Vets In Ag Podcast

Hosted by AGD Consulting

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Latest episode

May 2026

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EN-US

About the show

We explore the stories and insights from the military veteran and supporter communities who are leading the way for vets in agribusiness, agtech, and agri-preneurship. We swap stories, talk ag, and show how grass-roots nature of the ag community can be a natural fit for the military veteran.

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10 recent

June 16, 20261 hr 40 min

#89 – Regenerative Grazing Open Air Lab (RGOAL) – Camp San Luis Obispo

This was a really special episode for me. If you've followed past episodes, you'll remember Major Eric Czaja and his wife Angela, and the Regenerative Grazing Open Air Lab (R-GOAL) about Camp San Luis Obispo — a first-of-its-kind program letting transitioning veterans learn about regenerative agriculture through adaptive grazing aboard a military installation. Eric and Angela invited me out to Camp SLO for a two-day Ranching for Profit course hosted by Noble Research Institute, and while I was there, I got the chance to sit down with the R-GOAL interns themselves — in- person, for the first time in the show's history. This conversation includes Major Eric Czaja, plus six members of his team from across the services: Chelsey Chevez (Marine Corps, intelligence specialist), Jacob Isom (Army, 101st Airborne), Omar Huerta (Marine Corps, field artillery cannoneer), Matt Ammel (Army, Special Forces), Eric Morris (Air Force, aircraft mechanic), and Miles Hatch (Cal Poly student and the program's first non-veteran team member). As Eric Czaja put it, framing why this program exists at all, "160,000 service members leave the service every year. Where do you get involved in agriculture? We want to be that opportunity for veterans — which is why we're all here." In this episode, we talk about how the program is scaling from one base to three (Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett are next) and the leadership lessons each of these folks carries from their time in uniform, or their time in this program and before, into the day-to-day work at Camp SLO. I also get the chance to have a conversation with a group of veterans about a topic that still doesn’t get enough attention — an honest discussion about suicide, loss of purpose, and how so many of these folks have found that purpose again through this program. Again, this was a really special episode for me. Enjoy!

May 25, 20261 hr 44 min

#88 – DMR Drones – Wes Mathews (US Army)

Today's guest is Wes Mathews — a Louisiana native, former Army cavalry scout, Iraq veteran, former CrossFit coach, and now a veteran at DMR Drones, a company that's quietly becoming one of the leading drone manufacturing companies in America. Wes grew up in central Louisiana, surrounded by a multi-generational military family — his grandfather served Korea, stepfather in the National Guard, younger brother served in Iraq with Wes and would later become a Blackhawk pilot, and the list goes on. According to Wes, joining the Army wasn't a decision so much as a foregone conclusion. What wasn't planned was everything that came after: the years of mental health struggles between combat deployments, the near-miss in his personal life that only family and friends pulled him back from, and eventually, the unlikely path that led him to DMR Drones — an American-owned company building ag and defense drones out of Lafayette, Louisiana. Wes said it best, "[DMR] is more interested in what my skill sets can do for them rather than changing me to fit the company's needs." In this episode, I want you to listen for a few key threads: first — what it actually looked like to come home from a National Guard deployment without the structure of a base to return to, and why this gap costs veterans more than most people realize; second — how Wes clawed his way back from these dark moments, and what made the ultimate the difference; and finally — how American-made ag drones are challenging the way sugarcane and row crops get treated, monitored, and managed, and why veterans are uniquely positioned to sit at that intersection of defense and agriculture. This one covers a ton of ground — combat, mental health, and flying precision ag. Enjoy!

April 1, 20261 hr 12 min

#87 – Ag View Solutions, Monier Seed, Ag View Pitch Podcast – Shay Foulk (US Army)

Today's guest is Shay Foulk — an Iowa native, Army Ranger, and current National Guard officer who came home from the military not to slow down, but to build. What he built is three interlocking businesses: a 100-year-old family seed operation he married into, a family farm he's actively transitioning into his generation's hands, and a consulting firm that helps family farms across the country do the same thing he's doing — make hard decisions before it's too late. As Shay puts it, "It is so easy — so easy — to set yourself apart in a world where nobody wants to do the hard things, in a world where people don't want to show up on time, in a world where people lack the commitment. Veterans have a tremendous opportunity from the basic level of discipline and structure that you went through in your lives." In this episode, listen closely for a few key threads: first — how a Ranger Regiment deployment to Afghanistan taught Shay a leadership lesson he applies daily in agriculture; second — why he believes the family farm succession crisis is less a structural problem and more a people problem, driven by avoidance and a failure to have hard conversations; and finally, how he's spreading 150% of his time across a seed business, a farm, and a consulting practice — and why delegation is the only way out. This one is part combat story, part business school, and part straight talk on what it actually takes to build something that lasts in agriculture. Enjoy!

