Amanda Radke isn’t afraid to defend the beef industry, even if it means taking on some famous adversaries.
But Radke’s fight isn’t one that she seeks. It is more of a passion to dispel misconceptions and educate the public on all facets of beef production and nutrition.
A fifth generation rancher from Mitchell, South Dakota, Radke is the author of eight books and travels the country speaking on agriculture and the beef industry. On April 15, she will be the featured speaker at the Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting and banquet at the Blair County Convention Center. The blogger, columnist, investigative journalist, speaker and ag advocate has been to Pennsylvania before, and she said every trip to the Keystone State is special.
“Pennsylvania always impresses me with all of the farms I see that are dealing directly with their communities, selling direct to the consumer,” Radke said. “I learn a lot when I come to Pennsylvania, and I take those lessons back to our ranch in South Dakota.”
While Radke cherishes traveling the country to speak to fellow beef producers and farmers, she’s also passionate about protecting the industry from the onslaught of misconceptions and attacks.
From educating the non-farming public to taking on celebrities, Radke doesn’t hesitate to get involved.
In 2006 she got noticed for staging a walk-out when country artist Carrie Underwood performed at the National FFA Convention. Underwood had endorsed the Humane Society of the United States, an organization that Radke said is focused on putting animal agriculture out of business.
“I took it as an opportunity to educate people and create awareness,” Radke said of the walk-out.
Recently, in 2019, she took on Ellen DeGeneres in response to the comedian’s #beneateatlessmeat video urging fans to eat less meat.
At first, Radke disregarded the video, but then she noticed the thousands of comments from DeGeneres’ fans proclaiming they were giving up meat.
Radke had to counter, so she sent DeGeneres a photo of herself in front of her cows asking to come on the show to discuss the issue.
“I also wrote her a letter and tried to be as kind and factual as I could,” Radke said.
She didn’t receive an invite to DeGeneres’ show, but Radke’s letter went viral and it led to more than 50 interviews with major media outlets.
“I was so happy for the opportunity to talk to these outlets and debunk some of the claims that Ellen and so many others put out there,” she said. “These celebrities have such large platforms, and if we don’t tell our story, they’re doing it for us.”
While Amanda Radke has appeared on major media outlets to defend animal agriculture, she says it’s important to not overlook the roots of the industry. Each year she visits schools around her ranch in South Dakota, bringing a calf to help educate kids about animal agriculture.
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Advocating for animal agriculture is only part of Radke’s work, however.
In order for agriculture to thrive in the present day and build for the future, it’s important to give farmers and ranchers a positive outlook and a reason to stay motivated. It is a big reason why Radke travels thousands of miles each year to speak to as many agriculture groups as she can.
“I’ve grown up in the cattle business. It’s not an easy life and I understand the challenges,” she said. “I want to help these families, get the next generation involved and find creative ways to be profitable to keep these farm families on the land.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge that Radke said forced agriculture to find new opportunities in the wake of crashing food supply chains. As grocery store shelves were bare and consumers were turning to purchasing directly from the farm, Radke viewed the difficult time as a chance for family farms to thrive.
“COVID revealed a lot of vulnerabilities in our food supply chain, but in that there’s also solutions,” she said. “Those producers willing to find solutions are the ones that are going to be profitable, successful and able to make the connection with the consumer. I see a lot of that in Pennsylvania.”
Back home on her ranch in South Dakota, Radke and her husband, Tyler, are the parents of four young children who are homeschooled. Between the kids, writing books and the demands of running the ranch, Radke admits it’s sometimes difficult to go away to speak.
But agriculture is worth fighting for, she said, and the farm community is one the needs uplifting no matter what state she visits.
Whether it’s fighting for agriculture or motivating producers with a positive message, Radke said she feels an urgency to make a difference.
“Today more than ever, we need those solid values that rural America and the agriculture industry offers to this country. I did 50 speaking events last year and at every place it’s the same — they all have that value system that makes agriculture great: faith, family and farming,” Radke said. “We just have to be willing to talk about it.”