SharkFarmerXM's podcast
Kate Roth 8-15-24
Unstoppable, unshakable, but it rolls off the town unfakeable, it's unavoidable, you're sorry little boy, between the lines start to loosen up your mind. Hey, welcome again to SharkFomber Radio, hey, we are live from El Paso, Illinois. At the Bectology Days, there's a great crowd, good weather. We're surrounded by shiny equipment, that's always fun, isn't it? Absolutely, are you looking at things that you want to earn or buy? I would die, that auger cart is an impressive thing that would look great on our farm this fall. Are you looking at the trucks, you got a Ford and a GMC there, either one of those, trip or trigger? I mean, you know, the GMC's kind of pretty. Really, you like the GMC over the Ford? I want to do. Okay, learn something new every day. We got a fantastic guest, probably the best guest we've ever had in over 5,000 interviews with Kate Roth. I hope you live up to the hype. Kate, you're from Sheridan, Indiana, where's that at? It is just north of Indianapolis, near Carmel, Westfield area. Okay, that lives at Carmel, that's well, outside at Carmel. Pretty close to Carmel, yeah. That's a nice place. Yeah, we just moved there about a year and a half ago. Is it? Where are you from originally? Lebanon, Indiana, like, I don't know, 20 minutes down the road from Sheridan. And you are the social media coordinator at BEX? I am. You're running the Facebook, the Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, anything else? Be real. Don't have be real, don't have Snapchat. Okay. Yeah. I always wonder what it would be like to be in your position, because when I put a post out there and, you know, somebody says something stupid, you know, I just say, well, you're a flipping idiot or something like that. You can't do that. I cannot do that. Sometimes I want to. What do you do? Do you message them and say you're an idiot? I don't do that. Sometimes you just kill them with kindness, right? Like... Why are you winking at me? People don't know what to do with that, do they? No. Yeah. If they're mean, they expect it back, right? So kill them with them off guard. Yeah. It's kind of fun. And I think sometimes acknowledging it, they don't expect to get an answer back from a brand account sometimes. So that enough is like calling them out to where they are a little surprised, I think, that they at least got an answer. Do you ever like files and see like they're a dealer for a competitor? Not usually. Most of the time it's people that don't have a profile picture and they're like user 1,500, you know? Yeah. And it's all political stuff and her feed, yeah. It's like, you're just looking for trouble. You did not come from a farm, didn't grow up on one anyway huh? Nope. Okay. So what did you go to school for? I went to school for advertising and public relations. I always knew I kind of wanted to do something more creative on the media side, but I wasn't sure exactly I wanted that to be. Never thought I would be in the ag industry, but here I am. Now you kind of grew up in a rural area though, right? So you were pretty familiar with, I mean you saw tractors and lots of crops and I mean you were kind of familiar with the ag community. Yeah, I was. I know that I ever thought that I would about the ag community, but yeah, I did not grow up with it at all. Is that a little bit a little hard? Because on social media, I mean you have to have everything right. If you miss one thing, man, they're going to rake you over the coals. I think at the beginning it was a little more intimidating just because I felt like I did have to have everything perfected. I've learned so much and that they've worked with BEX that I think I have at least a general understanding of most of the things that are going on, but I love learning so it's been great for me to really push myself to ask questions when you know it's something that I don't understand. So when you were in college, did you think that you were going to be working in the ag community? Was BEX your first job out of college? No, actually I think if someone would have told me I was going to work in ag, I wouldn't have believed them. Just because I have no ties to it, it wasn't really something that was on my radar to begin with. But right after college, I graduated from Indiana University in 2020. Ooh, during COVID. Did you get to walk through your ceremony? No. No, they had a virtual slideshow of all the names. Oh my goodness. Yeah. It was awful. It was nice that they did something. I always feel like they should have gone back for those who didn't get to walk and just pick a time that wasn't graduating that year and let you walk the ceremony. That's a big deal. Yeah, it was a little underwhelming, but that's okay. I went straight from IU, I moved back home just because during the pandemic, it was hard to find a job right after graduation. I was a waitress for a while and I was- I bet you were awful at that. Yeah, probably. Don't, hopefully you don't run into any of former customers. Did anybody ever- No. Yeah. Yeah. So I was a waitress for a while and I was pretty much just sending my resume out to anything and everyone that would take it and I ended up at an ad agency in the Annapolis for a year and worked as a copywriter