Media in Minutes

How a City Kid Became a Voice for Farmers and the Business Behind the Field with Successful Farming's Cassidy Walter

• Angela Tuell • Season 5 • Episode 22

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A single press call about the farm bill changed everything for our guest, Business Management Editor Cassidy Walter of Successful Farming. What started as a political beat in college became a career dedicated to helping producers make smart, profitable decisions in an unpredictable market.

We explore how Cassidy translates corn, soybean, wheat and livestock price moves into plain-English guidance farmers can act on. She explains the difference between agronomy and business reporting, why clear market context matters more when margins tighten and how stories on mental health and community sit alongside coverage of land values, basis and risk management. Cassidy also pulls back the curtain on the craft: breaking down complex policy and trade, partnering with designers to make tough topics visual and choosing sources who bring data and lived experience to the page.

You’ll hear about standout features like the Huck and Buck Farm Sanctuary profile, the Future Grain Marketers of America story that demystifies hedging for the next generation, and the Mexico Maize package unpacking GMO corn and trade. We also dig into what makes Successful Farming unique across magazine, web, radio and podcasts, plus a preview of high-impact projects: the future of California specialty crops as Peru competes on price, whether grain markets are in a longer downturn and a practical safety guide on preventing and managing fire on the farm.

PR pros, there’s candid advice here on pitching: write crystal-clear headlines and decks, aim the idea at the right editor and match timelines to print versus digital. Cassidy shares the types of analysts and farmer voices she needs, and the one contact method she always checks: email. If you care about the business side of agriculture, storytelling with purpose and decisions that keep family operations resilient, this conversation is for you.

You can connect with Cassidy via email at cassidy.walter@agriculture.com. 

Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662 


Angela Tuell:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we're talking with Cassidy Walter, Business Management Editor at Successful Farming. First published in 1902, Successful Farming serves the business, production, and family information needs of American farmers and ranchers. Cassidy manages and writes stories focused on farm management, finance, and the evolving business of agriculture. Based in Iowa, she brings a deep understanding of the industry from varied professional experience, helping producers make informed, profitable decisions in today's changing landscape. Welcome, Cassidy.

Cassidy Walter:

Hi, thanks for having me on your podcast.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, I'm I'm very excited to talk to an ag journalist, agriculture, I should say, instead of using some of the slang, right? But um I'd love to start a little bit with your background. You know, what led you to a career in journalism and specifically agricultural media?

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, so it's kind of a long story. So I'll try to not have it be too terribly long. But um basically I always loved write as a kid. And like around middle school, when they start having you take those like not aptitude tests, those like career choice, career path tests, I was like, I need to figure out something I can do where I can write and make money.

Angela Tuell:

That doesn't usually happen that that often, right?

Cassidy Walter:

And so I landed on journalism pretty early in life, and I did a lot of like journalism camps and and things and tried to find opportunities through middle school and high school. And so I wound up at the University of Iowa for journalism, which was lucky for me that I didn't have to go too far from home. I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. Okay. Um and uh I was really interested in politics and I majored in journalism and political science. And if you'd asked me when I was like 18, I probably would have said I'm gonna be in New York or DC and be like a policy reporter or a White House reporter. Um, but I kind of accidentally fell backwards into agriculture. Um I my freshman year in college, I was working at the Daily Iowan, which is the student paper there on campus. And I was the political reporter. And one day, um, I think it was Congressman Boswell was still a congressman at the time, and Senator Harkin. And I think they were having some sort of press call. And our um my our editors were like, Well, we don't know what they're gonna talk about, but you're gonna be on this call and write about whatever they talk about. And uh they talked about the farm bill, which I knew nothing about. And just like, okay, well, I gotta learn something for today and get write something about this.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, so you did not grow up on a farm then? No, I didn't.

