Wed, 30 November 2022
OFI 1555: 6 Months Later, Now In College And A National Proficiency Finalist | FFA SAE Edition | Lila Wantland | Niangua High School FFA
Lila Wantland is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist, a former chapter and area officer and a second time guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast. Lisa first appeared on the show in episode #1393 in May of 2022, and little did either of us know at that point that she would become a National Proficiency Finalist this year. On today's show Lila joins us from her dorm room at Oklahoma State University, where she is studying animal science. I wanted to have her back on the show to congratulate her on the incredible accomplishment.
Direct download: Lila_Wantland_Episode_1555_-_111022_3.18_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Tue, 29 November 2022
We did something very different for Thanksgiving this year. We took a trip to Moab, Utah and spent the holiday with friends, rather than family. We then returned to a snowy farm to kick off the Christmas season! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1554_Tuesday_Episode_-_112822_12.49_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Mon, 28 November 2022
OFI 1553: Driving Combine, Butchering Meat And "Super Trucking" | FFA SAE Edition | Will Harman | Benton Central Jr./Sr. High School FFA
Will Harman is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Beef Production. Will farms with his family in Northwest Indiana where they grow corn and soybeans as well as raise cattle. The families cattle herd began with show animals for 4H, but as time went on and Will and his brother Ben were showing less, it turned into a direct marketing beef business. Will's older brother Ben was a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in 2018 in episode #518. Today he is a senior in college, and Will is in his first semester of college. Will is studying agricultural business with a minor in animal science at Purdue. He is looking forward to a future of returning to the family farm, if that is possible. He joked in the interview that if he does that he will have to learn to drive a semi and become a "super trucker". Ben is also interested in becoming a butcher, and he is currently doing everything he can to get exposure to that profession.
Direct download: Will_Harman_Episode_1553_-_11922_1.44_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Sat, 26 November 2022
Tip Of The Week Horrifically evil and violent crimes exist today, and they have always been with us. Rural Crime In The U.S. Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/farm-thefts-what-you-can-do-to-protect-yourself/ Africa https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/cattle-farmers-in-nkomazi-fearful-after-30-cattle-are-stolen/ https://newsghana.com.gh/cameroon-deploys-troops-to-secure-border-with-chad-and-car/ https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/82083-mob-lynches-suspected-thieves-burn-vehicle Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.kltv.com/video/2022/11/19/man-survives-being-trapped-grain-bin/
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1552_Rural_Crime_-_112222_10.31_AM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Fri, 25 November 2022
Pete Curran began his career in agriculture at age 55 after a job loss. He began working in seed sales and started meeting farmers. This lit him on fire about agriculture, farming operations and farmers. Soon, he was doing something unconventional, asking farmers if he could take photographs of them. This led to a collection of photos and ultimately his book, "When I Listened To A Farmer". I discovered Pete through social media, and he sent me a copy of his book. The photographs that he has been able to capture with just an iPhone are fantastic, and he clearly has an eye for telling a story through a lens. The writing style in the book is unique and makes you think. As Pete explains it, this is exactly how he communicates, and it works.
Direct download: Pete_Curran_Episode_1551_-_11222_6.18_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Thu, 24 November 2022
I have a ton of gratitude for all of you, and thank you so much for being in this audience. Happy Thanksgiving! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1550_Thanksgiving_-_112222_2.57_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Wed, 23 November 2022
OFI 1549: Filling What Is Missing On The Farm | FFA SAE Edition | Justin Duenke | Audrain County FFA
Justin Duenke is a 2022 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Diversified Agriculture. Growing up farming on a row crop operation, his family decided to add cattle to the farm when he was 9 years old. During a bad drought and seeing very poor corn out in the field, Justin's father made the decision to chop the corn for silage rather than try to sell it, and to feed it to their cattle. The only problem was that they did not have cattle, but they remedied that by purchase approximately 100 bred heifers. Since that time they have stuck with the cattle, partially as a continuing hedge against a situation like this in the future and partially because Justin and his brother found their farming passion came from working with the livestock. Today they raise horses and cattle, grow soybeans and corn and are now experimenting with forage sorghum and rye as cover crops. Justin is currently a sophomore at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri. He is studying agricultural science but which eventually focus on nutrition. Justin wants to have the knowledge that will allow him to bring nutritional expertise back to the farm and to develop rations and methods to better feed their cattle.
