Off-Farm Income (Matt Brechwald)

Our guest today was a National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Fruit Production in 2021.  Jacob Hinton has a deep farming and FFA legacy in his family.  However, his parents did not start the farm that he has been growing up on until 2006.  They had a vision, and Jacob has been able to grow up working on that farm and helping that vision to come to fruition (pun intended).

Hinton's Orchard is where Jacob calls home.  And on this farm he tends to flower gardens, fruit trees, a corn maze and a pumpkin patch.  He also gives hay rides, and manages much of the agritoursim and apple sales that take place in the fall.  Jacob is learning a ton at his own home.  Everything from crop production, pest control and customer service are available for him to learn.  And, this cornucopia of experience led him to Indianapolis last October as a National Proficiency Finalist.

Casey DeVries is the "Test Plot Chairman" for the Forreston FFA Chapter in Forreston, Illinois.  If that is a title you have never heard of before, it was also a new one for me.  Casey's family has been farming in the Forreston area since 1948 when his great grandfather purchased farmland there.  Today some of their land sits across the road from the high school.  So, during Casey's freshman year he suggested doing test plots of corn in that field to compare varieties and provide the agriculture department a way to do hands on learning.  The project stuck and is still doing four years later, and will continue after Casey leaves high school.

Casey and his family have a large farm and a large shop.  Working on machinery and engines in the shop is a significant part of keeping the farm going.  So, Casey has been doing something mechanical since around age 5.  When it came time for an SAE, he decided to challenge himself.  He purchased an old tractor, brought home and tore it all apart.  He restored the transmission, the rear end and even painted it himself.  And then he marketed it on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.  Within one week it was sold to a gentleman in Wisconsin!

Tip Of The Week

Consider tech like Smart Water CSI to protect your valuable equipment:

https://smartwatercsi.com

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.nbc11news.com/2021/08/28/agriculture-theft-vandalism-grand-junction/

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/the-old-west-crime-of-livestock-rustling-appears-to-be-increasing-in-utah

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.westerninvestor.com/british-columbia/hay-rustlers-reveal-depth-of-drought-desperation-4271864

https://www.punchline-gloucester.com/articles/aanews/advice-for-rural-communities-following-gps-system-thefts-across-england

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/crime/vandals-smash-up-farmers-tractors-and-leave-death-threats

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/norfolk-police-team-up-to-target-hare-coursers-8262754

There are a lot of different directions I could go with today's interview.  As a matter of fact, there are a lot of different directions that I did go with today's interview.  Gabrielle (Gabby) Crumley was originally booked on the show to talk about how she started an agricultural marketing company and how she uses that to support her agricultural lifestyle.  However, her story is even more compelling than that, and I found myself caught up in the entirety of it.

Gabby and her husband, Chad, actually did not grow up raising cattle.  However, they both were part of the horse world in small communities surrounding Portland, Oregon.  Gabby got exposed to cattle ranching and livestock by visiting relatives in the eastern part of her state as a kid, and this led her to choose to major in agriculture in college.  She chose to attend college in Eastern Oregon, away from the rainy climate that the western part of the state holds.  Ultimately, she and Chad met, dated for about three years and were married.  They leased some ground in the mountains outside of LaGrande, Oregon and started a cattle herd.

During this same time Gabby had developed her own marketing business.  This had never been her intention, but a college professor saw that she had a special talent for social media marketing and encouraged her to pursue that.  This led to Gabby developing her first, paid customers, and like it is for so many entrepreneurs, this got her hooked.

This business also allowed her to live wherever she wanted because the business is not geographically restricted.  When she and Chad decided that they wanted to pursue ranching as a lifelong pursuit, this meant purchasing their own place.  As they studied what was available throughout the country they decided on an area of Wyoming near Cody and started looking.  Ultimately, they found their spot, bought their very own ranch and made the big move about a year ago.

What Gabby has done is very inspirational, and it is a clear blueprint for so many of us that would like to follow in she and Chad's footsteps.  Her story also proves a lot of the concepts that we talk about on this show, and that was a thrill for me.

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Olivia Black is a senior in high school, a second year FFA student and the Michigan Star Award Winner in Agribusiness.  In Olivia's school district the FFA Chapter is run by the Ionia County Career Center, and high school students are only eligible to attend there starting in the 11th Grade.  Olivia has grown up showing cattle and pigs and with a significant family history in the Dairy Industry, so she knew that she wanted to be in the FFA.  When she started her junior year, she enrolled in an agricultural course at the career center, making her eligible for the FFA, and she joined.

Two years prior to this is when Olivia's journey as an entrepreneur began however.  Olivia has a rare gift that only a small percentage of entrepreneurs have.  She was dissatisfied with a product that she was using on her show pigs, and rather than keep looking for something that worked better or settling for what she had, she decided to make her own.  Absolute Products was born at that moment, and she has been developing this business ever since then.

Now, at age 17, Olivia has stood out among all the other FFA students in Michigan, even though she has less than two years of records.  She is selling her product all over the Upper Midwest, and she plans on expanding even further.  In addition, she is finding that while her product was developed for use on pigs, it works well on both dairy and beef cattle.

Olivia loves the livestock exhibition world, but she realized that in the not too distant future she was going to age out eligibility to show livestock.  So, she has created a business that will keep her connected to this world and will help exhibitors everywhere solve some of their most frustrating issues.  Olivia is off to college soon to get a degree in Ag Business, and it is all directed at growing this business.

Tip Of The Week

Is your liquid fertilizer secure?

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.wwlp.com/news/crime/hadley-woman-pleads-not-guilty-to-35-counts-of-animal-cruelty/

https://www.idahopress.com/news/state/cartel-financed-oregon-pot-farms-expand-to-growing-indoors/article_89345cce-2502-53b1-9692-67d3973ecd1a.html

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/crime/police-seize-more-than-1m-in-stolen-farm-vehicle-parts?fbclid=IwAR0DiD6j_-iGPT_2FrrcOyBj9DGomI8FazTKjaLDh2gEaCukwGYs3FW_K-o

https://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/police-crack-down-on-thefts-of-horse-boxes-9254022/

https://www.dorset.live/news/dorset-news/liquid-fertiliser-worth-more-8000-7077091

Africa

https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/free-state/four-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-sheep-in-free-state-7f3d7e60-49fa-49bd-8993-0c06f895996c

https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/free-state/police-recover-over-150-stolen-livestock-cbb18a97-7cdb-4ba8-add4-cead3ca85e3b

https://neweralive.na/posts/murder-accused-to-apply-for-bail

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

“We sleep soundly in our beds, because rough men stand ready in the night to do violence on those who would harm us"

https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/man-arrested-for-burglary-near-larchwood/article_8eb213c2-d18d-11ec-a148-3bcd85b92835.html

https://www.kwqc.com/2022/05/12/burlington-man-is-custody-4-counts-burglary/

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I don't know if you have noticed, but his show is about non-conformists and people who look at the world a different way.  All of us fit that definition a little bit by the mere fact that we want to farm and only 2% of our population is in that career field.  But what about that person that says "why do I have to do it that way"?

