Tools For Today’s Farmers

Reagan Koester is a junior majoring in Agricultural Business in Purdue’s College of Agriculture. Raised on her family’s grain and robotic dairy farm in Southwestern Indiana, she brings a strong work ethic and deep-rooted passion for agriculture.

A proud product of Purdue’s land-grant mission, Reagan began her Purdue journey through Indiana 4-H, later serving as a State 4-H Ambassador and impacting more than 130,000 youth statewide.

On campus, Reagan has held a variety of leadership roles, including President of Purdue Rising Professionals, member of the Ag Week Task Force, and Professional Development Chair for Kappa Alpha Theta. She has also contributed to campus-wide initiatives as a member of the Student Grant Allocation Board and the Student Life Advisory Board. In addition, she serves as a Teaching Assistant for the Careers in Agribusiness course.

Professionally, Reagan has gained industry experience through internships with John Deere in their Marketing Department and Corteva Agriscience as a Stakeholder Engagement Intern. These opportunities have further strengthened her commitment to agriculture and strategic communication.

Reagan’s accomplishments include being named a National Coca-Cola Scholar, a Lilly Endowment Scholar, and receiving both the Outstanding Freshman and Sophomore Awards in the College of Agriculture. With over 30 family members who are Purdue alumni, she brings lifelong Boilermaker pride to her new role as Student Trustee of Purdue University. Outside the classroom, she enjoys podcasts, pickleball, and Purdue athletics

 Agriculture Economics Podcast. https://ag.purdue.edu/department/agecon/about/podcasts.html

Maddy Vanderkooy is the Program Coordinator for the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Partnership (WRASAP). With formal training in Human Service Counseling and Community Health Work, she brings both professional expertise and personal passion to her role. As a third-generation dairy farm kid, Maddy’s agricultural roots deeply shape her work and fuel her commitment to supporting the well-being of farm families.

Her unique perspective allows her to bridge an understanding of human behavior with the realities of agricultural life, creating meaningful connections within the farming community. In addition to her work with WRASAP, Maddy has led creative outreach initiatives like Pizza 4 Producers, and she continues to advocate for resources and conversations that support farmers’ mental health and resilience.

Website: www.farmstress.us

Facebook: Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program and Pizza 4 Producers

Nakisha Thompson-McGee is a dynamic mother, grandmother, healthcare advocate, licensed insurance professional, and founder of McGee Medical Advocates, an insurance agency dedicated to reimagining how individuals and organizations engage with health and life insurance. McGee Medical Advocates mission is equal to their value, educating to help improve the health of an organization's financial status and productivity rate. With over 15 years of experience across the healthcare, education, and insurance sectors, Nakisha brings both compassion and clarity to one of the most complex areas of modern life: health coverage access and navigation.

After getting all three of her children off to college, Nakisha was diagnosed with MALS. She had vascular lymphatic surgery in June of 2024. During her healing, Nakisha not only stayed abreast within the insurance industry, she was also able to birth Thompson Tangiers, a facilitated wellness experience. Thompson Tangiers, a wellness initiative offering structured mindfulness and stress management sessions to both university communities and workplace teams. These guided experiences promote focus, reduce burnout, and help build emotionally resilient cultures.

McGee Medical Advocates; https://calendly.com/mcgeemedical/individual-group-plan-consultation

https://galaxyofstars.org/business-listing/mcgee-medical-advocates-llc/

Thompson Tangiers; https://calendly.com/thompsontangiers/thompson-tangiers

https://galaxyofstars.org/business-listing/thompson-tangiers-llc/

ThomMc Ent. Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/share/1JQYYbQYau/?mibextid=wwXIf

Becky Wiseman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-R) with more than 30 years of experience supporting individuals, families, and communities—particularly those in New York’s agricultural sector. She currently serves as the Family Consultants Supervisor for Cornell University’s New York FarmNet, a free and confidential support service for farm families across the state.

Becky’s deep roots in agriculture include work with New York Farm Bureau, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and long-standing involvement with NY FarmNet. She also serves on advisory boards for both NY FarmNet and the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH), helping to guide critical services that support the well-being of farming communities.

What sets NY FarmNet apart is its unique model: services are farmer-initiated, they combine personal and financial consultation, and the team is committed to working with farm families for as long as needed. Becky’s compassion, leadership, and insight are helping farm families navigate both everyday challenges and long-term transitions with dignity and support.

Julia A. Wickard serves as the Executive Director of the Purdue Veterinary Medicine Alumni Association and Constituent Liaison. Previously she served as the State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Indiana. Wickard also has served as the Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Program Support and the Agricultural Liaison at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) for the State of Indiana. In addition, Wickard served as the State Executive Director for FSA in Indiana from 2008-2017. Before her federal service, Wickard served as the Executive Vice President of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. She also worked for Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Inc., and served as Deputy Director in the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture for seven years. She has worked for two members of Congress in Washington D.C., and she serves on several agricultural and community boards and commissions. Wickard graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and political science. She received the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association Certificate of Distinction and was selected as a College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumni. She is a graduate of the two-year Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program through AgrIInstitute where she has served as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. She received the Purdue Women in Agriculture Leadership Award in 2024 and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency Administrator as the Supervisor of the Year, as well. Wickard was a recipient of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association Certificate of Distinction in 2022. She was awarded as a 2019 Distinguished Alumni from the Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication Department in the College of Agriculture at Purdue University. Wickard received the Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 2004 from Governor Joseph E. Kernan, and the Beck’s Hybrids “Beyond the Fence” in 2015. She received numerous national awards during her USDA tenure and was appointed to the Indiana State Fair Board of Directors by Governor Mike Pence in 2015. Wickard, her husband, Chris, and their two young adult children – Jordyn and Jacob, reside in Hancock County on their 100-year homesteaded family farm where they raise registered Angus cattle, Boer goats and assist in operating the farm with her family. Chris also is a graduate of Purdue, BS agribusiness management in 1993, and their kids are students at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

Reverend Jennifer Coffman—though she prefers to go by Jenn—is a wife, mom, substitute teacher at Wapahani High School, chaplain with the YMCA of Muncie, pastor, speaker, and an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. With more than 15 years of ministry experience, Jenn is passionate about joining in the work God is already doing to build His Kingdom here on earth.

Jenn and her husband, Michael, live on their family farm about eight miles southeast of Muncie, Indiana. Michael is a fifth-generation farmer, and their son, Samuel, is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Life on the farm is made even better with Pete the pup always nearby.

Jenn holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Ball State University and a Master’s in Ministry from Northwind Seminary. She brings a deep sense of faith, purpose, and compassion to every role she fills—and we’re honored to have her as a guest on Tools for Today’s Farmers.

Jason Barber, known to most people as Duck, lives in a small rural area in southern middle Tennessee. He's an eighth generation cattle farmer, operate a 100+ acre farm, and grows approximately 30 head of beef cattle, and harvest hay. Doing all of this, while at the same time being legally blind. Duck was diagnosed with a retinal disease, retinitis pigmentosa in 1999. He was then deemed legally blind in 2009. With retinitis pigmentosa, at this time, there is no cure or treatment. Duck also serves as the assistant chief at the local volunteer fire department. He is able to accomplish many task on his farm, with the assistance of a lot of assistive technologies. One major contributor is the national AGR ability program. Let's listen to how Duck farms blind.

Find Duck on these socials: https://www.facebook.com/farmingblindwithduck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cavOG6AGpwU

https://www.youtube.com/@jasonbarber5643

Colleen Carpenter provides evidence-based training and targeted consultation to build long-term capacity to prevent suicide and improve mental wellness. Her mission is to help organizations and communities tighten their safety nets so that people who are struggling with suicide and mental health issues are identified and helped. Besides providing training and consultation, she is the Director of Stop Suicide Northeast Indiana coalition and Allen County’s Governor’s Challenge veteran suicide prevention project called Action Over Silence: End Veteran Suicide. She also sits on numerous local and state level mental health and suicide-related committees, including the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network’s advisory board. In early 2024 she became a Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) facilitator to help individuals identify the tools that keep them well and create action plans to maintain mental wellness. She has master’s degrees from Loyola University Chicago (sociology) and the University of North Carolina (public health). She has won local and national awards for her work in suicide prevention. She is also a survivor of her Uncle John’s suicide.Stop Suicide Northeast Indiana: Find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram (@stopsuicideneindiana)

Meet Emily Grant, a passionate advocate for mental health in agriculture and a freshman at Purdue University studying Agriculture Communications. With a standout FFA career and a deep-rooted love for the industry, Emily founded “The Whole Farmer”—a social media platform dedicated to the mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being of farmers, ranchers, and agriculturalists.

Through her work, she collaborates with top organizations to break the stigma around mental health in agriculture. Emily also runs a livestock and western photography business and raises purebred show cattle. Don’t miss this inspiring episode as she shares her journey, insights, and tools for navigating farm stress.

📲 Follow Emily: @thewholefarmer (Instagram & Facebook)
🎧 Listen now and join the conversation!

Emily Meckel is the founder and executive director of Hancock County Poss-ABILITIES. Emily alongwith her husband Justin and daughter Emery own and operate Sunshine Valley Farm in Carthage,Indiana. She also works with Justin, at Meckel Construction. She is most importantly Emery’s mom,the inspiration for Poss-ABILITIES. Emily is a lifelong Hancock County resident and met her husbandJustin in 2010, they later married and after the birth of their daughter, Emily wanted to developsomething that Emery could be involved in with her peers; que the birth of Hancock County PossABILITIES.Because of Emery, Emily has become an avid advocator for her daughter and all children who areunique. Emery is the Sunshine in Emily’s life and she has taught Emily resilience, determination, andhas completely enriched her life.Emily’s heart is truly fierce for Hancock Couty Poss-ABILITIES. She is truly passionate about advocatingfor all children and letting children know that it is okay to be yourself, even if that means different.Watching her daughter, Emery, thrive with her peers and in the barn, she knew she needed to sharethis opportunity with the youth in her community. “Creating a fun environment where my daughtercan be like all her peers is something I was striving for. Something to share with kiddos like mydaughter, who bear a disability. A chance for her to be who she is, a little girl. My goal is to breakinvisible barriers, and create a fun, happy, learning environment for all the youth and familiesinvolved; all while incorporating livestock.”Follow on Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/hancockcopossabilities