Off-Farm Income

The types of businesses that people are creating by talking about agriculture are amazing.  Today, I get to profile one of those influencers.  Michelle Miller goes by the name "The Farm Babe".  She has an interesting story of growing up in Wisconsin, finding herself on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, traveling the world, bartending on a beach in Florida and ultimately finding her way to a farm in Northern Iowa. Find out how she did in today's show. 


My attention was first drawn to Alex Kellersmith when I read an article about him making maple syrup for his supervised agricultural experience in the FFA.  I am always fascinated with this particular SAE because naturally growing trees provide one of the most delicious products on the market.  And, I live in Idaho where this is impossible and you pay a premium for Maple Syrup in a bottle!

As it turns out, Alex has several supervised agricultural experiences.  He likes to grow things that he can either sell directly from harvest or add value to and then sell.  And they all have a common thread....there is the slow pace of the growing season for each of them, and then suddenly, there is a lot of work to be done all at once.  Take these projects for example:

  • Maple Syrup - sap drips into buckets during the winter and is saved up, and then suddenly there is two straight weeks of boiling down sap and bottling syrup
  • Sweet Corn - during the heat of summer the corn grows and grows, and then suddenly there is two straight weeks of picking, hauling, marketing and selling
  • Berries - they grow all summer long and then suddenly they are ripe and the time is now!
  • Lavender & Flowers - okay, on this one Alex can work out a little bit more even of a pace, but of course once the flowers are blooming he can constantly be harvesting, arranging and selling

Alex has some very good advice for incoming FFA students in this interview as to why they should really invest into multiple SAE's.  Tune in and hear what he has to say!

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1345_Alex_Kellersmith-COMM_16_39-031822.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I just found out that irrigation will not begin for surface water users in my area until April 22nd this year.  Citing repeated drought, the Boise Project Board Of Control announced that canals would not begin filling until April 18th, and the earliest that anyone would be irrigating would be the 22nd.  Also, we are starting out the season with an allotment.  Normally, we do not begin the season with a restriction on how much water that we can use other than what we have in our accounts.  Usually, as water in the reservoirs starts dropping an allotment is declared.  This generally takes place sometime in June or maybe even July.  However, we are starting the season this way.

This means that all irrigators are going to be restricted to using no more than 1.20 acre feet of water per acre on their ground for this season.  This is a low allotment, and it is designed to get farmers all the way through the growing season.  However, these restrictions definitely impact the decisions that farmers will make for the year.

If you have been watching the news out of the Central Valley of California, you will see that a lot of acres, especially on the west side of the Central Valley in places like Fresno and Kings Counties, will go uncultivated this year.  Farmers there are dealing with greater hardships than us in Idaho, and they have to forgo planting seasonal crops so that they can save the water that would be needed on those fields for their permanent crops like almonds, grapes and fruit trees.

Here in Idaho, what I expect to see happen is less acres of water thirsty crops like corn being grown and more short season crops like wheat being planted.  I suspect that the farmers who can buy water from other people might not alter their rotations.  However, those that cannot may have to.  With that said, I expect the price of wheat to be up if the conflict in the Ukraine continues, maybe that will act as a hedge for farmers who are forced to plant more acres of wheat than they anticipated.

I consider myself to be in a good position.  If you've been listening to me since 2015 you will know that one of the ways that we put in the necessary infrastructure on our farm was to do a cost share with the NRCS through their EQIP program.  That has been nine years ago now, and it has only been a positive, we never endured any negative consequences from it.

One of things that came out of that program is that our entire place is irrigated by sprinklers now.  And over time we have progressed from rented sprinkler pipe, to wheel lines to irrigation pods.  We have become progressively more and more water efficient, which means that we have yet to use all of our allotted water in a season.  And, this allows us to "carry over" some water from one season to the next.  So, I am very grateful that we made that move.  Irrigation is now easier, and it allows us to really save water throughout the year to get us through.

