Tue, 31 May 2022
Today is our farm update episode, and the theme is definitely "never give up". With the odds stacked against it, spring rain fall has really made a big difference in our irrigation season. And, I've got another project that I need the "never give up" attitude for! Plus a success story on a new marketing effort. I hope you enjoy! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1398_Tuesday_Episode_-_53022_2.28_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Mon, 30 May 2022
OFI 1397: Work Ethic & Tradition On A Lake In Minnesota | FFA SAE Edition | Ben Bugbee | Paynesville High School FFA
Have you ever had the experience of speaking with a person and not being able to match what you are hearing to your preconceived notion about who they would be? That was my exact experience speaking with today's guest, Ben Bugbee. Fortunately for me, I interview a lot of FFA students, and that means that I have this experience frequently. Ben is just finishing his 11th grade year of high school, and when our interview started I had an idea of what an 11th grader should sound like. However, if you did not know that Ben was in high school and heard this interview you would think that he had been running his own business for a couple of decades and had the experience of his peers that are in their 30's! Perhaps this is what led Ben to be named the Minnesota State Star in Agribusiness in 2022. Ben is the owner of Water Ready Rentals in Paynesville, Minnesota, and he also works at his families resort, Bug Bee-Hive Resort, which has been in his family for 102 years. In addition to that, Ben is a regional vice-president in the FFA and concurrently serves as a chapter officer in the Paynesville FFA Chapter. Ben has owned his own business since he was 14 years old, and to hear him speak about the pitfalls of renting out watercraft is like listening to an expert put on a seminar about running a business such as this. Ben is clearly a "non-traditional FFA student", and as he points out, capturing students like himself is exactly why the FFA changed its name decades ago. With that said, Ben knows exactly how his water sports business relates to agriculture and is able to articulate that clearly. Ben believes that with a lot of "blood, sweat and tears" that the FFA helps to teach students, from on or off the farm, the work ethic and tradition that is captured in American Agriculture! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Pontoon Boat Rentals HIGH SCHOOL: Paynesville High School; Paynesville, Minnesota MASCOT: Bulldogs FFA ADVISOR: Natalie Utsch CONTACT INFORMATION FOR BEN BUGBEE: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Paynesville High School website: Ben's FFA Advisor's Email Address: nutsch@isd741.org Paynesville High School Telephone Number: 320-243-3410 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1397_Ben_Bugbee-COMM_14_42--052322.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Sat, 28 May 2022
Tip Of The Week Find the strength to be patient before passing judgment. Rural Crime In The U.S. Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/rural-news/rural-machinery-products/techno-crime-hits-ag-sector Africa https://chimpreports.com/40-guns-recovered-as-joint-security-forces-continue-to-pacify-karamoja/ https://chimpreports.com/soroti-sub-county-chief-2-lc-chairpersons-remanded-over-livestock-theft/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/man-arrested-laton-recovery-stolen-135100990.html
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1396_Rural_Crime_-_52722_5.00_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Fri, 27 May 2022
OFI 1395: An Exploding Entrepreneurial Venture & A Market You May Have Overlooked | Kendall Teichmeier | Axe Kickers
There are very few things that make me happier than when I can pull a gold nugget out of an interview that I know is going to be helpful to the listeners. That definitely happened in my interview with Kendall Teichmeier today. Kendall works full-time in agriculture. His first exposure was a fifteen year career of managing large hog operations in Nebraska until his body just could not handled the work any longer. After a brief stint of factory work Kendall made his way back to agriculture and started working at a seed cleaning and production facility in Broken Bow, Nebraska, where he still is today. Recently Kendall has started a side hustle, which is exploding with business opportunities. He started a company called "Axe Kickers", which is a mobile axe throwing lane that he can take to corporate events, fairs, festivals and even weddings. He built it so that it can be set up indoors or out, and it just happens to be a lot of fun! Word of mouth about Kendall's business is now spreading like wildfire, and it appears as though he is going to work every single day this fair season between his full-time job and his new business. I couldn't be more excited for him. I also could not be more excited for you, because as Kendall told the story of developing this business he exposed me to a new idea. And if the idea is new for me, I know it is new for almost all of you! In January of this year Kendall took his idea to the Nebraska Association Of Fair Managers annual conference. He purchased space for a