Today's guest, Ben Rykerd, is that person.  Ben is now 29 years old.  He describes himself as having a "travel bug" and he has known this since he was a kid.  So, as high school was coming to a close Ben didn't just take the next prescribed step in the journey, he stopped and asked himself what type of life he wanted to have.

Tip Of The Week

New methods of generating farm revenue can generate new types of problems

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.newsweek.com/woman-complains-after-pumpkin-farm-kicks-her-out-bringing-giant-snake-1639462

https://roanoke.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bond-denied-again-for-man-accused-of-stealing-plants-worth-330-000-from-hemp-farm/article_06ff2f3a-1a4c-11ec-9d48-7330114f4686.html

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/news/19635998.organised-crime-gangs-stealing-gps-equipment/

https://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/politics/council/police-call-on-rural-residents-to-be-on-their-guard-as-dark-nights-draw-in-3412659

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/thieves-targeting-farm-equipment-in-hagerman/

https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/crime/washington-county-woman-arrested-on-drug-theft-stolen-property-charges/

Tip Of The Week

Review of “Pig”

Be careful with social media: https://www.northernfarmer.co.uk/news/19889872.ex-burglars-reveal-common-social-media-posts-used-break-ins/

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/crimeandjustice/oregon-lawmakers-take-aim-at-explosion-of-illegal-pot-farms/article_d7dfb6db-609a-5d68-b397-9760421a88d9.html

https://www.pahomepage.com/news/child-charged-with-stealing-chickens-bunnies-from-central-pa-farm/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.rugbyobserver.co.uk/news/dangerous-gang-of-caravan-thieves-targeting-rural-areas/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/farmer-robert-hooper-court-tractor-b2006765.html

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/man-accused-of-rustling-200-cattle-but-those-steaks-will-be-costly-texas-officials-say-the-charlotte-observer-2

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2022/01/31/churdan-man-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-grain/

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For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

The University Of Tennessee Martin is one of the universities that inspired this episode.  Hattie and I were made aware of UTM at the National FFA Convention, and after that conversation and hearing how affordable an agricultural education could be there, it got me started thinking about making this episode.  Today, I am speaking with the Agriculture Department Chair, Dr. West Totten.  There is a wealth of information in this interview about another agricultural college that will make it possible for you to create your future in Ag.

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Stacy Carr is an Agricultural Consultant and Coach from Johnson City, Tennessee.  Hearing her story, it is obvious what it takes to be able to consult young and beginning farmers with no experience in the way that can - decades of work and experience in agriculture.

Stacy has a fantastic, exciting and rewarding business, but it is not the type of business that you just choose and start.  This business takes a passion for all aspects of agriculture that has driven you to take your own risks, do your own work and spend your own money over a lifetime pursuing farming.  Stacy has done that, in multiple different states and in multiple different ways.  And today, she is reaping the rewards of all of that knowledge and experience by being able to share it with people from all walks of life, including young families who want a rural lifestyle, and help them to succeed in farming.

In today's episode Stacy and I discuss all of that experience, and how her business works.  We will also talk about who the people are that want an agricultural lifestyle so much that they are willing to pay for somebody to guide them to that destination.

The Shepherdess At Harmony Farms is named Grace, and she has an unbelievable story.  Starting at the age of 11 she lived in the suburbs of Austin, Texas and was purchasing and re-marketing garage sale items online.  She developed an incredible talent for online marketing during her teen years to the point that she developed a 7 figure apparel company using the marketing skills she had developed.  Then, there was a drastic change.

Grace was living with her parents at this time, and they decided that it was time to move to an area where they could purchase some land and get further away from encroaching urban sprawl.  This took the whole family to northeast Texas, where her folks bought 30 acres.  In an effort to keep their agricultural property tax exemption, they began raising sheep, and for the first two years, Grace wanted nothing to do with this.  However, in 202o that all changed.

Once Grace embraced taking care of the livestock and farming, she fell in love with the lifestyle and work.  This led her to develop a passion for findng a way to stay on the farm.  She took the online marketing skills that she already had and started applying them to the families farming enterprise and "The Shepherdess At Harmony Farms" was born.

Today Grace is selling premium Dorper Sheep, online courses, merchandise, sheep supplies and other SWAG.  She is fired up about telling young people how they will be able to get into farming and why that is a great choice.  And, she is putting outstanding content out on her blog and her YouTube Channel.  And, I am lucky enough to interview her today.

Agriculture is a large umbrella, and below that umbrella there are divisions.  The fact that there are divisions does not mean that this is contentious, but it does mean that everyone in agriculture generally leans one of two ways and then gets more specialized from there.  I happen to lean towards animal agriculture, and that is fueled by my passion for cattle.  Today's guest leans towards crops, and he has a passion for cotton!

Peter Bliss has been farming for several years now.  Starting out 30 acres of inherited ground, he has built his farming enterprise into hundreds of acres of owned and leased farm ground.  He is growing cotton, wheat and almonds.  Even though taking care of cotton is much more complicated than the almonds that he grows with less potential profit, that is where is passion lies.  

It is so interesting to me to know that the way I feel about raising cattle and watching them graze in the field is the way that Peter feels about seeing cotton plants come up and eventually display their snowy white fiber.  Really, after spending 30 minutes speaking with Peter about his farming endeavors, there is no question as to why he has been  nominated as an American Star Farmer Finalist this year!

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Cotton, Almond & Wheat Production

HIGH SCHOOL: Golden Valley High School, Merced, California

MASCOT: Cougars

FFA ADVISOR: Cody Jacobsen

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PETER BLISS:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Golden Valley High School Website:

Peter's FFA Advisor's Email Address: cjacobsen@muhsd.org

Golden Valley High School Telephone Number: 209-325-2011

FFA LINKS

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

• Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and ensure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
• Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
• Farmers, ranchers, and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

"Because American farmers are able to provide for so many of us, they give more and more of us the freedom to pursue goals and livelihoods beyond growing the food we need to survive."

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack 

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I have recently taken up the hobby of speaking on a GMRS Radio and using repeaters to connect with people outside the range of my handset.  On today's episode I want to expose you to the fun and the practical side of this activity.

Links Discussed On The Show:

My GMRS: https://mygmrs.com/

FCC Licensing: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs

Notarubicon YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNotaRubicon

Treasure Valley Linked GMS Repeater Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/889860782756239

GMRS Live: https://www.gmrslive.com/

Jenn & Phil Tomkins (Homestead Jenn & Phil) are the creators of "Rent The Chicken", an affiliate business that is helping farmers across the U.S. and Canada to create extra revenue and support their farming lifestyle.  They are also helping prospective entrepreneurs to get experience running their own businesses and gain the courage to really go out on their own.