However, if there is no water available it does us no good.  And, if irrigation water gets shut off very early this year, than it will not matter what manner of delivery that we use, we will be unable to irrigate either way.  So, as a hedge I am going to purchase some extra hay, early in the season, and hope that I don't have to start feeding in September.  However, I am fully prepared for that to be the reality that I am facing.

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

 

Direct download: OFI_1344_Tuesday_Episode_-_32822_6.54_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I am a big fan of proactive people, people who go out and make life happen for them rather than letting life happen to them.  Our guest today, Ellas Gaes, is definitely one of those people.  Ella is a member of the Pierce High School FFA Chapter in Pierce, Nebraska.  She lives out of town with her family, and they keep horses on their property.

Even though the horse was the main form of transportation throughout Europe and Asia well before North America was ever discovered, the American West has captured the horse as its symbol, almost as if horse riding originated here.  Ella embraces this culture, roping whenever and wherever she can and helping her family members in Colorado every May with their cattle branding.

Ella also embraced this with her supervised agricultural experience through the FFA.  She has been making jewelry as a hobby for quite some time, and the way that things work in her FFA chapter, she was compelled to get serious about her SAE this year.  Once she really thought about what she was going to do, it became apparent to her that making and selling jewelry that celebrated the Western way of life and the West's ties to agriculture was the right fit for her.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1343_Ella_Gaes-COMM_6_13-022722.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Tip Of The Week

Can’t Find Your Vehicles? Check Out Your Biggest Mud Hole.

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/new-mexico-supreme-court-to-teach-las-cruces-students-about-criminal-justice-system-law-court-hearing-crime-defendant-hearing

https://www.wibw.com/2022/03/22/sheriff-warns-rising-crime-rates-planting-season-begins-gas-prices-rise/

https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/wcso-stolen-vehicles-found-submerged-in-mud/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/news/20015049.yanmar-mini-digger-stolen-north-dorset-smallholding/

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/20015840.dog-owner-warned-keep-pet-control-sheep-worrying-incident/

https://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/man-farmer-victim-of-grain-theft-805.aspx

Africa

https://chimpreports.com/3-geologists-2-updf-soldiers-killed-by-karamoja-cattle-rustlers/

https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/govt-commences-security-operation-to-flush-out-herders-from-game-parks/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.kimt.com/news/forest-city-man-arrested-for-arson-assault-and-burglary-pleads-guilty/article_b62162b8-aadd-11ec-ac4d-c71e369c39af.html

https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/local/whitman-county-burglary-suspect-in-custody-30-000-tractor-among-stolen-items-recovered-by-deputies/article_ce4db0fc-aade-11ec-a5b8-537d2e55a8ff.html

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

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1342_Rural_Crime_-_32522_9.50_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I have never delved into the world of hemp farming or of value added products made from hemp plants and seed.  Today, I am finally going to break that pattern.  I will be speaking with Justin Harris of Wild Ass Soaps.

Justin and his wife have developed quite a family enterprise that operates with them and their children in Southwestern Nebraska.  They first began with a lawn and landscaping business which grew and became very time consuming.  Looking for other opportunities they began growing and selling sod from their 15 acre farm.  Eventually they started to look into making soaps, and then something major happened.  The production of hemp was legalized by the U.S. government.

Within two years of this announcement Justin and his family were producing hemp and incorporating it into their soaps, lotions and oils.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1341-Justin_Harris-COMM_18_38-021922.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today we are going deep into our archives to replay an episode about starting a goat milk soap business.  On tomorrow's ag business episode we are profiling a new type of soap business, and I thought this interview with Shanna McCann would tie in nicely to that show.  Goat milk soap is such a great, value added product that I really enjoy profiling and replaying these business interviews.  Below are the original show notes from episode #351.

 


There is a lot of fruit to pick (pun intended) from today's interview with Jada Rubalcava, and I picked the one that stood out the most to me for the title of this episode.

Jada has a unique set of experiences compared to the other students at Gothenburg High School and in her FFA chapter.  When she was in elementary school her father joined the military while pursuing a career as an anesthesiologist.  This caused Jada and her family to move from her childhood home of Phoenix, Arizona to several other cities and ultimately the small town of Gothenburg.  So, Jada has seen big city life, and she has seen small town life.

