For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

Wilmington College is a private university located in the heart of Ohio Horse Country.  It boats a significant agricultural program and two separate university farms, one devoted just to horses.  On today's episode Professor Daren Wright, the Director of the Equine Program, joins me to talk all about the college as well as the equine program specifically.  We will also discuss the way that the scholarships at Wilmington work, and how this private institution stays competitive with public universities on cost.  

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Tip Of The Week

It’s not hard to get signage or a uniform

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.facebook.com/183151455376856/posts/pfbid02P2tzkAuJQDeJQoAGY6DSGoipdE1MRNegwPWe5bLpn1xEP7KX7AGfpB35ap3iXFihl/?mibextid=cr9u03

https://www.kxxv.com/news/law-enforcement-searches-for-answers-after-burglary-in-madison-county

https://q1065.fm/tractor-stolen-from-greenway-equipment-in-hermon/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farminguk.com/news/police-find-lamb-in-back-of-a-car-alongside-10-000-worth-of-drugs_62483.html?fbclid=IwAR0zsrbUGgX9fRW4HFpysPF6AP-zgs3r5IH6I9CwBFO4v_y-z-k7YCF9nF0

https://www.armaghi.com/news/portadown-news/farmer-fears-cattle-stolen-from-field-in-portadown/208451

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/man-broke-into-fruit-machine-after-spending-familys-holiday-money-at-the-bar/ar-AA1appt8

Africa

https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/more-than-18-000-people-prosecuted-for-stock-theft-in-five-years-bheki-cele-6f25e696-a9bc-4988-a8d6-847a77efa427

https://www.kbc.co.ke/news/top-story/article/38259/bandits-have-no-place-in-kenya-kindiki-tells-senators

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.facebook.com/100076447704733/posts/pfbid0dK9aGtzSGRHXTeZLr9AXHwwY6punaWMkEo3fchTCWJ21xEzReVgKZWUVd77ndowBl/?mibextid=cr9u03

https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/rush-county/rush-county-man-arrested-after-stealing-more-than-47-000-in-soybeans-and-corn

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/48789656/corry-man-charged-for-selling-stolen-tractor

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Tyler Schake is the owner of T&T Mobile Washing.  Growing up farming, Tyler always took pride in, and got very good at washing the farm equipment.  In his mid-20's he came to the realization that he wanted to go out on his own, and working on the family farm was no longer the right fit for him.  At about the same time Tyler and his wife had their first son, and he knew that his responsibilities in life were increasing.

It was at this point that Tyler took the thing that he had developed a passion for on the farm, washing equipment, and turned it into a business.  Starting with just a pickup, box trailer and pressure washer Tyler is now running three trucks, 7 full time employees and serving an area with a radius of about 275 miles.  He is cleaning combines and other farm equipment for dealerships and farmers, and he is doing fleet cleaning for trucking companies.

In today's interview Tyler talks a lot about what he experienced when he decided to start his own business.  Also, he educates me quite a bit on the reasons why a mobile washing business like his is so valuable to trucking companies.  We talk a lot about entrepreneurship and a lot about this great business.

On tomorrow's ag business episode I am speaking with an agricultural entrepreneur who has taken "cleaning" to a whole new level.  I thought this interview with Sean Westergaard from 2016 about his gutter cleaning business was the perfect lead in.

Adam Johnson is the chapter president of the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.  He is also the 2022 Minnesota State Proficiency winner in the category of poultry production and a 2022 National Silver Award winner.

During his time in high school Adam has been raising meat chickens during the summer for his supervised agricultural experience.  He has been using the pastured poultry model and chicken tractor model taught by Joel Salatin, with a twist.  Adam and his family do all of the butchering of the birds, and they use a cylindrical chicken plucker to remove the feathers.  However, they found that there were still small feathers to be pulled and pin feathers to be burnt off of the birds, even after doing that.  That is a very time consuming process.

To remedy this extra time that is needed, Adam and his family started skinning the birds to circumvent the need for this process.  Of course, there will be customers who want the skin on the birds.  So, they have shifted their business model to finding customers who want the birds skinned.  This has worked, and now they have altered their operation so it serves everyone equally.

In today's episode I have a short farm update and some thoughts about why having a horrible job as a teenager is so valuable.  I'll even tell you a story from a job I had when I was 14 years old.

Plus, and update on the growth of my community.  Here is the link to the article that I read:

https://www.ktvb.com/mobile/article/news/local/growing-idaho/kuna-population-explosion-mayor-joe-stear-growth-schools-fire-services/277-096af5b1-6b53-4125-946d-d65a4027f071

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Lillie Cagle is the newly elected Tennessee FFA State Sentinel, and former East Tennessee Regional FFA President.  She is also the chapter president of the Bledsoe County FFA and a senior in high school.

Lillie has a very unique story of how she came to be involved in the FFA.  From the age of 12 -14 Lillie had some major responsibilities in her family, and even though her family raises cattle and she lives in an agricultural community she had not given any thought to the FFA or even knew what it stood for.  However, around the beginning of her freshman year of high school those family responsibilities came to an end, and she was left kind of wondering what to do with her newly discovered free time.  That is when the then president of the Bledsoe FFA Chapter invited her to an FFA meeting and told her that he thought it would be good for her.  Nothing has been the same since.

Lillie has started an agricultural education project called "Ag Across The Board" aimed at teaching elementary students across the State Of Tennessee about agriculture.  She has even run a summer camp to teach about agriculture and received upwards of $15,000 in donations to purchase a trailer and be a mobile agricultural education resource.  Lillie is making a huge difference in the world of agriculture, and after hearing this interview you will think so too!

For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

Caitlin Alba, Recruitment Specialist with the Univeristy Of Wisconsin Stevens Point, joins me on the show today.  Stevens Point, Wisconsin is located right in the middle of the state, and I have interviewed multiple students from Wisconsin and surrounding states who have chose this university to study forestry, fisheries and natural resources.  I have been excited to profile them since I started this episode, and today we finally get to do so.  

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Tip Of The Week

If You Are Armed, Be Responsible And Learn How To Handle Fear - a new tactic for animal right's activists is spreading, and this does not mean that you can just start shooting.

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/police-urge-local-farmers-to-be-alert-for-suspicious-activity-on-farms-animals/71-e3b58ab1-a6a7-425a-bb6d-9a348416a9ff

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/man-charged-with-assault-during-horses-medical-procedure-at-ohio-state/

https://www.facebook.com/100041702812369/posts/pfbid0EtTAimhczPhRaQKYpjq9iHDGZu8jQNKAxaTPYt7sfNf9gjynzZ9CNnvweE2V5AGZl/?mibextid=cr9u03

https://www.facebook.com/tscra/photos/a.10151880629109687/10160446777279687/

(prosecuted for cattle embezzlement in Oklahoma in 2018)

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2023/04/15/arrest-made-after-herd-of-cows-stolen-from-farm-found-120-miles-away/

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumberland-farm-man-jailed-trailer-26730849?int_source=nba

https://www.staffordshire.police.uk/news/staffordshire/news/2023/april/appeal-after-more-than-400-tree-saplings-stolen/

https://www.farmersjournal.ie/over-20-sheep-stolen-in-donegal-761240

Africa

https://www.blueprint.ng/man-jailed-for-stealing-one-yam-gets-niger-cjs-leniency/

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/dallas-fort-worth/ap-top-news/2023/04/20/cattle-raiding-by-jihadis-soars-in-mali-fuels-conflict

https://www.namibian.com.na/farmers-urged-to-stop-hiring-zambians-as-cattle-herders/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.kalb.com/2023/04/19/alexandria-man-arrested-theft-poland-community/

https://www.foxnews.com/us/utah-registered-sex-offender-arrested-after-dressing-up-elmo-around-kids-farmers-market-police

This is BJS’s first recidivism study on sex offenders with a 9-year follow-up period. Fewer than half of released sex offenders were arrested for any crime within the first 3 years of release, while more than two-thirds were arrested within 9 years. - https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/press/rsorsp9yfu0514pr.pdf

https://vault.si.com/vault/1999/09/13/every-parents-nightmare-the-child-molester-has-found-a-home-in-the-world-of-youth-sports-where-as-a-coach-he-can-gain-the-trust-and-loyalty-of-kids-and-then-prey-on-them

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Jerry Stephens is the Northern Plains, Regional Sales Manager of Agoro Carbon, and in today's episode he will be talking to us about getting paid to sequester carbon on your farm.