Phil & Jenn are based in Western Pennsylvania, but they have affiliates spread far and wide.  They are also growing knowledge about agriculture by creating an easy way for non-farmers to get exposure to raising their own chickens and collecting their own eggs.  Jenn & Phil first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in 2015 on episode #30, and today they are back to update us on the growth of their business and how they have sustained their transition to being full-time entrepreneurs.

Me and the whole family were back up in the Wood River Valley of Idaho this weekend so that I could elk hunt.  It just so happened that a friend of ours had a condo available that they could not use this weekend. So, the whole family was able to go. 

I hunted during the days, and I was able to hang out with Autumm and Hattie in the evenings.  Because of the short days, we actually ended up with quite a bit of time together, so it worked out really well.

For my outdoor clothing I prefer to wear wool to any other fabric, natural or man made.  After this weekend, I really want to solute all those farmers who are producing wool.  On my first evening I got my pickup stuck and was out in the middle of nowhere in a snow storm for quite a while.  I was dressed in wool base layers, socks, pants and a heavy wood sweater.  I was dry and warm, and the wind just did not have that much impact on me.

The next two days I spent climbing steep slopes in about 2 feet of snow in pursuit of these elusive big game animals.  Between taking every step knee deep into snow and laying prone in the snow several times I never got cold or wet.  The wool clothing did just as advertised, and I could not have been more pleased.  This miracle fabric is an excellent investment!

Because of the holidays and the way they fell this year, I am not producing a rural crime episode this week.  However, on tomorrow's ag business episode I am doing a show all about the Texas And Southwestern Rural Cattle Association, which I was introduced to through hosting this rural crime episode.  So, for today's re-cap episode I thought it made sense to go back and revisit a rural crime interview that I had been able to do.  This interview with Debi Metcalf of Net Posse made a lot of sense as there is significant overlap between what her organization does and what the TSCRA does.  So, I'm bringing it back for you today.

There is no doubt that the most successful people are the most proactive people.  One way or another proactive people find a way to learn a new skill, start a new business or get connected to new people.  No matter how they exhibit their "proactivity" they all have one thing in common....they go get it and don't wait for it to come to them.  Every proactive person knows that if you wait for whatever it is to come to you, it is coming to everyone else at the same time, and that is not a way to get ahead.

Our guest today exhibits these proactive tendencies.  Casyn Larman is just a sophomore in high school, but he has already accomplished a lot.  I first noticed this when he emailed me, requesting to come on the show.  I soon found out that he is already serving as his chapter's reporter, and his coverage of chapter events and accomplishments of fellow members have resulted in him being published in multiple places, including the High Plains Journal.

Today's episode is a bit different than any normal, Off-Farm Income episode.  Today I am speaking with Kathleen Dowling.  Kathleen and I have a lot in common.  We both grew up in California, we both started our collegiate education at a community college, we both had a dream of moving to Montana, we both became Montana state residents and we both got ag degrees from Montana State University.

Recently I saw a post on the Facebook Group, My Job Depends On Ag, that Kathleen had put up.  She expressed a bit of frustration with finding a career in agriculture and was asking for recommendations from other people.  I reached out to her and offered to provide some career coaching if we could release the conversation as a podcast.  She agreed to that, and today's episode is that conversation.

Catherine Chmelka is an ag teacher and FFA advisor for the David City High School FFA Chapter in David City, Nebraska.  As part of her duties she teaches floriculture and agribusiness.  There was a time in her life that these courses were just necessary evils that she had to endure to move through the agricultural education that she was seeking, both in high school and college.  However, that eventually changed.

Catherine's exposure to floriculture awakened a passion in her, that she did not know existed.  She fell in love with both horticulture and floriculture and really got inspired to start putting together arrangements with her students that exceeded the bare minimums.  Eventually, people in her community noticed this and started hiring her to make arrangements for a couple of different funerals.  Catherine and her husband, Justin, also hired themselves by taking care of the flowers for their own wedding.

The attention they were getting and the exposure to entrepreneurship had both of them thinking about how they could continue to work this side business out of their home.  But then, the local flower/coffee shop in David City came for sale.  Catherine and Justin were thinking about purchasing it until they found out there was another buyer looking at it.  That changed everything, and they decided that they had to purchase it.  They wrapped up the purchase in June of 2020, changed the name to "402 Floral" and hit the ground running.

That was 18 months ago.  Today, when Catherine teaches her student both about floriculture and agribusiness, she is teaching the lessons that she learned in her own business, possibly just moments before coming to class.  She is also learning more and more about florists actually do, and she is bringing that real world experience into the classroom with her.  Enrollment in both her floriculture classes as well as her agribusiness classes has increased, but of course people know that she isn't just teaching these subjects, she is living them.

The complexity and diversity of a large scale production agriculture farm is always mind blowing to me.  I can get stuck trying to understand just one aspect of a farm at that scale, let alone see how it all works together.  Fortunately for today's guest, Jacob Wuebker, he does not have that problem.  And, his mastery of the processes of his families farm and his ability to document all of it through his supervised agricultural experience has led him to be nominated as an American Star Finalist in Ag Placement this year.

Jacob starts his day at 6am, going straight to one of his families pig barns where they farrow out over 100,000 pigs each year.  For the next three to four hours he has various responsibilities in the barn before heading outside.  At that point it it time to grind grain, and he grinds a lot!  Feeding all the pigs on the farm demands a lot of grain, and this is not even counting the dairy steers they raise up from approximately 250 lbs to finished weight on their homegrown feed.

If there is time left after the grinding, Jacob can find himself pulling out over 2 miles of hose to spread manure on their crop fields, spreading straw in the cattle pens for bedding or working the ground in a tractor.  Jacob's future is in this farm, and that is what motivated him to take several dual credit classes during high school and have already graduated college in December of 2021!  It probably has not hurt that his mother is also his FFA Advisor and has been there to guide him through the dual credit process as well as his record book.

Jacob is doing what he loves, and it shows in how he is being recognized as an American Star Finalist!

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Ag Placement

HIGH SCHOOL: Versailles High School; Versailles, Ohio

MASCOT: Tigers

FFA ADVISOR: Dena Wuebker

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JACOB WUEBKER:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Versailles High School Website:

Jacob's FFA Advisor's Email Address: dena.wuebker@vtigers.org

Versailles High School Telephone Number: 937-526-4773

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

• Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
• Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
• Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”.U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

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For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

Iowa State University sits in the heart of the Corn Belt and some of the most advanced production agriculture in the nation.  With that said, Ames is the epitome of a college town, with a community that leaves and breathes with the university.  To get a great start in agriculture, Iowa State University is there waiting for you.  On today's show we will talk all about it.

