Someone Should Do That: The Story Behind Lonesome Lands
By Lillian Hulse
SOMEONE SHOULD DO THAT
In 2013, the Super Bowl commercial featuring Paul Harvey’s “So God Made a Farmer” debuted. Around 108 million people were watching, including Jim Mundorf. The infamous speech struck a chord with many and left him with a lingering thought: “Someone should do that.”
For Mundorf, who grew up on a farm and listened to Paul Harvey at his grandparents’ place, the commercial left him reminiscent. Yet, what left him in awe was the reactions of people that had never seen a farm or spent time in rural America.
Before starting a grassroots media company, Mundorf described himself as an, “Outside observer of media.” Watching that commercial made Mundorf critically think about traditional agricultural media, and its lack of authenticity. How had a simple pickup truck commercial connected with people more than most modern media platforms?
About five years later, Mundorf founded Lonesome Lands with three articles and a vision to make genuine agricultural media platform.
THE PIECES WERE ALREADY THERE
When Mundorf was just two weeks old, his dad quit his job and began farming full-time. Mundorf never experienced his dad having a boss or working a traditional nine-to-five career. Instead, Mundorf said his dad, “Was very much a rugged individualist.” That entrepreneurial mindset came naturally to Mundorf and led him to found The Drover House, a Longhorn creation business, after his senior year of college. Today, readers and listeners can see his dad’s individualistic attitude continues to guide Mundorf’s principles today.
Jim Mundorf in The Drover House booth at the Denver Old West Show. 2009
Not knowing what career he wanted to pursue, Mundorf used his interest in motocross and motorcycle racing to ponder a job in sports journalism. He attended the University of Northern Iowa, and never made it into sportscasting, but instead had several realizations about the media industry. Many of his journalism and communications peers held different ideologies than him and, in his view, seemed to lose sight of the importance of curiosity and seeking the truth through media. Reflecting on his college experience, Mundorf said, “I learned what not to do more in college than I learned how to do things.”
Likely more important than Mundorf’s communications degree was his decision to study media on his own. During college, he worked as harvest help for a farmer in eastern Iowa. While running the grain cart, Mundorf listened to sportscasters Dan Patrick and Tony Kornheiser in the morning and political commentator Rush Limbaugh in the afternoon. He described them as his “education in media.”
This experience helped Mundorf develop a unique perspective that combined his passion for agriculture and his growing interest in media. That combination would eventually become the foundation for Lonesome Lands, allowing him to tell the stories of rural America from the perspective of someone who understood farm life.
TRADITIONAL AG MEDIA IS SO UNAUTHENTIC
Ram Trucks made the right move. They captured rural America and farm life in two minutes, and the hearts of millions watching with five words.
Mundorf realized, “People are really interested in agriculture. You know, that struck a nerve. And like I said, that was 2013. I didn’t start the website until 2017. So, it was five years that the ideas were bouncing around, like, someone should do that.”
The more Mundorf wrestled with the ideas, the more he knew a new ag media site was needed. “Someone should put together a more authentic feeling media space or, website or company, whatever you want to call it. Because I felt like traditional ag media is so unauthentic.”
More than unauthentic, Mundorf described traditional media as boring and impersonable.
“I saw there is a desire for real, authentic, honest… more of a storytelling from rural America.” In 2017, Mundorf finally made that happen.
One night, the Lonesome Lands website was launched with three articles. Publishing articles and creating YouTube videos was most of the content for the company until starting the podcast. The rising popularity in audio episodes made the channel a perfect place for authentic ag media.
“I want this to feel like you’re overhearing a conversation at the sale barn or something like that,” Mundorf said about the podcast. It has a conversation tone, a far cry from traditional news reporting.
First picture posted to Lonesome Lands, 2017 where it all started.
THE PASSION AND THE PURPOSE
Up until two years ago, Lonesome Lands wasn’t always Mundorf’s focus. Sometimes the website would sit idle for three months without an update. Between being a dad to three kids, running The Drover House, working on the family farm and inevitable burnout, it was not always easy for Mundorf to keep the website current.
“And over the last two years it’s been every week, at least once a week, we’re doing the podcast,” Mundorf said.
The change in publishing happened after bringing on Shad Sullivan as co-host of the podcast. He serves as the motivation for weekly Lonesome Reports.
“Shad’s been the main motivator in that. He’s like, ‘We’re doing this!’” Mundorf said that even when he is burnt out, Sullivan brings passion and purpose to their work.
Mundorf first met Sullivan when he sent Mundorf an article to publish on Lonesome Lands while it was still a new media outlet. Mundorf described the piece as “great,” however the last paragraph was a promotion for R-CALF USA. Staying unbiased towards any one association or organization, Mundorf had to decline the article.
“And that’s where our friendship started, was me rejecting him,” Mundorf said, amused. However, that rejection was nothing but motivating to Sullivan. Later in their friendship, as Mundorf was mulling over the idea of a podcast, Sullivan was one of the first people to encourage him to start it.
Sullivan has since become an essential part of Lonesome Lands. From the podcast, writing articles and even appearing on national news outlets, such as Fox and Friends, Sullivan brings his passion for liberty, freedom and rural America to everything he does.