Today's episode is one of those in which I need to give a disclaimer before beginning.  Agoro Carbon is not a sponsor of the Off-Farm Income Podcast, and they did not pay me to record this episode.  Also, they are not a prospective advertiser.  I agreed to have them on the show today because what they are offering might be a source of revenue for you that can help you to achieve and sustain the lifestyle in farming or ranching that you are seeking.

Carbon offsets are a hot topic, and farmers hold some of the best possibilities of capturing carbon through the practices they use on their farms and ranches.  Agoro Carbon works in the area of voluntary carbon sequestration, meaning that there is no government involvement, and none of their buyers are compelled by the government to participate.

In today's episode I strive to have the conversation with Jerry that you would have, if you were considering working with Agoro Carbon to sequester carbon on your farm and to generate a new source of revenue.

Tomorrow's ag business episode is featuring a way of creating extra revenue on your farm.  This may be a fit for some of you and not a fit for others, but I like to bring these ideas forward for you to do your own research and find out if they would be helpful to you.  For our re-cap episode today I went back into the archives and found this interview with Ryan Conklin talking about another possible revenue source on your farm.

Casey DeVries is the "Test Plot Chairman" for the Forreston FFA Chapter in Forreston, Illinois.  If that is a title you have never heard of before, it was also a new one for me.  Casey's family has been farming in the Forreston area since 1948 when his great grandfather purchased farmland there.  Today some of their land sits across the road from the high school.  So, during Casey's freshman year he suggested doing test plots of corn in that field to compare varieties and provide the agriculture department a way to do hands on learning.  The project stuck and is still doing four years later, and will continue after Casey leaves high school.

Casey and his family have a large farm and a large shop.  Working on machinery and engines in the shop is a significant part of keeping the farm going.  So, Casey has been doing something mechanical since around age 5.  When it came time for an SAE, he decided to challenge himself.  He purchased an old tractor, brought home and tore it all apart.  He restored the transmission, the rear end and even painted it himself.  And then he marketed it on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.  Within one week it was sold to a gentleman in Wisconsin!

Forget the past, focus on the future?  Is it all or one.  Did I invent a metaphor.  You will find all of this out and get a detailed farm update on today's episode.  Also, what is the "DIY Death Trap"?

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Rylee Terveen is her FFA Chapter's President, a national Bronze Proficiency Award winner and a driven entrepreneur.  Growing up in a family of agricultural entrepreneurs, Rylee knows what direction she wants to take for her future career.  She will be graduating high school this year, and then it is off to South Dakota State University to study entrepreneurship.

There is a family business already established that Rylee can move into.  As a matter of fact, she plans on taking it over along with her sister and running their families hunting lodge.  However, it is a seasonal business, and, maybe more importantly, it is not of Rylee's making.  Rylee knows she wants to be self-employed, and she knows that she wants to create something of her own.  So, when college is done and when it is time to move into her career, she will be forming a business based on the knowledge she already has and the knowledge that she has yet to gain.

For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

On today's episode Dr. Doug Ullrich, a professor in and chair of the School of Agricultural Sciences at Sam Houston State University is joining me.  Sam Houston State is located in Huntsville, Texas and as Dr. Ullrich describes it houses a very pragmatic, working class type of student seeking four year degrees in agriculture.  A very interesting opportunity popped up during this interview, and that was working with exotic animal species from Africa, Asia and the Middle East as a result of an agreement that Sam Houston State University has with a "high fence game ranch" in the area.  There are certainly unique opportunities at Sam Houston State, and this is another example of a pathway to the agricultural career that you are seeking.

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Tip Of The Week

Money can disappear very fast

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article274240930.html

https://bluebonnetnews.com/2023/04/12/montgomery-county-sheriffs-office-seeking-tips-for-stolen-tractor-trailer-in-cleveland/

https://www.kait8.com/2023/04/12/stolen-fertilizer-truck-found-submerged-ditch/

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farmwatcher.co.uk/alerts/man-arrested-and-charged-after-£70k-machinery-theft-in-aberdeenshire?utm_campaign=171d27cd-18d0-44e6-82a9-21722119cf7d&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=2a9cfada-76bc-4efd-8b52-0c6a560c9d01

https://www.youngwitness.com.au/story/8155933/fears-for-20-two-week-old-stolen-ostrich-chicks/

https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/1084978/kildare-gardai-investigating-after-horse-transporter-and-puppies-stolen.html

Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65221387

https://chimpreports.com/dokolo-prison-escapee-killed-by-mob/

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-04-12-kinangop-farmers-angry-over-theft-of-livestock-farm-produce/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://houstonherald.com/2023/04/man-indicted-on-theft-of-timber-on-mark-twain-national-forest/

https://tscra.org/man-faces-felony-charges-in-robertson-county-cattle-theft-case/?fbclid=IwAR3WmRMOCk-9Cp9aM5Gk0QSV8Mey1-jzaqMGtegT9DHBhmSuXveqJNjAk4w&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

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Mark & Marcia Ruff are production agriculture farmers in Ohio and the owners of at least three businesses that compliment their farm.  Along with their three children and all of their, year round employees, they are farming 4,000 acres of wheat, soybeans and corn.  This all started back in 1997 when they knew they wanted to farm, and took a leap of faith with Mark leaving his full-time, city job to focus just on farming.  Back then they were leasing approximately 300 acres.

Today, Mark and Marcia have proven themselves very capable both in the world of farming and in small business  So much so, that opportunities literally come knocking on their door.  They have a container loading facility on their property now and run this business for farmers in their community, and, as Mark describes in the interview, he didn't know anything about container loading until some folks showed up as his door and proposed the idea.

In this day and age people will tell you that there is no way to get started farming without inheriting land or being independently wealthy when you begin.  However, Mark and Marcia are living proof that this is not correct.  Today's interview with each of them will inspire you and leave you with no excuses if you truly want to farm.

On tomorrow's ag business episode I am speaking a couple who started their farm from scratch in 1997 and have grown it to 4,000 acres.  They say it can't be done, but tomorrow we are proving them wrong!

This episode with Matt Kellog, talking about different niches for farmers at all levels is the perfect tie in for tomorrow's show.

Kyleigh Lock is just a sophomore in high school, but has accomplished a lot in just a short period of time.  She is already her chapter's president and a district officer, and she has one several proficiency awards at the area and district levels.  She is completely devoted to the FFA and to agriculture and it shows.  When I asked her if she had any activities outside of the FFA, her answer was "yes, in the 4H", which made me chuckle.

Kyleigh is trying to build up her show string of heifers with superior genetics and phenotypes so that she can find success at larger and larger shows.  However, obtaining heifers is not a cheap thing to do, so she has gotten creative.  She has entered and succeeded at multiple different calf scrambles to obtain the show heifer she is ultimately looking for.

Kyleigh has already mapped out a pathway to becoming a veterinarian, and she already knows that she wants to open her own practice in the future.  Something about her work ethic tells me that she is going to make it happen!

Hi everyone, I get to do something on today's episode that you have given me the privilege of doing.  I am reviewing a product that a manufacturer sent to me for free in exchange for me testing and reviewing it.  The product is the "Chickcozy" automatic chicken coop door, and I am giving it five stars!  This product has been in use on my farm for several weeks now, and I have been able to check it every night, in the middle of the night while I'm looking after our goats who are kidding.  Every night it is closed, not one chicken has been locked out of the coop and no predators can get into the coop to kill our chickens.  Then the next morning when I get up, the chickens are out in the run, hunting and pecking.

The "Chickcozy" has worked just as I had hoped it would, and it has taken one little thing, that sometimes seemed like a big thing, off of my daily workload.  I no longer have to make two trips a day to the chicken coop to let out or lock up chickens.  And, even if that is not a big deal for you, the "Chickcozy" will act as a failsafe for you on those rare occasions that you forget!

You all know that you are my priority, and I would not recommend a product to you if I had not used it and believed it was worth the money.  I can say that both of those things are true in the case of the "chickcozy".  You can find the "Chickcozy" at https://chickcozy.com/.

In addition to my produce recommendation on today's show, I'll be talking about equipment breaking down, equipment getting fixed and the never ending process of the kidding season!  Happy Spring and Happy Easter everyone...

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Hi everyone, I get to do something on today's episode that you have given me the privilege of doing.  I am reviewing a product that a manufacturer sent to me for free in exchange for me testing and reviewing it.  The product is the "Chickcozy" automatic chicken coop door, and I am giving it five stars!  This product has been in use on my farm for several weeks now, and I have been able to check it every night, in the middle of the night while I'm looking after our goats who are kidding.  Every night it is closed, not one chicken has been locked out of the coop and no predators can get into the coop to kill our chickens.  Then the next morning when I get up, the chickens are out in the run, hunting and pecking.