there and then moved down to Bex after that. Does that like madmen? Yeah, that's what I wanted to know. A little bit, yeah. Really? Or in your office. I don't know if we had a Dondry. It's several, huh? Yeah. So are you kind of a wordsmith then if you're a copywriter? I guess to a point, yeah, I think it's changed a lot from my position there with it being more like long form like articles and longer captions to social now because it's social so short and sweet that I had to get a little more of what I was saying. All right, we've got to go to break. Today we're talking with Kate Roth from Bex. She is a social media coordinator. We will be back after the break. This segment is brought to you by Common Ground. Are you looking for an easy way to buy, sell, or lease your land? Well, check out Common Ground where they connect landowners and farmers and hunters too, by the way. Go to commonground.io that's commonground.io. And welcome back, Shark Farmer Radio. We are live in El Paso, Illinois, we're all the G days. We're talking with a social media coordinator of Bex, Kate Roth and Kate, this is like the show before the big show. It is. Yep. The one out in Atlanta, Indiana. That's a three dayer. And when that's done, are you, do you get an exhale? Yes. Mm hmm, yeah, a big one. Because you, when you're doing these shows, you're a big part of them. I'm running around a lot, yeah. So basically, you're not doing anything. No, nothing. Okay. She's going to be on a beach somewhere in a couple weeks, maybe. I hope so. Do you go on the Bex once, then? I haven't, no. I think that it should be like part of your reading negotiation, a big contract. I think so too. But, yeah, it's so far I haven't been able to go yet. You'd go on a beach with a bunch of farmers. I'd become a beach so I'd be happy. You would need welding glasses for all the white legs, so you could be so bright. Probably bright. So you are married, a fellow named Nate. How'd you meet this guy? Nate and I met at IU, in school with one of my best friends, and she set us up. Love at first sight. Would he say that? Yeah. I think he would. What did you guys do on your first date? We went out to eat. It was pretty boring. Of the date. But the date of going out to eat, I should clarify, but you know, the idea of going out to eat. Okay. You guys, you're still on to the football at IU? Yeah. We're season ticket holders. It's been a little rough watching them the past few years. Yeah. Because they're not very good. No, they're not. So season ticket holders. You do the whole tailgate. Yeah. You do the make a day of it. Yeah. We like to pretend that we're still in college, so this gives us an excuse to go to Bloomington and do that still. Yeah. Do you have that signature thing? Like, I don't know, birds or whatever, something that somebody has? Nix English Hut has Sink the Biz fries. Right. That's what they call them. Ooh. It's like a bucket of fries, French fries, and they're covered in parmesan and, I don't know, all kinds of seasoning, but that's like their thing. I mean, once you say parmesan, it doesn't even matter. I know, right. Yeah. So he must be a pretty special guy. So he's a Nick you nurse. Tell me about that. He is a Nick you nurse. He a Nick you nurse for about two and a half years now. He's actually back in school to be a nurse practitioner. So he's busy does that coaches football on the side. So gosh, is that hard to leave? Okay. So he's taking care of a lot of like premature babies, baby homes is it hard to leave that and come home and sort of let down after a day like that. I'd imagine so, but it takes a special kind of person to work in the NICU and Nate's one of them. And I couldn't personally do it, but I'm glad that we have people like him that can, you know. Mm hmm. You you're a twin. I am. Like your whole life. My whole life. Ben twin. Who's older? Ben is old. By three minutes. Okay. He has cerebral palsy. He does. Yeah. So like tell me like a like at what age where I mean was he always yeah he he was born with cerebral palsy, but it wasn't something that was diagnosed right away. You know, this is 26 years ago. I'm sure it's a little bit different now, but when I started developing a little bit more sitting up by myself, he wasn't. And that's kind of when they they figured out that, you know, something else was going on. But other than physically, he is mentally a 26 year old boy. He's nonverbal and a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, but he is all in all 26 year old boy that loves farts and drinking and all the things. How long has he had to be in the world? Oh, the whole life. Okay. Yeah. Because literally, I mean, there was a kid that was like six years younger in school, cerebral palsy. That's like the only experience I've ever had with it, but he went, you know, the progression from crutches and that. Right. So, I mean, as you're growing up, I do you ever felt like that, you know, maybe you were held back a little bit? No, absolutely not. If anything, I think it kind of moved me forward, I think. In the best way, I think it helped me mature a little bit faster than other kids my age. My parents did a great job at looking at us as equals. There was like no difference in Ben than there was me. Everything that I was