March 11, 20261 hr 15 min

#86 – DNA Acres – David and Nicki Yanak (US Air Force)

Today's guests are David and Nicki Yanak from DNA Acres — two Air Force veterans who left the service with no farming background, a piece of land in rural Missouri, and absolutely no idea what they were getting into. David spent his career in security forces before a series of back surgeries brought his military path to an abrupt end. Nicki served in communications and later became a nurse. Neither of them grew up farming, nor had they planned to, but when a neighbor knocked on David's door and said "good — you have no bad habits I have to break," something clicked. What started with a backfield, a craftsman lawn mower, and a favor for a sick neighbor has grown into a direct-to-market operation raising cattle, chickens, and turkeys — built on non-GMO feed, regenerative grazing, and a stubborn commitment to doing things differently. As David puts it, "The farming community, regardless — big AG, regenerative, whatever — just seems to be a community that reminds me of the military. You need help, they show up. You got a question, you call, you ask, you get their perspective." In this episode, we talk about what it actually looks like to build a farm from scratch — the financial risk, the YouTube rabbit holes, and the patient, unglamorous work of improving land one season at a time. We also get into why David and Nicki made the leap to sell direct to their community, and why transparency in how their animals are raised is a reflection of the values they carried out of uniform. This is a real grassroots story. No shortcuts. No fancy equipment. Just two veterans figuring it out as they go — and finding purpose in the process. Enjoy!

January 31, 20261 hr 18 min

#85 – Arizona State University & Carbon Cowboys – Peter Byck

“Agriculture is an act of peace. Well-fed people really don’t feel like fighting, but unfed people will do anything to feed their family.” Peter Byck is a Professor of Practice at the Schools of Sustainability and Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, President of Carbon Cowboys, and documentary filmmaker. Peter’s work sits at the intersection of military readiness, national security, and regenerative agriculture. His journey involving the military and agriculture started with a simple question: why are we putting our military in harm’s way to protect resources we could be producing differently at home? That led him from documenting renewable energy at forward operating bases to his latest work: a four-part docu series called Roots So Deep You Can See the Devil Down There, which documents a multi-million-dollar research project comparing conventional and regenerative grazing. But Peter’s story doesn’t stop at the farm gate. In his newest film, camp AMP, he follows US Army Major Eric Czaja and wife Angela, as they show how regenerative grazing inside a military installation can improve mission readiness while simultaneously creating pathways for veterans transitioning back to civilian life. In this conversation, we talk about how regenerative agriculture connects to military preparedness, why well-fed populations create more stable societies, and how scaling these practices across the military isn’t just good for farming – it’s good national security strategy. Enjoy!

January 16, 20261 hr 15 min

#84 – Arizona State University – Alicia Ellis (US Air Force)

Today’s guest is Alicia Ellis—a US Air Force veteran whose work goes well beyond farming as a lifestyle choice. Alicia has spent her career thinking about systems: how food is produced, how it moves, who controls it, and what happens when those systems fail. And for her, agriculture isn’t separate from national defense—it’s foundational to it. As Alicia puts it, “Food security is national security.” In this episode, we talk about why resilient food systems matter for military readiness, how agriculture fits into broader national security conversations, and why veterans are uniquely positioned to see those connections. Alicia shares how her experience in uniform shaped the way she approaches agriculture—not just as production, but as infrastructure that supports communities, installations, and the nation as a whole. This is a conversation about preparedness, risk, and responsibility—about why food deserves a seat at the national security table, and why veterans belong in that conversation. Enjoy!

December 31, 20251 hr 23 min

#83 – 1840 Farm Foundation – Matt Adler (US Air Force)

Today’s guest is Matt Adler, a US Air Force veteran whose military background isn’t the typical straight line into agriculture—but stick with us, because the connection matters. Matt spent his time in uniform working in highly technical, high-stakes environments where mistakes weren’t an option. And while we do touch on his experience as a nuclear specialist, the real value of this conversation is how that kind of training reshaped the way he sees agriculture. As Matt puts it, “What the military really taught me was systems thinking… When I got into agriculture, I realized it’s the same exact thing.” In this episode, listen closely for a few key threads: first - how military systems thinking applies directly to soil health and farm management; secondly - why agriculture punishes shortcuts the same way the military does; and finally, how Matt’s transition forced him to slow down, filter noise, and focus on what actually drives outcomes on the land. This is a wide-ranging conversation, but at its core, it’s about interconnected systems and why veterans often see agriculture differently once they step into it. Enjoy! 1840 Farm Foundation - https://www.linkedin.com/company/1840-farm-foundation/ Elm Spring Farm - https://elmspringfarmco.com/

