Lincoln, Neb. —The FarmBits podcast will return to airwaves beginning Oct. 7, with the release of new episodes. FarmBits has a new team of hosts and a refreshed structure that will add variety to the podcast.
FarmBits launched in October of 2020 and was started by Jackson Stansell and Samantha Teten. Teten is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumna and Stansell is pursuing his doctorate in biological systems engineering at the university. Graduate student Zachary Rystrom also contributed to the podcast. Since its conception, FarmBits episodes have featured interviews with innovators and experts regarding digital agriculture technologies. Topics so far on the podcast have included rural connectivity, precision crop protection, and nitrogen management technologies, amongst others. The episodes feature new agricultural tools and technologies and present them in a bite-sized fashion.
FarmBits took a brief hiatus to train the new hosts and prepare to launch content. The podcast recruited and added five hosts including the following: Taylor Cross, Jose Cesario Pinto, Kelsey Swantek, Micah Most, and Asya Macon. The new hosts are all students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and each host will bring content to the podcast that aligns with their areas of interest and expertise.
Cross received her bachelor’s degree at North Carolina State University. For FarmBits, she will focus on the topics of precision land and soil management plus using drones in agriculture. Cesario Pinto is from Londrina, Brazil, and is seeking his doctorate in agronomy and horticulture. He hopes to help podcast listeners improve their farms with new, sustainable technologies. Swantek is an agricultural education student and will bring the topics of agricultural advocacy and women in agriculture to the podcast. She is also an intern for the Nebraska Extension Digital Agriculture team.
Most is pursuing his master’s in animal science. His research has an emphasis on heat stress in cattle and its impact on muscle growth. For the podcast, he will focus on precision technology for livestock and grazing management. Macon’s research focuses on precision animal management, and she is pursuing a master’s in mechanized systems management with a minor in animal science. She will bring the topics of animal behavior monitoring and using engineering tactics in the field of veterinary medicine.
FarmBits strives to reach listeners across the agricultural industry from academia, to farming, and to agricultural technology. The podcast team also wants to reach anyone who listens to podcasts and wants to learn something new. New episodes will be released in seasons with hosts alternating throughout the season. Listeners will hear from multiple hosts and learn about multiple topics in each season. Listeners can also tune in to topics that they specifically want to learn about. There will be spring, fall, and summer seasons with episodes released every Thursday.
Find FarmBits on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio. The podcast currently has listeners across the U.S. and in 22 countries throughout the world. The podcast has 46 episodes to date and past episodes may be found on all platforms. Find FarmBits on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
FarmBits is a product of Nebraska Extension Digital Agriculture.