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Abbie Chase is a junior at McCook Central High School and is serving as the chapter's Vice-President of Building Community.  Abbie is also a very determined bee keeper, which you will figure out when you hear her story, and she is growing the number of hives she keeps as quickly as she can.  

This was a very interesting interview for me because it incorporated a story of a severe weather phenomena that I have never experienced.  Abbie did experience this, and it really changed her outlook on the service component of being in the FFA.  It also impacted her personally because of the impact that it had on her bee hives at the time when it occurred.  So, in today's episode not only is there a great story of an outstanding FFA student, but there is a great weather story that leads right into perseverance in agriculture!

Justin Duenke is a 2022 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Diversified Agriculture.  Growing up farming on a row crop operation, his family decided to add cattle to the farm when he was 9 years old.  During a bad drought and seeing very poor corn out in the field, Justin's father made the decision to chop the corn for silage rather than try to sell it, and to feed it to their cattle.  The only problem was that they did not have cattle, but they remedied that by purchase approximately 100 bred heifers.

Since that time they have stuck with the cattle, partially as a continuing hedge against a situation like this in the future and partially because Justin and his brother found their farming passion came from working with the livestock.  Today they raise horses and cattle, grow soybeans and corn and are now experimenting with forage sorghum and rye as cover crops.

Justin is currently a sophomore at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri.  He is studying agricultural science but which eventually focus on nutrition.  Justin wants to have the knowledge that will allow him to bring nutritional expertise back to the farm and to develop rations and methods to better feed their cattle.

Joel Holland is the CEO of Harvest Hosts, a company that pairs up farmers with extra space with members who would like to spend a night in their RV in a picturesque setting on somebody's farm.  I have seen both sides of this idea.  As a person who likes to travel in my camper, I have spoke with individuals who are Harvest Host members, and I have found them all to be people that I would be comfortable having stay on my property.  As a farmer, I have a spot on my farm that would work well for this, and I have considered becoming a host.

In today's interview Joel will talk about how farmers generate revenue as hosts.  We will also discuss how you are kept safe and shielded from liability if you become a host.  And, we will touch on the very positive experiences that both hosts and guests have when coming together.

INTRODUCING COLE TAYLOR:

You can't get more remote in the lower 48 states than the far, northeast corner of Montana or the northwest corner of North Dakota.  The towns are small, the winters are extreme and the people are fantastic!

Our guest today, Cole Taylor, comes from one of those such towns - Opheim, Montana.  He is the president of this FFA Chapter, and he is taking full advantage of state and national SAE grants to start and grow his bee and honey business, Cole's Honeybees and Blue Sky Honey.  Opheim High School and Junior High School are combined and together they have a total of 15 students.  That is small!

Cole was not born in raised in Opheim.  His father is originally from that area but spent a career in the military.  It was only after his father retired, and when Cole was in the 6th grade, that Cole and his family moved to Opheim.  Even though Cole was not coming from a large city or particularly a large high school, he still downsized in both town and school in a big way.

In today's episode, Cole and I will discuss what it was like to make that move and to learn the new social norms of such a small town.  We will also discuss how he got the idea to start a bee business, and how he has been able to fund the startup through SAE grants.

Cole has awesome goals for after high school that involve service and duty.  He will explain where he is headed.  You are going to be an even bigger fan of small-town America and the great citizens they produce after this interview!

It almost seems like farming has taken a back seat for me this summer so far.  Immediately after getting home from a very rare, but very large and fun vacation it was time to start turning over a rental house from which a tenant had moved out.  So, I've been irrigating in the morning, getting work done on the podcast and then heading into Boise to work on one of our streams of revenue.

In today's episode I'll talk about this stream of revenue and a little about our journey using this to build our current lifestyle.  I also came across an interesting article about the unrest in Sri Lanka right now and discuss this.  Surprisingly to me, farming is at the heart of why there are so many protests in Sri Lanka right now.

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Dallas Sills is a 2022 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Swine Production.  Dallas farms in Northeast Georgia with his father, uncle, sister and cousins on a farm that was started in the 1950's by his grandparents.  About four years ago Dallas was starting his supervised agricultural experience and also looking for what he could do on the farm that would be unique to him.  He noticed that nobody in their area were raising and direct marketing pigs, so he decided to give it a shot.

Dallas ended up driving to Athens, Georgia and purchase seven pigs from the University Of Georgia Farm that he finished and direct marketed.  Much of the feed for the pigs was grown on his farm, and he imported soybean meal and mixed his own feed rations.  Soon after, Dallas decided to start having the pigs butchered and market cuts of meat rather than whole pigs.

As Dallas got this aspect of his business going, word of mouth started to spread, and his business expanded very quickly.  One of the interesting ways in which Dallas' business grew was through selling sausage in a local grocery store.  His name and telephone number was on the packaging, and pretty soon people who bought his sausage at the store were calling him and wanting to purchase multiple pounds of it directly from him.  At the same time that Dallas was making money selling sausage, he was marketing and growing his business.  It is a brilliant and symbiotic relationship.

Tip Of The Week

Pay attention to the cases out on the fringe.

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.salon.com/2022/10/10/activists-saved-piglets-from-a-factory-farm-have-been-acquitted_partner/

https://www.goskagit.com/news/crime/farmers-killing-of-elk-sets-off-legal-dispute/article_3b2fd2b6-467c-11ed-95c7-bf5d9bb43acc.html

https://easttexasnews.com/polk-county-news-2/3070-stolen-tractor

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/rcmp-searching-for-suspects-following-theft-of-tools-in-zhoda

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/23037536.man-jailed-hastings-burglary-dna-found-milk-carton/

https://www.farminguk.com/news/north-wales-sheep-butchered-and-another-shot-with-crossbow_61286.html

Africa

https://informante.web.na/?p=327367

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/security/civil-security/farm-attacks-and-murders-raise-concerns-on-food-security-in-addition-to-personal-safety/

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/man-arrested-following-murder-of-young-farmer-during-robbery-on-limpopo-farm-20221010

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.wsfa.com/video/2022/10/05/alabama-farmers-donate-tons-hay-drought-stricken-texas/

http://www.westcentralsbest.com/todays_country_1057/news/arrest-made-in-livestock-theft/article_bf39bc84-496a-11ed-87fd-5b95c83407c7.html

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Aubrey Mahon is a National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Agricultural Mechanics Design and Fabrication.  She is also a college student at Northwestern Oklahoma State University studying Agricultural Business.

Aubrey has been showing pigs for several years, and during this time an innovation in the show pig industry has been to tan pigs that already have black, blue or brown pigment in their skin.  It is believed that this enhances their appearance and ultimately helps them to get picked in the show ring.

