Episode 42 | Katie Olthoff hosts Stephen Ussary of Stewards Unlimited to discuss current USDA grant opportunities. They explain the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPEP) Phase 4, focused mainly on equipment (and limited renovations) for processors that slaughter beef, with eligibility for small/very small and some larger “intermediate” processors, required matches (25% equipment-only; 50% expansion), and an August 7 deadline; awards are limited and likely competitive, with scoring tied to goals like increased capacity, producer income (including toll processing), new markets, safety/training, and waste management, plus letters of support including from government officials. They also review LAMP programs due June 5—FMPP, LFPP, and RFSP—emphasizing partnerships, marketing impacts, and competitiveness, noting processors may be eligible but rarely funded recently. They mention other opportunities (state programs, Farm to School, SARE, Value Added Producer Grants) and Stewards Unlimited’s free grant alerts.

Join here: https://stewardsunlimited.com/

• 01:15 Grant Journey Lessons
• 02:19 MPEP Overview and Eligibility
• 04:45 Funding Tracks and Competitiveness
• 07:41 Scoring Rubric and Priorities
• 14:19 Reapplying and Inspection Rules
• 17:18 Match and Application Strategy
• 20:33 Future of MPEP and Farm Bill
• 21:38 LAMP Programs Overview
• 23:03 RFSP Partnerships Explained
• 30:52 Weigh Your Options
• 33:58 Should You Apply This Year
• 39:59 Other Grants and Alerts
• 42:00 Grant Deadlines

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

• https://choplocal.com/
• https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/

Episode 41 | In the final spring-season CHOP Local University webinar, Katie explains how farmers market vendors can use an online store to increase sales through pre-orders for market pickup and year-round ordering, citing survey data showing only 9% of direct-to-consumer meat farmers have online stores but 71% of farms selling over $200,000 do, and that average sales are $140,000 with e-commerce vs. $81,000 without.

She outlines actions before, during, and after market season: optimize store usability (fast loading, easy product discovery, sell by package/weight ranges rather than exact weight, and answer common customer questions), create signage/QR codes, collect emails using lead magnets, and train customers to pre-order with incentives and scarcity. After season, she recommends frequent short emails with clear calls to action, scheduled pickup “meetups,” and holiday gift bundles, and describes Chop Local’s marketplace, vendor tools, shipping requirement, and support options.

Ready to elevate your brand and business? Make sure to sign up for the StoryBrand Workshop here at https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/storybrand

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

• https://choplocal.com/
• https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/

00:29 What Is Chop Local

01:57 Meet Katie Olthoff

02:50 Survey Data Insights

04:23 Online Store Advantage

06:13 Candace Success Story

07:36 Three Phase Strategy

08:41 Optimize Store Basics

09:42 Sell By Package

12:19 Answer Customer Questions

13:16 Signs and QR Codes

15:02 Collect Emails at Market

16:55 Lead Magnet Explained

18:37 Coupon Funnel Q&A

21:18 QR Signup Best Practices

23:09 Push Preorders Online

24:07 Scarcity With Preorders

26:08 Email Cadence Made Simple

29:08 Calls To Action That Convert

31:00 Offseason Pickup Meetups

32:56 Holiday Gift Box Push

35:41 Quick Strategy Recap

38:34 Next Steps And Offers

44:01 Tools Q&A And Wrap

Episode 40 | Katie Olthoff of the Meat Success podcast interviews Sarah Ivan Zastrow, a certified exercise physiologist and mental health advocate with a farming background, about stress on farms and practical coping tools. Sarah explains how unmanaged stress worsens health outcomes and shares low-cost strategies farmers can use with limited time, focusing on sleep: reframing sleep beliefs, writing down looping thoughts, guided meditations/hypnosis (including Calm/YouTube), and addressing sleep apnea with CPAP.

They discuss how poor sleep increases irritability and pain, the role of iron/ferritin in restless legs, and using stretching/legs-up-the-wall before bed to reduce cortisol and signal safety. Sarah distinguishes stress from anxiety and depression as spectrum experiences, describes recognizing “volcano” buildup and intentional cooldown, and notes when medication and therapy can help. They also address farm-culture stressors like women carrying the household load, boundary-setting, outsourcing, and using tools (reminders, grocery lists, AI for planning) to reduce mental load. Sarah points listeners to her Throwing Wrenches, Mending Fences podcast and YouTube.

