Off-Farm Income

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:

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: [email protected] Flanagan - Cornell High School's Telephone Number: 815/796-2291 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

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/ https://www.idahopress.com/news/state/cartel-financed-oregon-pot-farms-expand-to-growing-indoors/article_89345cce-2502-53b1-9692-67d3973ecd1a.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/crime/police-seize-more-than-1m-in-stolen-farm-vehicle-parts?fbclid=IwAR0DiD6j_-iGPT_2FrrcOyBj9DGomI8FazTKjaLDh2gEaCukwGYs3FW_K-o 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://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/free-state/four-arrested-for-allegedly-stealing-sheep-in-free-state-7f3d7e60-49fa-49bd-8993-0c06f895996c https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/free-state/police-recover-over-150-stolen-livestock-cbb18a97-7cdb-4ba8-add4-cead3ca85e3b 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.nwestiowa.com/news/man-arrested-for-burglary-near-larchwood/article_8eb213c2-d18d-11ec-a148-3bcd85b92835.html 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:

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.

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 NOTES KEY 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:

"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: [email protected] Yelm High School Telephone Number: 360.458.7777 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

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:

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: [email protected] E.W. High School Telephone Number: (731) 642-9733 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Tip Of The Week Hold off on the evening beer until the farming is done. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.wsiltv.com/news/mushroom-hunters-find-body-in-rural-missouri-water-well/article_24ca595e-b064-5db4-b546-6f1d27d50a02.html https://www.wqad.com/article/news/crime/durant-firefighters-injured-crash-farm-sprayer-walcott-man-arrested/526-ea30d944-4a36-496a-9bc5-6af818350de5 http://www.mymcr.net/news/forsyth-man-indicted-for-stealing-34-goats-in-lamar/article_91d10216-cbcf-11ec-87da-e785c7154def.html https://www.thelcn.com/news/police/geneseo-police-seek-help-with-tractor-theft-investigation/article_1a589062-fce7-572d-8844-647625694415.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/50694/20220505/uk-55-sheep-disappear-isle-lewis-theft-increased-15-covid.htm https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/cars-wrecked-after-stolen-tractor-23859952 Africa https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/rift-valley/2022-05-03-six-suspected-cattle-rustlers-arrested-in-isinya/ https://www.newzimbabwe.com/poverty-and-unemployment-drove-me-to-steal-goats-teen-tells-court/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://whnt.com/news/northeast-alabama/stolen-gator-recovered-in-dekalb-county-thanks-to-social-media/ 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:

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.

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.

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: [email protected] West Holmes High School Telephone Number: (330) 674-6085 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

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:

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: [email protected] E.W. High School Telephone Number: (731) 642-9733 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Tip Of The Week Take Your Sheep To Work Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Greenwich-Police-188-000-stolen-from-17136181.php https://www.aol.com/unknown-highly-contagious-disease-kills-215425520-015111804.html? Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.farminguk.com/news/sheep-turn-up-at-police-hq-as-part-of-authentic-introduction-to-rural-life-_60298.html https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-accuses-russia-stealing-grain-during-war-2022-04-28/ https://www.agriland.co.uk/farming-news/thieves-steal-lamb-from-learning-disability-farm/ Africa https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-04-26-duo-implicated-in-brutal-limpopo-farm-attack-make-first-court-appearance/ https://www.africanews.com/2022/04/26/zimbabwe-goes-after-revenue-collection-authorities// Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.kfvs12.com/2022/04/26/detectives-recover-stolen-equipment-south-lynnville-1-arrested/ https://www.southwesttimes.com/news/timber-thieves-indicted-large-scale-theft-government-land More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

I am fascinated with the business of being a private crop consultant, and with that I have only interviewed two or three of these folks in my time hosting this show. However, the concept is so interesting because of the talent and knowledge level that these folks have to have. A private crop consultant is competing with crop advisors from fertilizer companies, where farmers are purchasing product already. The advisement that the farmers receive at those companies comes as a value ad to them purchasing their fertilizer there. So, when an individual gets paid to provide crop consulting services without being part of a value ad, you know that they are bringing significant value to their clients. That is the case with today's guest, Brandon Vining. Brandon has worked as a crop advisor for one of the big fertilizer and ag companies. Eventually he thought that he could do more good for farmers as an independent, so he struck out on his own and started Pro Gro Consulting in his area of Eastern Idaho. While that region has specific crops and specific issues, Brandon started seeing patterns and similarities in other parts of the country by communicating with people online about agronomy. At the same time, friends from other parts of the country were sending him photos, soil test results and descriptions of problems and asking his advice on how to solve them.

