Serious with a side of humor Popular ag speaker to give a keynote address at 2025 grain convention

When you see Jolene Brown’s name on the schedule, you likely know what’s coming: a lively presentation on a serious topic — think family joys vs. business or farm transitions — served up with humor, appreciation, and celebration.

Brown will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2025 Washington Grain Growers Convention, Nov. 17-19, at the Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Growers can register for the convention at wawg.org/convention/registration/. Early bird registration ends Oct. 24.

“My speaking philosophy is if we laugh and relate, only then will we learn and apply,” Brown said. “I’m always looking for the points of pain as I work with families in business, because they must be addressed, such as fair and equal, such as no one in my family wants to be in agriculture, or what do I do as a legacy? I’m trying to address roadblocks in such a way that (farmers) see there are possibilities.”

Brown said her keynote, “Harvest the Humor: A celebration of Life on the Farm,” will cover four specific points:

• Communication. According to Brown, this is one of agriculture’s biggest challenges. She explained that the more she has to communicate with people, the more she likes cows because “I can send that one to market if I don’t like it.” And it’s not only communication between people. Brown said the biggest competition when it comes to communication on the farm is weather and markets. “When those two things are on, do not try to communicate. You won’t win.”
• There’s nothing better than raising kids or growing up on a farm. Brown plans to take the audience all the way back to “sand piles and tree swings, to finding baby kitties in the haymow,” and remind growers that they need to appreciate the people along the way and teach their children to do the same.
• Different generations work differently on the farm. When Brown works with a family business, the four tools she brings are a mirror, a box of tissues, a roll of duct tape, and a two-by-four, because that’s what you need to make progress with challenging conversations. Transparency about money and the importance of transitioning education and experience, not just the hard assets, will also be addressed.
• Learning how to enjoy the journey. “It’s nobody else’s job to make us have a good day. We get to choose that on our own, and it’s not easy.” Growers need to understand that if they want to enjoy their journey, they’ve got to associate with folks who are enjoying theirs.

“(Growers) work so hard that they need some white space. They need to know how to step back and take a look at what’s really important,” Brown said. “In the deep dark of the night, it’s not the number of acres you farm, the color of your equipment, or how many critters you raise that keep you up at night. It’s the people. We’ll be reminded they are your biggest concern and greatest joy.” 

Brown, who lives on a farm in Iowa, began her career as a professional speaker during the 1980s farm crisis. Like many, her family was dealing with high interest rates on operating loans and watching their farm lose value. After attending a presentation by a celebrity speaker brought in to lift farmers’ spirits, Brown decided to write to the speaker a couple of weeks later to let him know that she had been applying what he taught and give him three examples for each of his main points to help others apply them. She also encouraged the speaker to come back and interact with the audience (he had left early to catch a flight). Four days later the celebrity speaker called Brown and spent an hour talking to her and asking questions.   The phone call ended with the speaker adding Brown to the program at his next seminar.

“Two weeks later, as I was being introduced, I was so nervous, I was vomiting into a wastebasket. But my mission was clear. I had to help the people of agriculture learn how to build an internal bank account when the external one is gone. That’s really how I got started,” Brown said. “The topics have morphed over all these years. My specialty now is helping us build a business worthy of transitioning and then transitioning it to the next generation.”

Brown leans heavily on using humor to make her point, and she isn’t afraid to poke fun at herself.

“I take them back to the crazy stuff I’ve done on the farm, the mistakes that I’ve made, the stupid things that I’ve done, the things the kids have said. Or maybe I’ll read a funny cartoon or hear a silly joke. But we need to write those things down, creating a ready-access humor journal. It’s when the going gets tough, we need the benefits that come from a sense of humor and keeping our crazy, demanding lives in perspective,” she explained.

More information about Brown can be found online at jolenebrown.com.