small booth and spent his time talking with the managers of all the county fairs in his state about the event that he had created. Each one of these fair managers wants to have a successful fair, and the name of the game for success is people having fun. So, several of these fair managers were very interested in his mobile axe throwing lane and contracted with him to come to their fair. I had never heard of an association like this or the fact that they had an annual convention with an expo hall in which performers, exhibitors, etc. could show off what they had to offer. But as I listened to Kendall it occurred to me that all these different county fairs are a brand new market that many of us have never even considered. And, most of probably had never given any thought to purchasing a booth at one of these conventions and having direct access to decision makers who can hire us! If you have a business, talent or event that could be a part of a fair, you should start researching this right away! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1395_Kendall_Techmeyer--COMM_14_25-052222.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Thu, 26 May 2022
On today's show we are going back into the archives to look at an off-farm business that generates revenue at fairs and festivals. This is a great tie-in to tomorrow's ag business episode. Mark Hufford has the fascinating business of doing educational displays and talks about the use of oxen in the frontier and colonial times. Below are the original show notes from his first episode with us. SHOW NOTESKEY IDEAS:Today we are heading to Indiana to talk with a 6th generation farmer about how he and his wife changed their farming model to something that was more palatable and profitable for them. Mark Hufford of Double M Farms will be joining us and talking all about their direct marketing model for beef as well as pork. It is a bit different than what I do, and quite possibly a bit better. He was also be discussing one of his forms of off-farm income, raising oxen and taking them to exhibits and shows in their region. Mark has a lot of great advice for us in this episode and a great story. He and his wife's pursuits have taken them all over the country to ultimately wind up back in Indiana and trying to figure out a way to make it in farming. Today they are well on their way, and he will share that with us here today. CONTACT INFORMATION AND LINKS: Blog: http://www.thefarmerspitchfork.com Facebook Page: LINK Telephone: 765-268-2104 More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1394-Replay_of_728_Mark_Huffird-COMM_10_18-051722.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Wed, 25 May 2022
OFI 1393: You Can Work Hard & Still Have Fun | FFA SAE Edition | Lila Wantland | Niangua High School FFA
On this show, I have said that work is not the enemy, the wrong job is the enemy, on multiple occasions. Today's guest, Lila Wantland, probably summed that statement up better than I have ever done in our interview. This is one thing I love about interviewing FFA students. They learn, early on, that work can be fun and it is all just a matter of finding the right work for them. Lila has grown up on her families dairy farm in Missouri, and she had fully embraced that life. She milks cattle every day, and being a 99% family run operation, she has invested herself in every other aspect of the farm from the good to the bad. She is particularly fond of taking care of the bottle calves but dreads when it is time to cull a long serving cow. Her family primarily milks Holstein cattle on their dairy, but over the years she became interested in other breeds of dairy cattle. So, she found herself purchasing her own Guernsey, Jersey and Brown Swiss cows and putting them into the milking herd. Lila finds herself very interested in all the different breeds as well as the different personalities that each of them has. In our interview I asked Lila if she was interested in returning to her families dairy at some point in the future. While she is heading off to get an animal science degree at Oklahoma State University next year, returning to the dairy is not what she sees in her future. I really admired this in her answer, as she has already figured out that even though the family dairy is the basis of her love for livestock and farming, she needs to find the path that she is meant to be on to find satisfaction in her daily work. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Dairy Production HIGH SCHOOL: Niangua High School; Niangua, Missouri MASCOT: Cardinals FFA ADVISOR: Cody Starnes CONTACT INFORMATION FOR LILA WANTLAND: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Niangua High School website: Lila's FFA Advisor's Email Address: cstarnes@nianguaschools.com NianguaHigh School Telephone Number: (417)473-6101 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1393_Lila_Wantland-COMM_8_43-051622.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Tue, 24 May 2022
Today is a farm update episode everyone. Here is what I will be talking about:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1392_Tuesday_Episode_-_52322_3.49_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Mon, 23 May 2022