Today's episode is a replay of an interview I did with Jonathan Meeker as he takes us through his journey of working for someone else so that he could end up working for himself. It is the story of someone seeking entrepreneurship and getting there by being patient and by being smart about how he got there. Today, learn more about Meeker and his re-development company. Original Show Notes: KEY IDEAS: Today's guest has definitely got an entrepreneurial spirit. So, it was wisdom that caused him to stop being an entrepreneur and go back to work for somebody else. After Jonathan Meeker's first entrepreneurial venture he decided that he wanted to move in a different direction. That direction was the re-development of permanent crop areas in the San Joaquin Valley of California where he is from. In order to get trained up in doing this, Jonathan went to work for a company that specialized in doing this. After he had learned the business, or at least enough to go out on his own, he found a niche that his current company was not really serving. He then started his own business, JMeeker Company, in that space and went back to work for himself. Now Jonathan works for agricultural investors as well as absentee farmers in getting their vineyards, orchards and other crops up and going. ADVICE FROM JONATHAN: RESEARCH: You have to know what it is you are going to be selling. You better do your research ahead of time. PRICE: Figuring out price can be a very difficult thing to do in a market that has not established strict going rates. Make sure you get a good feel for what the price can be when planning your business. QUALITY: Do not stretch yourself too thin. If you do, the quality of your service will suffer, leading to damage to your reputation and thus less and less work. ADVICE RECEIVED: OVERTHINKING: Don't overthink things. Keep moving forward and going in the correct direction. PERSONAL HABIT THAT HELPS JONATHAN SUCCEED: PATIENCE: Jonathan describes himself as a very patient person. This is important for anyone in agriculture, but when you are dealing with permanent crops it is even more important. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

For the first time ever, completely by accident, I am releasing an interview on the guests actual birthday! Happy 18th Birthday to Gracie Wagner! Now that we have got that out of the way, let's talk horses, agriculture and FFA. Gracie has grown up in what could accurately be called a "horse family" in the Central Illinois area. She has been around and on horses for her whole life, and that has led her in many, positive directions. When Gracie was starting high school, this led her right into the FFA. Her older sister had been part of the FFA, and Gracie knew she could find her people in the FFA as well. However, it was not something that she was sure would work out at first, it was just something that she was "trying out". She existed in her chapter for her entire 9th grade year, using a borrowed blue jacket. However, she got involved in some leadership development activities, namely Conduct Of Chapter Meetings, and the intensity and team atmosphere hooked her. By the time she hit her 10th Grad year she was fired up. Gracie has served on her chapter's officer team for all four years, but it was her 11th grade year when she became her chapter's reporter in which that really clicked. She loved taking the photos, writing the media releases and communicating on behalf of her chapter so much, that when she ran for an officer position for her 12th grade year, the only one that she applied for was reporter. Gracie found herself being named one of the top 10 FFA chapter reporters in the State Of Illinois in 2021, and she is hoping to repeat that this year! Gracie knows where she is headed after graduation. She is off to Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona where she will be competing in college rodeo. She hopes to compete for all four years and then, who knows! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Equine Entrepreneurship HIGH SCHOOL: Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School; Paxton, Illinois MASCOT: Panthers FFA ADVISOR: Mike White CONTACT INFORMATION FOR GRACIE WAGNER: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School website: Gracie's FFA Advisor's Email Address: [email protected] Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School Telephone Number: 217-379-4331 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Today, I have a farm update for you that is the result of some busy weeks and sleepless nights. I've also got exciting information about how Hattie is progressing in the FFA, and I want to address an article I saw stating that locally produced food is the answer to inflation. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

