'Farmer Wants a Wife' Stars Spill On Life and Love at The American Rodeo

As the second season of 'Farmer Wants a Wife' approaches its next episode, Sports Illustrated Rodeo Daily interviewed three of the show's stars to discuss their lives and their search for love.

Matt Pearce/FOX Entertainment

FOX's hit dating show 'Farmer Wants a Wife' premiered its second season on Feb. 1 and is off to a roaring start!

The show, hosted by country music star Jennifer Nettles, is billed as the most successful dating show to ever hit the airwaves and has resulted in a reported 201 marriages.

The show sees farmers take an in-depth approach and host hopeful singles to see what it is like living the rural farm and ranching lifestyle. From there, the farmers and the singles will mutually select one another, and that is where the real fun begins.

At that point, the farmer will take his group through the vigors, challenges, and beauty of what living on a farm is actually like. The seasonalities of the lifestyle, the challenges, hard work, tears, and then those beautiful moments that can never happen while living in a city are experienced by all.

This season, Ty Ferrell, Mitchell Kolinsky, Brandon Rogers and Nathan Smothers are the lucky farmers to host these hopeful women.

Ty is from Sikeston, Mo., and is a 42-year-old team toper who runs a 50 acre ranch teaming with cattle and roping horses.

Mitchell hails from Knoxville, Tenn., and at 27, is a first-generation farmer who lives in a log cabin with his three dogs.

Brandon is from a very remote part of Colorado and, at 29, works with his dad on their 1,000-acre potato and barley farm.

Finally, Nathan is from Bartow, Fla., where he is a fourth-generation cattle rancher and citrus farmer. He is the youngest contestant in the second season at 23.

Sports Illustrated Rodeo Daily was able to have a chat with Ty, Mitchell and Brandon while at The American Rodeo held at Globe Life Field on March 9.

Enjoy!

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Kade Kistner, Sports Illustrated Rodeo Daily: How do you get involved in something like 'Farmer Wants a Wife'? How did you get picked to join the show?

Brandon Rogers: My step-sister is in the industry in Los Angeles, and she said I needed to fill out the casting call, fill out the application, and she kept pressuring me. As a farmer, you kind of like being away from everything, but also, in my area, there are not a lot of women to date. It's a small farming community. So she pushed me along, I filled out the application, and now we are here at Globe Life Field!

Ty Ferrell: For me, it was a deal where I had a friend put my name in the pot, and I kind of thought about it, took in the first season to see what it was all about, and thought what a great chance to meet somebody. The dynamic of the show is the ladies come to you and live your life and be a part of your ranch and your place. That is just different than any other show. It's not a vacation show where they are having fun, and then real life happens. This is a real-life show.

Mitchell Kolinsky: I was reached out to on Instagram with a message, and I thought it was a scam! I was cutting trees and getting this message asking if I wanted to be on a farming and dating show. Honestly, I didn't know much about it because, at the time, I didn't have television or internet, but then I did some research on it and learned that Jennifer Nettles was the host, and I am a big fan. So, I was happy to do it. Then, having five girls come live with me at my farm is unlike any other opportunity ever presented, so I had to jump in.

Kade Kistner: What were some moments that were highlights for you during filming, maybe the most memorable moment?

Mitchell Kolinsky: That's a great question. In the beginning, getting to meet these guys was humbling, and it all kind of started to sink in. I was like, 'Wow, not only do I get to meet some awesome ladies, but I get to create some lifelong friendships with some guys that are like-minded and do the same thing that I do.' That was pretty cool for me.

Brandon Rogers: Piggy backing off of Mitchell, you make some really good friends because nobody knows what you're going through. But another great thing we get to go and meet all these amazing people like you guys that want to know more about us, and we get to talk about who we are. Going to New York, coming to Globe Life Field, going to The American Rodeo, and some of the events, such as Ty's roping, it's really memorable. Watching the camera people do what they are good at is amazing. Today, we were watching the cowboys, who are at a very professional level, and when you are making television, you have these camera people who are in a similar scenario, and they're amazing at what they do. Just watching the trade was something that was very cool.

Ty Ferrell: My experience, like these guys said, this trauma bond that we have all shared and created because of this show has been great. Having everybody to my house for my roping that I put on every year... that was special. Especially looking back and having those memories and getting to play that out. Also, being on the show with my daughter is something that we can look back on and recall the experience.

Kade Kistner: So Ty, you hold a roping jackpot every year?

Ty Ferrell: Yeah I do, it's called the Ferrell Fall Classic and we just had our 14th year. This was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I just kind of mentioned it to them, and I wanted the ladies to be shoe help at my rodeo and not so much for the show to come on and make it a mixer, but that experience was unbelievable.

Kade Kistner: Finally, are there any philanthropic efforts or charities that mean a lot to you that you currently work with or want to work with in the future? Are there any causes that are important to you?

Ty Ferrell: I love that you ask that question. In Sikeston, we have the Kenny Rogers Children's Center. They help and take care of children with special needs. It has developed into a center that helps a broad range of children. It's a non-profit, and they actually have their annual auction coming up, and it's a big part of their yearly revenue.

Mitchell Kolinsky: I am actually in the process of starting a non-profit called The Giving Vine. It will take some of our leftover produce and take it downtown, there are a lot of shelters that could use it. Also, we will bring the grill downtown and do some cookouts.

Brandon Rogers: For me, there are two things I want to throw out: the Ski Hi Stampede, the oldest pro rodeo in Colorado, and a non-profit. I am the vice president on that board. We changed our dates this year to accommodate cowboys. We are actually overlapping with Gunnison Cattlemen's Days; we are only 130 miles apart. They are a day performance; we are a night performance. So, we are really trying to cater to those cowboys.

And then as far as another non-profit, the Stephanie L. Miner Imaging Center in the San Luis Valley. One of my really good family friends who farms there, their mom, passed away from breast cancer. So this whole facility is for an imaging center for these ladies in the valley because it's so remote, there aren't many options to get scans done.

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Make sure to catch the next episode of 'Farmer Wants a Wife' airing on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.

Additionally, if you are interested in watching all the heart-pounding action of The American Western Weekend, it will be re-aired on the Fox network this weekend.

• The American Performance Horseman Saturday, March 16 at 11:30 AM ET-1:00 PM ET on FS1
• The American Rodeo Championship Saturday, March 16 at 1:30 PM ET-3:30 PM ET on FOX