Grow Farm's Toolbox

Hailey sits down to talk about what tissue sampling and crop surveying is and why it is so important for crop production. 

Hailey sits down to talk about the agriculture market, causes, and much more. Give it a listen. 

Hailey sits down and explains the pros and cons of technology use on farming operations. Explaining why it's a tool not your farm's savior. 

Hailey sits down with Brooks for the third and final episode of the "Where Are We Headed?" special series. Brooks explains why he chose this path, what's next for the company and himself, and so much more. Give it a listen. 

Hailey sits down with Brooks in part 2 of our special series "Where are we heading?". Brooks talks about some of the equipment you'll find in the sale April 4. We hope you enjoy the episode and hope to see you at the sale! 

Hailey sits down with Brooks to talk about the history of Grow Farm Solutions. How the business came to be, where the name came from, and so much more. 

Hailey sits down in this week's episode to discuss the topic of burnout in agriculture. 

Brooks sits down with Pastor Mike from Mutiny Crop Performance to talk about Mutiny, products, growers, and so much more. 

Hailey sits down to talk about why agriculture media is so important for the agriculture industry. 

Hailey sits down to talk about her work and struggles during harvest. 

Steven talks about the importance of planning tomorrow. A great place to start the 2026 year is with a plan for tomorrow. Come give a listen to see how we plan and why we value the planning stage so much.

Steven walks us through his process for resolving conflict. How the best conversations start from a place of understanding, care, and no judgment. It's a process that's always easier said than done, but come listen to us give it a try all the same!

Hailey sits down with Steven and talks with him about the harvest season of 2025. The Grow Farm Solutions team has been working hard to get the harvest finished up and so now it's time to see how it all went. What struggles did we face, what things went well, and what was our favorite part of the experience. Come take a listen to get these answers and more!

Hailey sits down with Brooks and talks with him about the harvest season of 2025. The Grow Farm Solutions team has been working hard to get the harvest finished up and so now it's time to see how it all went. What struggles did we face, what things went well, and what was our favorite part of the experience. Come take a listen to get these answers and more!

Haiely talks us through the struggles of the ag industry when it comes to marketing. How many people are upset about the practices of farmers and the treatment of animals and the land. Misinformation is a dangerous thing that can only be overcome through communication and connection.

Steven talks about the proper way to go about getting to your goals. How doing things the right way will make it take time but getting things fast could result in different types of problems. When we look to a goal we need to take time to plan our approach and come at it in such a way as to not destroy the life we already have. Come along with the Grow Farm team as we work our way through our process.

Hailey goes through some reminders as we move into harvest activities. Once the season gets busy it's easy to forget the little things like self care. When it's time to push it's time to push but without taking care of ourselves and our crew we will burn out fast and production will slide to a halt.

Hailey gives some tips and tricks on how to handle the heat with our crops and with our team. When it gets hot it can be easy to forget that sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. When your brain is fried from the heat it's not hard to forget how to handle things. So here is a short episode with a reminder to take care of not just your crop but your people and yourself.

Sometimes we get really good at being clear with our communication but not really honest with it. As leaders we are so used to being in the seat of logic and setting aside our feelings to be a better critical thinker that we forget that our team is made up of people. Having that honest and emotional connection is just as important when communicating as is being clear with what we say and what we expect. Steven talks about the importance of honest communication and how to approach the right situations from not just a clear communication standpoint but also an honest one.

Hailey goes into the struggles that she faced starting up our social media accounts and the tips and tricks that she learned along the way. She hopes that with her input that you can better prepare yourselves for starting up your own social media adventures!

Well our time with Grayson is coming to an end. We have loved having him with us this summer and wish him well on all his future endeavors. We thought that it would be a great idea to sit down with him to get his thoughts on his summer with us before he leaves us forever.

We all have weaknesses that we have to work to overcome. Some people really don't like group work and group brainstorming is much the same type of thing. Steven talks about a strategy to use when group brainstorming and how this strategy became a podcast episode that he is sharing with all our listeners.

We are in a busy part of our year. The sun is shining and the plants are growing. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the things that we need to accomplish during the busy seasons in Ag. So we sit down and plan out our tasks by 30, 60, and 90 day goals. We wanted to take this opportunity to share this type of planning with you in the hopes that you can put it to good use in your own life and business!

Grayson went to Illinois with Brooks Reid this week to attend a Total Acre meeting. We thought that this was a good opportunity to get his first impressions of the group and see what he thought of the fire hydrant of information that is the Total Acre group!

This week was the first week that we had our intern Grayson Miller around the farm. We thought it would be an awesome idea to introduce him to our listeners and have him tell everyone a little bit about himself and how he came to be with us for the summer.   Shout out to Mutiny Crop Performance and their intern program that introduced us to Grayson!  

Hailey took a crack at the podcast this week and decided to share her favorite quote and what it means to her. "It Is What It Is" is something we hear a lot but it's often taken negatively and thought to be used by those who don't take responsibility for how things turn out. Well Hailey has a different take and we can't help but agree with her here at Grow Farms Toolbox.

Running social media accounts can be a tough job. From coming up with ideas, to collecting content, editing, releasing, and watching the data for what's working the best. So we have Hailey who runs our social media and keeps us moving in the right direction. Today we will be hearing from her and the struggles that she has faced along the way to get us to where we are today.

Have you ever considered the dreams and goals that you gave up and why that was? Maybe you gave up because you worried that you would be made fun of for trying. Or perhaps you didn't try because you thought you weren't good enough. Regardless of what your reasons were, that fear held you back. Are those dreams still ones you think about? Maybe you should set aside that fear and try anyway. Steven goes into this idea of setting aside fear and going for it anyway. The strengths of being able to set aside your fear and how that can carry you into a brighter future in other areas as well.  

