Today we will be talking about pricing and “is profit evil?”  I did that for a reason.  This is a question that has come up several times.  It came up for me in my business.  It has come up with guests that I have interviewed on the show.  And, it is has come up from people who are working in my industry who have since gone out of business.

The fact that they went out of business is a hint as to how important this issue is.  By being generous or being nice, rather than pricing their products or services correctly, they are now out of business and not sharing their gifts with the rest of the world.  This is not a sustainable way of doing business.

We need to be concerned with sustainability, business sustainability.  If we use entrepreneurship to support our farming or rural lifestyle and the business fails, then we lose the lifestyle.  So, it is important that we price our goods or services in a way that will sustain our business.  Otherwise, all of the positive impact we could have had with our agricultural enterprise will no longer exist.

Whitney Glazier is an American Star Finalist in the category of Agricultural Placement.  She knew she wanted to be an FFA member early in life, when her father was still teaching agriculture.  As she and her sister got older and became more involved in showing pigs, he dad ended his 20 year career as an ag teacher and started farming full time and helping Whitney and her sister get to different pig shows.

Starting in her freshman year, Whitney knew she wanted to be an American Star Finalist.  However, she didn't think that a girl from a small town like her could achieve that dream.  However, she kept pursuing it, finding success but staying humble.  Today she finds herself on the precipice of becoming an American Star and already having been honored by being a finalist.

Hattie and I just returned from Yellowstone National Park.  On this previous weekend, every October since 2016, she and I have departed for Yellowstone and spent three days searching for wildlife and taking in incredible vistas.  She is a senior in high school this year, so this may be it!  I don't know what the future holds for this trip in October, but I do know that she will not be subject to the Kuna High School calendar next year and there will be a new set of scheduling obstacles to deal with when it comes to planning this trip.

On today's show I talk all about these past 8 years of Yellowstone with Hattie, and how this year we graduated to the level of guides!

Jasmyn Hoeger is a sophomore at the University Of Iowa and an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  Her passion and her research project have their roots all the way back to when Jasmyn was in the 3rd Grade and her father was almost fatally injured by their bull.  In subsequent discussions with doctors after the incident Jasmyn became aware that had the bull been horned the incident was almost certainly have been fatal.

Years later, now in the FFA, Jasmyn's teacher encouraged her to get into agriscience research through a science fair project that could also be used in the FFA.  Jasmyn participated, and a flame for research was lit.  This led to her beginning a journey that he is continuing today, into an economical and pain free method of dehorning cattle.  Jasmyn believes that cost and pain caused to cattle are the two biggest obstacles to people dehorning calves.  And, she believes that having cattle, particularly bulls, on farms that are horned causes a more unsafe working environment for farmers and ranchers.  So, her research is directed at eliminated those two obstacles and creating safer farms by having less horned cattle on those operations.

What Jasmyn has already done is really incredible, and it is really easy to see what the practical application will be.  It is amazing that she is only a sophomore in college, but obviously she will be continuing her education for some time and will be making a big difference in the world of agriculture!

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.

[caption id="attachment_421096" align="alignright" width="145"] Nick Dorroh - Ag Student Ambassador[/caption]

Thisepisode 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.

I began my college career at a community college and got off to a great start academically.  I have often stated, with all seriousness, that had I not had that beginning, I probably would not have graduated with a bachelor's degree.  So, I believe that a community college is an absolutely fantastic place to begin a college pursuit, and that is why I wanted to profile as many as possible on this episode.  

In today's episode I am proving Aims Community College from Fort Lupton, Colorado.  We are going to be talking about the re-emergence of their agricultural program, the emergence of new opportunities and why a 38 year old man, who is redefining his life chose Aims for his new beginning.

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

Tip Of The Week

Outgoing mail and locking mail boxes

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/target-closing-stores-due-to-theft-concerns-of-violence-toward-workers

https://www.klkntv.com/man-accused-of-smashing-window-to-break-into-rural-southeast-nebraska-home/

https://www.kbzk.com/news/crime-courts/mail-carrier-sentenced-for-stealing-mail-on-rural-routes

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/23819082.women-deny-stealing-kings-lambs-field-sandringham/

https://www.agriland.co.uk/farming-news/psni-appeal-for-information-about-farm-theft-in-co-fermanagh/

Africa

https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/news/ff-shocked-over-the-increase-in-police-arrests-for-various-crimes-639204c3-ec3f-49f3-b285-5821f80ccffa

https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-235955.html

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://abc11.com/cumberland-county-fayettevillle-animal-cruelty-abuse/13839586/

https://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-pounds-medicinal-fruit-confiscated-183627317.html

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

Cassidy Johnston and her husband are the creators and owners of JRC Ranch Management & Consulting.  This is a business that they are developing after years of working on different ranches throughout Colorado and having a myriad of different experiences.  They believe that there can be a disconnect between absentee ranch owners and the folks who are doing the day to day work on the ranches, and they would like to be part of the solution to solving that problem.

In the interview Cassidy talks about how sometimes employees on ranches are not treated as well as employees in other sectors of industry.  This leads to burnout, high turnover and poor performance of the ranch.  Basically, nobody wins in these situations.  In many cases, Cassidy believes that the problem lies in the disconnect and is not necessarily a character flaw of the ownership.  She will talk all about her observations and how she aims to be part of the solution in this episode.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am profiling a cattle rancher striving to make cattle ranching better for everyone.  In she and her husband's efforts, they are taking the perspective of ranch employers and trying to convey that ranch owners, particularly absentee ranch owners.

So, for today's re-cap episode I am going back to an episode I did that I titled "The Amazing Range Cow And the Amazing Rancher".  Hopefully there is enough in this episode to give you some perspective on ranchers out here in the West are doing before we roll into tomorrow's show.

Hadley Steifvater is an American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  She has grow up around her father's veterinary practice, raising livestock of her own and also helping to solve problems in the production agriculture world in her region of South Dakota.

Hadley was homeschooled for the entirety of her primary school career, and her pathway into the FFA and agriscience research are a bit different than normal.  Hadley was actually recruited by the FFA Advisor for McCook Central High School, Terry Reickman, as her father had been the FFA and Terry had been his advisor too.  This recruitment took place her 7th Grade year, but it was not until 8th Grade that her parents allowed it.

In the first year, another of Hadley's FFA Advisors, Tracy Chase, encouraged her to do an agriscience research project.  Hadley went on to win both state and national awards with that project in just the 8th Grade!  This set her on a course of seeking research projects, and soon she was researching the best methods of farrowing pigs and caring for newly born pigs on behalf of her father and for one of his customers.

This led to Hadley researching block chains in the beef industry and assessing whether or not the origins of a steak could be traced back to the farm the calf was born on - a topic of particular interest to me.

Hadley is now at South Dakota State University, majoring in Animal Science, and she is looking at a future career in the veterinary field as either a veterinary nurse or veterinarian.

Today, I've got a lively farm update for you.  We will be discussing:

• very successful FFA scholarship auction
• .75 inches of rain and done irrigating
• grazing goats on canal for two weeks straight
• Oso working out great
• still on pasture with cattle and hope to be for a couple more weeks
• corn, kochia and cover crops for goats to green

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