Jada is of the opinion that she has many more opportunities being in a small town and small school, which is not the way a lot of people look at this comparison.  However, whichever extra-curricular activity that she wants to participate in she has been able to.  This has to do with the size of her school and the fact that there are not so many students going out for a particular activity that people have to be cut.  Jada used golf as an example. She joined the golf team her freshman year, and when she joined she had never held a club before.  She correctly states that if she were still in Phoenix, she could never make the team under these circumstances and would have missed this particular opportunity.

Another opportunity that Jada has taken full advantage of is the sense of community in her small town and the way that the town respects and supports the FFA.  Based on an idea of some of her friends that she knew when living in Ohio, when it came time for her to being her supervised agricultural experience she decided to make and sell caramel apples.  When people caught wind of what she was doing, word spread like wildfire.  Soon, she was very busy and was even shipping her caramel apples to people.

 

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1339_Jada_Rubalcava-COMM_10_37-030222.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

So, I haven't had one set of plans work out like I wanted in the recent past, and that is just the way it is going for me on my farm.  First, I was supposed to start calving on February 25th, but we didn't have our first calf until 3/5/22.  Our cows are all showing that they are ready to calve, but they are coming along very slow and to date I only have four calves.

Next, I filled out the perfect bracket for the NCAA Basketball Tournament and put together a fun group of people to participate in the bracket.  After just one weekend, I am in last place with no prospect of turning things around.  And, my daughter is in second and absolutely destroying me.

Currently I am on a solo, staycation, during Autumm and Hattie's Spring Break.  The three of us have taken a trip together every Spring Break for years now, but this slow calving kept me at home.  So, they took off to go look at some colleges and see the ocean over on the Oregon Coast.  That was okay though.  I have a lot things to get done, and I figured that this would give me the perfect opportunity.  I figured I would get started with it today.

Simultaneously our pasture is just starting to green up, so I wanted to get our yearlings off of it and back in with our cows.  And, since our cows have started calving it was time to get the bull separated off.  So, I put the bull in the pen I had used for him earlier this year and moved the yearlings over.  However, with the yearlings cycling he promptly broke a rail in that pen and was in with them for an unknown amount of time.  So, I caught him and put him in a different pen, which he promptly broke out of last night, but luckily could not find his way back to the girls.

So, this morning, instead of starting my projects I wound up changing the configuration of that pen that I had built and adding lumber to it, to reinforce it.  I had to go purchase lumber, and that broke the budget because it costs around $1 million for a sixteen foot 2X6 these days.  And that is the life that I love!

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

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1338_Tuesday_Episode_-_32122_5.01_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Our guest today is currently serving as the State FFA Reporter in Illinois.  Lauren Mohr grew up in Illinois with a strong legacy of farming and the FFA in her family.  In addition to watching her older brothers in their projects, she was working at home with the families sheep flock as well as their business of lambing out ewes for other owners.  Over time she developed a love for the animal livestock industry, and it led her to leadership in the FFA.

Lauren just graduated from Normal West High School last spring.  She is currently taking a gap year to serve as the state reporter and plans on attending Illinois Central College to study animal science and agricultural business next fall.  She has her eye on embryo transfers and reproduction in livestock as a career and has already identified a business that she would like to conduct an internship with.

Lauren is involved in and developing a few different ag businesses currently.  In the summer she shows dairy cattle for her grandparents, and the rest of the time she is developing her herd of cattle and maintaining her flock of sheep.  Lauren has traveled as far away as Massachusetts to market wool and learn more about the wool and sheep industry.  It is no wonder that she has been a state proficiency winner in both sheep production and diversified livestock.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1337-Lauren_Mohr-COMM_11_04-022622.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Tip Of The Week

Get cameras and locks on your fuel tanks

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.drovers.com/news/industry/usda-inspector-charged-accepting-bribes-texas-border

https://www.waaytv.com/news/madison-county-sheriff-s-office-seeks-public-s-help-after-baby-goat-her-mom-reported/article_fcdac612-a548-11ec-81d6-333f1bd8280d.html

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-60754268

https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/19993340.high-prices-drive-fuel-theft/

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/dozens-of-stolen-sheep-found-two-miles-away-on-uni-campus-264074/

https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/south-africa/alarming-upswing-in-green-maize-theft-threatens-food-security/

Africa

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/letters/dairy-farming-is-a-means-to-an-end-to-cattle-rustling-3749932

https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/national-police-reservists-commissioned-in-baringo-north/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.aol.com/news/rare-wolverine-captured-utah-once-113518123.html

https://www.glosnews.com/articles/westbury-farmer-tracks-down-stolen-property-thanks-to-his-ipad

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

 

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1336_Rural_Crime_Episode_-_31822_10.49_AM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Pat Hanson is the owner and creator of "Memory Lane Crafting Retreat" in Northwest Illinois.  This is a business that was built out of necessity and a love of the farming lifestyle.  Pat's father had a lifelong dream of purchasing his own land farming it, which he made come true in his 50's.  Pat and her family loved the lifestyle so much that they eventually moved out to her father's farm and built their own home on five acres that he had deeded to them.  Then, Pat farmed with her father on a daily basis until he suddenly passed from a stroke at the age of 75.

Her father's sudden passing left Pat and her husband with the farm and the question of what to do, not only with the farm but her with her father's house.  A lot of ideas were considered, and ultimately Pat followed her instincts and started a crafting retreat for women.  Her farm is on a beautiful setting in a very rural area, and it draws repeat customers from all around.  Rarely does Pat have any vacancies available on weekends.  From my count she only has 25 nights available in all of 2022!

Today, Pat has turned her father's home into a great getaway for women who love crafts.  And, it is also a very viable form of off-farm income.  At the same time that she is operating this business, she is exposing people to farming and teaching them about rural and agricultural living.  It is truly an inspirational story!

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1335-Pat_Hanson-COMM_25_24-021322.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today is a replay that I think you will enjoy very much. It is the story of a remarkable young man who was injured and worked hard to not only come back fully healed but better than ever. He is giving back to the industry he was injured in as a volunteer fire fighter  all while serving as a missionary and running a custom haying operation with his brother. 

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1334_Recap_of_Episode_669-COMM_20_33_2.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today's interview teaches us a lot of different lessons about entrepreneurship, and our guest is just 15 years old. Trever Montgomery has grown up loving to fish.  Years ago, he had the thought that he might one day make his own "soft plastic" fishing baits.  Like so many ideas, it came into his head, never left but got put on a back shelf somewhere waiting to be pulled off at some point in the future.

In 2020 Trever started high school, and with that he also started the FFA.  His advisor let him know that he would need to have a supervised agricultural experience and explained what the options were.  It was in that instance that he knew the time had come, and he was going to start making his own baits as an entrepreneurship SAE.

Trever started researching right away, and with in a couple of months he was creating his very own prototypes.  He first began by purchasing a bait making kit from one company and learning the process.  Soon, he knew how to make them, but he was noticing flaws.  So, he purchased a kit from another company.  He had the same experience again, seeing room for improvement in the baits that he produced with their recipe.  It was at this point that Trever started taking the aspects of one companies baits that he liked and combining it with the aspects of another's that he liked in order to make a bait that was superior to both of the originals.  TM Baits was born.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1333-Trever_Montgomery-COMM_6_58-022622.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I really respect all of you that keep very tight calving windows and cull cows that fall outside of it.  That is some serious business discipline, and it is well beyond what I have in my own farm business.  My first potential due date for a calf was February 25th.  The first calf born on our place was on March 5th.  As of today, we have three calves on the ground, a bunch of cows that look like they will calve any day and morning after morning of no new calves.

There is no question in my mind that they are all settled and close to calving.  All the physical signs are showing themselves, but I am always amazed at how for some cows they will start showing but still take weeks to calve.  So, day after day, middle of the night check after middle of the night check, I wait for calves.