If you are going to have calves in January, in Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula, you had better have to barn space. But, what if you have twins! Well, that is what happened to today's guest, Mitchell Foote, this winter. Mitchell is a sophomore at Ubly High School and in his fourth year of the FFA. Each year he shows cattle and pigs at the county fair as part of his supervised agricultural experience. His older brother is also in his chapter, as the chapter's president. Some time back, they decided that they would like to show their own cattle that were born on their farm. So, they adjusted their calving season to start in January, so they would have calves that were old enough to be weaned prior to their fair in August and that would make weight for the "prospect" class of cattle that can be show there. These are great goals, but they also come with their own challenges as winters in Michigan can be brutal. For this reason, the cows that are calving are kept in the barn and then the calves are kept out of the weather indoors with their mothers for a month or more. However, as Mitchell and his brother grow the herd, space inside the barn comes at a premium, and this year they had a set of twins! They are making the best of it though, trying to get some of the mud in the farm yard scraped up so that they can get some of the cows with older calves out of the barn! Mitchell is active. In addition to his new officer responsibility as the "student advisor" in his chapter, he is playing two sports: football and basketball. His school is having a lot of success in both sports, and he is having a great time playing varsity already! If that were not enough, Mitchell has already earned three proficiency awards at the state level: one gold and two silver. SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Diversified Livestock Production HIGH SCHOOL: Ubly High School; Ubly, Michigan MASCOT: Bearcats FFA ADVISOR: Melissa Kramer CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MITCHELL FOOTE: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Ubly High School website: Mitchell's FFA Advisor's Email Address: [email protected] Ubly High School Telephone Number: 989-658-8202 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's) Support FFA 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: Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world. FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food. Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation. The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth. Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store: "The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America's youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America's youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.". U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Tip Of The Week Let PETA make you money…buy stock in Super Glue! Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.phillyvoice.com/horse-pennsylvania-state-police-killed-troopers-investigation-chester-county/ https://www.ladbible.com/news/latest-peta-demonstrators-superglue-themselves-to-starbucks-counters-20220422 Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.9news.com.au/national/drug-and-rural-crime-eight-people-charged-nsw/a5495fe8-e2be-471d-bb26-5bf5cc5f5bf3 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10742037/Cattle-rustler-pulls-1-5m-livestock-heist-NT.html Africa https://informante.web.na/?p=318179 https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-04-22-two-suspects-linked-to-fatal-chicken-farm-shooting-arrested-one-shot-dead/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://thebusinessjournal.com/prolific-thief-arrested-accused-of-crimes-at-two-farms-in-single-day/ https://bossierpress.com/mississippi-man-arrested-for-theft-of-livestock-in-west-carroll-parish/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Amber and Krystal Wilke are mother and daughter, and they are operating a very successful laser art and engraving business from their family farm in Kimball, Nebraska. While this might seem like the main part of the story, as successful as it is, it is just the tip of the iceberg. Amber and her husband have been able to create an enterprise on their 4th generation, Nebraska farm, that has allowed their children to come back and work there. Now, they are surrounded by multiple generations of family, living at the farm. Krystal lives 12 miles away in town, but is back on the farm full-time. This has been done through expansion as well as innovation.

It's always fun to showcase FFA students that have done amazing things and have been able to take talents and passions and turn them into viable SAE's. Today's guest did just that. This is a replay of an interview I did with a very special welding artist. Learn more about Maci Krites and her "weld art" on this episode.

This summer, my family and I will grow a large patch of sweet corn. This is something that we have done several times over the years. And, if you were to ask me when we would be getting started, I would tell you that it would be sometime in May. And by my answer, it shows how I view getting started, and in a lot of ways, what type of farmer I am....or at least where I have room for improvement. This dawned on me in my interview with Lydia Whaley today. Without even learning about Lydia's supervised agricultural experience you can already see that she is an all-star. She has responsibilities on her families cattle ranch in Missouri and is very active there, and she has already served as her chapter's vice-president and is just beginning a term as her area's president. By the time I got to learn about her SAE, I already knew she was exceptional. However, when I asked Lydia about growing 4-5 acres of pumpkins each year I really got a glimpse into the way that she thinks and an indication of why she is seeing such success. Lydia doesn't plant her pumpkins until June, but when she tells you about her project she states that she gets started in January or February, which is obviously the middle of winter. Lydia's project begins with the selection of seed and pumpkin varieties that she will be growing during the next season. She looks at her project much more holistically than I do my corn patch. Lydia realizes that her customers are voting for their favorite pumpkin varieties each and every time they select one from her honor system, road side stand. So, starting in January, she assesses which were the most popular varieties of pumpkins she sold the previous fall and begins making decisions about what she will be planting in June.

Some time ago, I was studying a martial art called Kajukenbo. My instructor was a very nice man with a lot of experience and training. And on one of those nights the man who had instructed him came to our class, observed and offered some instruction to the students of his student. On today's episode of the Off-Farm Income Podcast, I am lucky enough to offer you a similar experience. Dan Miller, the famed author of 48 Days To The Work You Love and the host of the vastly popular podcast, the 48 Days Internet Radio Show, is our guest host. And, he is interviewing me! It was my huge honor to be invited by Dan to be his featured guest for a private group that he facilitates called the 48 Days Eagles Community. On Monday's, Dan brings a guest on for their Monday Mentor Training, and on 4/11/22 it was me! I discovered Dan Miller in 2009 when I was first dreaming about a different lifestyle...actually, the lifestyle that I have now. If it had not been for Dan, I wouldn't be living the life I am living today. Dan and I have got to know each other over the years, and he has kept informed about my progress as an entrepreneur and podcaster. I can't tell you how special it is that he thinks my story and experience is valuable enough to share with his exclusive audience. And today you get a special peek behind the curtain. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

As you all know I am a fan of the lawn care and landscaping business. I have seen students in high school do some amazing things with this particular business, working it all the way up to a six figure annual income while still in high school! In my own experience, I know a full-time farmer who as able to become this by starting a landscaping business during college, building it up and then selling it and using the proceeds to purchase his farm. It might seem like that those are all the positives of this business, but wait....there is more. This "future millionaire maker" business can be started with no money! I have interviewed several students, including today's guest, Jack Frank, who have started their lawn care business using the equipment that their customers own.