The "Chickcozy" has worked just as I had hoped it would, and it has taken one little thing, that sometimes seemed like a big thing, off of my daily workload.  I no longer have to make two trips a day to the chicken coop to let out or lock up chickens.  And, even if that is not a big deal for you, the "Chickcozy" will act as a failsafe for you on those rare occasions that you forget!

You all know that you are my priority, and I would not recommend a product to you if I had not used it and believed it was worth the money.  I can say that both of those things are true in the case of the "chickcozy".  You can find the "Chickcozy" at https://chickcozy.com/.

In addition to my produce recommendation on today's show, I'll be talking about equipment breaking down, equipment getting fixed and the never ending process of the kidding season!  Happy Spring and Happy Easter everyone...

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Daniel Laurent is a sophomore at Caldwell County High School, but he might as well be an instructor already when it comes to the breeding and showing of pigs.  He is just in his second year of the FFA, officially, but all of his four older siblings were in the FFA and he has been talking and getting FFA experiences for the past 13 years since his eldest sister joined.

Daniel has a passion for animal agriculture, which has been apparent his entire life.  When he was 8 years old he did his own research and told his father that he thought they should change their entire pig breeding operation from Yorkshires to Duroc's.  He has his argument well thought out and documented, and eventually, this happened.

Today Daniel gets more excitement out of seeing a 10 year old kid win in the show ring with a Laurent pig than he does actually winning himself.  He loves the process of matching up the correct pigs phenotypically and genotypically and then seeing the success it brings.  All of this, and he still does not even have a driver's license!

For Information Like Degrees Offered, Annual Costs, Etc., Please Click The Banner Below:

The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  Thisepisode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

On today's episode I am joined by Deana Core, an Assistant Dean in the College Of Agriculture as well as Caitlin Parks, a junior and College Of Agriculture Ambassador.  I am definitely excited for any student who is going to attend Kansas State University and study agriculture after this interview, and you will be too!

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Tip Of The Week

Planting season is coming, is your GPS equipment secure?

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.wbtw.com/news/state-regional-news/horse-gambling-bill-beats-long-odds-passes-south-carolina-house/

https://apnews.com/article/technology-education-lotteries-journalism-893a47d6d48f08d013d9e9374ca11ea1

https://www.kwch.com/2023/04/06/sheridan-county-sheriff-says-80-cattle-missing-near-hoxie/

https://www.eunicetoday.com/public-safety/antique-tractor-stolen-palmetto-area-field

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/fife-crime-kelty-farmer-devastated-after-16-lambs-killed-and-four-injured-in-dog-attack-on-blairadam-farm-4096208

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-65209163

https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/23439608.isle-wight-dog-attack-sees-sheep-killed-compensation-paid/

https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/23421080.wrexham-family-distraught-goat-suspected-stolen/

https://www.suffolk.police.uk/news/latest-news/thefts-gps-farm-equipment

Africa

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/crime-police-arrest-three-men-with-16-stolen-sheep-7-april-2023/

https://www.namibian.com.na/22-sheep-stolen-at-otjimbingwe/

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-04-06-cattle-rustlers-face-life-imprisonment-in-new-senate-bill/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.tsln.com/news/two-ellis-county-men-charged-in-cattle-theft-case/

https://www.newsweek.com/man-steals-school-bus-dead-deer-naked-police-chase-pennsylvania-1793028

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Brian Simpson is the owner of Dirt Man X and RV Dump Bucket in Austin, Texas.  He moved from Michigan to Austin about 9 years ago.  As a previous owner of an excavation company in Michigan, he had the equipment and expertise to bring with him on the trip south.  But, he couldn't bring his reputation because nobody in Austin knew him.

In today's episode Brian and I talk about serving farmers in Michigan and ranchers in Texas.  We discuss going a little bit backwards in business from having loads of business through word of mouth to having to advertise and build trust and a reputation again.  We also discuss how to move a business with that much equipment.  What gets sold?  What comes along?

Brian has great advice for those just getting started, and there are some stories of digging stuff up that you never wanted to find and the lights and sirens that come with those moments.

