Mylie Rexing is a district and chapter FFA officer and soon to be agriculture student at Purdue University.  She has been working her father's butcher shop for several years, throughout high school.  During that time an idea occurred to her to make ready to cook meals for people to purchase from the shop that would simplify meal prep for them at home.  Mylie's Meals To Go was born.

Mylie has come up with a number of iterations of ready to go meals during this time, and that took her all the way to being an Indiana State Finalist in Ag Sales.  During that time Mylie wanted to give back to her community, and she came up with a program of donating milk to families who needed with every sale of a ready to prepare meal.  Mylie stated that her family has always been one that gives back, and she had watched that example while growing up.  So, it felt like a natural fit for her to incorporate giving into her own business as well.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend and took some time to remember those who have made the ultimately sacrifice so we could do exactly that.  I have a couple of thoughts that I have been wanting to share with you, and today I will finally get to do it:

• Hard Work As a value - teaching non-traditional ag students about the world of work they are entering
• Having a job or business that is not automatable and cannot be replaced by AI

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Olivia Black is a senior in high school, a second year FFA student and the Michigan Star Award Winner in Agribusiness.  In Olivia's school district the FFA Chapter is run by the Ionia County Career Center, and high school students are only eligible to attend there starting in the 11th Grade.  Olivia has grown up showing cattle and pigs and with a significant family history in the Dairy Industry, so she knew that she wanted to be in the FFA.  When she started her junior year, she enrolled in an agricultural course at the career center, making her eligible for the FFA, and she joined.

Two years prior to this is when Olivia's journey as an entrepreneur began however.  Olivia has a rare gift that only a small percentage of entrepreneurs have.  She was dissatisfied with a product that she was using on her show pigs, and rather than keep looking for something that worked better or settling for what she had, she decided to make her own.  Absolute Products was born at that moment, and she has been developing this business ever since then.

Now, at age 17, Olivia has stood out among all the other FFA students in Michigan, even though she has less than two years of records.  She is selling her product all over the Upper Midwest, and she plans on expanding even further.  In addition, she is finding that while her product was developed for use on pigs, it works well on both dairy and beef cattle.

Olivia loves the livestock exhibition world, but she realized that in the not too distant future she was going to age out eligibility to show livestock.  So, she has created a business that will keep her connected to this world and will help exhibitors everywhere solve some of their most frustrating issues.  Olivia is off to college soon to get a degree in Ag Business, and it is all directed at growing this business.

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.

Angelo State University is located in San Angelo, Texas and sits in the number one goat marketing spot in the number one goat producing state in the entire nation.  Corey Owens, our interview guest today, grew up on a ranch 70 miles west of San Angelo where they raised 1,100 meat goats.  As a goat raiser myself, I could barely get off the topic of Angelo State University being the perfect place for a student who wants to specialize in goat production.  Of course, on Angelo State's 6,000 acre research ranch there is much more to study than just goats.  In today's interview we will learn all about it.  

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

Tip Of The Week

Are your local legislators addressing the rising issue of livestock theft by activists?

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.fox61.com/article/news/crime/wallingford-farm-life-size-mm-stolen-display/520-b63b9869-2f4c-4b54-aa82-dc623daa9b45

https://www.globalvillagespace.com/GVS-US/report-60k-tons-of-ammonium-nitrate-lost-in-shipping-as-explosive-chemical/

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/cleveland/news/fbi-cleveland-seeking-public-information-surrounding-mink-farm-crimes

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farminguk.com/news/nine-people-charged-after-spate-of-burglaries-from-north-wales-farms_62638.html

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/crime/video-thieves-caught-on-cctv-stealing-gps-kit

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/home/1175072/gardai-investigating-after-tractor-stolen-and-driven-around-before-being-abandoned-in-tullamore.html

Africa

https://ntvkenya.co.ke/news/cattle-raids-resurface-along-the-kenya-uganda-border-threatening-a-15-year-old-peace-accord/

https://www.pd.co.ke/news/pokot-tugen-communities-bury-the-hatchet-vow-to-end-livestock-theft-181565/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/idaho/woman-arrested-after-allegedly-stealing-horse-and-then-car-in-asotin-county/article_17dbbee4-f674-11ed-977a-b38b6916bbb3.html

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article275579721.html

https://www.thedailynewsonline.com/top_story/ortt-proposes-livestock-theft-law/article_3de7a0a9-d0bf-59d8-bee0-204210a522cc.html

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Colleen Cummings is the owner of 2 Farm Boys Soap, a goat farmer and a mother who was looking for a way to engage her two sons in agriculture on her small farm in Heber City, Utah.  There is a lot of family history on that small farm.  Colleen's husband's family started farming that ground in the early 1900's.  Since then, the land has been split up, and today they raise goats and grow hay on 15 acres of what was once a much larger, family farm.