Tip Of The Week Watch a rural crime movie tonight: https://crimereads.com/seven-great-rural-crime-films/ Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.keyc.com/2022/04/14/thieves-steal-machine-goat-goofy-goat-farm/ https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/woman-attempts-to-glue-herself-to-court-in-protest-during-clippers-vs-timberwolves-play-in-game/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.producer.com/news/slaughtered-cattle-remains-dumped/ https://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/news/hartlebury-farm-owners-left-counting-the-cost-after-thieves-steal-caravans-and-damage-property/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-61107201 https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/crime/farmers-horror-after-101-dead-lambs-dumped-on-their-land Africa https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/militarised-approach-won-t-bring-peace-to-karamoja-3783004 https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/updf-rejects-plea-by-kenyan-officials-to-allow-turkana-pastoralists-back-3781030 Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/stolen-kern-county-tractors-recovered-in-madera-county https://www.wmdt.com/2022/04/missing-father-and-son-located-in-farm-field-shed-after-15-hour-search/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

In today's interview we are lucky enough to take a fascinating journey into the mind of an inventor. Not just any inventor though, a farmer who sees problems, visualizes ways to solve them and then follows through.....all the way through. Monte Busser has a list of 8,100 ideas that can make life better for farmers and everyday people. Looking at all the patents he already has filed, all of the work he does outside of inventing and the processes he has in place to make his inventions commercially available you might euphemistically say that he has been "struck by lighting". However, when I asked him when he remembers first creating and improving things, he thinks back to a time when he was actually struck by lightning at ten years of age. Fortunately the lighting bolt first hit a transformer, then arced and struck him while he was riding his bicycle on rubber tires. His parents actually saw him be struck by the lighting, but he was not hurt, he just started riding faster. And since that day, he has been inventing and improving. In today's episode we focus on five of Monte's patents that are featured on Google Patents.

Today's show is a replay of interview I did with a fellow podcaster. It is an interesting discussion on his discussions when it comes to hauling agriculture related freight. Check it out! Orignial Show Notes: As part of my journey in agricultural podcasting I have found myself as the editor and producer of the Bulkloads Podcast. The Bulkloads Podcast is part of Bulkloads.com, which is a service for truck drivers hauling bulk freight. Naturally this is related to agriculture with all of the hauling of bulk commodities around the country. I was recently editing an episode for Bulkloads, and their guest was Mike Wade. Mike grew up on a dairy farm in Northern California and eventually found his way into truck driving. Along the way Mike saw a homemade tool another driver had, and he thought he would like to make one for himself. However, when he designed it he added on other features that he always wanted in a tool that would help him in other ways. Huckleberry's Hammers were born.

Our guest today had a couple things to say during the interview that really resonated with me. To begin, Riley Widboom, was starting over when he entered his freshman year at Worthington High School. He had gone from Kindergarten to 8th Grade in a small, private school, so his friends at Worthington were limited at best. However, he knew that the FFA would fix all of that. Plus, Riley had been interested in and involved in agriculture his whole life from growing up on a farm and participating in the 4H. Later in the interview Riley told me that if he could tell a non-agricultural person just one thing about ag, it would be that agriculture is is for everyone. There is a place for every person in the world of ag. This really struck me as well because, well, because it is true, and because this is the way that Riley lives his life.

