Real Talk

The Barnyard Language podcasters have honest conversations about issues facing farm families.

- Lisa Foust Prater Executive Editor, Family & Rural Issues [e-mail]

Arlene Hunter and Caite Palmer host the Barnyard Language podcast, which focuses on running farms and raising families. Now in its fourth season, the show features guests from all aspects of agriculture, covering serious and fun topics.

Meet the Podcasters

Hunter lives with her husband, Hugh, on their eastern Ontario, Canada, dairy operation where he is a sixth-generation farmer. It’s not far from the dairy where she grew up. “I always said, ‘Never will I marry a farmer, especially a dairy farmer,’” she recalled.

“And then I went and did it!” They milk around 80 Holsteins and Jerseys and grow corn, soybeans, and hay. “It’s a relatively small dairy compared to a lot of American farms, but we’re about the average herd size in Ontario,” she said. They have a daughter studying ag science in college, and three sons at home.

Palmer grew up on a hobby farm in central Iowa. She and her husband, Jim, a fourth-generation producer, raise Normande beef cattle and Katahdin sheep on his family’s farm in the state’s northeast corner. They also run 300 acres with his parents, including corn, soybeans, small grains for feed, timber, and CRP. She and Jim, who both also work full time off the farm, have a young son and daughter.

From Listeners to Hosts

“Like most relationships these days, we met online,” Hunter recalled; specifically a parenting podcast’s Facebook group.

They first met in person several years ago when Hunter and her husband came to Wisconsin for a dairy conference. He attended the meeting, and since it wasn’t far from Palmer's farm, she paid a visit to her friend. It wasn’t long before they created their podcast.