Off-Farm Income

Dalten Durrant is just about ready to start his sophomore year of high school and his second year in the Kuna FFA Chapter.  Dalten has a huge family in the community of Kuna with a deep farming legacy in my hometown.  Dalten's family farm's name is "Big D Ranch" and they run one of the largest agribusinesses in the Treasure Valley of Idaho. Dalten has been working in the family business since he w...

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...

Tip Of The Week Secure your horses Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-fillies-were-stolen-pasture-184400111.html https://www.wtxl.com/someone-s-chopping-the-tails-off-horses-in-colorado https://jcpost.com/posts/dbd47668-cfbd-4897-b164-eadea856dfe1 Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.kent.police.uk/news/kent/latest/policing-news/burglar-who-stole-from-farms-acro...

Mike Maxwell is the owner of Double M Ranch and a professional shearer of llamas, alpacas, sheep and even goats.  He also does dental work on alpacas and gives shots as well trims hooves.  Mike specializes in serving people on small farms with a few to many animals, but not enough to warrant hiring one of the big outfits.  Mike is taking care of folks who just cannot access the larger service prov...

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am interviewing a gentleman with a livestock care business that includes shearing llamas.  That interview has a quite a twist that you are going to want to hear about.  For today's re-cap episode I decided to go back to the interview I did with Mike Huffman in 2015 in which we talked all about his llama care business.  

Teah Vennes is an incoming sophomore at Shields Valley High School in Clyde Park, Montana and the newest of a Montana Ranching legacy that goes back to 1863!  Her ranch lies in a beautiful area to the east of the Bridger Mountains that I used to frequent when I was a student at Montana State University.  Teah is very involved in ranching, horses and cattle, but so much more. In today's interview w...

Today is a farm update episode, and we will be discussing the following: Cover crops are planted August cool down is over Coyote saga Grazing volunteer kochia More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:  

Ashlin Havumaki is just getting ready to start her sophomore year of high school and her third year of FFA.  As a lover of animals, Ashlin and her family keep all sorts of livestock and fowl on her grandparents farm just a few minutes from her home.  And when she was going into the 8th Grade, a friend of her father's, who was also an FFA advisor, suggested the FFA for Ashlin. Ashlin has definitely...

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...

Tip Of The Week Sometimes they haven't been stolen Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.8newsnow.com/weird-news/ap-willy-the-texas-rodeo-goat-on-the-lam-for-weeks-has-been-found-safe/ https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/state-police-investigating-theft-of-large-equipment-from-sheds-in-lawrence-county/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/man-arrested-apparen...

Michael "Mick" Hawkes has a storied military career followed by a storied corporate career in security from the U.K.  In the early days of his special forces work, he was part of the response to terrorism in Northern Ireland.  Part of his special forces duty included doing days worth of surveillance on farms, and then covertly entering the buildings of the farm to look for weapons and explosives....

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am featuring an entrepreneur with a security awareness business that has a speciality in crime prevention on farms.  To tie in today's re-cap episode I am bringing back this interview with Dave Young, a co-founder of the Vistelar Security Group, that I did in 2020 about home invasions and self-defense on our farms.  

Lauren Comes is a farmer and FFA student from Southwest Iowa.  She has just completed her first, full year of FFA and is preparing to launch into even more FFA activities as sophomore.  Lauren farms with her father and brothers on their multi-generational farm, primarily raising commercial cattle, but also growing some row crops. In this interview Lauren and I spoke about the payoffs of farming.  ...

You all know that I have been trying to solve a coyote problem for some time now.  Well, it still is not solved, and it has opened a pandora's box of how to do this and how to do that while not losing any more goats.  There has been one issue in particular that has plagued me, and that is how to pen up the goats at night in one particular pasture I'd like to graze them in.  Well, this weekend I go...

Lane Carter is going into his fourth year of the FFA, but just his sophomore year of high school in a couple of weeks.  He began his FFA journey in the 7th Grade with a vision of farming, full time after high school ever since. Lane already has a great vision of what it is going to take.  He has already started a side business, doing custom bailing for customers in his area of Northeast Missouri....

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...

Tip Of The Week Do you keep track of metal prices? Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.countryherald.com/news/local/towns/will-county/beecher/faa-seeks-publics-help-in-identifying-reckless-crop-dusters/ https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article277796823.html https://advertiser-tribune.com/news/472193/have-you-seen-this-tractor/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://aboutregion...

One thing the FFA is great at is giving all students, regardless of the size or scope of their operation, an equal chance of recognition.  Today's Guest, Olivia Rossi, really demonstrates that. Olivia has grown up on her families cattle ranch in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.  She exchanges labor for the feed and housing of her her beef SAE, which consists of two steers.  Even though Olivia...

On tomorrow's episode I am featuring another student from Soroco FFA in Northwest Colorado.  The stories that come out of this mountainous cattle country are so interesting.  And our guest happens to be cousins with and have the same last name as previous OFI guest, Kayla Rossi.  So, it seemed like a natural fit for today's re-cap episode to replay the interview I did with Kayla, talking all about...

Ty Oyen has already been on the big stage at the National FFA Convention for he and his partner, Gage's, Agrisicence Research Project regarding water quality on part of Ty's farm in South Dakota.  This happened in Ty and Gage's 9th Grade year of high school!  It is amazing to see photos of those two receiving their awards in Indianapolis and to know that they have just begun their high school and...

Well, since we last spoke I have been in a sniper's next every morning by o500 waiting for my chance to exterminate this coyote that has cost us 7 goats.  So far, no luck.  However, I did catch it on the game camera and confirm that it is a coyote.  This discussion will dominate today's farm update episode, but we will also talk about August weather, monsoonal moisture, the Canyon County Fair and...

Addison Gronley is just getting ready to start her sophomore year of high school and second year of FFA, and there are possibly some big changes coming her way.  I interviewed Addison right after she had attended the Idaho State FFA Convention.  Even before the convention she was very fired up about showing and judging livestock with some big goals on the horizon, namely proficiency awards. The lo...

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...

Tip Of The Week Insurance and Natural Surveillance Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.wftv.com/news/local/no-horsing-around-orlando-police-search-suspect-bike-who-stole-horse/WO6ZFHGVGBE7FBHRGJYDOSIDLA/ https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/sheepherder-severely-injured-black-bear-174608985.html https://kimatv.com/news/local/surge-in-car-thefts-yakima-county-sheriffs-office-sees-20-increase-farms-and-r...

Kyle Stockdale is a dairyman and entrepreneur from Ontario, Canada.  He first appeared as a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in 2021 when he was about three years into the development of his company, KY Vision Sharpening & Clipper Repair.  Today, I am thrilled to have him back on the show for an update on his business as well as to learn about how he has advanced as an entrepreneur. It is alwa...