Thoughts Inspired By The Book: "The Crucible Of War" Immediately following the the French and Indian War in the U.S. a recession or even a depression began to sink in, in the colonies as the British military moved out of the colonies and focused their attention on matters in the Caribbean. This left commercial farmers, the very first to ever emerge in North America, dealing with how to pay back debt with low commodity prices. This caused smaller farmers to shift from growing extra and selling it at markets to return to a basic subsistence type of farming lifestyle. This also led to more bartering with supplemental agricultural products. I found something interesting about the view of farmers when looking at the story of Thomas Rich. He was a merchant from Philadelphia. He had significant amounts of inventory that he had purchased with debt during the war because the British military was purchasing everything and the war was fueling all sorts of commerce. However, when the war ended and the economy slowed he was left with a lot of inventory that he could not sell and the debt that was going to be paid from the sale of those items. He came up with a scheme to ship this merchandise to the French in their colony of Guiana, but this was illegal as he was a subject of the British Crown, and the British had just ended a war with the French and the terms of the end of the war prohibited him from trading with the French. This plan did not work for Rich, and by 1770, when he finally paid all of his debts he was essentially bankrupt. I am listening to this book, so the tone of the author can be felt by the inflection of the reader and what he emphasizes. As the narrator finishes telling Thomas Rich's story he say says, with some sort of disdain in his voice, that he "died raising sheep on a farm in New Jersey". The inflection is obvious as though the fact that Thomas Rich ended his life as a farmer was a form of disgrace or shame. I found myself chuckling as I listened to this. I did not find it disgraceful or shameful that he spent his final years in a beautiful place raising livestock. I thought to myself, "he finally got it right!". I can't help but wonder if after all the stress and high level dealings that Thomas Rich went through in the 1700's if he found himself tending to sheep one day and asked himself, "why haven't I been doing this all along". I do find it ironic that today, so many who live this high stress lifestyle in the cities are rejecting this life and opting for a simpler life in a rural environment raising livestock or growing food. It seems to me that there is a secret to living a good life that exists, and only farmers have really been able to figure it out. This has been going on since the 1700's, and I wonder why it has taken almost 300 years for people to start realizing this. There was another part of Thomas Rich's story that I wanted to share with you. I found myself thinking of the quip, from the book of Ecclesiastes, that states "there is nothing new under the sun" is really true when I heard this part. Thomas Rich was a "go big or go home" type of guy. He took on a lot of debt. So much so, that he never found himself in a debtor's prison. His debtors had lent him so much money that they dared not have him arrested or foreclosed on. Their only hope in recovering what they had lent to was keep him producing and earning so that he could repay, even if that were incremental and slow. So much has not changed. His philosophy was "If you owe your banker $1,000 and you have $500 to pay him, you have a problem. If you owe your banker a million and you don't have a nickel, he's got a partner". I have heard many people talk about farmers, particularly dairy farmers, with admiration in their voice, who follow this principle. This philosophy is alive and well in agriculture today, and some of the largest, and perceived to be most successful farmers, that I have heard stories about are those that owe the bank or banks so much money, that the banks would never dare to foreclose - debtors prison is no longer a thing. If they foreclosed they would get pennies on the dollar for what they have lent. They have no choice but to continue to work with the farmer and ride the cycles of agriculture in the hopes of recovering the money they have lent. It is very interesting how if you are careless with debt it can wreck you financially, but if you absolutely reckless and build an empire on debt everything changes and it can sustain you! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

I am definitely the type of person who is interested in my family history and feels some sense of obligation to honor that legacy. So, I am always fascinated when I get to interview somebody with a deep family legacy who is honoring it in the same way. For our guest today, Kate Rogers, that is a theme that repeats itself throughout the interview. One of Kate's strongest influences in her love agriculture is her great grandmother, who was raised during the Great Depression, and found many ways to produce good to help generate income during that time. One of the talents that she had, that Kate also has, is in creating artistic items that have value to other people. This is something that Kate has carried forward, with many of the supplies that belonged to her great grandmother, in her business, Kate Rogers Art.

51 weeks out of the year on our rural crime episode I will be focused on "rational choice" type criminal activity that is the most likely to be what we will experience on our farms or rural properties. However, today I am going to focus on interpersonal violence. Some of you may have heard of Gavin De Becker, or his best-selling book, The Gift Of Fear. Others of you may not be familiar with him or his work. I am a huge fan, and have been lucky enough to have some significant involvement with his company, Gavin De Becker & Associates. Over the course of this week I have been listening to an interview he recently did with Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience. I have embedded the link to the episode below. This was a great reminder of what a resource that Gavin De Becker is, and why I am such a fan. In today's episode I am going to take some time to describe my experiences working with and using the products created by Gavin De Becker & Associates to justify why I am recommending that you consume one of their for profit resources and two of their free resources. In the United States, for the vast majority of people, interpersonal violence is something that we will likely never experience. This is good, but it is also bad because it can lead to complacency. If you are unlucky enough to encounter a situation like this, there will have been warning signs ahead of time that were likely missed. The free resources that I am recommending can give you the skills and remind you to pay attention to your intuition to help you get out of these situations before they ever escalate to this level. I think that this information is valuable enough, that I am taking an entire episode to discuss it with you today. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Would you allow a cell tower on your farm if it meant an extra $800-$2,000 per month of revenue to help sustain the farming lifestyle that you are in search of? Have you read things on the internet or heard rumors about lawsuits, bad leases or health problems caused by cell signals being transmitted close to your home? How long should a cell tower lease last? Who should be responsible for liability insurance? How much farm ground would you have to give up to have this revenue source? In today's interview with Ryan Conklin, the owner of Wright & Moore Law Co. in Ohio we will talk about all of these questions. This episode was inspired by an article written by Ryan's predecessor, Robert Moore, in 2019 discussing the expansion of need for cell towers with the advent of 5G technology.