I've said it before, and I will say it again - I really enjoy interviewing FFA student entrepreneurs because they are not encumbered by fear and other responsibilities that frequently stop adults like myself from exploring business ideas. With this fear being absent, these students go try ideas, and in many cases they discover businesses that work and are replicable by adults. In this way, these high school students are actually the leaders for adults, if adults are willing to look at what they have done and follow the example. My guest today, Ethan Kneisler, is a perfect example of this. Ethan is just finishing up his junior year of high school and lives in a farming community in Kansas. He and his father came up with the idea of him starting a bale wrapping business in their area because they saw problems that they could solve on their own farm with this practice and then saw that others in their community had the same problems. Namely, the need to produce more forage on a small acreage that would allow for the feeding of all the farm's livestock. This led them to experimenting with different forage crops and balage, and it has worked out very well. Ethan is just going into his second season of operating "Jimmy's Custom Wrapping". Through this business he is convincing people in his area of the ability to raise different forage crops and to have them wrapped. There are a lot of positives to this method, and Ethan is making it pay for his customers. In listening to the arguments that Ethan has to overcome when convincing farmers to give this a try, I can hear a lot of reasons that an adult, with more to lose than Ethan, might dismiss this business and not start. However, if an adult is willing to look at the example being set by a high school student like Ethan and trust what they are seeing, they can identify a very viable business idea for the region in which they live! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Custom Bale Wrapping HIGH SCHOOL: Lyndon High School; Lyndon, Kansas MASCOT: Tigers FFA ADVISOR: Tim Kilgore CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ETHAN KNEISLER: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Lyndon High School website: Ethan's FFA Advisor's Email Address: kilgoret@usd421.org Lyndon High School Telephone Number: 785-828-4413 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1391_Ethan_Kneisler-COMM_1312-051422.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Sat, 21 May 2022
Tip Of The Week Before you pick fruit off of someone else’s tree, you might want to hear this episode. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/is-it-legal-to-pick-mangos-off-your-neighbors-tree-14500558 Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/20148599.burglars-hit-herefordshire-home/ Africa https://www.herald.co.zw/vet-department-works-on-cattle-branding-roll-out/ https://issafrica.org/iss-today/rising-insecurity-a-setback-for-the-gambias-transition Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.fresnosheriff.org/media-relations/ag-task-force-detectives-arrest-chemical-thief.html More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1390_Rural_Crime_-_52022_9.34_AM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Fri, 20 May 2022
Our guest today is highly educated about the world of agriculture, believes strongly in advocating for ag and knows that we need to reach out to children with the truth about farming and livestock before inaccurate information is told to them so many times that it becomes ingrained. And it is these core beliefs that led Jackie Nix to strike out as a children's author and create her first book, Modern Farms and create her publishing company, Moo Maven Publishing. Jackie really has an amazing story. She grew up around other people's farms but not on her own. This was enough for her to develop a passion for agriculture which led her to Virginia Tech. University to study animal science. She followed this up with a master's degree in agriculture which led her to become an extension agent. After several years in this field she went to work in private industry, selling feed, and then two big disruptions happened in her life. Her father became terminally ill followed by Covid 19. During this time period Jackie focused on family, and that meant leaving the corporate world for a while. This time away from the busy business world gave her extra time to think, and that is when she was inspired to write her first book, Modern Farms. Jackie has a vision of what she wants to produce, and how she wants to educate children about what farming really is. She is so true to her vision that instead of contracting with a publishing company, she started her own. This was all about creative control and making sure that the vision she has in her mind is the same one that gets to the children who read her books! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1389_Jackie_Nix-COMM_9_57-041422.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Thu, 19 May 2022
