Actual Ag Samantha Bennett

In this Thanksgiving episode of Actual Ag Samantha sits down for a cranberry chat with Amber Bristow of @cranberrychats! Amber is a cranberry grower in Wisconsin who grew up on her family's sixth generation family cranberry farm and is running the farm with her Dad. During their conversation Amber explains to Samantha how cranberries are grown (here's a hint, it's not exactly in water like you might think!!!), her farm's co-op connection with Ocean Spray, what a day in the life of a cranberry farmer looks like, and your odds of purchasing cranberry products for your Thanksgiving table that Amber and her family grew!

Tune in to Ambers's latest episode of her podcast, Forward Farming, and be sure to follow her on Instagram @cranberrychats.

Be sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode and stay up to date on all things Actual Ag!

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode!

In this episode of Actual Ag Samantha discusses all things cowboy culture with Antonio James. Antonio is a cowboy in Texas who grew up in Detroit and is now the host of the new podcast, Cowboys of Dixie. During their conversation Antonio and Samantha discuss the true definition of a cowboy, three things every cowboy needs, what a day in the life of a cowboy looks like, and what they think the future of the cowboy holds.

Tune in to Antonio's latest episode of Cowboys of Dixie and be sure to follow him on Instagram @cowboysofdixie. 

Be sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode and stay up to date on all things Actual Ag!

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode!

In this episode of Actual Ag Samantha speaks with Dr. Eric Peatman, Director of the Southeastern Fish Genetics Co-operative Project and Professor in the School of Fisheries at Auburn University. During their conversation they discuss what GMOs are, how they are created, if they are necessary, and whether or not consumers should be fearful of them.

The Genetic Literacy Project that Dr. Peatman mentioned as suggested source for more information regarding GMOs and genetics in general. 

Be sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode and stay up to date on all things Actual Ag!

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode!

In this series I am speaking with Dr. Kate Thornton, Director of Global Education in the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University and the Director of Research and Academic Initiatives for the Hunger Solutions Institute, as well as renowned author and journalist Roger Thurow, who is well known for his work covering global affairs for The Wall Street Journal and for being a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the series that he copenned on famine in Africa.

Contact our speakers through email:


Dr. Kate Thornton - brockmk@auburn.edu

Roger Thurow - rthurow@thechicagocouncil.org


Links to find Roger Thurow's three books on Amazon:


Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty

The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change

The First 1,000 Days


Links to films suggest by Roger Thurow and Dr. Kate Thornton during this episode:


Hunger In America (1968)

A Place at the Table


For more information on Auburn University's Hunger Solutions Institute 

Additionally, more information can be found on the amazing Kirchner Food Fellowship website

If you are food insecure or need help finding food resources use the following:


Dial 2-1-1 for essential community services. Through this calling center you can be connected to local resources such as food or clothing banks, shelters, rent or utility assistance, as well as work support, access to services in non-english languages, support for older Americans and people with disabilities, children, youth, and family support, and suicide prevention services.

Alabama County Food Guide website


Also make sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us there any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode.

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode! 

In this series I am speaking with Dr. Kate Thornton, Director of Global Education in the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University and the Director of Research and Academic Initiatives for the Hunger Solutions Institute, as well as renowned author and journalist Roger Thurow, who is well known for his work covering global affairs for The Wall Street Journal and for being a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the series that he copenned on famine in Africa.

For more information on Auburn University's Hunger Solutions Institute 

Additionally, more information can be found on the amazing Kirchner Food Fellowship website that Dr. Thornton spoke about

Also make sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us there any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode.

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode! 

In this episode of Actual Ag Samantha speaks with Alex Tigue, Extension Agent and PhD student at Auburn University, who you may remember hearing from in one of our older episodes "Hormones in Animal Production". In this episode Alex and Samantha cover the recent JBS cyberattack including what happened, what we can expect as consumers as a result, and the current infrastructure of the meat processing industry. We also go on to discuss the key role that local meat processors could play if there were more of them and how you as a consumer can influence the meat processing industry. 

If you are interested in checking out locally grown products in Alabama, use this link to find the Sweet Grown Alabama website that Alex mentioned

Similarly, you can find locally grown products in Georgia 

If you are looking specifically to find locally grown Alabama beef, use the Alabama Cattlemen's Association website

Be sure to follow the podcast's Instagram page, @actual_ag! DM us any questions you may want to have answered in a future episode and stay up to date on all things Actual Ag!

If you want, leave me a voice message with your questions about agriculture and they might just be included in an episode!