Today's episode takes us back to interview I did many shows ago. An oldie, but goodie, Adam Kline takes us through business and farm succession planning strategies. He also talks about how to obtain a farm and some challenges that might come up and how to work through them. Original Show Notes: I would like to introduce you to Adam Kline this week. Adam is a business succession attorney with Bose McKinney & Evans LLP in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is from a farming family and is significantly invested in agriculture. In this episode Adam helps us continue learning about obtaining our farms. There are many obstacles to entry for new farmers. Land, equipment and "know how" are just three of the potential obstacles. Farm succession planning helps both the transitioning farmer and the new farmer overcome all of these obstacles.

FFA students are some of the busiest people I have ever encountered, but today's guest may take the record. Look at this list of activities: Marching Band Weight Lifting Podcasting Farm Broadcasting Making & Selling Cotton Candy Playing Guitar Playing Bass Playing Wizardry Card Games School Theater And, I am sure if I had longer to interview Jesse Cech the list would just keep growing and growing. This young man is not only involved in a myriad of activities, but he knows a lot about each one. I found out right before our interview that he had his own podcast, and then during the interview I found out that he took 2nd in a farm broadcasting LDE in South Dakota in 2020. It was the FFA that introduced him to broadcasting, and now he has future plans to pursue a career in broadcasting or voice acting. I love profiling stories like this!

A quick farm update for you today. I believe that I have hit my metaphorical "10,000 hours" when it comes to raising cattle. And, if you are not already raising goats, it is time. Today, I offer my most compelling argument yet. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

There are so many good things that come out of the FFA, they are hard to count and definitely too numerous to list in one podcast post. So, in today's post I will focus on the SAE grants that are available to students. I judged applications for these grants for a number of years, and I can tell you that there is a lot of talent out there. I can also tell you that there are a lot of students not attempting to receive this free money. This is precisely why I admire the students that do pursue these grants so much. It demonstrates that they and their FFA advisors are very forward thinking. Charleigh Dugger is one of these forward thinking students. She is just finishing up her sophomore year of high school, but she has already applied for and received a $1,000 SAE grant provided by AmerisourceBergen. Charleigh is using this money to expand her goat herd, built winter shelter for them and start a cattle herd of Scottish Highlander cows for herself. She is hoping that this will propel her towards her dream of working with animals as a career.

Tip Of The Week Cancel the vacation. Guard your fuel. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://bossierpress.com/woman-arrested-for-theft-of-livestock-in-red-river-parish/ https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/567012210/allen-parish-man-convicted-regarding-theft-of-livestock Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/7681563/merino-sheep-stolen-from-naturi-paddock/ https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/464380/men-in-stolen-car-try-to-steal-fuel-from-rural-property-owner https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/record-oil-price-fuels-farm-diesel-theft-wave/100951582 Africa https://www.chronicle.co.zw/stock-thief-sentenced-to-47-years-in-jail/ https://www.chronicle.co.zw/three-men-arrested-for-stock-theft/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_973bf098-b04b-11ec-8c2c-1bba1cd00544.html https://www.ketk.com/news/crime-public-safety/lindale-man-accused-of-cattle-theft-putting-livestock-up-for-auction-in-his-name/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

Tip Of The Week Cancel the vacation. Guard your fuel. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://bossierpress.com/woman-arrested-for-theft-of-livestock-in-red-river-parish/ https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/567012210/allen-parish-man-convicted-regarding-theft-of-livestock Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/7681563/merino-sheep-stolen-from-naturi-paddock/ https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/464380/men-in-stolen-car-try-to-steal-fuel-from-rural-property-owner https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/record-oil-price-fuels-farm-diesel-theft-wave/100951582 Africa https://www.chronicle.co.zw/stock-thief-sentenced-to-47-years-in-jail/ https://www.chronicle.co.zw/three-men-arrested-for-stock-theft/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_973bf098-b04b-11ec-8c2c-1bba1cd00544.html https://www.ketk.com/news/crime-public-safety/lindale-man-accused-of-cattle-theft-putting-livestock-up-for-auction-in-his-name/ More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

It is really amazing what you can accomplish if you are willing to listen to your inner voice and follow where it takes you. The concept of this "inner voice" can take you down a number of rabbit holes. For me personally, I feel as though that voice is there to direct you to the reason you were put on this Earth. In my case, I believe that it comes from God, either spoken to me in real time or implanted at birth to speak to me when the time is right. This "inner voice" is not magnificent in the sense that you are not going to become overwhelmed by a feeling or see something miraculous that leaves you with no doubt that the universe has a message for you. It is much more subtle than that, and it can be difficult to hear. It is one of those things that is always there, but you never notice it until you finally do.....and then it seems as obvious as the sunshine. I don't know why it is not easier to detect, but I suspect it is that way so that you are compelled to make some effort to hear it. What I know for sure, is that it is there for everyone.

