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

In this episode of Meat Success, Katie interviews Sarah Scott, a ranch-raised former Certified Angus Beef leader and now a consultant and certified StoryBrand guide. Sarah 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. Sarah 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 Sarah 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/

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/