Cassidy Walter:

Okay, okay. Um, I grew up in Iowa, but not on a farm. Okay. And so then later that same year, so this is 2012, getting going into the 2012 election. We were talking about doing a bunch of issue coverage, like big big issues going into the election. And one of the issues our editors wanted to cover was the farm bill. And I was like, Well, I did that one farm bill story.

Angela Tuell:

So I guess you're an expert now.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, I'm like, I guess I'll volunteer for that. Uh and uh accidentally through reporting on that, wound up on an email list for the vice president of the Johnson County Farm Bureau, and he would send out like news clips every week of stories of things going on in agriculture. And I had a lot of pitches due every week at the as a Metro reporter at the Daily Island. So I was like, this is gold, these are story ideas. Yeah. And so then I just ended up writing about a lot of agriculture issues and meeting farmers, and I just loved it. And at the time, I very much had that consumer perspective. Like even though I grew up in Iowa and Des Moines, there's somewhat of a distance between uh, you know, Des Moines is the biggest city in Iowa. I mean, it's it's a small, it's small compared to actual big cities, but you know, there's a distance between you and your food and your food source. So I had a lot of questions, and because I was writing stories and meeting people, I had an opportunity to ask a lot of questions and just learn more and more about it. And I was, and it just kind of grew this desire in me to want to help farmers tell their stories. And I was, you know, I had sort of also like an Iowa pride, like, you know, I need to, I should know about this. This is my state, you know, um thing going on as well. And so then that that geared or that veered off to like ag PR for a while. And I um I interned at the Iowa Farm Bureau in their communications department, and I interned at a small town newspaper just to kind of see what that to be in a rural area and be near agriculture. And um and yeah, I mean, I don't have to walk you through my whole career path of but uh or maybe we'll get to that later. But but yeah, so I just kind of fell backwards into it and loved it and just wanted to be be a part of it. And I do still to this day get grief for going to the University of Iowa and being, you know, from a city, but um, you know, I think I've uh I've been around long enough now that um uh you know I've learned a lot and I I think I've earned some respect in that regard. Yes.

Angela Tuell:

So how did you get to successful farming?

Cassidy Walter:

Um, okay, so my previous my previous job, I was the communications director at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, which is a trade association that supports biofuel producers, which you know, biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel are very closely tied to agriculture because they're typically made from ag products. And so I was still like very close to my like desire to be an ag in ag communication. And I had a really good boss um who went to an event and met the publisher of Successful Farming. And he had been telling me for a couple of years, he's like, I think you got it right the first time when you studied journalism. Like, you know, I'm you know, he wasn't trying to get rid of me, but he was, you know, I was young in my career and he was looking out for me. He was like, I think you would do really well at like a public, like a magazine, like you know, an ag magazine. And I was like, okay, well, we'll see if that ever comes along. Right. And it he met the publisher, and it just so happened that they were hiring, and he pulled me into his office one day and was like, Hey, I'm not trying to get rid of you, but this may be something you should look into. And uh, which is, you know, I every time I tell people that story, they're like, that's a really good boss. Yes.

Angela Tuell:

I was just gonna say that's an incredible person, like to not to look out for his own interests of what's best for him with you there, but to look out for you. Wow.

Cassidy Walter:

He like he likes to that put that role, that communications role, uh, at the at least at the time, it may have evolved since then, but it it it was very much an uh uh an entry-level job. And so he, I think he knew, you know, I was probably not going to be there forever, right? Um, just because of the type of job that it was. And so yeah, he was looking out for me. And I reached out pretty quickly, and you know, here I am. Originally, I and I didn't even end up in the position that I applied for. Um, I applied for, and I didn't necessarily understand it when I was applying what the, you know, job titles are kind of vague sometimes. Right, right. Um, and they had a couple different ones open. Um, but one of the the the person who was involved, one of the people involved in the hiring process who eventually became my first manager here, she was like, I think you would, I think you would be good at this, this, this role, this business management editor role. And I'm like, okay. Because I and I was up for the challenge, but like business and markets were not in my wheelhouse at the time. I had to learn a lot, which I don't want to get ahead of your questions, but um, but yeah, I had I had to learn a lot. And it was uh it's been really fun to to get into something that I I didn't know about before I started. Yeah.