Tomorrow on the show I am featuring an entrepreneur who is helping to teach children about agriculture. This reminded me of the great interview I did with Katie Benson about her efforts to do the same, and I wanted to bring that episode back for you today. Below are the original show notes for this episode. SHOW NOTESIntroducing Katie Benson! Katie has a different supervised agricultural experience than we normally profile. However, I had to have her on. She is doing a lot to advocate for agricuture. Katie's SAE is "ag education." She is teaching all the third graders in her school district about agriculture. She has done a number of things including dispelling myths about agriculture and making products, such as butter. Katie has had multiple students tell her that they want to join both 4H and FFA after they are done with one of her lessons. She plans on continuing her education after high school and becoming an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisors. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agricultural Education HIGH SCHOOL: Staples Motley High School; Staples, Minnesota MASCOT: Cardinals FFA ADVISOR: Kerry Lindgren & Brian Schornack CONTACT INFORMATION FOR KATIE BENSON: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Staples Motley High School Website: Katie's FFA Advisor's Email Address: klindgren@isd2170.k12.mn.us Staples Motley High School Telephone Number: 218-894-5400
FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1388-Replay_Of_138-COMM_4_17-041022.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Wed, 18 May 2022
OFI 1387: "Only 2% Are Farming, But 100% Should Understand It" | FFA SAE Edition | Sam Martin | Davis-Rodgers FFA
I first discovered Sam Martin through an article that mentioned he and his families anhydrous ammonia business, Martin Custom Anhydrous, and that is what led me to invite him to be a guest on the show. However, I wound up getting a lot more than I bargained for with this guest. Sam is a former chapter president, former Iowa State Vice-President and current Iowa State President. He just obtained that lofty title in April of this year. In addition to that, he is operating multiple supervised agricultural experiences including a cattle business, a sweet corn business and of course the family business of custom applying anhydrous ammonia all over Southwest Iowa. Sam and his family are the epitome of the farm families that I strive to profile on this show. They are on farm ground that goes multiple generations deep, and they are always looking for a way to continue the legacy. This is what led to them starting Martin Custom Anhydrous. They took equipment that they already had and used it to serve farmers in their area, filling a need that existed. They took the fact that their farm was smaller than others and turned that into a competitive advantage. When many farmers were burnt out from being in the tractor more than them during they year, from farming more acres, they could step in and inject anhydrous ammonia for the farmers who didn't want to see the inside of a tractor again until spring. It worked out great, and their business has really taken off. At the same time, the business is providing a way for Sam and his siblings to generate additional revenue to support the family farming operation and it creates an opportunity for each of them to return to the farm. At the same time, Sam's mother, Sarah, is teaching agriculture at Shenandoah Community High School and brining in off-farm income in that manner. It is a very interesting story. So much so that the length of my interview with Sam is about twice as long as a normal FFA interview. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Beef Production, Custom Fertilizer Application, Sweet Corn Sales HIGH SCHOOL: Shenandoah Community High School; Shenandoah, Iowa MASCOT: Mustangs FFA ADVISOR: Sarah Martin CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SAM MARTIN: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Shenandoah Community High School website: Sam's FFA Advisor's Email Address: martinsf@shenandoah.k12.ia.us Shenandoah Community High School Telephone Number: 712-246-1581 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1387_Sam_Martin_COMM-15_49-051422.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Tue, 17 May 2022
It is very difficult to know what is in the future on our farm this year, and I know this is true for so many of you out there. From weather to input prices to unavailability of fertilizer there is a lot that we just don't know. For me, this big unknown is water and hay prices. I don't know how long I will be able to irrigate for this year. If they stop delivering water at the end of July, that is 2 extra months of hay that I have to feed. The end of August equals one month extra. With an already existing hay shortage due to massive development in the area, the drought is just making a pre-existing problem worse. I am not sure how much hay that I should buy, because I don't know when I will begin feeding. I have no idea what the price will be because farmers won't set that until after the first cutting his complete. I have even heard that some farmers aren't taking reservations for hay, and they are going to set a floor price and auction their hay off to the highest bidder. I have already reserved all of my hay, and I have not heard anything back from that farmer indicating that he is canceling my reservation and conducting an auction. I am hoping that is not what I am looking at. However, I do expect to be paying much higher prices and purchasing more hay than usual at those prices. So, the impact on my bottom line will be significant. So, starting out the season I am trying to take advantage of every blade of grass grown on my place. There are a few different patches of grass in areas that are not fenced that usually get mowed. This year, I am using temporary fencing or even putting up some additional permanent fence in order to graze these areas. Every single blade of grass is going to matter for me because how long I get to irrigate is out of my control, and when it is over, it is over. The more grass I have standing at that moment, the longer I can wait to begin burning hay. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1386_Tuesday_Episode_-_51622_4.00_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Mon, 16 May 2022
OFI 1385: Passion For Livestock And Agriculture | FFA SAE Edition | Grace Brown | Flanagan Cornell High School FFA
In the world of entrepreneurship people love to throw the term, "passion" around as if that is all you need to make it. I certainly is not the only thing you need, but it definitely helps. Today's guest has exactly that, and it comes shining through when you speak to her. Grace Brown is fresh off of finding out that she is a state proficiency winner in diversified livestock production in Illinois. She is already filling out an application to compete at the national level. Speaking with her for just a couple of moments, and there is no question how she achieved this accomplishment. Grace is raising cattle with her brothers in a business they named, "B4 Shorthorns". In addition to raising cattle, she raises broilers during the summer, market goats and show goats for sale. And, she describes all the different aspects of her businesses as "fun". That is how I know it is her passion. For example, Grace talked about what went on during Covid in the chicken business, and how she and her family had more customers than ever before. She thought this was a blast! If that were not enough, Grace has an after school job milking cattle on a nearby dairy. Currently she milks over 130 head each evening after school and on the weekends when needed. She is is heading off to college next fall to start studying animal science with the hopes of becoming a veterinarian. Grace is definitely a student to keep our eyes on! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Diversified Livestock Production HIGH SCHOOL: Flanagan - Cornell High School; Flanagan, Illinois MASCOT: Falcons FFA ADVISOR: Jessica Collins CONTACT INFORMATION FOR GRACE BROWN: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Flanagan - Cornell High School Ag. Department's website: Grace's FFA Advisor's Email Address: jcollins@fc74.org Flanagan - Cornell High School's Telephone Number: 815/796-2291 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1385_Grace_Brown-COMM_10_32-050722.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Sat, 14 May 2022
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/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above 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://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.kwqc.com/2022/05/12/burlington-man-is-custody-4-counts-burglary/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1384_Rural_Crime_-_51322_1.37_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Fri, 13 May 2022
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.
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1383_Kathleen_Dowling-COMM_21_47-031922.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Thu, 12 May 2022
On tomorrow's episode I am speaking with a young lady about her future career prospects and finding her way to the agricultural life that she is dreaming about. So, for today's re-cap episode I thought that I would go back to a special coaching episode I did with a woman named Wendy from Ontario, Oregon. I find it is helpful to hear people brainstorm through these ideas as they try to find a way to make it all work. I hope this is true for you as well. Below are the original show notes. SHOW NOTESKEY IDEAS: Today is our second episode devoted to coaching a listener for free. I hope you see the consistency here. I tell you to work for free, and I am working for free to develop this part of my business. Our guest today is Wendy from Ontario, Oregon. Wendy and her husband both work full-time and have a farm dream. They have purchased a 200 acre farm about 90 minutes away from her husband's work and recently purchased another 500 acres nearby. Now they want to fix up an old farmhouse on the property and they need funds to make this happen. They are leasing out a large portion of the farm and farming the rest. However, there is 20 acres of pasture available and they have their eye on the cattle business as a way to generate revenue to help with the remodeling of this house. This turns into more of a consulting session than a coaching session. But there is good information in here on a couple different models of using direct marketing to make beef really pay. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1382_Replay_Of_Episode_318-COMM_8_30-041022_.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Wed, 11 May 2022