This new trend in the show arena gave Aubrey, who her mom calls a natural entrepreneur, an idea for a product.  She started producing and selling tanning lights for pigs.  A business called Champion Tanning Lights was born, and she has been running with it ever since.  Aubrey is currently running her business from college and returning home on the weekends to put together product.  As soon as she finishes with college she will be right back to building her business and turning this into her full-time career.

Tip Of The Week

Lions And Teen Driver’s, Oh My

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.deltaplexnews.com/jefferson-county-sheriffs-office-searching-for-stolen-tractor/

https://kgab.com/cheyenne-police-asking-for-publics-help-in-solving-trailer-theft/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/20292758.17-year-old-boy-arrested-several-sheep-killed/

https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/7825733/crooks-make-more-profit-from-tobacco-crops-than-heroin/?cs=7

https://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/letter/stolen-sheep/

Africa

https://www.chronicle.co.zw/watch-thieves-give-methodist-villagers-sleepless-nights/

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-07-17-wildlife-authority-kills-pride-of-lions-after-affected-community-stages-sit-in-over-safety-concerns/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.fox19.com/2022/07/21/caught-stealing-man-arrested-with-26-stolen-catalytic-converters/

https://www.kake.com/story/46912127/kansas-feedlot-workers-charged-with-cattle-theft

https://dothaneagle.com/community/jcfloridan/news/local/crime-and-courts/marianna-man-arrested-in-theft-of-tractor-seed-speader/article_cf1154f4-068b-11ed-aca2-bb99d6bae10e.html

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Addison Gronley is just getting ready to start her sophomore year of high school and second year of FFA, and there are possibly some big changes coming her way.  I interviewed Addison right after she had attended the Idaho State FFA Convention.  Even before the convention she was very fired up about showing and judging livestock with some big goals on the horizon, namely proficiency awards.

The long drive back to Northern Idaho from the State Convention in the complete opposite end of the state did not reduce Addison's passion for the FFA.  She told me that she was strongly considering becoming a home school student in the 10th Grade so that she could show sheep even more and develop her skills even further.  A classic line from a very focused FFA student, "school gets in the way of shows".

I am fortunate to be able to interview a lot of National Proficiency and American Star winners on this show, and a frequent theme is setting the goal of achieving at that level early.  Addison has definitely done this, and she is doing whatever she can to remove any obstacles that might stand in her way.

For the last time, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  We certainly did!

On today's farm update show I'll talk about our two new kittens and why we got them.  Also, a brief synopsis of what Thanksgiving looked like on our farm.  The new census of agriculture will be coming out in 2024, and I bet the average age of farmers goes up.  Finally, what is it like to feed and do chores on Thanksgiving?  I'll give you my perspective today!

I don't know if you have noticed, but his show is about non-conformists and people who look at the world a different way.  All of us fit that definition a little bit by the mere fact that we want to farm and only 2% of our population is in that career field.  But what about that person that says "why do I have to do it that way"?

Today's guest, Ben Rykerd, is that person.  Ben is now 29 years old.  He describes himself as having a "travel bug" and he has known this since he was a kid.  So, as high school was coming to a close Ben didn't just take the next prescribed step in the journey, he stopped and asked himself what type of life he wanted to have.

Ben also didn't look at things through the lens of an "either/or" mentality.  He looked at "and" solutions.  He knew that he wanted to travel, and he knew that he both had to and wanted to work.  But, he never made the statement "I want to travel, but I can't because I have to work".  Ben found a way to say "I want to travel, and I can because of my work".

Ben first looked into being a truck driver, because that would get him out on the road and allow him to see the U.S.  However, he was not going to be eligible for a license that would allow him to drive outside of his home state until he was 21.  So, he started looking at alternatives.  What he ended up finding was working on a custom harvesting crew.  He found an operation in Kansas that was hiring, and he knew that working there would take him all throughout the Grain Belt and allow him to see a lot of the United States.  After one email, he was hired!

That crew, which Ben worked with for four years, was the opening of an exciting adventure.  On this crew, he had coworkers from Australia and New Zealand, and they told him all about the farm work available to him down there.  Before he knew it, he was working on a dairy in New Zealand, learning something totally new about agriculture.  Soon, he found himself in the vast interior of Australia on a custom harvest crew.  He has also worked in Canada and continues to work in the U.S., now on a custom farming crew.  Ben has his eyes set on Ireland, Finland, and Germany as well.

In this episode, Ben talks about how he got started, the Visa he obtained to do this, how to extend your time in Australia, how much money you need to get yourself started, and much more!

Connect with Ben Rykard at:

Instagram: @Dirtbag_Ag

Email:  BenRykard@gmail.com

Welcome to the Farm Update show for this week.  Today, I am going to be speaking about a new testimonial for a product that was sent to me - Hen Gear's 54" laying box.  Hint: So far, I am very pleased.  I will also be discussing:

• The ever changing weather conditions on our farm.
• A car sliding into our fence
• A snow load related insurance claim at a rental house

For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

The State of South Dakota, like many other states in the middle of the countries is dealing with the issue of shrinking rural communities and less qualified employees for agricultural companies in those areas.  While I am not happy this is the situation for these communities, it does create fantastic opportunities for students who want to work in agriculture and live rurally.

Mitchell Technical College is based in Mitchell, South Dakota and is part of the solution to this problem for the State of South Dakota.  Among the opportunities for agriculture students in South Dakota is learning the skills that lead into an agricultural career through Mitchell Tech. for free and having a guaranteed career position when your two year program is completed.  This is done through a program called Build Dakota, and there are other programs available as well.  Imagine landing your first career position while you are still in high school, having your college 100% paid for and having a job waiting for you when you finished.

Clayton Deuter, the Vice President of Enrollment Services at Mitchell Technical College, joins me on the show today.  We will discuss how this works, what the benefits to students are and how to get this done.  This is a very exciting opportunity for agricultural students from all across the U.S. to help them find their future.

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

On today's episode I get to interview a neighbor.  Well, at least a neighbor  compared to so many of my other guests.  Felecia Hillyard raises goats and flowers at her farm on Chicken Dinner Road in Caldwell, about 20 miles from my farm.  She has a very interesting business model with enterprises that compliment each other.

To hear Felecia tell her story, the first time she laid eyes on goats, behaving like goats behave, she was enamored.  This got her started talking about how much she wanted to raise goats when she was at work, and it turned out that one of her colleagues name Jamie, raised goats of her own.  Ultimately, Felecia purchased 12 goats from Jamie, and Jamie ended up being a close friend and mentor to her.

Soon, Felecia leased the farm that she currently owns and started growing her herd.  It wasn't long after that, that she recognized that between manure, bedding and hay waste the goats were leaving behind what would be great compost.  She started making compost with the bi-product and needed something to do with it.  This led her to start growing flowers.