participating in, Ben was also doing, and that's made a huge impact on me and my whole life. That's pretty much the reason that I am who I am today is because of Ben. I love that you said earlier, we were talking about your brother and you said, you know, my friends, all my friends know him, they're his friends too. I mean, everything I did, he did, I think that's pretty special. Like your parents must have done like a really amazing job too of just, you know, he obviously needed a lot of extra special care, but that didn't even matter. Like you felt like you were both equals and that's how you live life. I love that. Yeah. Yeah, he's been great. I could not ask for a better brother or twin. That's fantastic. And your husband, Nate, what's their relationship like, Nate and Ben? The best relationship. That was something that was very important to me, whoever I ended up with had to have a very good relationship with Ben, just because him and I are already so close. I didn't even have to push it. They naturally just came together. You would think that their brothers, Ben like Nate, he had to put him through a few hoops. No, I think he was pretty excited that there was just another boy around. Can you do that thing that the twins do, like the psycho kinetically? Well, that too. Can you talk without talking? Yes. Yes, there's the answer. You can, can't you? I can't give away all of our secrets. Really? Can you, like if you concentrated on this pen right here really hard, could you move it without touching it? My powers aren't that strong. Again, why? I don't know why that is. Well, it must make you feel good that you found a great guy that gets along with a great brother. And are you two the only siblings? We are. Mm-hmm. So, your parents have been married for 35 years. So, your mom was originally from Colorado. Mm-hmm. And your dad's from Indiana. So, that's how you guys ended up in Indiana. Yup. Yeah, my mom, well, my dad works for the USDA and has for as long as I can remember, but he moved out to Colorado for a job, met my mom at the rec center while he was working out. She was working at the front desk and ever since then, they've been attached at the hip and then made it back here. Yup. Alright, I gotta hear more about that. We do gotta go to break. Today, we're talking with Kate Roth. She runs the social media. She's a coordinator, as I call it, for Beck's hybrid. We'll be back. Alright, after the break. This segment is brought to you by Common Ground. Are you looking for an easy way to buy, sell, or lease your land? Well, check out Common Ground, where they connect landowners and farmers, and hunters too, by the way. Go to commonground.io, that's commonground.io. Welcome back to Shark Farmer Radio. We are live in El Paso, Illinois, we're at the technology days, this is the show before the beak. Yeah, make sure you go out to the show on Atlanta, Indiana. That's a three day show. Yeah, and that's a man, I tell you what, that's like, I don't know, I don't want to say circus, but I don't want to, like, be insulting. It's like an event, that'd be fair to say. We've got Kate Roth, she is a social media member of Beck's hybrids, she's been telling us all sorts of stuff about her twin brother, about her husband, and your dad was checking into the gym and hit on the gal behind the desk and boom, there you are. Was he all buff and pumped up that day? I'm sure he would say he was, yeah. I like your ink, what do you got? I have the word Godspeed right here on my arm. I got that a couple of years ago, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Godspeed, it's a song that I have always really enjoyed, but it kind of became like my word when she started that whole cancer journey, it's like, you know, positive vibes, positive outcome, Godspeed, you know, wishing the best on your journey, so I decided to get that tattooed on me because it just means a lot. On the bicep, is that painful? It wasn't too bad, no. No, look at you. She's tough. What's on the wrist? Um, well, my watch is covering it, but it's radio, they can't see anyway. True, it says always better together, and it has twin peak mountains for my brother and I. Oh, well, man, my job is to make fun of people, and you are not helping. You're just too wholesome. You know, you talked about your mom battling cancer, you went through, excuse me, a couple of tough years, right? Yeah. So you got married, and just a few months later, she was diagnosed, and then tell what happened after that. Yeah, so Nate and I got married in August, and then my mom was diagnosed in November, and you know, as anyone that's gone through any sort of cancer, or their family, it just kind of rocks your whole world. Um, but on top of that, my parents' house, my childhood home, was they were bought out of their house and had to find someplace to live. What do you mean, bought out of their house? Company was coming in and building, right? They weren't the only ones infected, but in the area, they bought out a lot of like an eminent domain thing. Yeah. For a private company? Um, kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, that hits a nerve, by the way. I understand eminent domain, but it's supposed to not be for a private company, and it is now, and I don't