Like so many people with goats, one thing led to another, and Colleen and her family ended up raising goats on their small acreage.  However, her husband had been raised on a farm, so keeping and feeding livestock just for fun was not an option.  The goats had to have a purpose.  Ultimately, with this in mind, Colleen was exposed to the idea of making goat milk soap and tried it out.  It took a bit to get the recipe correct, but once she figured it out product ideas and designs started coming out.

Today Colleen has a nice system in place.  She only milks goats part of the year, but is able to freeze enough milk to keep her making soap all year round.  Also, she sells at one farmers market only, every other week, for part of the year.  And, the big event is the National Finals Rodeo.  Colleen and the family have haded to Las Vegas two years in a row now, selling soap at one of the largest venues in Las Vegas - Country Christmas - which is held at the Rio.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am interviewing an entrepreneur with a goat milk soap business.  As you know, the goat milk soap business is one of my favorites to profile.  Well, tomorrow's guest discloses that her family got goats first, and then her pragmatic husband said that these goats need to pull their own weight if they are going to stay.  And that is what led to their goat milk soap business.

This reminded me of the interview I did with Sydney Gordon way back in 2016.  She loved goats and talked her father into getting some for their farm.  However, he said the same thing - "these goats need to pay for themselves".  And that is what led her goat milk soap business.  I thought this tied in perfectly with tomorrow's show, and I am happy to bring it back for you today.

On today's episode I get to do something that I love, and something new that is a lot of fun.  I will be profiling a great, Idaho FFA Student named Zane Nichols, and I will be promoting a summer kickoff festival in Cambridge, Idaho called Hells Canyon Days.  So, this episode will be a bit different than normal.

In the first half of the episode I am speaking with Zane, who will be working in the concession booth on behalf of the Cambridge FFA on Friday night of the festival at an event called "Bulls & Broncs".  I will also be speaking with the president of the Cambridge Commercial Club, Blake Loveland, and we will be talking all about the festival.

After I finish that part of the episode it is back to Zane to talk about beef cattle and working on a grain and hay operation as well as which sport he hopes to play at the next level.  Enjoy the episode!

Our woes on the farm this year continue.  I've known this was coming, but I confirmed it Friday at our veterinarian's office.  All of my cows are open.  We will be having no calves this year as our bull quit producing viable sperm sometime over a year ago, and I did not catch it because I did not have him semen tested, and I did not have our cows preg tested.

This is a hard lesson for me, and it is embarrassing....and I am telling all of you all about it on this episode.

Dori Stuever is a driven FFA student, a regional officer, a business owner and the feature of a newspaper article about her maple syrup business, County Line Kinds Pure Maple Syrup.  Concentrating on marketing through social media, Dori is selling maple syrup throughout the United States, and she is the 6th generation in her family to be in this business.

Dori is also partnered with two neighbors, either tapping their trees or using their sugar shack for refining her maple sap into maple syrup.  Being from the wide open, treeless spaces of Southwest Idaho, it is difficult for me to imagine, but Dori spends a lot of time in the woods of Michigan.  She is either locating trees to tap, tending to her current taps or make sure that her prospective trees are healthy.

Dori is primarily home schooled, but she signed up for agriculture classes when she was in the 7th grade so that she would be able to be a part of the FFA.  The FFA is another family tradition for her, going back to the days when her female relatives were not allowed to participate.  When Dori is not at Capac High School for her agriculture classes, she is at home tending to her taps and frequently doing school work out in the woods because that is where she spends her time.

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.

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

Tip Of The Week

Take the time to verify checks, request a cashier’s check or do the transaction at the bank

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.unioncountydailydigital.com/articles/farm-watch-crime-prevention-program-comes-to-union-county/

https://www.wcjb.com/2023/05/13/lcso-deputies-are-searching-portable-sawmill-stolen-work-site/

http://www.columbiamagazine.com/index.php?sid=127344

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.kent.police.uk/news/kent/latest/policing-news/stolen-items-recovered-in-rural-burglary-arrest-near-paddock-wood/

https://www.miragenews.com/agforce-urges-members-to-beef-up-farm-security-1006065/

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2023/05/14/thieve-steal-community-fruit-trees-only-planted-in-telford-recently/