Felecia found a farm that was going out of business and selling a hoop house, and she bought it.  After disassembling it at their location she transported it back to her farm and put it back together.  Today, Felecia grows flowers in her goat compost, cuts them, arranges them and sells them at an unsupervised roadside stand in front of her place.  She hasn't experienced any problems with theft, and since the beginning the bulk of her sales have changed from cash purchases to electronic purchases.

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

If you need some tips on taking your photography skills and turning them into a business, then this show if for you. Learn about how to find your place in the industry and other tips to make you successful in starting and running a photography business in today's show replay with Todd Klassy

SHOW NOTES

I have repeatedly said that you will see business opportunities all around you once you become an entrepreneur.  It is really true.  Once you start a business, you don't have trouble thinking of new business ideas; you have trouble staying focused on just one.  Something in our perspectives changes once we enter into the arena of entrepreneurship.

There is a good chance that if you listen to the Off-Farm Income Podcast, you could be surrounded by business opportunities in your everyday life and not even realize this.  Many of my listeners are parents who are taking their kids to stock shows several times per year to exhibit their animals.  So, if you are spending all of your time at livestock shows thinking that you can't start a side business or even a full-time business because of this commitment, are you correct?

Back in 2016, I featured an interview with Dolly Denson, "The Fit Stock Show Mom."  She was a person who found herself in this position and came up with a business idea that would serve the other parents at the stock shows.  In today's episode, I am proud to feature another group of people who have recognized the opportunities at stock shows and are making it happen for themselves.

In today's episode, I speak with the owner/operators of "The Stock Market Boutique."  I will be having the co-owners, Olivia Warren and Kyle Blaydes, on the show.  Olivia's daughter, Tori Warren, will also be joining us to talk about being their primary model for the clothing they sell and her role in social media marketing.

Along with a group of people, Olivia and Kyle recognized that there was a niche to be filled at stock shows, selling clothing to exhibitors that they would like to wear around the shows and in the arena.  That is when this business was born.  However, over time the other people involved in the business dropped off, and ultimately it became just Olivia and Kyle, with Tori playing a big supporting role.

Today "The Stock Market Boutique" is traveling to different livestock shows and larger events like the National Finals Rodeo, selling their fashions and meeting people in agriculture.  Tori brings the perspective of a lifelong exhibitor, Olivia has the perspective of a former 4H member and the parent of an exhibitor, and Kyle brings the perspective of a full-time farmer.  This combination is working very well for them.

Even though Covid, with the cancellation of so many shows, they have maintained their business.  They are looking and different revenue models in addition to clothing and are poised to really grown once Covid is over.  You are going to enjoy getting to know this great group of entrepreneurs.

Connect with The Stock Market Boutique:

Website: thestockmarketboutique.com

Facebook: facebook.com/thestockmarketboutique

Instagram: instagram.com/thestockmarketboutique

Email: tsmoffices@gmail.com

Abby Neft is the President of a brand new FFA chapter located in Kelliher, Minnesota.  Just 57 miles from the Canadian border, her family has been farming in this very cold area of Minnesota since the 1980's.

Abby loves the cattle industry, and she has been building her own herd since she was six years old when her father gave her, her first show heifer.  Since then, she has been retaining her show heifers, having calves and trying to develop genetics that will allow her to produce top notch cattle.  She uses artificial insemination and embryo transfer to do this.

With just one year of high school left, Abby's goal is to raise cattle for a living.  If she can do it on the family farm, that is her preference.  However, her sights are set on this happening, either way.

I interview a lot of high school students on this show with great businesses.  Even with these fantastic businesses already started, many of them tell me that they do not plan on continuing as a business owner or they are going to go to college after high school and possibly continue the business on the side in the future.  For some reason, even though they have seen success as business owners during their time in the FFA they don't see it as a possibility as a future career.

Our guest today, Tyler Ertzberger, is not one of those students.  And, what has it led to?  He is an American Star Finalist in Agribusiness.

Today is the first time I've been behind the microphone since 6/21/22 and the first time I've been on the farm since 6/22/22.  I've got stories to share!  Plus, we are doing something special with FFA interviews for the rest of the summer.  

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Our guest today is well ahead of her time advocating for agriculture and dispelling myths about animal ag as well as the FFA.  After listening to her interview, there will be no question in your mind why she is doing this.

Taylor Russell comes from a rich, Wisconsin, FFA tradition.  Her aunt was the first ever female national officer from Wisconsin, both of her parents were state officers, her two older sisters are in the FFA and her mother is her ag teacher and FFA advisor.  Is that enough?

Hearing all of that, it is no surprise that Taylor got started in the FFA as soon as she was eligible at Shullsburg High School, which for her was in the 7th Grade.  Since then she has developed three businesses.  With the rest of her family she raises sheep and sells lambs every year to exhibitors from the 4H and the FFA for participation in jackpot shows and fairs.  Taylor raises her own steers for exhibition and sale, and she raises chickens and sells eggs to friends and family in her area.

As if this were not enough, she has another supervised agricultural experience in agriscience research that already yielded her a Gold level award at the national level. Taylor has been researching how people in the FFA communicate about the organization using social media.  She has seen a lot of mis-information on social media about cruelty to animals as well as the 4h and FFA being corrupt organizations that indoctrinate students to be cruel to animals.  So, she decided to combat what she knew to be untrue.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am speaking with a gentleman who has a career's worth of experience in farm radio, radio in general and in creating a syndicated radio program.  This took me all the way back to episode #36 for our re-cap episode when I profiled John Harrer who was beginning The Whoa Podcast, and we talked about building this type of broadcasting business.

I've got more weather on the farm update show for you today.  It has been a wild 7 days of August weather here in Southwest Idaho.  August is historically our driest month, averaging just under a 1/4 inch of rain.  However, at our farm, in the past 7 days we have received 1.7 inches.  Do I have any culpability for the negative parts of rain like this since I am enjoying the storms?

INTRODUCING ABIGAIL MITCHELL:

Have you ever heard the saying that you should have an "attitude of gratitude"?  Over the years I have come to value that small piece of advice more and more.  Our guest today is just a sophomore in high school and is already exuding this. It is my belief that this attitude is going to lead Abby Mitchell to a life that is happy and well-lived.

Abby is in the beginning stage of starting her very first business.  It is a really fun stage of entrepreneurship to profile, but I rarely get to do this because it is usually only after the establishment of a business that a person receives the recognition that allows me to find them.

In Abby's case, she and her FFA advisor, are very forward-thinking, and they applied for an SAE grant to help get Abby started in the business. She was awarded this grant, and a newspaper article was written about the winners.  That drew my attention to Abby and the business that she is started - goat milk soap.