It seems like this time of year involves a lot of waiting. I've been waiting for it to warm up.  Now I am waiting for it to green up.  I am also waiting for it to start raining, which it is supposed to do this week.  And, I am waiting for the canals to get filled.  In April we will start having kids, and I will be waiting again.

In all honesty, it is a fun time of year.  I like the surprise of going out to feed in the morning and finding a new calf, and the pressure that is relieved each time another cow calves, takes to her calf and gets it up and going. I am always hoping for a 100% calf crop and 100% weaned crop.  Getting all the calves out and nursing is phase #1 of that.

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

 

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1332_Tuesday_Episode_-_31422_3.46_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Our guest today is just finishing up his sophomore year of high school, but the progress he has made in building his cow herd since beginning it during his freshman year is phenomenal.  Stetson Shook is from a family with a deep farming background in Oklahoma and Kansas, going back to the Oklahoma Land Rush.  His grandparents still farm the family ground in Oklahoma about 45 minutes away from the farm that Stetson and his parents live on.

Stetson has always had a passion for farming and agriculture, and this led him to know that he would one day be an FFA member.  Then, at the end of his 8th grade year of school he was asked if he would be interested in becoming a Green Hand Officer, and he volunteered.  This really piqued his interest in the FFA, and early in his freshman year of high school his FFA advisors saw something in him and encouraged him to take up a cattle business for his supervised agricultural experience.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1331_Stetson_Shook-_COMM6_17-021022_1.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Tip Of The Week

Protect your edible livestock, they could be taken for human consumption or entertainment…..

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.pahomepage.com/top-stories/store-owner-claims-men-wanted-to-feed-live-chicken-to-alligators-at-exotic-pet-shop/

https://patch.com/california/murrieta/sheriff-targets-rural-crime-anza-aguanga-approved-grant

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/7650584/missing-sheep-prompts-a-police-warning/

https://www.farminglife.com/country-and-farming/tractor-stolen-from-shed-police-are-appealing-for-information-3601425

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/new-holland-tm165-tractor-stolen-from-shed-in-overnight-raid-3601433

Africa

https://www.myjoyonline.com/gunmen-on-motorbikes-kill-dozens-in-nigeria/

https://dailytrust.com/osun-man-making-pepper-soup-with-stolen-goat-arrested

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://thatsfarming.com/farming-news/stole-sheep-court/

https://www.siouxlandproud.com/news/local-news/2-iowa-men-arrested-for-farm-burglary-in-siouxland/

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/sligo-farmer-assault-3-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-burglary/

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

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1330_Rural_Crime_-_31022_3.40_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST

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.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1329-Catherine_Chmelka-COMM_10_51-021022_1.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

In today's episode, I replay an interview I did with an extrodinary FFA student who started his own business and then went on to start another. Learn about Hadden Powell and his floral and landscape design business. 

Original Show Notes:

INTRODUCING HADDEN POWELL!

As you have heard me say many times, I really like it when things are efficient, they compliment each other and you see win/win situations.  In the case of today's guest and national star nominee in agribusiness, he has developed just such a business.

Hadden Powell started Powells And Company doing floral designs.  But this isn't the beginning of the story.  He first started out with his landscape design business.  As that business developed he realized that he had flowers growing that he should repurpose.  So, he started Powells and Company.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1328_Recap_Of_Episode_695-COMM_7_42-021422.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

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.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1327_Madi_Springer-COMM_6_28-021922.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today is a farm update.  I wish it were a sunnier episode, but I found myself going down the rabbit hole of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the impending drought and shortened irrigation season in the West.

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

 

 

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1326_Tuesday_Episode_-_3722_5.01_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today is my final interview of a long list of very impressive national proficiency finalists and winners.  I couldn't think of a better or more inspirational interview to wrap this up with.  To begin, Ty Williams is a national proficiency winner in the category of "small animal care and production".  He has grown up on and lives on his families cattle ranch in Dawson, Texas, but he also has a passion for raising rabbits and what he believes they can do for the world.  He has a big vision, and it is no wonder why he was named as a national winner.

