On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am interviewing an entrepreneur who drew my attention with an ad about wasp removal.  This made me think about the two hives of bees that I lost to wasps several years ago, and of course bee and honey production.  So today I am revisiting an interview I did with Alan Mikolich about this very business.

Taylor Crouch is a sophomore in high school and her FFA chapter's reporter.  She is also a three sport athlete and a serial entrepreneur at the age of 15.  There is a lot to talk about from this interview with Taylor, but throughout all of the different sports, livestock shows, businesses and ways of connecting with people throughout the U.S. one theme stood out.  The more active you are in high school, the more opportunities that you will be exposed to.  In this way, students who are very involved really do have an advantage.

Based on Taylor's description of herself, I would call her an extrovert.  However, not everyone is an extrovert, and that is fine.  I think what is proven in this interview that is introverted students need to find a way to get outside of their comfort zone and become active.  The reason is that the activity will lead you to meet new people, be exposed to different circumstances and experience new things.  Somewhere inside of all of that activity there is something that will resonate with you, and will help to shape your future.

I consider myself an introvert, and I think my daughter is one also.  I don't think that a person needs to be as social as Taylor to be exposed to many opportunities.  But, and introverted person still needs to follow their interests and get involved in those interests.  The biggest challenge for them may be not allowing their natural introversion to keep them from pursuing those interests.  And, as Taylor points out in the interview, the FFA is an excellent place to learn to push those comfort zones and to start getting exposed to situations that will eventually spark and interest.

Well, I've definitely had better years on our small farm here in Kuna.  At this point in the year, this has definitely been the worst year we have ever experienced.  Last week, on two consecutive mornings, I found kid goats that had been killed by coyotes.  On top of that, we have other issues going on that are going to harm our bottom line on the farm in the future.

On the other hand, some ideas I have put into place on the farm are working great, and I have a new friend in agriculture and podcasting that we get to celebrate on today's episode.

I've got all of that, and a bit of discussion about people with no boundaries on today's show.

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Agustin Luna is a sophomore at J.W. Nixon High School in Laredo, Texas, he is the chapter's reporter and he is responsible for cooking the pork ribs on the barbecue team.  That's right, the barbecue team.

Until an article popped up on my news feed the other day, I was unaware that there was such a think as a high school barbecue competition.  However, Agustin goes to school in Texas, so I shouldn't have been surprised.  Agustin and his team have qualified to be in the state championship in may, just a few days before this episode is aired.  The championship is held in Round Rock, at the baseball field that was built there to honor Nolan Ryan.  How can you get more Texas than barbecue and Nolan Ryan.

Agustin and each of his teammates are assigned an item to cook for the competition.  Each dish is scored individually by judges, the scores are compiled and a gross score is given to each team.  The top teams from each regional competition get to advance, and J.W. Nixon is one of those teams this year.  This is not an FFA competition, but at J.W. Nixon High School the team is from the FFA chapter.

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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.

Wake Tech. is a community college in North Carolina that offers an Associates of Applied Science Degree in John Deere Ag Systems.  Our guest today is Professor Joh Paige Kearns, and we are going to be speaking with him about the trade school route, and how this program works.  This is a very interesting interview as we explore how students can go to school for free, find a very rewarding career and learn to be experts on some of the most complex machinery ever invented.

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Tip Of The Week

Think before you click

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://whnt.com/taking-action/bbb-consumer-alerts/bbb-scam-alert-young-farm-equipment-falls-victim-to-corporate-identity-theft/

https://tscra.org/crime-watch-equipment-stolen-in-garfield-county-oklahoma/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/senior-civil-servant-identified-as-suspect-in-attack-on-farmer-in-hillwalking-assault-case/a488592600.html

https://www.bordertelegraph.com/news/23504743.investigation-underway-third-sheep-attack-weeks/

https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/23505803.farmers-warned-vigilant-thefts-agricultural-vehicles/

https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/man-his-seventies-left-very-shaken-when-masked-men-enter-his-property-east-belfast

Africa

https://punchng.com/court-jails-25-year-old-for-sheep-theft/

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/police-officer-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-cattle-from-farm-in-the-north-west-20230507

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://ktvl.com/news/local/parolee-arrested-after-burglary-crime-spree-in-rural-medford-jackson-county-sheriff-office-police-criminal-trespass-stolen-property-evidence-arrest-jail

https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/arrest-made-in-rural-reno-county-burglary/

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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.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am interviewing a woman with an incredible breadth of knowledge and passion for farming, livestock, gardening and the soil.  She has a very unique and successful model of consultation for small farmers and left me realizing how little I actually know.  So, for today's re-cap episode I am going back to a 2016 interview I did with David Ridle of Skagit Farmers Supply where he was consulting with people on small acreages, as an employee of the co-op.

Seth Ariens is the Indiana State FFA President.  Amazingly, he is also the Indiana State Star Farmer.  In a great FFA state like Indiana, either one of those accomplishments puts you among the elite to ever have worn the blue jacket in the Hoosier State, but to be selected to both of those coveted positions, on the same night no less, puts you in rare air indeed!

In today's episode Seth describes his pathway to becoming a state officer.  In describing this his says something that is a real key to the success that he is currently experiencing.  He never looked at any of the officer positions that he held as a stepping stone.  He went into all of them determined to serve as best as possible in that position, and the rest kind of took care of itself.

On the side of being the State Star Farmer, Seth has had some "happy accidents".  I wouldn't call it luck however.  We always say on this show that luck is preparation meets opportunity.  Well, Seth looked at some things that happened as accidents and turned them into opportunities.  For example, when his Australian Shepherd was unintentionally bred by another Australian Shepherd, Seth took advantage of the moment to sell the puppies and add this to his record book.  His SAE was diversified agriculture, and her was another opportunity to diversify.  It is this outlook on looking for opportunity that has helped to propel him to such great heights.

On today's farm update I'll be talking about how I think I am overstocked on the farm, and the recycled and new methods I am using to try and take advantage of all the forage on the whole property.  Plus more....

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