Any value-added business always draws my attention, but this one is one of my favorites.  There is something about the development of a non-perishable consumer product that can be shipped, styled, scented, and customized in so many ways that I really appreciate.  Also, the communing with the dairy goats by milking them twice per day and relying on them to provide you the milk that you need to make your products is special as well.  So, it goes without saying that I was eager to speak with Abby about the business.

However, during our interview, something else caught my attention - gratitude.  Every time that I tried to ask Abby about it, well...Abby, she took the opportunity to talk about how somebody else helped her, contributed to her life, or inspired her to allow her to accomplish the thing I was asking about.  This became so pervasive that it developed into the theme of this interview.

Abby is the type of person that does not take people for granted.  Therefore, when they make a contribution to her life she recognizes them first, well before taking any credit herself.  This quality is going to benefit Abby her entire life.  The most content people in the world are those who are grateful.  Instead of wondering when it will be their time or what is next, they see the contributions people are making to them right now.  Abby has this special gift.

Tip Of The Week

When is being neighborly not enough?

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/06/04/thieves-steal-dump-calf-from-brookshires-dewberry-farm/

https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/56800/20230605/103-cattle-one-dog-dead-oklahoma-property-woman-arrested-surviving.htm

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://randfonteinherald.co.za/421458/mapogo-recover-sheep-stolen-in-dennydale-or-at-least-two-arrests-in-stock-theft-incident-in-dennydale/

https://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/23568394.police-warning-powys-dog-owners-sheep-suffer-bites/

Africa

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/eastern-cape-prison-officer-and-companion-killed-over-alleged-stock-theft-state-bakkie-torched-20230605

https://ke.opera.news/ke/en/society/789529e825b9be331ad9326e0195a4be

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://holtvilletribune.com/2023/06/04/sheriffs-deputies-arrest-alleged-thief-recover-stolen-tractor/

https://krocnews.com/two-men-charged-in-20k-rochester-area-storage-burglary/

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

On today's episode of the Off-Farm Income Podcast I am fortunate enough to speak with a very high achieving student who is involved in agriculture, sports, business education, her faith and so much more.  Olivia Odle is a standout, becoming her chapter's president, while being very active in many areas outside of the FFA.  She lives in Northeast Colorado, which is completely focused on agriculture and so much different than the vast majority of her state.

Olivia keeps up a rapid pace of activity, but it is apparent that she would not be able to do this if her community and school did not value agriculture and the FFA so much.  As an example, sports can sometimes interfere with other extracurricular activities, such as the FFA, but her community and school clearly support agriculture so it works out.  The mascot for Oliva's school is the "beet diggers", which is clearly indicative of the growth of sugar beets as a crop in her area and her area's history.

It is this type of support that has allowed Olivia to succeed in so many different areas of life and take on responsible positions, such as president of her chapter.  And it is this type of support that will push her to succeed at the next level when she begins college, just two months after this episode is published!

I am definitely the type of person who is interested in my family history and feels some sense of obligation to honor that legacy.  So, I am always fascinated when I get to interview somebody with a deep family legacy who is honoring it in the same way.  For our guest today, Kate Rogers, that is a theme that repeats itself throughout the interview.

One of Kate's strongest influences in her love agriculture is her great grandmother, who was raised during the Great Depression, and found many ways to produce good to help generate income during that time.  One of the talents that she had, that Kate also has, is in creating artistic items that have value to other people.  This is something that Kate has carried forward, with many of the supplies that belonged to her great grandmother, in her business, Kate Rogers Art.

Christmas is a very special time of year, and it is really where the community service portion of the FFA can shine.  On today's episode we are going to profile a chapter, Northwestern FFA from West Salem, Ohio, that shines very bright at this time of year by helping to provide much needed supplies for people all around the world.

Joining us today to represent Northwestern FFA is Kade Tegtmeier, the chapter president, and Kate Johnson, a assistant officer.  Both of these students have a passion for agriculture that cannot be contained just by the FFA, so they both continue to be involved in the 4H as well.  Led by their great FFA Advisors Kade and Kate, along with the rest of their chapter, get to provide service every Christmas while at the same time being reminded of how fortunate we all are here in the U.S.

Today's guest has experienced all aspect of the business cycle, and he did it all in high school!  Ayden Gartenlaub was encouraged by his father to get involved in the agriculture program and FFA at Highland High School when he was a freshman.  His father had grown up in agriculture and knew the benefits it would provide to Ayden.  So, Ayden reluctantly joined, and the rest as they say is.....history.

Like so many other students Ayden found out that he needed a supervised agricultural experience, looked around his home and found a project.  For Ayden it was chickens.  His dad and sister had purchased 15 layers for their back yard, and he thought that is where he could satisfy this requirement.  Soon, Ayden found himself selling eggs and his interest in the project began to blossom. Tune in for the rest of the story. 

Brook Cutchin is the secretary of the Deane Bozeman FFA Chapter in Southport, Florida.  She is also just 16 years of age and slated to graduate high school one year early later this month.  She is heading to college next fall and has been accepted to a programed called "3 & 3", which means in her fourth year of her bachelor's degree she simultaneously begins graduate school, which for her will be studying the law to become an attorney and advocate for agriculture.

Brook first got introduced to the FFA her 9th grade year of high school when she took a required, introduction to agriculture class.  At that point she realized that she wanted to raise livestock, and she has been engaged in the FFA ever since.  She even raised and showed her own pig, showing and selling it at the Florida State Fair this past February.

The FFA has exposed Brook to many experiences that she never expected, and it played a major role in accelerating her time high school and graduating early.  One of the experiences that Brook had through the FFA, that drew my attention to her chapter, was facilitating a goat yoga class for people in her community.  She, along with other chapter members and supporters of her FFA chapter, put on a goat yoga class, for free.  Donations to help the chapter build a livestock barn were accepted, but there was no charge to attend.

I've always wondered what the appeal of goat yoga is.  Brook informed me that the point is to help people with anxiety about doing yoga in front of others, to let that go because everyone is watching the goats and not each other.  I certainly believe that is what happens.

My agricultural life is kind of split into two phases by my law enforcement career.  The first phase is growing up rural and then getting introduced to working with cattle by my step-father and step-grandfather.  The next phase is meeting and becoming family with my father-in-law, Terry White, who showed me an even bigger vision with cattle than I had myself.  Terry and his wife, Wanda, also got Autumm and I started with our first four heifers and one bull when we first bought our farm.

As a serial entrepreneur, Terry was always a cheerleader for me with my different business ideas.  He was a person I would turn to that I always knew would shine a light on the positive things that I was achieving with my entrepreneurial endeavors.

Terry passed away last week, and in today's Tuesday episode I want to pay tribute to him.