Ty is now a freshman at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and he is studying to be an agriculture teacher.  I am excited for every student that he is going to mentor in his career because when you get him started talking about his passions in agriculture it is contagious!

Ty believes that rabbits could be one of the solutions to world hunger.  They are small, easy to raise, reproduce quickly and are an excellent source of high quality protein.  On a very small footprint, just like raising chickens, a person can raise rabbits and feed themselves, their family and quite possibly friends and neighbors. Ty travels all over the State of Texas showing rabbits and spreading this message.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1325_Ty_Williams-COMM_10_32-021322.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Tip Of The Week

Somebody has to innovate us out of this frenzy of bee thefts

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1613887072084183/search/?q=cloverdale%20king%20road

https://www.miningjournal.net/life/2022/03/going-high-tech-to-save-the-crop-beekeepers-install-tracking-devices-to-protect-their-precious-hives/

https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/indiana-farm-owner-arrested-after-28-dead-alpacas-found-on-property

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.lancashire.police.uk/farm-defender

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/baby-goat-stolen-in-a-backpack-under-cover-of-darkness-in-sinister-raid-in-dublin-41403363.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-60570272

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-60572625

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/19968509.burglars-jailed-pocklington-business-farm-raids/

https://www.timesrepublican.com/news/todays-news/2022/03/pomeroy-man-charged-with-theft-at-tama-livestock-auction/

https://krcrtv.com/news/local/stolen-tractor-leads-to-major-pot-bust

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

 

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1324_Rural_Crime_-_3422_5.50_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST

When I think of Virginia, so many things spring to mind - history, green pastures, beef, mountains, rivers, etc., etc.  I also think of thunderstorms, humidity and lazy evenings beating the heat on a front porch.  I realize that so many of the images that come to mind for me are concoctions of things I have read in books, seen on television or looked at in paintings, but for today's guest I think it is all true.

Lorrie Barron and her husband, David, have been farming in Southern Virginia since they got married in 1982.  They love the agricultural lifestyle, and they will do what is necessary to continue it.  This includes offering a wide variety of entrepreneurial services to people in their community ranging from cake baking to sheet rocking to barn building t0 painting.  They also are very innovative in looking for ways to improve their farm through grants and new methods.  And, they are not afraid to be involved in multiple different aspects of agriculture to find niche markets and keep revenue flowing to the farm.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1323_Lorrie_Barron-COMM_13_42-020522.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

Today I bring to you a replay of an interview I did with an FFA member who is working hard to keep his 100-year family farm operating. They specialize in vegetable roadside stands. This is a fun interview you don't want to miss!

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1322_Recap_Of_Episode_229-COMM_5_25-02142.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I can remember taking genetics in my senior year of college with my friends Tyler and Becky.  I had changed the emphasis on my animal science major a couple of times, and genetics was the last, really difficult class I was going to have to take in order to graduate.  All semester long I paid close attention to the lecture, took tons of notes and studied nightly to try and keep up.  Meanwhile, my friend Becky didn't take notes, sat there listening with a smile on her face and aced the class while I squeaked by with a C- and a 29% in the class.  Thank goodness for the curve!

My interview today features a National Proficiency Finalist from 2021.  Zach Schoelerman has grown up on my families ranch in Northern Iowa, and he has been working with cattle and sheep his entire life.  All of his family were in the FFA, and his father is a veterinarian.  As such, Zach has become very involved in the management of his own flock of Southdown Sheep, including artificially inseminating them.

Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1321_Zach_Schoelerman-COMM_BREAK_8_02-012722.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST

I was just looking at our month ending stats and am blown away by what all of you have done for us in helping to grow this show.  That got me thinking about how well this has been going, and that, of course, brought up thoughts about imposter syndrome and the upper limit challenge.  I want to revisit each of those obstacles to success in today's episode.  

Imposter Syndrome Explained: LINK

Upper Limit Challenge explained by Dan Miller: LINK

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

 

 

Direct download: OFI_1320_Tuesday_Episode_-_22822_3.21_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST

1