Angela Tuell:

So how long have you been there now?

Cassidy Walter:

It's been uh over three, over three years, maybe three, about three and a half-ish. Okay.

Angela Tuell:

Okay. So your title is business management editor. What does that mean?

Cassidy Walter:

So first first of all, it means that I cover commodity markets for us for our website, um, which is agriculture.com, not successfulfarming.com for anyone who's trying to find us. Um, I so I cover um I look at grain prices, corn soy, wheat prices, livestock prices, and I report on what the prices are doing in the morning and after the market has closed in the afternoon. Um, and I try to include um, you know, expert commentary on, you know, what the prices are doing or what issues are impacting the market. So that that's uh sort of my first duty every day when I come into the office. And then what I like to say is I cover everything that isn't agronomy, which isn't entirely true because there's other areas of ag like machinery that are also not in my beat. But but I or another thing I like to say is I can't tell you how to grow a crop, but I can talk to you about how to try to make some money off of it. Okay, okay. So I've I've in this role, I have grown a lot of respect for sort of the different areas of expertise in agriculture. Like the agronomy editors that we have, you know, they're looking at how are you growing the crop? How are you preventing weed pressure or disease diseases? You know, they're looking, it's sort of the science of of the of farming. And and that is like a whole other world. And then I'm looking at the business side of it. How are you gonna market this grain? How are you managing your finances? What what new avenues should we be exploring to add to your bottom line? Um what's your farmland worth right now, or what's it gonna be worth in a year, or you know, those kinds of things. And then we have, like I said, other other editors as well, like the machinery team that's keeping an eye on all the new uh technology that's coming out and how AI factors into that and new products and things like that. And and I'm probably forgetting other we have we have great people, I don't want to leave anyone out, but but you know, I'm the point is just that there's these sort of like specialized areas, and I'm just one piece of that. And um, and sometimes there's crossover and then we get to work together, so that can be fun too.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah. And what did you think? What do you think of that beat now? I mean, you you know, weren't sure at first, um, but are you loving it?

Cassidy Walter:

I am loving it. I I never ever in a million years would have thought that I would be doing anything with business or money or finances. Like I, you know, math was a hard subject for me growing up. And uh I didn't think I I didn't think that business would be interesting to me because I'm I have more of a creative creative mind, uh, artsy mind. Um, but it is so fun and it is so interesting. And I love watching how the markets move and react and overreact and and trying to figure out well, I thought this would happen because this was the news today, but it didn't, and talking to experts about that. And so there's a whole it's like speaking another language, and that's been really fun. And then so farming is more than just a business, but it but it is a business, you know, and so I get to talk about how are you making a living? How are you gonna sustain your your your business for the next generation? And and that feels really personal, and it feels like something that actually makes a difference, that is actually helping people, you know, manage their business.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, so we talk about that a lot in journalism. That's what we all went into journalism for a lot of times, is to make a difference and help others and share that information. Right. How is that going right now with so many so much uncertainty and um you know struggles for the farmers?

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, it is it's a it's kind of a tough time right now for sure. Um, which I think I don't know, I want to say maybe that m makes what we're doing at Successful Farming even more important, you know, trying trying to stay in tune with what's going on in the world and getting farmers what they need to know, but but also in I don't want to say inspiring hope because it maybe that makes us sound more important than we actually are, but but trying to find ways to to also bring light to for the I think of like my manager, she she writes a lot of um stuff about like mental health and sort of the interpersonal parts of managing a farm business. Yeah. And she did a story um about farmers who get together and just have coffee and talk because that's like an outlet that they that they need, and it's like a mental health support for them. And and so I think bringing stories like that too, that can maybe like encourage people a little bit is is really cool and is something that we get to do um in the midst of you know some harder times right now.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, I love that. What have been some of your favorite stories or projects so far?