Today I am very fortunate to have Ryan Stevens on the show.  Ryan and his wife, Stephanie, are the owners of Full Armor Farm in Maine and the parents of three children with one on the way.  Ryan and Stephanie are also both medically retired from the Marine Corps and met in Afghanistan while on one of their many deployments.

When this couple medically retired out of the Marine Corps they needed a place to come home to in the U.S. that would offer them the atmosphere and environment to process what they had gone through and adjust back to life in the U.S.  Stephanie proposed buying a farm and living the lifestyle that she had grown up with in Northern Pennsylvania, and they found one in Maine, five minutes from where Ryan had grown up.  So, in 2018 they made the transition and Full Armor Farm was born.

Today Ryan and Stephanie are raising Scottish Highlander Cattle, they are tapping both maple and birch trees for sap, they are raising chickens and growing apples.  They are feeding themselves from their farm.  As an example, they do not sell chickens, but they had slaughtered 35 birds prior to our interview to feed themselves and local family. They are also creating and selling value added products such as maple syrup and apple cider.  In addition to this they are direct marketing beef from their farm.

A lot of initiative and hard work went into and is still going into this farm.  There were also grants received based on their veteran status that helped to get them started with their value added products even faster.  In addition to this, their religious faith plays a pivotal role in defining what their farm is about and how they live their lives.

Ryan has written a book about his portion of this journey from military and wartime service to this life of faith and farming.  He hopes that it is released at the end of 2021.  It is my honor to help tell a little of their story today!

Our weekly look into the world of rural crime and how to prevent rural crime.  Folks in rural communities are dealing with crime and delinquency too, but it gets almost no media coverage.  We aim to change that here. 

INTRODUCING CONNIE ROGERS

I am an agricultural advocate, and most of the students that I interview on this show are as well.  And, what are we doing as advocates but providing information to people about our industry so that they can make a well-informed buying decision?  Considering the amounts of misinformation about agriculture that exist, I think it is all of our responsibility to participate as advocates in one way or another.

Our guest today, Connie Rogers, takes this to a whole new level.  Connie and her father raise and farrow about 200 sows in Southern Georgia.  Connie is intimately familiar with this business and has been showing pigs since she was in the 2nd grade.  When it came time to choose a supervised agricultural experience for the FFA, raising and showing pigs was a natural fit.

However, Connie recognized that there was more going on than just feeding, showing, and marketing pigs.  She realized that there were people who were afraid to consume pork because they had been told that pigs were fed high levels of antibiotics, and if they were to consume pork from these pigs they would be consuming bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics.  Therefore, if that same bacteria took root in their own body, it would not respond to the medicines that were available.

Connie saw it as a natural fit to add an agriscience research SAE to her workload to study this claim.  She decided to feed two separate batches of pigs - one with antibiotics and one without - and then measure the results.  She wanted to use her finding to provide accurate information to would-be pork consumers.

Connie's efforts in this project have earned her both state and national recognition.  It has also propelled her into college where she is studying agricultural education.  A lot of us are willing to talk about agriculture and the facts of our industry.  Connie went to the length of researching to get the first-hand information that she would share.  That is advocacy!

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Today's episode is the very first of a series of episodes we will be producing to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

Montana State University is located in Bozeman, Montana and offers 14 undergraduate agricultural degrees through the College Of Agriculture.  Joining me today to speak about the College Of Ag are Associate Dean For Academic Programs - Tracy Dougher & Assistant Dean Of Student Success And Outreach - Elizabeth Greenfield.

There is no question that if you make delicious cookies and cupcakes that you have the ingredients for a business.  Who can deny treats like that?  However, how does anyone ever find out that you have the ability to make these items and sell them?  Social media is one really capable platform to make this happen.

This is exactly what took place in the formation of Madi Springer's business, Madi's Cookies & Cupcakes.  Madi has been baking for years, and right around the beginning of her freshman year of high school she made some decorative cookies for her mom, and her mom promptly bragged about them on her Facebook page.  this led to another mom in their small community of Franklin, Illinois to contact Madi and see if she could bake four dozen pumpkin themed cookies for the high school cross country team.

Madi agreed and made the cookies.  Her first ever customer was very pleased and bragged about her on social media, and the orders started rolling in.  Today, just 1.5 years later, Madi is fulfilling 3-4 orders per week and turning away customers.  She is planning on becoming more efficient, improving her equipment and expanding her business to cakes as well as cookies and cupcakes.

Tip Of The Week

Don’t give up on stolen horses

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://theprowersjournal.com/2024/03/livestock-theft-meeting-to-be-held-march-14-in-springfield/

https://www.ivpressonline.com/news/county-approves-funds-to-address-farm-theft-vandalism/article_61b9fa66-db35-11ee-9ce9-9f511f474061.html

https://bnnbreaking.com/breaking-news/crime/livestock-theft-in-georgetown-county-10-chickens-2-ducks-missing

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/rural/rural-crime/hundreds-of-sheep-stolen-as-livestock-rustlers-target-uk-farms/

https://www.miragenews.com/nsw-police-hunt-for-leads-in-mid-north-coast-1188449/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-07/nobby-night-watchman-keeps-close-eye-on-cattle-high-country-sale/103546204

Africa

https://www.withinnigeria.com/news/2024/03/07/deadly-attack-claims-lives-of-herder-and-livestock-in-plateau-state/

https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=51799

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.ksbw.com/article/chp-recovers-two-tractors-stolen-in-santa-cruz-california/60115164

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2024/03/06/indian-river-timber-harvester-jailed-45-days-for-embezzlement-from-landowners

https://www.kpua.net/2024/03/07/hpd-receives-donation-of-certified-agricultural-produce-scales-to-combat-theft/

https://fox40jackson.com/local-news/mississippi-authorities-recover-stolen-racehorse-in-kentucky/

A quick farm update for all of you today, and a sure fire method for keeping any livestock or dogs from going under your fences.

On today's show I "accidentally" talked for thirty minutes about how we used real estate to create our current situation.  Basically, as I was starting the farm update show, something caused me to veer onto this tangent, and a half hour later I had given a blue print on how to purchase a farm in your late thirties by investing in real estate starting in your twenties.

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

In agriculture when we hear the word pivot we usually think of 120-400 acres of irrigated ground.  An automated sprinkler system that is self-driven, applying a precise amount of water to a crop or pasture.

If you are a small business owner that services agriculture you need to know about another pivot.  This is the catch phrase used by so many in the business “start up” community.  To “pivot” means to change direction in your business to adapt to changing market conditions, new technology or new information and ideas that you can only obtain after you have started your business and got in the game.

Those of us in agriculture are pretty practical people.  Most business information is written for those who work in the city, work online and don’t get their hands dirty.  The truth is farmers and those who serve farmers have been “pivoting” for years.  We just called it “common sense”.  When things changed it was pretty apparent that we needed to change with them.