OFI 1381: You Just Have To Put Yourself Out There | FFA SAE Edition | Kendall Lawson | Yelm High School FFA
"The FFA and agriculture is a very welcoming culture. You just have to put yourself out there, and you will be accepted". These are the words of the very wise FFA student who is today's featured guest, Kendall Lawson. Kendall is a senior who will be graduating within about a month of this episode's release. She loves to watch plants grow the same way that I like to watch cattle graze. And, this inner voice has led her in the direction of a successful supervised agricultural experience and business called "Kendall's Creations". Kendall originally began this project by growing succulents, but she moved on to "air plants" in terrariums. At a church bazaar she found that people were interested in purchasing them and supporting what she was doing. Soon, she was selling them to family and friends and eventually this led her to selling them to perfect strangers and using social media for marketing. This final transition is one that is indicative of a real business with real value. In today's interview Kendall offers some real pearls of wisdom including following her inner voice, pivoting her business model and how she is choosing a career that matches the lifestyle that she wants to live, irregardless of how much money she makes. Kendall is a definite role model, and it is my pleasure to be able to capture the wisdom that she has to share. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Kendall's Creations HIGH SCHOOL: Yelm High School; Yelm, Washington MASCOT: Tornado's FFA ADVISOR: Austin Baker CONTACT INFORMATION FOR KENDALL LAWSON: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Yelm High School website: Kendall's FFA Advisor's Email Address: austin_baker@ycs.wednet.edu Yelm High School Telephone Number: 360.458.7777 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1381_Kendall_Lawson-COMM-15_38-042822.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Tue, 10 May 2022
This morning I was out in one of our pastures moving our sprinkler line. I was wet, my hands were muddy and wet and I was already behind the 8 Ball for the day. As I normally do, I had a podcast playing while I worked, and the host of the show read a quote that has been attributed to Thomas Edison. The quote stopped me in my tracks. The quote says, "Opportunity is missed because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work". This quote really struck me for a couple of reasons. First, as I often say on the show, farming is a lifestyle business. If it were not about the lifestyle than nobody would invest all the time, the heartache, the work, the money and the education into it. You could invest all of that into other enterprises that would return you a lot more on that investment. Those of us that farm cannot be afraid to work, and eventually that turns into opportunity. Of course, those that do not farm see your later success as a snapshot of that moment, and they never see all of the risk and hard work that led up to that moment. Talking about this always reminds me of a conversation with a friend when they found out that I had become the host of the D&B Supply Radio Show & Podcast. They asked me how I was able to do that, and before I fully answered they replied with "you just kind of fell ass backwards into it?", answering their own question. I let that one go, as I just did not have the energy or motivation to justify all of the work I had done to reach that moment. We are still friends and there were no hard feelings, but this is a perfect illustration of people not seeing the hard work that is behind momentary success. The other reason that this quote struck me so powerfully was that I was actually wearing overalls. I'm not talking about Carhartt bibs that have become standard winter workwear. I am talking about denim overalls that farmers in the 30's would have been wearing as standard work clothing. I am talking about clothing that almost nobody wears any longer and will definitely garner you a second look from strangers if you wear them to town. My step-grandfather wore overalls every day of his life, and every day that I knew him. He only ever changed into pants if he was going to the sale or going to the doctor. Other than that, he wore overalls. I always wanted a pair, but I never allowed myself to get a pair until I actually had my own farm. Now, Autumm and Hattie, tacitly accept my work wear choices with a smirk every now and then, but I tell you, there has never been a better piece of work clothing invented. I am all about function and not about form, so if you want to see someone in denim overalls, just come on out to my farm. Standing there on 33 acres of open ground in one of the fastest growing counties in the U.S. and the most rapidly appreciating real estate market in the U.S., I knew what was under my feet. And, I also knew that many people would have cashed out long ago in order to move into a life of leisure because they don't see work as opportunity. I thought of another statement that had been made to Autumm and I a few years earlier. As real estate had been appreciating in our area for some time, this person was speculating what our farm was worth. Then she said, "if this place is worth......, I'd sell it tomorrow and be done with all this work." Obviously, we didn't purchase our place just to turn around and sell it. Our farm is the culmination of a 20 year dream of farming, not land speculating. But, looking at the statement from that person today proves that Edison was correct, if he did, in fact, say that. Our place is probably worth twice as much as that person was speculating back then, and over the course of the past 3-4 years since she said that there has also been a lot of "opportunity" on our farm disguised as work dressed in overalls. During the moment I heard that quote, I had a feeling of satisfaction, and I knew that at least I was following Thomas Edison's model of finding success, and couldn't be all bad. And, I'd never been more proud to be wearing overalls. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1380_Tuesday_Episode_-_5222_3.56_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Mon, 9 May 2022
Today's guest, Remi Gardner, is the second student from the Paris FFA Chapter that I have interviewed in as many days. I find myself just as impressed today as I was with my first interview of a Paris FFA student, both working in the world of cattle production. Obviously, I am going to have to get myself to Henry County sooner, rather than later to see what is going on in the beef industry down there! Remi is just finishing up her freshman year, and she is accomplishing a ton already. She has already been named a regional proficiency winner for her supervised agricultural experience and has ever intention to continuing to compete for proficiencies. She has a very unique experience of not coming from a farming family, but finding placement as an employee on a farm. In this way she really is a great example of how FFA students from in town can still find the livestock or crop experience that they want. Remi named her own episode today. As a matter of fact, she had a couple of lines at the very end of the show that I had to write down and preserve. I like to ask students what they would tell somebody about agriculture if they had just two minutes to pass along some information. Without hesitation, Remi fired way with "Agriculture is not boring!". I thought that was great and should be the title of her episode. However, she continued explaining and really uncovered a nugget of wisdom by saying "you just have to put in the work and agriculture will provide an opportunity for you". Especially with that second quote, I thought Remi provided wisdom well beyond her years. I am looking forward to following her FFA journey and seeing where she takes this! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Beef Production HIGH SCHOOL: E.W. Grove High School; Paris, Tennessee MASCOT: Patriots FFA ADVISOR: Laura Moss CONTACT INFORMATION FOR REMI GARDNER: Click on the picture below to be taken to the E.W. Grove High School website: Remi's FFA Advisor's Email Address: mossl@henryk12.net E.W. High School Telephone Number: (731) 642-9733 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1379_Remi_Gardner-COMM-6_12-042622.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Sat, 7 May 2022
Tip Of The Week Hold off on the evening beer until the farming is done. Rural Crime In The U.S. Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above Africa https://www.newzimbabwe.com/poverty-and-unemployment-drove-me-to-steal-goats-teen-tells-court/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/02/half-moon-bay-hemp-farm-owner-sentenced-in-labor-theft-case/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1378_Rural_Crime_-_5522_4.30_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Fri, 6 May 2022
The ability of farmers to innovate and solve problems is probably on of the most remarkable things about the women and men that make up this profession. In today's episode we are going to speak with one of those farmers. Jeff Sberna farms his families land in Northern Ohio. As he states they are not a big farm, which means that they don't have big equipment. Even at the height of their farming of 300 acres of family ground, they still operated with smaller machines. Their farm lies on an old riverbed, adjacent to the Great Lakes, and this creates a number of challenges for them, including many different soil types, gravel and drainage issues. In about 2008 Jeff was trying to solve the problem of soil performance on their farm, and he believed that he needed to rip the soil to a depth of about 16-18 inches. However, there were not implements that would work with their smaller equipment that would get this job done. What is a farmer to do when this happens? Invent what you need! And Jeff did it. Tune into the show today to find out more.
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1377_Jeff_Sberna-COMM_18_30-032022.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Thu, 5 May 2022
OFI 1376: Replay OFI 435: How To Use Frustration To Start A Business | Shane Mulligan & Blair Fretz | Maxx Leverage
Today, enjoy an interview an interview I did with a fellow who was frustrated by not having the tool he needed when working on auto engines and did something about it. Tune in as Shane Mulligan shares his story and how he created a NASCAR partnership to help him market his MAXX Leverage tool that he designed.