Like Mundorf, Sullivan has deep ties to agriculture. He grew up as a multi-generational rancher in Colorado and his family later moved to Texas, continuing their yearling operation by grazing winter wheat. After high school, Sullivan competed in horse judging at Wyoming community college and then transferred to West Texas A&M, just as its Equine Industry program was formed.
Shad Sullivan and Jim Mundorf at Shad’s bunkhouse in 2021
To this day, he continues the family yearling business, while raising his own cattle, farming wheat and fighting regulatory lawfare for farming and ranching families across the country. However, he never intended on speaking out against property right injustices, until he experienced it firsthand.
In 1996, Colorado legislature passed a bill setting aside 300,000 acres of land for preservation. That legislation came just a few years after Sullivan’s family had signed a 25-year lease to graze land owned by the state of Colorado, which was reluctant to allow them to continue leasing the property.
“Today we would call it lawfare, and so we end up losing the lease on that, put us in a terrible deficit,” Sullivan said. “And that was the catalyst to my advocacy.”
Sullivan’s advocacy has led him to give input on national policy discussions and start a friendship with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Secretary Rollins has appeared on Lonesome Lands podcast three times, once at her invitation.
“The last interview we had with her (Secretary Rollins), she invited us specifically, called me up and said, ‘I want you and Jim to come interview me at my family farm in Minnesota.’… I'm sitting here going, oh my lands!” Sullivan said. “And she has involved me in so many, so many policy discussions, on not just property rights and lawfare, but you know, I went out there for the DOJ investigation roll out into the Big Four Packers. I've been out there nine times this year… I've been to the White House five times this year.”
Sullivan and Mundorf use Lonesome Lands to bring attention to issues that arise in the agriculture industry, while acting as watchdogs for large ag corporations.
Shad Sullivan meeting President Trump in the White House Rose Garden
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT DAYS OF YOUR LIFE
To date, one of Lonesome Lands’ most viewed podcast episodes was during a Midwest snowstorm. While Mundorf was in Texas buying horns for The Drover House, he stopped by Sullivan’s ranch and recorded their first in person episode.
“We did it at Shad’s bunkhouse, and I posted from a hotel in Oklahoma, and then I had to drive home in the snow all day and got home, and we had more views than ever,” Mundorf attributed the views to the storm more than the podcast episode itself. “And I think people were bored and stuck inside all day.”
It is important to note that the primary viewers of Lonesome Lands are farmers and ranchers. Viewer and listenership is often determined by the season. Apparently, the weather affects more than just production agriculture.
Now that Lonesome Lands is growing in reach and support, Mundorf is finding a new reason for continuing every day.
“Mark Twain would say, ‘The two most important days of your life are the day you’re born… and the day you find out why.’” Mundorf continued, “And to me, it’s almost like I keep having more of those days.”
Jim and Shad outside of the west wing of the White House.
THE CONVERSATION IS CHANGING
Lonesome Lands has always had the independent producer in mind. Being from a small town, Mundorf saw how it evolved, becoming more desolate. Across the U.S., family farms are shutting down and rural communities are disappearing. Family operations and small towns are the foundation of the independent farmer and rancher.
In 2022, Lonesome Lands published a YouTube video that ended with the question, “How do you stop trends that have left this country littered with empty barns, empty pens and broken dreams?”
Now the question is, what progress has Lonesome Lands made?
“I think the conversation is changing. And I think that’s where it has to start, right?” Mundorf responded. “If you look at what’s happening now and how many people are talking about the number of farms and ranches that are being lost every year. It’s way more of an issue then it was a year ago or two years ago.”
The conversation Mundorf refers to is the connections Lonesome Lands has made. Speaking up against corporate agriculture, media sites that control the narrative and investigating ag collusion is what Mundorf and Sullivan are doing.
Over the last year, Lonesome Lands has played a role in the government starting and investigation into the Big 4 Packers and fighting for producers’ property rights across the country. They consistently push-back against climate change propaganda, the beef checkoff and corporate consolidation.
“So it’s been surreal. The whole things has just been crazy. But yeah, we’re definitely making progress and headed in the right direction,” Mundorf concluded.
October 2026 marks nine years of Lonesome Lands, and Mundorf and Sullivan say this is just the beginning.
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Lillian Hulse
Lilly grew up on her family's horned Hereford cow-calf operation in north-central Kansas. In high school, she was heavily involved in FFA and discovered her passion for ag journalism. She served as the 2025-26 Kansas FFA president and is currently pursuing a degree in agricultural communications at Kansas State University. She is passionate about sharing the stories of agricultural producers and preserving the traditions of rural America. A connoisseur of fine country and western music, she can often be found listening to Willie, Waylon and the boys.
Design based off of the Erwin E. Smith photograph of a cowboy on a ridge in west Texas. This design was hand drawn by artist, Nick Stroia. Color is Midnight Navy. Shipping is free.
Brown and Tan snap back trucker hat with Lonesome Lands logo on patch.
Hat is a Richardson 112 model, which is the gold standard for quality and fit in trucker hats.
Shipping is free.