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Grounded Communications Grounded Communications focuses on food and farm connectivity in the programs we create. We work with clients on a range of agricultural and startup interests.

October 12th, is National Farmers Day. Celebrating farmers & all the hardwork they do every single day. Here at Grounded...
10/12/2026

October 12th, is National Farmers Day. Celebrating farmers & all the hardwork they do every single day. Here at Grounded in Ag, we love celebrating farmers, and every Monday we like to introduce you to a farmer or someone whose work directly supports farmers, so you can better understand them and the work they do too.

This week tech has a big piece of the picture too. What do tech and cows have to do with each other? In our lesson, "Touring Two Dairy Farms", one of the Oklahoma farmers we meet is Logan Courtney. Logan is a first generation dairy farmer, finding a love for it through youth agricultural programs. Logan runs a dairy farm that uses robotic milkers which enables Logan and his sister to maintain off farm jobs too.. The cows are able to be milked on demand by entering the milker when they feel full. They are cleaned, milked, and given a treat all with the machine. Learn about this and more in our lesson with Logan.

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Modern milling is a highly technical process and a lot of science goes into ensuring the best quality product reaches th...
10/09/2026

Modern milling is a highly technical process and a lot of science goes into ensuring the best quality product reaches the customer.

Lots of us think of wheat and flour mills, but a range of grains are milled and today use near-infrared technology to measure the protein and other content levels of the grain.

We dive into it for wheat for that course. For flour, determining gluten strength and suitability for different products (bread, pastries, or cakes). Consistent protein measurement also helps in blending wheat to meet client specifications.

Millers also use a farinograph to simulate mixing the dough to understand stability and absorption properties. The data shows how the flour will behave when mixed with water, affecting its suitability for different baking applications. This test helps determine dough stability, mixing tolerance, and absorption. It provides a basis for how quickly the dough will develop at the mixer.

A falling numbers test measures enzyme activity, indicating sprout damaged wheat. Sprout damaged wheat has high enzyme activity leading to low falling numbers. High falling numbers (>300) are preferred to obtain optimal baking quality. handling, etc.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! So much to learn

October is no stranger to creepy crawly insects. We see them in horror films, our Halloween decor, and even some of our ...
10/05/2026

October is no stranger to creepy crawly insects. We see them in horror films, our Halloween decor, and even some of our treats are made to resemble them.

Well, Dr. Whitney Crow and her students at Mississippi State University are also no stranger to creepy crawly insects. She is an entomologist (studies insects & their environments)!

Whitney is currently an assistant professor with 100% extension appointment at Mississippi State University. As the state's extension, she focuses on the kinds of work that can help manage insects across a broad range of crops, working with other extension personnel across Mississippi.

Whitney has spent the last five years building a research and extension program that aids in providing solutions to row crop insect management to the stakeholders of Mississippi.

Whitney provides that expertise in our Focus on Crops course that is a component of many of our programs. In Grounded in Ag's lesson, "All Things Insects", Dr. Crow helps us illustrate the importance of understanding insects and crop management.

There has been a lot of talk about AI but in the world of agriculture, especially livestock, that means something comple...
10/02/2026

There has been a lot of talk about AI but in the world of agriculture, especially livestock, that means something completely different -- artificial insemination!

The decision to use artificial insemination (AI) or natural breeding is one that is carefully considered by farmers and driven by a variety of factors. In some livestock sectors, such as the pork and dairy industry, AI has become widespread, and is driven by factors such as safety in keeping bulls and boars on farm and in ensuring good genetics and timing.

In breeding stock operations, AI allows for the careful selection of sires to produce new generations of livestock with optimal traits. For example, AI is used to select the best bulls for the desired characteristics, such as suitable birth weights, rapid growth, high levels of tenderness, and marbling for the beef industry.

Natural breeding, often seen on cow-calf operations. There may be space to keep a good beef bull safely.

Each farmer or rancher considers what best suits their operation.

Also, just for fun, October is known as PORKtober as it is National Pork Month!! Oink, Oink!!

Seven years. So many different challenges taken on and so many things to celebrate! New skills built, new clients met an...
09/26/2026

Seven years. So many different challenges taken on and so many things to celebrate! New skills built, new clients met and served, new things built. Thank you all (in the photos or not) for being along on this journey!

