I must admit, I was late to the podcast bandwagon.

It was just a few years ago that I realized the potential that lay within my cellphone. It was during winter pruning on our farm when we’re out in the vineyard and each of us is too far apart to have any real conversation.

While pruning it’s nice to have something playing in the background so you don’t get too bored, and that year I had cycled through several musical playlists and a few audiobooks. I was at the point that nothing was really keeping my interest any longer.

I remembered I had a podcast app that came built into my phone, so I opened it and did a subject search.

Y’all, it was a whole new world. There is a podcast for everything, and they’re free!

I added several podcasts to my library playlist and never looked back. I now listen to at least one podcast a day, either while getting ready in the morning or driving or working on the farm.

What I really like about them is their conversational style. You don’t feel like you’re listening alone, you feel like you’re having a great chat with friends. Their subject matter is also diverse. Podcasts can be for fun or for learning a specific subject, or they can impart your news for the day.

It’s also an easier way to pick and choose the subject topics you’d like to focus on, or learn from and, honestly, after listening to one I always feel more informed and smarter about the greater world around me. I even have a church podcast I can listen to on the go; it’s like having a pastor on call.

Top podcasts

So, here’s my list of recommended podcasts that are focused on farming, agribusiness, rural living and life in general. I encourage you to check them out and to find others that match your interests:

Shining Bright, the FarmHer Podcast. This podcast shines a light on women making the ordinary extraordinary. Women are doing great things in agriculture and always have been a part of the industry. FarmHer's mission is to shine a light on women in agriculture.

Keeping Ag Real. Host ​Jenny​ ​Schweigert​​ ​has​ ​created​ ​a show​ ​highlighting​ ​what’s​​ ​really​ ​happening​ ​in​ ​agriculture​ ​in​ ​a​ ​how​-it’s​-​grown point of view. ​

​From​ ​citrus​ ​processing​ ​managers​ ​to​ ​farmers​ ​and​ ​ranchers​ ​to the​ restaurant sector and new technology, the show aims​ ​to​ ​showcase​ ​all​ ​of​ ​agriculture​; ​the good,​ ​the​ ​bad​ ​and​ ​even​ ​the​ ​tough​ ​issues​ ​facing​ the​ ​industry.​

The Most Useful Podcast Ever. This is a podcast for getting things done. Jacqueline Detwiler, editor of Popular Mechanics, hosts a rotating cast of characters who answer tough questions and provide tips for being smart about life.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin. On her top-ranked, award-winning podcast, Gretchen Rubin discusses good habits and happiness with her sister, Elizabeth Craft.

“Happier” was named in iTunes’s lists of “Best Podcasts of 2015” and was named in the Academy of Podcasters “Best Podcasts of 2016.”

The podcast consistently appears at the top of the charts in Apple Podcasts.

Watson-Hampton farms with her family on their fourth-generation family farm in Brandywine, Md.