know. When Emily becomes president, that's the first thing she's going to change. Yeah. So did it work out? It did work out. Because they had to find a house relocate, but it had to be wheelchair accessible for your brother, right? So was that tough, or did they end up building something on to the house? It definitely made it a little more difficult, just because they needed a few more necessities for Ben, but in the end, it all worked out pretty perfectly. Nate and I ended up building a house in Sheridan, and my parents found a house about 12 minutes down the road, and it's pretty much the perfect spot. They live on six acres, they have room for their dogs to run around, they have room for our dogs to run around when we want to go there and get out of the neighborhood, and they're close enough that if they need us, we can be there and vice versa. How many dogs do you have? Two. Maybe someone had like seven cats. Oh no. No. No, I'm not a cat girl. Yet. No. I think you grow into that. No. I don't think so. I think I'm going to stick with that one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don't really grow into cats, usually. Yeah. You belt a home, man, I have zero desire to ever do that. So many options, so many choices. Yeah. How do you even start? Well, when Nate and I were looking for a home after we got married, it was pretty much in the worst housing market that you could grow home in. So on top of everything else that was going on, we moved back in with our parents to try to save some money and look for a house and building a home was our best bet for the price. So. So you tucked away money. Mm-hmm. Got better. Yeah. Which then actually then when your mom got diagnosed, you moved back in with them to help with Ben too. Yeah. So you guys are like family people, like you live big family people. Yeah. And even to this day, you live right in the middle of both sets of parents, right? So family means a lot. Yeah. And family member, do you like the least? I don't want to say that. You have to answer that. Ah, stir in the pot. We're having a moment here. No, I'm trying to. We were having a lot. I'm just trying to figure stuff out. So how many dogs your parents have? They have two. So four dogs altogether. What do you have? What kind of dog? We have two Britney Spaniels. They have a lot of energy. Okay. That says a lot about you. I thought you had a real dog. They are real dogs. They're real cute. They're kind of poofoo, poofoo dogs. What do you want people to know about someone that is running the social media, a company like Bax? Right? Because all the farmers see stuff like that and farmers, I don't know. We just, we just want to be negative sometimes and you're the person. You're the wizard behind the Oz or something like that. What do you want people to know? I think it's important to remember that there is a person behind the brand, right? I mean, I'm not a robot. Not a computer running the account. I have feeling. But yeah, I mean, I have a lot of fun with it. I think just reminding people that it does take a lot of work to put this stuff together. And I have a lot of help. We have a great marketing team at Bax that helps me every day in multiple different ways. But yeah, I think. Well, and I see the buggies going by, I mean, everybody wants to know, wants to find out all about this practical farm research, right? They want to go out. They want to go out in the field and find out what's working, what's not, what might work on their farm. I kizzy it is. How many people are here? They want the information. They love what Bax is doing. Is that satisfying? I mean, when you're putting an event like this on and people are filling the tents to overflowing, that means people want to know the information, right? Yeah. For sure. It's super exciting to see that I didn't grow up in this, you know, environment. So all of this is still relatively new to me, you know, within the past few years. But it's, I love seeing how passionate people are about it. Farmers are some of the most passionate people that I've met. And I think that's really, it makes my job a lot more fun and interesting working with people that really care about what they're doing. Yeah. Just give us free hats. That's all we want. Just what we need, another hat. Yeah. So run down all the Bax social media for us. Yup. All the handles are Bax hybrids. So it's pretty easy. You can find us Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook. Do you let, do you let people know your personal? Sure. Yeah. It's Kate Roth, but it's not spelled out Kate. It's the letter K and then the number eight. Oh my gosh. Roth. Nice. Okay. Do I follow? I don't know. Do you? Not sure. All right. Good enough. Kate Roth, the social media coordinator at Bax, Kate, you do, you do a fantastic job. It's a lot of fun. It's got to be difficult because you've got the agronomic information out here, but yet you got to have it entertaining enough to where people are actually going to want it. So I think you run that balance pretty well. People go anywhere though, because Sean Haney's coming up next. He doesn't like your social media. He told me that it was rude, but here we are. Kate, thank you very much. Everybody else, we'll catch you next time. [MUSIC] (laughing)