Africa

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-05-15-farm-manager-attacked-by-illegal-fishermen-in-crime-wave/

https://ng.opera.news/ng/en/society/f8ab91b7629623dbb48c149a0f86c876

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.fox43.com/article/news/crime/organic-crops-fraud-scheme-minnesota-pennsylvania/521-63f1592c-d6d1-4257-b2f8-f3635b4ee5a1

https://www.magnoliastatelive.com/2023/05/14/cows-and-calves-stolen-from-mississippi-farmer-located-and-returned-suspect-identified/

https://www.agdaily.com/livestock/oklahoma-man-arrested-hot-checks-cattle/

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Tom Henson is the owner of T&T Services in Lapeer, Michigan along with his business partner and bowling partner, Tonya.  I found Tom and Tonya's ad on Craigslist and was immediately drawn to it because of the ad for wasp removal.  It was apparent that Tom was offering a suite of services that anyone in the world of farming would already have much of the equipment for, and I wanted to interview him to show other people what was possible.

It turns out that Tom has a very interesting story beyond his business.  He retired from Ford Motor Company where he spent a large part of his career hand building engines for Shelby Cobra's.  He is also a professional bowler with an average of 232!  Tom has bowled in professional tournaments, is in four leagues and averages 50 games per week!

I had a fascinating time learning about the Ford engines and the bowling.  Eventually we got into the business....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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Tip Of The Week

Think before you click

Rural Crime In The U.S.

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

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

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

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

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

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

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

Africa

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

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

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

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

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

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Stacy Carr is an Agricultural Consultant and Coach from Johnson City, Tennessee.  Hearing her story, it is obvious what it takes to be able to consult young and beginning farmers with no experience in the way that can - decades of work and experience in agriculture.

Stacy has a fantastic, exciting and rewarding business, but it is not the type of business that you just choose and start.  This business takes a passion for all aspects of agriculture that has driven you to take your own risks, do your own work and spend your own money over a lifetime pursuing farming.  Stacy has done that, in multiple different states and in multiple different ways.  And today, she is reaping the rewards of all of that knowledge and experience by being able to share it with people from all walks of life, including young families who want a rural lifestyle, and help them to succeed in farming.

In today's episode Stacy and I discuss all of that experience, and how her business works.  We will also talk about who the people are that want an agricultural lifestyle so much that they are willing to pay for somebody to guide them to that destination.

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

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

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

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

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

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Brook Cutchin is the secretary of the Deane Bozeman FFA Chapter in Southport, Florida.  She is also just 16 years of age and slated to graduate high school one year early later this month.  She is heading to college next fall and has been accepted to a programed called "3 & 3", which means in her fourth year of her bachelor's degree she simultaneously begins graduate school, which for her will be studying the law to become an attorney and advocate for agriculture.

Brook first got introduced to the FFA her 9th grade year of high school when she took a required, introduction to agriculture class.  At that point she realized that she wanted to raise livestock, and she has been engaged in the FFA ever since.  She even raised and showed her own pig, showing and selling it at the Florida State Fair this past February.

The FFA has exposed Brook to many experiences that she never expected, and it played a major role in accelerating her time high school and graduating early.  One of the experiences that Brook had through the FFA, that drew my attention to her chapter, was facilitating a goat yoga class for people in her community.  She, along with other chapter members and supporters of her FFA chapter, put on a goat yoga class, for free.  Donations to help the chapter build a livestock barn were accepted, but there was no charge to attend.

I've always wondered what the appeal of goat yoga is.  Brook informed me that the point is to help people with anxiety about doing yoga in front of others, to let that go because everyone is watching the goats and not each other.  I certainly believe that is what happens.

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.

Utah State University has as many options for agricultural study as I have come across in doing these interviews.  On today's episode I speak with Makenna Osborne, a graduate of Utah State's College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, and now a Recruitment Specialist for "CAAS".  Makenna lists the many opportunities through the Utah State University including becoming a pilot and even making chocolate!

Here is the link for the aviation program fees at Utah State University: https://caas.usu.edu/avte/course-fees

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

Tip Of The Week

Keep an eye on your decorative horses.