Cassidy Walter:

Um, so kind of along that same vein of you know, bringing hop bringing stories of hope. Um, one of my favorite stories that I did get to do is kind of out of my wheelhouse, but we had a uh a series. I don't think we're doing it, we we don't do it anymore, but we did when I was first when I first started, it was called Hometown Heroes. And um, I got to go to a farm in Delaware called Huck and Buck Farm Sanctuary. I like that name.

Angela Tuell:

Huck and Buck.

Cassidy Walter:

They were great. Um so basically it was this couple that they both had um a background, like their careers were being real estate agents. Okay. And uh and they and I think they were still kind of doing that, but they bought this this farmland and they just kind of started a farm. And uh the husband, it was sort of like his passion project, but then uh Michael and then Andrea, the the the wife, she like it she fell into it and loved it and found that she she was grieving the loss of a child and uh working on the farm and cultivating it, like she said, helped her grieve. And then it impassioned her to want to open the farm up to people for the same purposes. So they would host they host events and they um they invite people who are like camping or glamping. Um they had like volunteer days for kids to come who maybe had never been on a farm or had like fresh produce right off the vine. So that was one of my favorite projects because me and my husband actually we got to go out there and meet them and they let us stay on the farm. I mean, we it was it was a really cool like visit where we got to get to know them and their operation. Um, and then I got to write about it. So that was really cool.

Angela Tuell:

That's awesome. Can we find that article online?

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, it is on our website.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, great.

Cassidy Walter:

Um, if you just search Huck and Buck in our like search bar, that's like the fastest way I think to find it. Okay. Um, and then um going back to more of the business side of things, uh, one story that I did uh a couple a year or two ago, uh the title was Future Grain Marketers of America, where I got to kind of look into so grain marketing your grain, especially like through the futures market, um is can be really challenging. And I think for some farmers, it's like, well, I'm a farmer, I want to grow a crop, you know, like they're not the business side of it, the marketing side of it isn't the part that they're really excited about, you know. And and so um, you know, they're excited about the actual farming. And uh, but I got to explore how there's so many different factors in the world that are impacting prices now, that it's really important for up-and-coming farmers, the younger generation, to learn about these marketing tools that are out there. And that that was something that wasn't necessarily a part of like your upbringing as a future farmer in the past, and that it is important today for these young, younger or you know, whether you're a college student or you know, just an up-and-coming farmer, to get exposed to how are we not just growing the crop, but actually selling it. Um so that was that was a cool story because that was a way that I was able to look because the I think that the markets part of what I do can sometimes be perceived as kind of dry. And so uh this was a way to kind of bring some more depth to that topic. Um and then I I really I've as I was thinking about this question, I realized, you know, I really enjoy when I get to like break take a complex topic and then break it down and explain it to the reader in a way that is digestible. And then when we can bring like really fun or memorable design to that story as well for the magazine, like that's like my favorite part when I get to like collaborate with the designer and and just really make the story come alive.

Angela Tuell:

Oh, that's wonderful. We'll definitely include um in our show notes links to those stories.

Cassidy Walter:

Uh, we did one uh I think it was last year, and it we called it the Mexico Maze. Okay. We spelled maze like corn maize, like M-A-I-I-M-A-I-C, um, because it was looking at Mexico's ban on GMO corn and like what that means for for the US and US trade relations and US agriculture. And I got to work with the um with the designer on like literally he so we did like a tortilla with like a maze that had a certain design that then that like design kind of followed through the rest of the story. And so that was really I don't know if if you looked at it online, I don't know if you'd be able to tell that that would maybe came across better in print. But um, but that was another really that was a complex topic that it was really fun for me to like okay, I need to dive into this. I I I tend to do like a really deep dive and then come back out, and then I'm like, okay, now I have to figure out how to explain it.