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

My attention was first drawn to Alex Kellersmith when I read an article about him making maple syrup for his supervised agricultural experience in the FFA. I am always fascinated with this particular SAE because naturally growing trees provide one of the most delicious products on the market. And, I live in Idaho where this is impossible and you pay a premium for Maple Syrup in a bottle! As it turns out, Alex has several supervised agricultural experiences. He likes to grow things that he can either sell directly from harvest or add value to and then sell. And they all have a common thread....there is the slow pace of the growing season for each of them, and then suddenly, there is a lot of work to be done all at once. Take these projects for example: Maple Syrup - sap drips into buckets during the winter and is saved up, and then suddenly there is two straight weeks of boiling down sap and bottling syrup Sweet Corn - during the heat of summer the corn grows and grows, and then suddenly there is two straight weeks of picking, hauling, marketing and selling Berries - they grow all summer long and then suddenly they are ripe and the time is now! Lavender & Flowers - okay, on this one Alex can work out a little bit more even of a pace, but of course once the flowers are blooming he can constantly be harvesting, arranging and selling Alex has some very good advice for incoming FFA students in this interview as to why they should really invest into multiple SAE's. Tune in and hear what he has to say!

I just found out that irrigation will not begin for surface water users in my area until April 22nd this year. Citing repeated drought, the Boise Project Board Of Control announced that canals would not begin filling until April 18th, and the earliest that anyone would be irrigating would be the 22nd. Also, we are starting out the season with an allotment. Normally, we do not begin the season with a restriction on how much water that we can use other than what we have in our accounts. Usually, as water in the reservoirs starts dropping an allotment is declared. This generally takes place sometime in June or maybe even July. However, we are starting the season this way. This means that all irrigators are going to be restricted to using no more than 1.20 acre feet of water per acre on their ground for this season. This is a low allotment, and it is designed to get farmers all the way through the growing season. However, these restrictions definitely impact the decisions that farmers will make for the year. If you have been watching the news out of the Central Valley of California, you will see that a lot of acres, especially on the west side of the Central Valley in places like Fresno and Kings Counties, will go uncultivated this year. Farmers there are dealing with greater hardships than us in Idaho, and they have to forgo planting seasonal crops so that they can save the water that would be needed on those fields for their permanent crops like almonds, grapes and fruit trees. Here in Idaho, what I expect to see happen is less acres of water thirsty crops like corn being grown and more short season crops like wheat being planted. I suspect that the farmers who can buy water from other people might not alter their rotations. However, those that cannot may have to. With that said, I expect the price of wheat to be up if the conflict in the Ukraine continues, maybe that will act as a hedge for farmers who are forced to plant more acres of wheat than they anticipated. I consider myself to be in a good position. If you've been listening to me since 2015 you will know that one of the ways that we put in the necessary infrastructure on our farm was to do a cost share with the NRCS through their EQIP program. That has been nine years ago now, and it has only been a positive, we never endured any negative consequences from it. One of things that came out of that program is that our entire place is irrigated by sprinklers now. And over time we have progressed from rented sprinkler pipe, to wheel lines to irrigation pods. We have become progressively more and more water efficient, which means that we have yet to use all of our allotted water in a season. And, this allows us to "carry over" some water from one season to the next. So, I am very grateful that we made that move. Irrigation is now easier, and it allows us to really save water throughout the year to get us through. However, if there is no water available it does us no good. And, if irrigation water gets shut off very early this year, than it will not matter what manner of delivery that we use, we will be unable to irrigate either way. So, as a hedge I am going to purchase some extra hay, early in the season, and hope that I don't have to start feeding in September. However, I am fully prepared for that to be the reality that I am facing. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

I am a big fan of proactive people, people who go out and make life happen for them rather than letting life happen to them. Our guest today, Ellas Gaes, is definitely one of those people. Ella is a member of the Pierce High School FFA Chapter in Pierce, Nebraska. She lives out of town with her family, and they keep horses on their property. Even though the horse was the main form of transportation throughout Europe and Asia well before North America was ever discovered, the American West has captured the horse as its symbol, almost as if horse riding originated here. Ella embraces this culture, roping whenever and wherever she can and helping her family members in Colorado every May with their cattle branding. Ella also embraced this with her supervised agricultural experience through the FFA. She has been making jewelry as a hobby for quite some time, and the way that things work in her FFA chapter, she was compelled to get serious about her SAE this year. Once she really thought about what she was going to do, it became apparent to her that making and selling jewelry that celebrated the Western way of life and the West's ties to agriculture was the right fit for her.