Direct download: Justin_Duenke_Episode_1549_-_11822_6.37_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Tue, 22 November 2022
Happy Thanksgiving Week to all of you! On today's solo episode, I want to take some time to thank our great sponsors! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1548_Tuesday_Episode_-_112122_6.39_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Mon, 21 November 2022
OFI 1547: The Emergence Of An FFA Leader | FFA SAE Edition | Annamarie Stone | Centralia High School FFA
Annamarie Stone is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of diversified livestock production. She is also a Missouri State Officer and three time guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast. On today's episode Annamarie comes back on the show so I can property congratulate her on being a national proficiency finalist and being a state officer. All of us here at the Off-Farm Income Podcast are very proud of what Annamarie has been doing.
Direct download: Annamarie_Stone_Episode_1547_-_11322_2.36_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Sat, 19 November 2022
Tip Of The Week The more exotic the animal, the higher the risk? Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.ksal.com/flatbed-stolen-with-1-2-of-a-hay-bale/ https://www.webstercountycitizen.com/opinion/article_fb4be72a-653e-11ed-a71f-0ba7e2e22c77.html https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/11/16/some-10000-mink-loose-missing-after-vandalism-rural-farm/ https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/have-ewe-seen-this-sheep-illinois-boys-1st-4-h-project-stolen/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-63649938 Africa https://allafrica.com/stories/202211160392.html https://issafrica.org/iss-today/no-silver-bullet-to-stop-cattle-rustling-in-east-africa https://solacebase.com/troops-kill-dreaded-bandit-leader-kachalla-gudau/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.sequimgazette.com/news/coastal-farm-store-burglars-receive-6-and-10-year-sentences/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1546_Rural_Crime_-_111822_1.13_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Fri, 18 November 2022
OFI 1545: How To Get Paid Internships & Land The Ag Career You Have Envisioned | Ross Cady | Former Prophetstown FFA Member
Ross Cady is a territory manager for Corteva Agriscience in South Central Minnesota. Ross first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast 7.5 years ago in 2015 on episode #27. He was one of the first ever FFA students featured on the show. Since then he completed high school, was an Illinois State Star Finalist, graduated from Iowa State University and found the job that he had always been imagining with Corteva Agriscience. In today's episode Ross and I catch up on 7.5 years of life, we discuss the four internships he did during college and how they helped shape him, and we discuss how he identified the career position he wanted and then reverse engineered the pathway to obtaining that job - which he did!
Direct download: Ross_Cady_Episode_1545_-_11122_4.11_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Thu, 17 November 2022
OFI 1544: Blogging For Agriculture | FFA SAE Edition | Ross Cady | Prophetstown High School | Re-Cap Episode
Ross Cady was first a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in 2017 on Episode #027. He is appearing on the show again on tomorrow's Ag Business Episode, seven years later. He is now a college graduate and has just started his career as a territory sales manager for Pioneer in Southern Minnesota. I could not be more excited for him or proud to feature him on the show again. To give you an accurate before and after picture, we will replay his original episode today.
Direct download: OFI_1544_Re-Cap_Episode_-_111622_3.57_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Wed, 16 November 2022
OFI 1543: Integrity And Passion In Production Ag | FFA SAE Edition | Evan Mogler | West Lyon High School FFA
Evan Mogler is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Diversified Agricultural Production. He is also a senior in high school and a fantastic mechanic with plans to develop a myriad of mechanical skills from service to software, exclusively on John Deere Tractors. Currently Evan farms with his family on their 3rd generation farm in Inwood, Iowa. Evan assists the family and 40-50 farm employees with their 4,800 sows and 100,000 annual market hogs, the 6,000 head of cattle they run through their feedlot and the row crop operation that fills the 2.5 million bushels of grain storage they have on the farm. Evan's plan after high school is study for two years, to develop his expertise on John Deere Equipment, which is exclusively what is used on the family farm. He then hopes to go to work for the John Deere Dealership his family does business with as a mechanic until the time is right for him to take over the mechanic role on the farm.
Direct download: Evan_Mogler_Episode_1543_-_11222_7.11_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Tue, 15 November 2022
Today I was listening to a radio show, and they were commenting on a TikTok Video in which an individual stated that there is no way to live on less than $25/hour in the U.S. with current cost of living averages. This got me thinking about another topic I have touched on in the past, and that is how lucky those of us with a rural mindset are because we can live so cheaply in so many rural areas. It also got me thinking about the common refrain about college tuition being so high and outrageous student loan debt compared to the reality that I encountered at the National FFA Convention. On today's show I want to cover these thoughts more in depth. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1542_Tuesday_Episode_-_111422_7.16_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Mon, 14 November 2022
OFI 1541: A Great Chicken Business & National Proficiency Finalist | FFA SAE Edition | Morayah Cupp | Imperial FFA
Morayah Cupp is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of e Services. She is also an Agricultural Education student at Oklahoma State University and the owner of Mo's Mobile Coops, an innovative chicken rental business outside of Imperial, Nebraska. Morayah first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in 2020 on episode #815. Today she is back to discuss her selection as a National Proficiency Finalist and the experience she just completed at the 95th National FFA Convention.
Direct download: Morayah_Cupp_Episode_1541_-_11122_4.27_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Sat, 12 November 2022
If you employ people, even seasonally, you should know something about domestic violence. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Hay-I-91-exit-tractor-trailer-Hartford-17558670.php Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/farm-fencing-vandalised-as-trailers-stolen-9283200/ https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/police-probe-launched-after-life-28441134 https://www.facebook.com/groups/756119108133221/permalink/1523888154689642/ Africa https://www.kbc.co.ke/police-net-hundreds-of-stolen-livestock-as-crackdown-on-rustling-intensifies/ https://www.thebharatexpressnews.com/police-ambushed-gang-of-20-who-set-traps-for-officers/ https://mouthpiecengr.com/2022/11/unemployed-man-jailed-9-months-for-stealing-2-goats/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/delphos-man-jailed-vehicular-assault-004500960.html
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1540_Rural_Crime_Episode_-_111022_5.20_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Fri, 11 November 2022
James McMurtry is a songwriter, singer and musician who has been writing incredible lyrics since the 1980's and touring the country entertaining audiences ever since. I have had tickets to see James for months with a show date of October 25th for several months. I reached out to James' business manager and made the request for an interview, and James graciously said "yes". So, during the afternoon prior to the show I sat down with James in his hotel room and learned a lot about music and song writing.
Direct download: James_McMurtry_Episode_1539_-_102522_5.32_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Thu, 10 November 2022
OFI 1538: Writing Songs About Your Farming Roots | Erik Dylan | The Flatland Country Boy | Re-Cap Episode
Erik Dylan is a singer and songwriter who has written some of my favorite songs such as "Baseball On The Moon", which he collaborated with Luke Combs on, and "Map Dot Town". He first appeared on the show in episode #471 and was gracious enough to agree to an interview. On tomorrow's show I am featuring another great songwriter and performer. This episode with Erik flows into tomorrow's episode very well, and I am happy to bring some great music back to the Off-Farm Income Podcast.
Direct download: OFI_1538_Re-Cap_Of_471_-_11922_7.46_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Wed, 9 November 2022
OFI 1537: Starting A Business During Covid | FFA SAE Edition | Cydney Stables | Amity High School FFA
Cydney Stables is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Agricultural Sales Entrepreneurship. She achieved this by starting a floral business her junior year of high school that she calls "Flowers By Cydney". Cydney states that this was during the Covid Pandemic, and 80% of the reason she started this business was that she wanted to make people feel a bit better during very tough times. Cydney is currently a sophomore at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa where she plays guard on the basketball team and is also a scholarship athlete on the golf team. Cydney played basketball all through high school, which led to her being recruited by Graceland Univeristy, but she did not start golfing until her senior year of high school. However, she picked up the sport so fast that she made it to state that year and Graceland also asked her to play golf for them.