On tomorrow's episode of the Off-Farm Income Podcast, we are featuring a gentleman who has spent his career running his own excavation business.  We will be highlighting what it took for him to move his business from Michigan to Texas.

This interview reminded me of another great guest who had come on the show back in 2018.  Back then, Jon McNees was an FFA student.  He had been working his father's excavation business for years, and he was progressively getting more and more responsibility.  What I loved about the interview with Jon, is that he did not just think it was his birthright to work in that company.  Even in high school he was doing whatever he could to add value to the company.  He was able to do this through his participation in the FFA and by learning as much as he could about soils.

Bringing back this interview with Jon is the perfect lead in, to tomorrow's ag business episode.

Austin Elam is a senior at Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School in Paxton, Illinois.  Prior to his sophomore year of high school Austin never envisioned himself as an FFA member, but because of Covid he was forced to choose one of two elective courses, introduction to agriculture or home economics.  He chose agriculture, and after being introduced to different discussions about livestock he was totally hooked and became very active in the FFA.  

Today Austin is preparing to graduate high school, and he has decided that he would like to return to the classroom in the future as an agriculture teacher.  He has found a program in Illinois that will allow him to attend a community college and take courses through the University Of Illinois leading to a bachelor's degree.  Through this method he will be able to obtain his degree without paying the high cost of tuition at Illinois.  Austin is a pragmatic thinker, and he plans to bring that back to the classroom for future agriculture students.  

There is a lot going on, on our farm and in our lives right now.  We have definitely broken into spring and are charging forward with our farming season.  Here is what is in our farm update today:

• A change in advertising
• College visits in Texas
• Kidding season is underway
• Our current stats on goats
• Hattie's SAE project and grant
• Afternoon feeding for afternoon kids and calves
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Isaac Hopke is the current Wisconsin State FFA Secretary.  He is also the owner of American Landscaping in Spooner, Wisconsin and a student at the Univeristy Of Wisconsin, River Falls.  Isaac's family purchased their farm when he was just four years old, but he can still remember the transition.  From that point forward he developed a passion for the agricultural life and began showing animals in the 4H.

When 7th Grade arrived, Isaac was eligible to sign up for the FFA in his middle school.  At the same time his older brother was slated to go the National Convention but had to drop out, so Isaac took his place.  After seeing his first National Convention, Isaac was hooked! He has been totally devoted to serving in the FFA ever since.

Isaac continues to run American Landscaping, even as a full-time college student.  And, he is currently changing his business status from sole proprietor to LLC.  He has all of his options for a future career open right now with self-employment remaining at the top of the list.

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The Agricultural College Episode is designed to profile agricultural trade schools, junior colleges, colleges and universities around the U.S.  This episode is an effort to replicate the conversation that prospective students, parents and ag teachers might have with agricultural schools at trade show like the National FFA Convention.

Weatherford College is a junior college located about 30 miles from Fort Worth in Texas. WC boasts a very strong rodeo team as well as a very solid foundation for students who will eventually transfer to a university to finish their four year degree.  Joining us today is the Department Chair of Agriculture, Business & Communication, Vance Christie.  Vance is a product of the junior college system just like me, and he offers a lot of reasons that starting your agricultural college career at Weatherford College is the right choice!

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Tip Of The Week

Have you assessed the value of the timber on your land?

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/7691064/legal-experts-break-laws-garden-without-knowing/

https://www.agdaily.com/news/kentucky-police-investigate-farm-stolen-walnut-trees-valued-at-30/

https://www.ptleader.com/stories/jefferson-county-sheriffs-log-gone-to-pot,110798

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/uk-world-news/rise-quad-thefts-leave-sheep-8276560

https://www.freepressseries.co.uk/news/23405044.quad-seized-becoming-stuck-mud-torfaen-farm/

https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/23412447.fuel-theft-doubled-2022-reports-insurer-nfu-mutual/

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/864657/spain-police-arrest-16-in-olive-heist/story/

Africa

https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/rubanda-farmer-arrested-over-murder-by-mob-156531

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/nyanza/article/2001469649/how-nyumba-kumi-has-helped-fight-violent-groups-in-kuria

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/03/24/miss-men-arrested-theft-ring-trucks-farm-equipment/

https://www.knoe.com/2023/03/22/ldaf-arrests-west-carroll-man-accused-felony-theft/

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