lifestyle, and the people shaping the future of the industry.   CONNECT: Website | Join the Newsletter  FOLLOW ALONG:  Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Pinterest | YouTube    Listen to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-western-life/id1451270471  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4snND5oWIV2Q8hVljbpbYr?si=46b32a0aa07a4cd4  Libsyn: https://feeds.libsyn.com/159374/rss