Ready to elevate your brand and business? Make sure to sign up for the StoryBrand Workshop here at https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/storybrand

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

• https://choplocal.com/
• https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/

-----------

• 01:12 Sarah’s Farm Story
• 02:51 Why Stress Matters
• 04:57 Sleep and Farm Stress
• 08:29 Notebook Loop Closing
• 11:00 Meditations and CPAP
• 14:26 AI CBT Sleep Reframe
• 20:31 Stretching Before Bed
• 24:02 Anxiety and Depression Basics
• 26:20 Stigma and Spectrum
• 28:01 What Causes the Cloud
• 29:07 Hidden Stress Signals
• 29:54 Volcano Adrenaline Model
• 31:25 Spotting Your Explosion Signs
• 32:48 Cooling Down On Purpose
• 34:04 When Tools Aren't Enough
• 36:22 Meds Therapy And Insurance
• 39:13 Farm Culture And Burnout
• 42:29 Sharing The Home Load
• 48:16 Systems That Actually Help
• 50:26 AI Cleaning And Outsourcing

Episode 39 | Make sure to sign up for the StoryBrand Workshop here at https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/storybrand

In this episode of Meat Success, Katie interviews Sara Scott, a ranch-raised former Certified Angus Beef leader and now a consultant and certified StoryBrand guide. Sara shares her background from a Northern California cow-calf operation through roles at Certified Angus Beef in marketing, business development, and as VP of Food Service, working with major distributors like Sysco, US Foods, and Performance Food Group. They discuss why simply claiming “premium, great-tasting, well-marbled” meat no longer differentiates brands because quality is now table stakes amid many branded programs. Sara explains StoryBrand principles—making the customer the hero and the business the guide, using clear, repeatable messaging—and how messaging drives marketing choices. They announce a paid Chop Local University StoryBrand mini-course with three Tuesday sessions in May, plus a live feedback session.

• 00:41 Sara Scott Background
• 01:35 CAB Career Highlights
• 04:09 Why Quality Is Not Enough
• 07:20 StoryBrand Messaging Framework
• 08:38 Marketing Teams And Funnels
• 15:39 Storytelling Brand Examples
• 21:26 Finding Your Best Customer
• 25:10 Client Examples And Positioning
• 28:43 Course Launch Announcement
• 29:50 Mini Course Format
• 33:42 StoryBrand Basics
• 36:44 Make Buying Easy
• 38:32 Customer Hero Examples
• 40:25 Messaging Evolution Tips
• 45:24 Industry Choice Challenges
• 48:06 Course Logistics Signup
• 50:24 Using StoryBrand Anywhere

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

• https://choplocal.com/
• https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/
• https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/storybrand

Episode 38 | In a monthly Chop Local Office Hours Session, the team discusses using AI as a fast assistant for food and farm businesses, while emphasizing risks including confidentiality, loss of authentic voice, inaccuracies and “hallucinations,” confirmation bias, and concerns about environmental impact and rural data centers. They share practical uses: drafting and polishing difficult customer-service emails, FAQs, newsletters, and website copy; analyzing survey, sales, and expense spreadsheets; troubleshooting tech platforms like Google and Meta tools; and even interpreting medical reports while awaiting a doctor’s review.

For marketing, they recommend using AI for ideas and outlines rather than final posts, and warn that AI images often contain subtle errors, off-brand design, or unrealistic visuals. Tips include prompting with roles (“you are an expert”), asking for pros/cons, requesting peer-reviewed research, providing examples/links to match brand voice, and focusing copy on customer benefits; tools mentioned include ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Fathom Notetaker, and Canva.

If you've been curious about integrating AI into your Meat Business, give this episode a listen!

Grab our mEat-Commerce Essentials to start making money in your direct-to-consumer business today with $100 off the course with code: POD100 Snag Access Here: https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/meat-commerce-essentials-1

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

1. https://choplocal.com/
2. https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/
3. 00:00 Welcome and Topic Setup
4. 01:26 AI Risks and Privacy
5. 02:37 Authentic Voice and Accuracy
6. 06:07 Environmental and Rural Impacts
7. 08:08 AI as a Fast Assistant
8. 09:14 Customer Service and Tone
9. 12:42 Data and Spreadsheet Analytics
10. 15:22 Tech Troubleshooting and Other Uses
11. 18:49 Marketing with AI
12. 21:02 AI Images and Graphic Pitfalls
13. 24:31 Prompting Tips for Better Output
14. 32:16 Favorite Tools and Final Takeaways
15. 33:35 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Episode 37 | Grab our mEat-Commerce Essentials to start making money in your direct-to-consumer business today with $100 off the course with code: POD100 Snag Access Here: https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/meat-commerce-essentials-1

On this episode of the Meat Success podcast, Katie interviews Julia Bocchese of Homegrown Reach about SEO for small farms and related businesses. Julia explains she started serving farms after struggling as a customer to find local compost companies, farmers markets, and CSAs via Google, and now helps agricultural businesses improve search visibility. They cover what Google Analytics and Google Search Console do, why both free tools matter, and how “rankings” work.

Julia outlines basic setup steps, emphasizing that farmers must own their accounts (never let an agency set them up under the agency email) and can add professionals as admins. They discuss what to monitor (traffic sources, location, engagement, key pages, queries/clicks/impressions/position), common pitfalls like Linktree, split platforms (Squarespace + Shopify), site speed and image compression, and which Search Console alerts to ignore versus fix (notably 404s and some no-index issues).

Connect with Julia at https://homegrownreach.com/.

1. 01:12 Julia Origin Story
2. 04:01 Why SEO Matters
3. 05:21 Google Analytics Basics
4. 07:01 Search Console Explained
5. 07:57 What Ranking Means
6. 10:34 Local vs Product Keywords
7. 12:57 Setting Up Analytics
8. 17:27 Reading Analytics Data
9. 17:55 Tracking Pitfalls to Avoid
10. 20:43 Engagement and Site Speed
11. 22:58 Setting Up Search Console
12. 26:07 Ownership and Admin Access
13. 29:11 Safe Account Access
14. 30:17 Search Console Metrics
15. 31:37 Live Search Console Walkthrough
16. 36:25 Boosting Click Through Rate
17. 40:31 Ignoring Scary GSC Emails
18. 41:31 Fixing 404s and Noindex
19. 45:27 Why Google Analytics Wins
20. 47:15 UTM Links and Campaign Tracking
21. 51:20 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

1. https://choplocal.com/
2. https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/

Episode 36 | Katie Olthoff, co-founder of Chop Local and Chop Local University, announces a new service called the Meat Squad and explains how it evolved from disruptions in the 2020 meat supply chain that drove demand for local meat and led to Chop Local’s online marketplace and later educational resources. After repeated requests from farmers and small butcher shops to “do it for me,” Chop Local formalized its done-for-you marketing work into the Meat Squad, led by Katie and Sierra with additional specialists as needed, and is currently hiring a graphic designer (noted for early March 2026). Services include email marketing, organic social media, Facebook and Google ads management, website design and platform setup (Shopify, Squarespace, Wix), and more. Two options are offered: a Startup plan for foundational brand and digital setup and a Scale Up package for ongoing monthly support, billed hourly with tracked time, plus optional one-on-one consulting.

Learn more here: https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/meatsquad-meat-marketing

1. 00:00 Welcome and announcement
2. 00:43 2020 meat supply crisis
3. 02:07 Chop Local marketplace origin
4. 02:55 Education with University
5. 03:35 Why Meat Squad exists
6. 05:23 Team and services offered
7. 07:11 How to hire us
8. 07:33 Startup plan overview
9. 08:27 Scale up plan ongoing
10. 09:13 Pricing and tracking hours
11. 10:24 Why we are effective
12. 11:49 Working with competitors
13. 12:55 Next steps and wrap up

Grab our mEat-Commerce Essentials to start making money in your direct-to-consumer business today with $100 off the course with code: POD100 Snag Access Here: https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/meat-commerce-essentials-1

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

1. https://choplocal.com/
2. https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/

Grab our mEat-Commerce Essentials to start making money in your direct-to-consumer business today with $100 off the course with code: POD100 Snag Access Here: https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/meat-commerce-essentials-1

On this episode of Meat Success, Dr. Leona Su joins the conversation to explore how farms and ranches can use social media as a practical business tool—not just a promotional outlet. The discussion covers building trust with consumers, choosing the right platforms for your operation, creating content that reflects real farm life, and turning online engagement into measurable value for your brand.

From time management strategies to maintaining authenticity while staying consistent, this episode offers approachable insights for producers at any stage of their social media journey. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your digital presence, you’ll walk away with ideas to help your farm’s story connect, educate, and grow.

Dr. Su is currently conducting additional research that examines how farmers like you use social media tools and AI to support your marketing efforts.

If you would like to participate, please complete this brief survey: https://illinois.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5b4HeeQVVKzcou2

*The data collected in this study will be used solely for research purposes, with interview videos transcribed for analysis and anonymized to remove any personally identifiable information. The data will be securely stored, accessible only to the research team, and be erased after the study concludes.

And learn more about ChopLocal and ChopLocal University Below!

1. https://choplocal.com/
2. https://www.choplocaluniversity.com/