Texas Tech University

On the Block: The Agriculturist Podcast

On the Block: The Agriculturist Podcast

This podcast was created by students enrolled in the Agriculturist magazine class in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications at Texas Tech University. All content was created by students in their last spring semester as agricultural communications students.

In their last semester of their agricultural communications bachelor's degree, students enroll in the Ag Comm Block. "The Block," as it's commonly known, is a group of four classes that students take together. They create the Agriculturist magazine and a traditional and digital media campaign to promote it, plus they design all the layouts and some of the advertising to support the magazine. The Block is a capstone experience that brings together all the lessons the students learned during their degree program at Texas Tech.

2023 Episodes

Texas Sorghum

In this episode of The Agriculturist Podcast, agricultural communications seniors, Brooke Walser, Lauren Pritchett, Channing Shields and Kylie Henderson give listeners a behind-the-scenes investigation into the creation of one of the stories being published in the 2023 issue of The Agriculturist. The story is titled Creating Partnerships that Sustain and covers the $65 million grant awarded to National Sorghum Producers. Our staff members visit about the interviews with Krishna Jagadish, the lead researcher at Texas Tech, John Duff, the lead grant writer at the time for National Sorghum Producers and other commodity leaders, Samantha Borgstedt and Rick Kellison. Listeners also get to hear about the design process and how our awesome sponsors are the reason we can produce the award winning publication every year.

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High Impact Learning Experiences

In this podcast episode Chris Vardy, Nate Gregory, Cabree Mullins, and Katie Harris highlight what high impact learning is and how students can gain real-world experience in Davis College programs. Jason Headrick, Ph.D., is the special guest and dives into how students in the Civic Leadership Academy make impactful changes in the community. The full story can be found in The Agriculturist, or on the website.

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Women in Agricultural Education

In this episode of The Agriculturist Podcast, agricultural communications seniors Krislyn Tatum and Talyn Eaton take a deep dive into understanding retention of female agriculture teachers. As a guest, Samantha Gaddie, a recent agricultural education doctoral student at Texas Tech, discusses the research she compiled for her dissertation over this topic, her solutions to the problem, and speaks on what it is like to be a female ag teacher.  

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Water Conservation

On this episode of The Agriculturist Podcast, agricultural communications seniors Sierra Bingham, Marshal Gillit, Molly Jacobs and Molly Johnson discuss the issue of water on the High Plains. Sharing their perspective on the information producers and researchers shared about current conservation practices and having to have faith in the tough times.

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Texas Wine

This is an episode about the Texas wine industry for The Agriculturist podcast. This podcast talks about the Texas wine industry and all the opportunities and challenges faced by farmers and vineyard owners. We also showcase several different wineries within the region and talk about their success and individual businesses. As well as talk about students and professors in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech University.  
The podcast was produced by Kyler Hardegree, Kourtney Gibson, Haley Milam, and Maice Thomas.

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Texas Tech: A Family Tradition

Barbra Baumgardner shares her memories of her oldest brother sending letters home from Texas Tech University. She shares her time at Texas Tech in 1946, and what it was like for her to attend in the early years of the university. Listen to this episode to gain a feeling of what it was like to attend college in 1946 and hear the voice to the beginning of history story in the 2023 issue of the Agriculturist.  
This podcast was produced by Kynzie Hardegree, Kaitlyn Neal, McKenna Pavelock, and Carlye Winfrey.

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Growing a Cotton Story

This episode of The Agriculturist Podcast focuses on Growing a Cotton Story. Members of the team that assembled the “Collaboration in Cotton” story, Micah Perry, Kylie Farmer, Riley Hoyle, and Emmy Walley, describe their experiences in the agricultural communications senior block at Texas Tech University. Included in the episode are behind the-the-scenes soundbites and fun explanations of interviews, individual experiences in the ag com block, and advice for future members of the Ag Comm Block.

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Lubbock Area Museums

On this episode of The Agriculturist Podcast, agricultural communications seniors James Brady, Kamri Carper, Riley Greiten and Breely Huguley discuss the Ag Comm Block, Lubbock's world class museums, the people that run them, advertising sales and more. Tune in for in an in-depth conversation about what goes into making the award winning magazine, The Agriculturist.

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From Plains to Policy

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a Davis College government intern? In this episode of The Agriculturist Podcast, senior ACOM student and former intern Cason Lutrick talks with other Davis College students—Jenne Arrott, Denny Atchley, and Kylie Harlan—about their experiences as a government intern. Tune in to learn about the day-to-day life as an intern, their overall expectations, and where they see themselves in the future.  
This episode was created as a team project with contribution from Peyton Halfmann, Brittany Crain, and Hannah Barrett.

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Alternative Energy

In the process of producing the story "All the Above" for the 2023 issue of The Agriculturist magazine, our story team had to discover the fine lines around alternative energy sources. In this podcast, hear different sides of a controversial agriculture issue, and find out what could be shaping the future of our industry. This podcast was created by Brooklin Tyson, Lauren Berry, Cambry Cline, and Bridget McGuffin.

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