Getting ready to do a session talking about using LinkedIn for the STL Women in AgTech -- Tuesday morning 8 am at 39 Nor...
09/25/2026

Getting ready to do a session talking about using LinkedIn for the STL Women in AgTech -- Tuesday morning 8 am at 39 North. Looks like there are a couple of seats still open. If you are a women working in agriculture in St Louis and want to join, we're happy to send you the registration link!

The work we have been doing at Grounded in Ag keeps making a difference for people and while yesterday's focus was peopl...
08/14/2026

The work we have been doing at Grounded in Ag keeps making a difference for people and while yesterday's focus was people who are new to agriculture and marketing, it's so affirming to have people with long careers say they wish they had a program like this a decade ago or that they learned something from us that helped them better understand some of the things they have seen over the years.

The event was the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) annual boot camp!

One of the pieces Janice presented yesterday that really seemed to resonate with a lot of people in the room, is having a way to organize new information as it's learned. Seemed like a great !

We worked through this as we built our courses and our courses start with Ag 101 and Sustainability/Regenerative Ag because those are areas that can be common across crops and livestock. Then you move into which segment -- crops or livestock -- things fall into provides some focus before getting to a more finite level of an individual commodity.

Each layer of knowledge is connected by pillars as well -- culture, business, science and tech and seasonality. With that framework, you get to sort through some of the pieces in a way that lets you see connections among the things you are learning & experiencing!

Was great seeing long-time friends and meeting new folks! Appreciate Stephanie Stalans grabbing a few photos for us as well as providing a real moment of wish she had had this when she started in ag long ago!

If you'd like to learn more about our courses, we have a free preview that includes an overview of our programming, a look at some of the ways experts deliver knowledge and that gets organized, and a full lesson on the common mistakes people new to agriculture make. You can get that at https://lnkd.in/gKvbMD6k or let us know you want a one-on-one convo!

While the average age of farmers is in retirement brackets for most industries, there are young farmers out there workin...
08/10/2026

While the average age of farmers is in retirement brackets for most industries, there are young farmers out there working hard and building something alongside others. One of them is Tyler Muzzi.

Tyler farms with his dad in Shaw, Mississippi, primarily growing soybeans with a small rotation of corn. He is part of the Ag 101 course and opens up about the challenges of farming in a space where investments needed are so great and says he couldn't possibly do it if it wasn't for his ability to farm with his dad and use his family farm's equipment on the small acreage he's buying. And he brings a lot of insight into the financial picture of family farms and the role of off-farm jobs in the family.

He also lends his perspective to the Soybean Course because geography is a major piece of farming. The Muzzis have a mix of irrigated and non-irrigated fields and farmers in the south can have different challenges than Midwestern growers. Hearing from a diverse mix of geographies really helps people understand the breadth of a crop!

And farming isn't all serious business for Tyler. He is a softie for his kids and what started as a couple of Shetland cattle has grown into a small hobby farm with a diverse range of animals including, chickens, alpacas, pigs, donkeys, goats and more.

What a great week! Was at the AgCareers Food and Ag Roundtable with HR professionals from across the country — so many g...
08/09/2026

What a great week! Was at the AgCareers Food and Ag Roundtable with HR professionals from across the country — so many great people generously sharing ideas!

Bonnie Johnson and the entire AgCareers team organize and run an event that brings together a great cross section of people and speakers. Will be sending connection requests as I get settled back into the day-to-day!

This year Georgia Woodall Starnes & I shared information on upskilling. Ways to determine ways to start a focused program, how to roll it up across the company, etc. Of course, Grounded in Ag fits upskilling for people coming into agriculture or those who haven’t had the chance to interact with farmers across the country extensively. It was our first time as an event sponsor too!

Had been too long since I had seen Derek Mulhern. Seeing & hearing him take the stage, deliver a keynote on working through conflict will stay with me for a while.

And if the work wasn’t cool enough on its own, we got to have a farm to plate dinner. And I wish I had some of that gelato right now!

06/29/2026

We won’t shame point you down in public but lots of folks can benefit from onboarding.

🚜 New employees from interns to execs
🚜 People who don’t get much farm exposure
🚜 Folks looking to gain insight to agriculture
🚜 People selling into the US market

Wonder whether you could use our program? Give us a shout.

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