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1376_Replay_Of_Episode_435-_COMM_16_03-040922.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Wed, 4 May 2022
OFI 1375: A "Showmanship Freak" Having Great Success | FFA SAE Edition | Pacee Miller | West Homes High School FFA
Today's guest is a self-professed "showmanship freak". Showing livestock in jackpot shows and fairs is Pacee Miller's "thing". She talks about getting everything perfect and striving to be the best in the ring, and this has come true for her on more than one occasion. Pacee is a young lady who has a passion for agriculture, and more specifically, cattle. As soon as she finishes up school for the day she heads to a local dairy farm where she feeds bottle calves every evening as an after school job. When she finishes up there, she heads to one of two locations of her families farm to help her father with their herd of beef cattle. Currently they are breeding cattle through artificial insemination. They run several different lines of show cattle, and Pacee helps to synchronize all of their estrus cycles so they can all be bred simultaneously. She is hoping to earn her AI certification through the FFA next year. Once the work is done at that location, Pacee heads home where she keeps the livestock that she will be showing during the current or upcoming show season. She has a few head of cattle there that she has chosen to take into the ring. She also keeps two goats and two pigs that she will also show. Hearing about all of her experience with cattle, you might think that beef is where it all started for Pacee. However, in the interview she tells us that she actually began her showing career with one pig. It has all built from that first animal. Pacee is currently ranked in the top four proficiencies for beef entrepreneurship in the State of Ohio. She will find out on May 5th, if she wins state! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Beef Production HIGH SCHOOL: West Holmes High School; Millersburg, Ohio MASCOT: Knights FFA ADVISOR: Jaime Chenevey CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PACEE MILLER: Click on the picture below to be taken to the West Holmes High School website: Pacee's FFA Advisor's Email Address: jchenevey@westholmes.org West Holmes High School Telephone Number: (330) 674-6085 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1375_Pacee_Miller-COMM_12_41-042322.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Tue, 3 May 2022
OFI 1374: Finding The Next Boise - Rapid City, South Dakota Is The #1 Emerging Housing Market Of 2022
I talked about "finding the next Boise" on episode #1152 and have spoken about Rapid City, SD being one of these possibilities in the past. This article demonstrates that was true. https://www.realtor.com/research/april-2022-wsj-rdc-emerging-housing-markets-index/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1374_Tuesday_Episode_-_5222_3.49_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |
Mon, 2 May 2022
OFI #1373: A Cattleman About Four Years Ahead Of Schedule | FFA SAE Edition | Caden Delaney | Paris FFA
I don't make too many predictions on this show, but every now and then I interview an FFA student and can see that all the ingredients for great success are present. Today's interview with Caden Delaney is one of those moments. I first found out about Caden through an article stating that he had won a regional proficiency award in forage production. This interested me, as I have seen a lot of great entrepreneurship SAE's start this way and lead to a custom haying business, etc. I reached out to Caden's FFA advisor and requested an interview. They accepted and then signed up, filling out the form that I send to all guests on the show. As I was prepping for the interview I saw that Caden was just in the 9th grade! I immediately wondered if this was a typo, as I am not used to seeing 9th graders achieve at the level of winning proficiency awards. Caden's grade in school was one of the first things that I confirmed with him prior to beginning the interview. As we started talking about his project and agricultural background, it became apparent that Caden was sophisticated well beyond his grade level. As he explained the selection of the Shorthorn breed of cattle that he raises with his sister it all became clear. Caden told me that phenotypically the Shorthorn cows that he has look sound for breeding, but he uses an Angus bull with a low birth weight EPD on the first calf heifers because the Shorthorns that he has don't rank as well as he would like in calving ease. My mind was blown! This was information that I did not learn until well into college, and the sophistication of knowledge that Caden had just kept pouring forth. I asked Caden how he had learned all of this already, and it was apparent that he has such a love for cattle and agriculture that he is consuming as much information as he possibly can. This, in combination with being able to go out to his own cattle and apply the book knowledge that he had been reading about, really has him functioning at a very high level as a 9th grader, when you would just be expecting him to just be getting his feet wet. It is still very early in Caden's FFA career, and he will choose the path that is correct for him. However, I believe that if he continues to demonstrate this kind of passion for his SAE's, and he continues to compete for proficiency awards that he has an excellent chance of being an American Star Finalist and even the American Star Farmer in five or six years! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Forage Production HIGH SCHOOL: E.W. Grove High School; Paris, Tennessee MASCOT: Patriots FFA ADVISOR: Laura Moss CONTACT INFORMATION FOR CADEN DELANEY: Click on the picture below to be taken to the E.W. Grove High School website: Caden's FFA Advisor's Email Address: mossl@henryk12.net E.W. High School Telephone Number: (731) 642-9733 FFA LINKS: Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) 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:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: Off_Farm_Income--Episode_1373_Caden_Delaney-COMM_14_04-042122.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MDT |