E62: A Homesteader's Seat at the Secretary of Ag's Table | Interview with AJ Richards

AJ Richards is back, and this time he's taking us inside the room with the Secretary of Agriculture. He's not a lobbyist. Nobody's paying him to be there. He's a homesteader from Cody, Wyoming who got invited because he was loud about our failing food system, and he's telling us what's really going on with public land grazing, the regenerative agriculture executive order, and why country of origin labeling isn't as simple as everyone thinks.

AJ lives on seven and a half acres in Cody, Wyoming, but his family's roots go back to 1916, when they homesteaded the Arizona Strip as part of the Bundy Ranchers. He's also the founder of From The Farm, a platform built to connect consumers directly with producers.

Since last fall, he's been part of a small group the Secretary of Agriculture personally invited to Washington to represent Western ranchers who felt unheard. In this episode, he and I get into what's actually moving in DC right now, why some of the loudest online criticism misses the point entirely, and why he believes prayer and discernment matter as much as policy.

What You'll Learn

• Why yelling at the Secretary of Agriculture over country of origin labeling might be aimed at the wrong person entirely
• What a new memorandum of understanding between USDA and the Department of Interior means for ranchers grazing on public land, after decades of losing ground
• The real story of how the regenerative agriculture executive order came together
• Why AJ says “two things can be true at once” about the wins and the compromises coming out of this administration
• What the Direct Act could mean for buying meat straight from a farmer online, even across state lines
• Why taking a government grant, like NRCS fencing money, almost always comes with strings you didn't expect
• How AJ's family history homesteading the Arizona Strip shapes the way he sees today's food fight
• Why “empathy up” matters as much as empathy for the people below you
• What AJ wishes Christians would post instead of tearing down leaders online

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• From The Farm: https://fromthefarm.org/
• HOA 2026 Conference (10th Anniversary, October, Front Royal, Virginia): https://homesteadersofamerica.com

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