Direct download: Cydney_Stables_Episode_1537_-_102022_3.21_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Tue, 8 November 2022
There is a lot going on, on our farm, and here is a bullet list of today's topics:
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1536_Tuesday_Episode_-_11722_6.30_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Mon, 7 November 2022
OFI 1535: On The Path To Building Big Tractors | FFA SAE Edition | Trentin Doss | East Buchanan High School FFA
Trentin Doss is the owner of Doss Repairs and a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of Agricultural Mechanics Repair & Maintenance. He is a senior at East Buchanan High School in Gower, Missouri. Trentin will be heading to the National FFA Convention for the very first time this year to find out if he becomes the National Proficiency Winner. Trentin has been repairing other people's engines since he was 11 years old, and over time he has progressed into larger equipment and more sophisticated repair techniques. When Trentin finishes high school in 2023 he has his sights set on becoming an mechanical engineer and building large tractors for companies like John Deere or New Holland, etc.
Direct download: Trentin_Doss_Episode_1535_-_101922_6.16_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Sat, 5 November 2022
Tip Of The Week Plan ahead for potentially contentious situations Rural Crime In The U.S. Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.farminguk.com/news/livestock-rustlers-steal-18-cattle-from-farm-near-wrexham_61448.html Africa Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.dailybulletin.com/2022/10/29/man-arrested-on-suspicion-of-stealing-1000-in-hay/
More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:
Direct download: OFI_1534_Rural_Crime_-_11422_7.16_PM.mp3
Category:rural crime -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Fri, 4 November 2022
OFI 1533: If You Want To Farm, This Interview Is Essential To Your Success | Farmer Lee Jones | The Chef’s Garden
Farmer Lee Jones is a lifelong farmer, regenerative farming expert and innovative entrepreneur. Along with his brother, Bob, Lee owns and operates his families farm on land that has been his families farm twice. Everything you need to know about how to succeed in your personal quest to farm, i.e. perseverance, entrepreneurship, vision, goal setting and valuing people is in this episode. The Jones farm has existed for over 50 years, has been auctioned off and then risen again to grow to great levels of success. The principles discussed in this interview are essential for any person who has farming as a goal in their life.
Direct download: Farmer_Lee_Jones_Episode_1533_-_101922_5.58_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Thu, 3 November 2022
OFI 1532: The Logistics Of Selling Beef Direct To Restaurants | Hanna Laney | Laney Family Farms | Re-Cap Episode
Hanna Laney sells beef direct to restaurants in the Portland, Oregon area and first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in episode #784. Today I'm bringing this episode back to highlight this method of farm business sustainability and tie in with tomorrow's ag business episode.
Direct download: OFI_1532_Re-Cap_Of_784_-_11322_3.24_PM.mp3
Category:farming -- posted at: 3:44pm MST |
Wed, 2 November 2022
OFI 1531: How To Make The College Livestock Judging Team | FFA SAE Edition | Gracie Minyard | Franklin County High School FFA
Gracie Minyard is a 2022 National Proficiency Finalist in the category of agricultural sales & entrepreneurship, the 2022 Georgia State Star in Agribusiness, a national delegate to the National FFA Convention and she is on the livestock judging team at Blinn College in Denham, Texas. Gracie is also an entrepreneur and the owner of Gracie's Market, which she started the summer between her 8th and 9th Grade years. Today, Gracie has two produce stands, has just started selling her own value added products and has visions of more locations and a larger business after she finishes her Agriculture Business degree in college.
Direct download: Gracie_Minyard_Episode_1531_-_101822_4.21_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |
Tue, 1 November 2022
We are back to the farm and the simplicity of the farm life, but for three days last week my world was a whirlwind! A greater professional honor has never been bestowed upon me, and there are so many people to thank. In today's episode I want to re-cap the experience for you.
Direct download: OFI_1530_Tuesday_Episode_-_103122_3.59_PM.mp3
Category:FFA -- posted at: 12:30am MST |