Angela Tuell:

That is so cool. And that's I mean, the best journalist can do that well. So you we will definitely include include links to those. Thank you. I did want to ask a little bit about successful farming. How is it different than other agricultural outlets?

Cassidy Walter:

That's an okay, that's an interesting way of thinking about it. I mean, I think one thing that sets us apart is our history. Um, so successful farming is over 120 years old. The magazine the magazine launched in 1902 and our website launched in 1995. Um, we're a part of People Inc., which is the largest print and digital publisher in the US. So we have like a really great like parent company backing us as well. Um, and we've got a lot going on. So we're a magazine and a website. We also have a radio network and we have a pod, we have a couple of different podcasts. We have like the SF podcast, and then my manager, she does um 15 minutes with a farmer podcast.

Angela Tuell:

Okay.

Cassidy Walter:

Um, you know, obviously we're on social media and YouTube, and then there's also like events that we're involved in. Like we're pretty heavily involved in commodity classic, which if you're if you're a farmer, you've you know what commodity classic is. If you're not, it doesn't mean anything to you. But um, so we've we've got a lot going on here at Successful Farming.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, you guys do some great work. Are there any upcoming stories or things you're working on that you're excited about?

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, I'm really excited about some of the stuff that I'm gonna get to do in 2026. Um, so we our editor-in-chief pitched a story that um that I'm gonna take on about California agriculture, which is not exactly our bread and butter, like we're typically covering corn, soy, wheat, livestock, like Midwestern type agriculture. We are a national publication, so we do occasionally dive into these like specialty crops or produce crops. Um, but it's definitely different from like the everyday. Um, but she pitched a story idea about the future of California agriculture. I think she went to an event where this was discussed that the country of Peru may be able to grow a lot of the same crops that they grow in California um at a lower price. And so, what is that gonna mean for California? Um and so um I'm gonna get to go to California, hopefully, and actually actually meet some California farmers and and learn about their because that is like a whole whole other world. Like produce farming is is very different from I am at, or I guess I should say I imagine is very different from what we what we typically are doing in the Midwest. So um uh so I'm really excited about that. Get to actually meet those farmers and and talk about what what they are what they're facing. Um and then in February, I'm gonna be working. We'll have a feature about uh we going back to what farmers are facing right now, looking at are we in a long-term downturn of of commodity prices, specifically uh corn soy wheat livestock, but or actually it would be corn soy wheat. Um live cattle are doing fairly well right now, but so it would just be looking at you know, prices have been trending down for the past few years. So do you know, economic experts, analysts are we do we think we're gonna keep going in this direction or what what may break us out of this trend? Like that's something I'm gonna be looking into. Um, and then in March, we're we have uh uh an issue themed around the topic of fire. And so we're gonna have a couple of different stories about managing fire on the farm. And I'm gonna be doing a feature on, you know, what are the most common fires that happen on the farm? How do you prepare for them, manage them, uh, you know, try to prevent them, that kind of thing. So that'll be kind of a different. And I gotta give credit. I had a writing coach who used to work here that you know, I asked him, like, is there anything you wish you would have gotten to do? And he was like, I wanted to do an issue that just said fire on the front. So I don't know if it'll just say fire. But it will be a fire, it will be the theme of the issue will be fire. So um and he's even gonna get to write a piece for that issue as well. So I love it. Yeah.

Angela Tuell:

So it's I mean, that's all such great information too, you know, that it's hopefully gonna be really practical information.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, that's perfect.

Angela Tuell:

I I did want to ask a little bit about, you know, much of our audience are PR professionals, and I'm sure you work with them pretty often. Yeah, what makes a good story pitch to you stand out, or how can we, you know, best help you do your job?