December 16, 20251 hr 14 min

#82 – Nate Hankes (US Army) – Apogee Instruments

Today’s guest is Nate Hankes – US Army drone operator turned soil scientist then sales engineer at a cutting-edge agricultural sensor manufacturer. Nate spent 14 months in Baghdad during the 2007 troop surge, watching chaos unfold from a screen thousands of feet above, feeling both omniscient, at times, and impotent. He came home carrying a weight of the war he didn't know he had, spent nine years writing a book to process it, and took five months to hike the Appalachian Trail to figure out who he was after the uniform came off. As Nate says, “I called it the Bagdad hangover. I lost a decade of my life to it.” His path into agriculture wasn't some romantic calling—it was practical advice from his dad during the Great Recession and a college program that didn't require calculus. But somewhere between a Monsanto internship at an Idaho phosphate mine, graduate research on a selenium-accumulating plant that killed livestock, and learning hydroponics in a Bob Marley-playing, barefoot California office, Nate found something he didn't expect: Purpose through Science. Now he's at Apogee Instruments in Utah, working with researchers and growers who are trying to do everything from grow plants in space to monitor the distribution of light in their greenhouses. The company was founded by his former graduate advisor, Dr. Bruce Bugbee, who's been manufacturing high-fidelity environmental sensors for nearly 30 years. In this conversation, we get into: The moral weight of remote warfare Leadership failures that push good people out, and Why the precision of measuring photons matters when you're trying to feed people Nate doesn't sugarcoat the hard parts, and he's not interested in wrapping his military service in nostalgia. He's just trying to do work that matters. Enjoy!

December 7, 20251 hr 7 min

#81 – Robin Gentry McGee – Essential Provisions

Today’s guest is Robin Gentry McGee, founder of Essential Provisions. Robin’s story is part kitchen, part battlefield – not one of dirt and distant lands, but a battle for her father’s health. Her early years were spent in the family’s garden, followed by a career in food and restaurants, and then a seismic moment when her father’s hospital experience forced her to rethink what we call “hospital food.” That led her from the kitchen to product development and ultimately to building shelf-stable meals designed with service members and high performers in mind. As Robin says: “These guys, especially when they were deployed, they need a taste of home. They need to feel like this just came off their loved one's stove.” This episode isn’t about miracle cures or grand claims. It’s about how a daughter’s experience with her father—about family meals, advocacy, and seeing what people are actually fed when they’re at their most vulnerable—became the engine for a company trying to reconnect service members to real food. We dig into product development, sourcing from regenerative farms, the procurement challenges with the military, and the practical reasons why a “taste of home” matters for health, performance, and morale. Enjoy!

November 24, 20251 hr 7 min

#80 – Angela Czaja (US Army Reserves) – Regenerative Grazing Open-Air Lab (R-GOAL)

Today’s episode brings you a story that sits right at the intersection of grit, service, and the regenerative future of our military installations. And it starts with a spark—one that Angela Czaja noticed long before the Department of War ever cared about cattle, soil health, or regenerative grazing. As Angela puts it: “I saw, even in North Carolina, just this passion that Eric [her husband] had for livestock… this spark about him whenever he was around the livestock… That was just a really special place for him.” That spark eventually became one of the most unconventional, disruptive, and frankly needed ideas to hit the national security space in decades: using regenerative livestock management as a tool to harden military installations, restore degraded training lands, and create meaningful pathways for transitioning service members. Angela joins us today to give the inside view—not the thesis version, not the policy deck, but the family-level, marriage-level, move-across-the-country-three-times-with-kids-in-tow version—of what it really took to build what is now the Regenerative Grazing Open-Air Lab at Camp San Luis Obispo. In this conversation, you’ll hear how a dairy-farm kid from Wisconsin ends up shaping one of the most interesting ag-meets-national-security projects in the country… why livestock became a lifeline of purpose during her husband's transition from the Army Special Forces… and how their family’s faith, resilience, and service-driven mindset turned a wild idea into a model the Pentagon is now watching closely. You can also watch the short documentary produced by Peter Byck on YouTube here. Enjoy!

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