Rural Crime In The U.S.

https://www.wkyt.com/2023/05/03/police-investigating-multiple-thefts-decorative-horses-ky-town/

https://www.agdaily.com/crops/16k-chemical-theft-might-not-pay-but-reporting-the-thieves-will/

https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/tractor-stolen-off-of-jobsite-in-calumet-county-sheriffs-office-asks-residents-to-keep-an-eye-out/

https://www.katc.com/news/st-landry-parish/st-landry-crime-stoppers-help-needed-solving-theft-of-farm-equipment

Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above

https://www.farminguk.com/news/police-charge-six-men-after-suspected-agri-thefts-worth-nearly-1m_62545.html

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/23499717.man-arrested-police-rural-burglary-near-faringdon/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTY2NjE3NjQyNTM1NzIxNTAzNDgyGmVhNjgzN2MxNmMwNjhjOGQ6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AOvVaw16CnIzFWoQm_Nz35Q-mMjr&source=gmail&ust=1683389109703000&usg=AOvVaw3o0ctoER2dOV3zX9pvv2uG

Africa

https://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/four-alleged-robbers-arrested-for-terrorising-farming-community-in-limpopo-found-with-stolen-goods-9ad0fd00-aa41-461b-84ad-f69f65a7ee57

https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/angry-mob-burns-truck-lynch-two-suspected-cattle-thieves-4222842

https://newsroom.gy/2023/05/04/life-imprisonment-for-cattle-farmer-who-killed-burnt-workers-body-over-stolen-goat/

Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

https://www.wkow.com/news/deputy-chases-car-into-farm-fields-near-poynette/article_ef8eb950-eaf7-11ed-92fa-cfca46c2d15d.html

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Caleb Branson and Shelby Redcorn are the owners of a business that is essential to keep production agriculture going in the U.S. and to keep their small community functioning in the Panhandle of Oklahoma where they live.  Caleb has been operating cranes since he was a child, and both he and Shelby have been self-employed for their entire lives.  Neither of them know anything different than getting paid when there is work and tightening the belts when there is not.

In 2017 they started C&S Crane And Steel, offering a myriad of services to farmers and other industries.  From building grain storage facilities to replacing augers on bins, it is this, behind the scenes business, that is there to keep farmers going.  During the interview I asked what motivates a farmer to build their own grain storage facility, and, as you would expect, it was all about giving the farmer the best chance of creating a sustainable business.  But those facilities and other pieces of equipment like them could not be built if it weren't for entrepreneurs like Shelby and Caleb who have the expertise and took the risk to purchase the equipment that provides their community the ability to continually improve their operations.

There is folklore surrounding the American Farmer that brings with it a certain prestige, and deservedly so.  We are all standing on someone's shoulders, and without folks like Shelby and Caleb, American Agriculture just couldn't operate and feed the world the way that it does.

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am profiling a husband/wife team that has a unique and fascinating business serving farmers in the panhandle of Oklahoma.  That gave me the thought of replaying Jonathan Demcack's interview from 2015 again for you.  He started a business called "Droplet Irrigation" here in the Treasure Valley of Idaho, providing service to farmers, and I thought it was a great tie in with tomorrow's show.

Brycen Cole is in the 8th Grade and is a Junior FFA Member at Roby High School in Roby, Texas.  Ever since he discovered podcasts, he has wanted to be a guest on one.  So, when he heard that I was going to be interviewing one of the high school FFA members at Roby, he proactively asked his advisor to ask me if he could come on the show. I like proactivity.  I obliged.  

Brycen shows steers, plays three sports and is excited for the future.  He told me that he is not sure what he will do, but he is certain that he will either be a basketball coach or an FFA advisor in the future.  For now, he has his sights set on becoming an official FFA member next year and getting busy with everything that the FFA has to offer.  

I have an exciting announcement in today's farm update.  Hattie has been selected as her FFA Chapter's President.  This comes on the heels of her being selected as her FFA District's President.  So much of what she is accomplishing now has roots in the audience of this show supporting us and helping us grow, and we wanted to say thank you!

And, for students that are considering becoming a technician for a tractor manufacturer I have a story to share with you today.  Depending on why you have chosen this path, this announcement may make a difference as to whether or not you continue to pursue this.

Here is the link to the article: https://coloradosun.com/2023/04/25/right-to-repair-farm-equiptment-colorado/

Matthew Ruff is a farmer from Ohio, a first year student at The Ohio State University and part of a family of agriculturists and innovators.  Matthew's parents both grew up on farms and decided that they wanted to farm as well.  So, after their marriage in 1997, they started pursuing enterprises that could lead to having their own farm.  Ultimately, they purchased their own property and kept building it up.  Today, Matt farms over 4,000 acres along side his parents, brother and sister. 

What initially drew my attention to Matt was an article I read indicating that he had an "ear corn" enterprise.  However, the article did not describe the specifics of the operation.  During the interview I found out that he has taken over responsibility for growing 25-40 acres of ear corn with the intention of picking it, shucking it, bagging it and selling it on Amazon!  

During the interview Matthew explains that there is strong demand for ear corn, still on the husk, by people who want to feed it to wildlife like squirrels and deer.  He said that they have shipped bags of corn grown on their farm to every state in the lower 48!  What an amazing niche....