Cassidy Walter:

Um so for me, when you send out a press release, the making the headline and like the deck, like that that sub-headline part really, really clear. Like I wanna, I basically want to know just from reading the headline and the deck, like what is your news about? Um, sometimes I get press releases that are it's kind of convoluted, like I'm kind of confused, and then I have to like read deeper to to wrap my brain around it. And I I've even had one where like the press release like led me to believe a certain thing. And then when I called and dug more into it, they're like, Oh, well, it's not actually that, it's this. And I'm like, well, that's disappointing. Yes, that's awful. Um, so just you know, pretending like you don't know you aren't a content expert on what you're writing about, and just trying to think about it from that perspective, and like, can you tell from the very start like what this is about? That would be my my ask to PR professionals who are sending me press releases. Um and then because I am we obviously we're online, but because I'm in the magazine world, things move slowly, but also way far in advance at the same time. So, like maybe just keeping that in mind, like the more advanced, like if it's a more of an evergreen topic that isn't like red hot news, like because there's not a whole lot of like, well, it's really hot today, but it's gonna be old news tomorrow in the actual magazine. Right. So, you know, things that are going into the magazine have a little bit more staying power than that. Um so when sending out topical type, you know, pitches or press releases, um, just maybe patience with me that like if you don't hear from me for a few months, it doesn't necessarily mean that I've forgotten about you. You know, we we we work really far in advance and we but but it's also like this weirdly slow process where it's a lot of hurry up and wait, where it's like once I'm working on something, um, it's like okay, I'm working on this now and it's due in a few weeks, but it's not gonna be published for a few months. And even though it's due in a few weeks, there's gonna be several editing rounds between now and when it, you know, so it and I and I don't fault people for not understanding that process, but um, maybe that's a little peek behind the curtain on the magazine side of things. And then um, and then yeah, just in terms of like contact, like email is a hundred is totally my preferred, and I'm I am like obsessively like checking my email and keeping my inbox clean.

Angela Tuell:

So that's great. I was going to say, you know, the first one where you were saying making it clear in an email, that no one has time. I don't know how you have time to read through and try to figure out what it's not that clear. And I guess that probably does make some stories get lost, right? Or not included because it doesn't make sense.

Cassidy Walter:

You know, yeah, the one that I was that I was thinking of, I was still able to like do the story. It just wasn't like as groundbreaking as I thought it was based on like that was that was disappointing, but it was still a story, but it just wasn't as interesting as I thought it was gonna be.

Angela Tuell:

What types of sources you've mentioned a little bit, you know, or expert voices are you typically looking for?

Cassidy Walter:

Um, so in my beat, I'm usually looking for um, you know, economic analysts, market analysts, um, you know, people who are watching either commodity prices or farmland prices, um, financial advisors, like that's usually the kind of people I'm talking to. But then as much as possible, it's it's we like to try to tie farmer voices into our stories, even the business stories. Um, so when I can't, when I can find farmers who are either well versed in whatever the topic is, or they're being impacted by that whatever the topic is, like that that's really helpful as well.

Angela Tuell:

You mentioned a little bit about the timing, you know, very far ahead. What is ideal for the print? Four months, more, less?

Cassidy Walter:

Um, well, it's that's an interesting, it's hard to say exactly. Like depending on so I have things that so like for features, we plan those out. I mean, basically six months in advance. Like we just had our I don't know if you could say it's a year, but like so we just, for example, in October, we just had a pitch meeting on like planning out our features for the second half of 2026. Okay. But we have flexibility, and because of some of the things that had come up and things we wanted to do, our editor-in-chief, she actually kind of adjusted, she made adjustments to the first part of 2026 and kind of readjusted the whole year, even though we had technically pitched and set stories for the first part of 2026 back in like July. Um, it was like June or July. So those things are planned really far in advance, but also we're because we're we're like news based to an extent, like we do have some flexibility to move things around if we think something is more urgent or can wait longer. And then um, but then there's things that are less um less planned out in advance. Like there's a section of the magazine called uh bottom line that I'm responsible for. And every month it's uh a topic that you guessed it impacts farmers' bottom line. Hey, it's clear, it tells you what it is. Yeah. Um, and that can really be. I mean, it's I've done stories kind of across the board. Like I've done, I did I could anything from like, you know, what you should be thinking. About going into tax season to why you should care about the timber on your farm and how maybe that can make you some money. So that there's that it can really be across the board. Um, and those get planned not nearly as far in advance. Like I it just depends on how many ideas I've got going in my like mental Rolodex, but or in my email, you know. But you could pitch me something today that could end up in February's uh, you know, because I'm already at the point where I'm thinking about January and February. Um like I'm I'm like literally just this week, I was writing a story that's gonna be in the January issue. Um, so you could pitch so it that may seem like an eternity in today's like, you know, 24-7 news cycle internet world. But but to me, it feels not it feels relatively soon, which is because I'm gonna be working on February stories probably next month. You know what I mean? So yeah, if you pitch me something today, maybe it could end up in February's bottom line. So I mean, really, you can send me ideas at any time. It just you may not actually see see it in print, but it it may feel like a long wait for you.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, yes. It is such a you know, and that and the job as a PR professional too, when you're you're looking at every out, and each outlet, like you said, has so many different deadlines, you know, because we work on print, on digital, online, and it's different for each of those.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah. I mean, and we and we do handle like the the the more urgent stuff online, right? Like if you send me something that's news today and it's hot, like we'll figure that out for the web. But the long-term stuff is more so for the the magazine. Yeah, that's great.

Angela Tuell:

So, what if we have other ide, you know, ideas in different um different pitch areas that necessarily wouldn't be you? What's the best way to reach out and find who who we should connect with?

Cassidy Walter:

On our website, we have if you go to the there's a tab at the top called About Us. And then if you click on that, you can find off to the side, like uh there's a link to staff. And just look at look at the titles, look at the bios. I think everybody's e everybody or almost everybody, there's an email there. So and it and I I especially for us, because like I was saying earlier, the the different areas of agriculture that we cover are specialized. If you pitch me something about agronomy, I'm just gonna send it to the agronomy team. If you pitch the machinery editor something about business, she's just gonna send it to me. So really it's it's not you're not gaining anything by emailing everybody on staff. Right. It's better to find the which one of us actually covers your issue and in contact with that person.

Angela Tuell:

That's great. Because you don't want to get it from 10 people on staff that they all got the story and they're all sending it to you and then Right, right. So before we go, which I could first of all, I could talk to you forever. I have realized as I've worked in, we work with clients in all different industries, and and and I swear, and maybe I shouldn't say this out loud, but the journalists in ag are the nicest, most like down-to-earth-friendly journalists. So I love, I love working with with you all. But before we go, I'd love to know something about you that may surprise those who don't know you.

Cassidy Walter:

Uh yeah. So thank you for sending that question ahead of time so I can think of something. Uh I think probably so because you know, I write about business and numbers and these kinds of things, so it might surprise people to know that in my free time I like to paint.

Angela Tuell:

Oh. Nice. That's a good stress reliever, too.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, I love it. It's great.

Angela Tuell:

Oh, that's great. We'll have to watch. Maybe we'll we'll see them online one day, right? Or in a in a gallery. I don't know.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, I don't know about that, but maybe, maybe someday in the distant future, the the the Iowa State Fair will select meanings to display.

Angela Tuell:

That would be great. And how can listeners connect with you best online? I know you mentioned email is good, and um, what else on you know through social or the your stories on the website?

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, I so I'm like social media adverse. Like I I have LinkedIn and I have X, and I but like really it's just not like it's not my thing. Like if you wanna, if you want to reach me, email me. I promise I my inbox is clean and I will see I will see it. Like I I promise.

Angela Tuell:

Thank you so much, Cassidy.

Cassidy Walter:

Yeah, thank you. This was really fun.

Angela Tuell:

Thanks for having me. That's all for this episode of Media and Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at Communications Redefined dot com Slash Podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.