163. Tar Spot, Farm Wife Roles & Finding Your Place in Agriculture with Faith Pearson

What happens when a challenging crop year has you questioning every decision you made? In this episode of Beyond the Crops, Jena and Mary Pat welcome back Faith Pearson, agronomist, seed business owner, farm wife, and self-proclaimed “crunchy agronomist,” for a conversation that goes way beyond what’s happening in the field.The challenge this year has been a corn disease called Tar Spot. Faith breaks down what tar spot is, the weather conditions that can contribute to its spread, and the reality that sometimes farmers can make the best decisions they can with the information they have—and Mother Nature still has the final say.The conversation quickly becomes about something bigger: the pressure farmers put on themselves. Jena shares how much Levi has been beating himself up over the tar spot situation, and the three women talk about the importance of checking in on the farmers in your life, learning from difficult seasons, and remembering that a crop that doesn't meet your expectations isn't necessarily a failure.From there, they dive into the very different roles women can have in agriculture. Whether you're working directly in the field, running a business, marketing grain, raising kids, managing the home, supporting the farm behind the scenes, or doing some combination of all of it—there is no one “right” way to be a farm wife or a woman in agriculture.And, as always, there's a little encouragement woven throughout: you don't have to have everything figured out. Your role can change. Your passions can change. And you can grow through those changes instead of fighting them.In this episode:What tar spot is and how it affects cornWhy weather and leaf wetness matter when it comes to diseaseHybrid selection and fungicide managementWhat this year's unusual weather has meant for cropsLearning from difficult farming seasons instead of beating yourself upThe importance of checking in on the farmers in your lifeWhy you can't have a record-breaking crop every yearThe many different roles women play in agricultureThe value of the work that happens behind the scenesMarketing grain with a different perspectiveFinding your own place in agricultureFollowing what fuels your passionEmbracing change through the different seasons of lifeConnect with Faith:🎙️ Rhizometrics — available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify📧 [email protected]🙌 Join the Conversation!Tag us or send us a DM @beyondthecrops_. And don't forget to leave us a message on our new voicemail line! Leave us a Voice Message!We love hearing from you and continuing the conversation off the podcast. Click here to leave us a voice note!