When Natalie Kovarik was growing up on the family ranch in Montana, she had no intention of staying in the ag world. She went off to college, earned a degree in pharmacy and took a job in a city. While back home at the ranch for a short visit, however, she met her soon-to-be husband and eventually ended up raising a family on a cattle ranch in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. She now finds herself not only back in the ag world but a social media ambassador for it.
On the latest episode of Grow Getters, a new Farm Journal podcast that celebrates America’s most inventive ‘agri-preneurs,’ Kovarik talks about how she has become a powerful voice in spreading the word about how food is grown and livestock is raised. Her goal is to bridge the widening gap between rural and urban life and to foster a clearer understanding between those worlds.
“I think my biggest thing is just reminding people that there is a person or a face and a family behind food,” Kovarik tells Grow Getters host Davis Michaelsen. “I think that all the fear and misinformation and consumer confusion is rooted around that missing piece — that there is a person behind the food. I think trust would be increased substantially if they could connect their food with a person.”
By spreading this message effectively, Kovarik has amassed a social media audience numbering well into six figures. She also co-hosts a podcast called Discover Ag with dairy farmer Tara Vander Dussen, on which the pair covers what’s new in the world of food. But achieving such success didn’t come without some false starts and deft pivots.
“I think there’s beauty in testing different paths and seeing what fits for you,” she says. “If you look back at my journey, I’ve always been one to kind of go down a path and then say, ‘Is this working or is it not?’ And then kind of back scale or continue forward. And I always try and give that advice to youth because sometimes that’s not the advice they get.”
Listen to the full interview on the Grow Getters podcast.
Find out more about Natalie Kovarik by visiting https://nataliekovarik.com
View More Episodes of Grow Getters
View Natalie’s Podcast, Discover Ag