With the planting season upon us, Steven talks about the importance of sleep, food, and cutting out some quality time. Many of these things are touchpoints from past episodes but when we are in season it's easy to forget to take care of ourselves because of how busy we get. So let this episode be a reminder to us all that we must always make ourselves a priority even when it's go time.

Have you ever watched as an opportunity slipped by you and wondered why it didn't come your way? That's because you didn't claim it when you had the chance. The old saying that good things come to those who wait isn't a call for inaction but a call for planned action. Steven goes through his process of planning out steps to make sure that a great opportunity doesn't slip by him.

The idea of what the future can bring can be overwhelming. Steven talks through a process of how he handles the idea of the future. Using a three step process to make sure he is always prepared for what the future brings even if he can't know for sure what is coming.

Keeping yourself busy at work and being available as a helping hand is how you build yourself into an irreplaceable asset in the workforce. However, this can lead to some stressful issues when you feel underappreciated. How do we overcome these? How do we keep ourselves from being seen as an underperformer? There are some of the questions that Steven tackles in this episode in Grow Farms Toolbox.

We live in a world full of information. With all this information can you tell what's the truth and what's a lie? Do you have sources that you believe always tell you the truth? Have you considered that they might be wrong? Steven talks about the truth and the value of questioning everything. How the way we were raised, what we are taught, and what we believe is the truth might not be the truth at all. How can we study, learn, and question things to find the truth in the middle of all the options available. This is what we talk about in this episode of Grow Farms Toolbox!

Have you ever found yourself thinking about tomorrow and not knowing what you will do? Not knowing where you are going? Has that thought ever driven you crazy and made you feel like your life is spiraling out of control? Well if you have you are not alone. Steven talks about how this feeling can cause a chain reaction that keeps you stuck for years. However, he also goes through the processes that he uses and believes helps get you out and keep you confident in your ability to face the unknown.

Have you ever been upset with your company or employer because you felt that you were not being paid what you're actually worth? You're not the only one who has felt this way. Come listen to Steven talk about the cost of employees for employers. How the value we bring to the company does not match our productivity because we want to keep our jobs. How a company who takes care of its employees is worth taking on more work in the short run.

With the end of the year fast approaching Steven talks about how time flies. How we lose track of our passions and plans in the day to day grind. He gives some advice on how to plan for the future and to not lose track of your goals by setting the bench too high to reach.

The power of remaining a student in your craft is a scary one to consider. Come listen to Steven and how he came to understand the value of alway wanting to improve and get better. How regardless of age and experience your ideas can be valuable in the right hands.

In a world where everyone is shouting about how right they are, how do you hear anything? Well you can't can you? So come give a listen to Steven as he talks about the value of shutting up and taking the time to listen and watch those around you.

Sometimes it's hard to focus on what is really making us money and we get lost in the process and the details that don't matter. Steven recalls a lesson he learned his first season and how that has shaped his mindset and his communication with the team. This lesson has helped him stay focused on what really matters in the business and his personal life.

Correcting behaviors, whether it's at home or at work is never fun. However, choosing to allow bad behavior or not reaching the standards can cause you far more stress in the long run. Sometimes you have to choose to be the bad guy and follow through with punishments when someone fails to perform as they should or as they were told too. Setting the standard and then reinforcing that standard is how we build a great business, homes, and people.

Have you ever noticed that when you rehire someone that they don't seem to stay as long the second time around? Or that their efforts seem less when they do return? Steven talks about the idea of employee halflife. Giving examples of how employees who return to a former job often don't fit like they used to and why that is.

How often do you find yourself saying yes to something that you wanted to say no to? Do you feel like you can't say no? Do you wish you had more time to do the things you want? Come listen to Steven talk about the power of no. Become comfortable saying no so you can free yourself from the stresses of being overwhelmed and allow you to give greater focus to what you actually want to do!

What are your priorities? Do you consider yourself a priority? If you don't then you're not giving your priorities your best self. In this episode, Steven talks about the importance of putting yourself first on your priority list. How putting yourself first will allow you to show up as a better version of yourself for your faith, family, community and everything else.

An employee who didn't show up for work at a secondary location put Steven in a tight spot. The lessons learned about communication, honesty, and the hiring of friends are ones that Steven would take with him into his future leadership positions. It is our hope that by sharing this story that you might be better prepared for situations you might find yourself in and that you might be able to avoid making the same mistakes yourself.

Steven talks from the perspective of employees and their view on PTO (Personal Time Off). How it feels like a battleground between employees and employers to use earned PTO. How you need to stand firm and not allow yourself to be bullied into not using PTO. How if you followed the company's standards for putting in for PTO you should always be approved. Your life exists outside of work and you deserve to spend your earned PTO when you wish and as you wish.

Steven talks about the importance of having a plan for yourself and your business. How not having a plan can be harmful to your success. How having a plan can help you grow as a person and a business leader. Learning to adjust and adapt when things change and even learning from your mistakes.

Steven talks about the dangers of frustration at home and in the workplace. He talks through some questions that he uses to help him get over his frustration and how that helps him stay calm even when he becomes frustrated.

Steven talks about an issue that his family faced on their family vacation. How this led him to want to speak on the value of controlling one's reactions in stressful situations and adapting to the facts can lead to a better solution and less stress on everyone involved.

Steven talks about the benefits of tracking things in your business. How keeping track of things in an organized and proactive process can relieve stress from your day to day. How having something ready before you need it makes you feel great when the time comes to use that information that is already on hand.

Steven talks about the dangers of dark thoughts when the weather throws your plans into disarray. How keeping busy and moving on to other tasks will keep you in the right mental space. You can't control the weather, but you can control what you do because of the weather.