Tip Of The Week Can't Find Your Vehicles? Check Out Your Biggest Mud Hole. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/new-mexico-supreme-court-to-teach-las-cruces-students-about-criminal-justice-system-law-court-hearing-crime-defendant-hearing https://www.wibw.com/2022/03/22/sheriff-warns-rising-crime-rates-planting-season-begins-gas-prices-rise/ https://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/wcso-stolen-vehicles-found-submerged-in-mud/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.southwestfarmer.co.uk/news/20015049.yanmar-mini-digger-stolen-north-dorset-smallholding/ https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/20015840.dog-owner-warned-keep-pet-control-sheep-worrying-incident/ https://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/man-farmer-victim-of-grain-theft-805.aspx Africa https://chimpreports.com/3-geologists-2-updf-soldiers-killed-by-karamoja-cattle-rustlers/ https://www.kenyanews.go.ke/govt-commences-security-operation-to-flush-out-herders-from-game-parks/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.kimt.com/news/forest-city-man-arrested-for-arson-assault-and-burglary-pleads-guilty/article_b62162b8-aadd-11ec-ac4d-c71e369c39af.html https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/local/whitman-county-burglary-suspect-in-custody-30-000-tractor-among-stolen-items-recovered-by-deputies/article_ce4db0fc-aade-11ec-a5b8-537d2e55a8ff.html More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:

I have never delved into the world of hemp farming or of value added products made from hemp plants and seed. Today, I am finally going to break that pattern. I will be speaking with Justin Harris of Wild Ass Soaps. Justin and his wife have developed quite a family enterprise that operates with them and their children in Southwestern Nebraska. They first began with a lawn and landscaping business which grew and became very time consuming. Looking for other opportunities they began growing and selling sod from their 15 acre farm. Eventually they started to look into making soaps, and then something major happened. The production of hemp was legalized by the U.S. government. Within two years of this announcement Justin and his family were producing hemp and incorporating it into their soaps, lotions and oils.

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

There is a lot of fruit to pick (pun intended) from today's interview with Jada Rubalcava, and I picked the one that stood out the most to me for the title of this episode. Jada has a unique set of experiences compared to the other students at Gothenburg High School and in her FFA chapter. When she was in elementary school her father joined the military while pursuing a career as an anesthesiologist. This caused Jada and her family to move from her childhood home of Phoenix, Arizona to several other cities and ultimately the small town of Gothenburg. So, Jada has seen big city life, and she has seen small town life. Jada is of the opinion that she has many more opportunities being in a small town and small school, which is not the way a lot of people look at this comparison. However, whichever extra-curricular activity that she wants to participate in she has been able to. This has to do with the size of her school and the fact that there are not so many students going out for a particular activity that people have to be cut. Jada used golf as an example. She joined the golf team her freshman year, and when she joined she had never held a club before. She correctly states that if she were still in Phoenix, she could never make the team under these circumstances and would have missed this particular opportunity. Another opportunity that Jada has taken full advantage of is the sense of community in her small town and the way that the town respects and supports the FFA. Based on an idea of some of her friends that she knew when living in Ohio, when it came time for her to being her supervised agricultural experience she decided to make and sell caramel apples. When people caught wind of what she was doing, word spread like wildfire. Soon, she was very busy and was even shipping her caramel apples to people.

So, I haven't had one set of plans work out like I wanted in the recent past, and that is just the way it is going for me on my farm. First, I was supposed to start calving on February 25th, but we didn't have our first calf until 3/5/22. Our cows are all showing that they are ready to calve, but they are coming along very slow and to date I only have four calves. Next, I filled out the perfect bracket for the NCAA Basketball Tournament and put together a fun group of people to participate in the bracket. After just one weekend, I am in last place with no prospect of turning things around. And, my daughter is in second and absolutely destroying me. Currently I am on a solo, staycation, during Autumm and Hattie's Spring Break. The three of us have taken a trip together every Spring Break for years now, but this slow calving kept me at home. So, they took off to go look at some colleges and see the ocean over on the Oregon Coast. That was okay though. I have a lot things to get done, and I figured that this would give me the perfect opportunity. I figured I would get started with it today. Simultaneously our pasture is just starting to green up, so I wanted to get our yearlings off of it and back in with our cows. And, since our cows have started calving it was time to get the bull separated off. So, I put the bull in the pen I had used for him earlier this year and moved the yearlings over. However, with the yearlings cycling he promptly broke a rail in that pen and was in with them for an unknown amount of time. So, I caught him and put him in a different pen, which he promptly broke out of last night, but luckily could not find his way back to the girls. So, this morning, instead of starting my projects I wound up changing the configuration of that pen that I had built and adding lumber to it, to reinforce it. I had to go purchase lumber, and that broke the budget because it costs around $1 million for a sixteen foot 2X6 these days. And that is the life that I love! More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald: