Off-Farm Income

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode Kyle Stockdale is coming back on the show with an update on his business as well as his development as an entrepreneur.  I am very proud of what he is doing and excited to share tomorrow's interview with you. Kyle first appeared on Off-Farm Income in 2021, and so for today's re-cap episode I am replaying that original interview to give you the before and after pic...

Ava Genter is a swine producer, a Star Greenhand winner and a Star Record Keeper in her FFA Chapter.  Even at age 15 it feels like Ava has been waiting her whole life to be a member of the FFA.  Creating even more anticipation is the fact that in Pettisville, Ohio every grade is in the same building for the entire 13 years of public education, but FFA does not begin until the 9th Grade. Ava showed...

I thought I had dealt with the coyote issue near our farm and the threat was ended, but this morning I received a rude awakening.  I found four dead goat kids, clearly killed by coyotes with only one being consumed.  The rest, killed for sport or to train pups how to hunt.  One is missing and was probably hauled off.  That is basically all I am talking about in today's farm update. More Places You...

JD Thompson is in his first year of the FFA, and he is one of the most long term and forward thinking students that I have interviewed.  Through research and exploration, JD discovered the business of raising deer for sale to high fenced hunting ranches.  Once he discovered this he ramped up his research and found a ranch in South Dakota that was raising deer for this purpose.  He reached out to t...

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 Big events = opportunities for thieves Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.atholdailynews.com/Murdock-Farm-seeks-public-s-help-following-theft-51676335 https://www.djournal.com/new-albany/tractor-hauler-trailer-stolen/article_d2b1a942-20f2-11ee-bde5-07efb5060046.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://sunburymacedonranges.starweekly.com.au/news/voicing-for-farm-crime/...

It is said all the time that you should start farming, right where you are at, in whatever way that you can.  If you are in an apartment, grow some tomatoes in pots on your deck.  If you live in a neighborhood, raise some chickens and enjoy the eggs.  Don't wait to have 1,000 acres, start right now! I believe in this adage, but I also understand the comparison that people might make to production...

Emily Thimmes was a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast back in 2016.  Being a student at Miami East High School, under the tutilage of Marie Carity, she was encouraged to pursue an interesting entrepeneurship SAE, and she did!  Emily was making quite a name for herself growing and selling herbs when I interviewed her. On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode, I am profiling a married couple that comes...

Lacie Weber is in her first year as an official high school student but her third year in the Rutland FFA Chapter.  Rutland is a very, very small town and all students attend school in the same building together.  So, as a 9th grader Lacie has already served in two chapter officer position.  And, she is coaching younger FFA members as well as 4H members in everything that she has been exposed to b...

Hi everyone.  As I promised myself last winter, I am not taking one day of summer for granted this year.  That does not mean that it is not full of challenges on the farm such as slow pasture growth, parasites in the goats and pink eye in the cattle.  On today's farm update we will talk about it all. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald:  

Sophia Sisil is a natural born entrepreneur and the owner of Sophia's Succulents, selling plants and arrangements in farmers markets around the Madera, California area.  Sophia is also just getting ready to begin her 10th grad year of high school, but her 4th year of FFA.  Starting in middle school, Sophia joined the FFA kind of because that was the thing to do in her family.  However, by the end...

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 Don't rely on others to follow through when it comes to rural crime Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fulton-county-flying-change-equine-therapy-horse-trailer-stolen https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/deputies-are-asking-for-help-to-find-owner-of-stolen-tractor/502-eb22abb9-95aa-4751-97cf-f7629c83e3ef https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/644122520/shafts...

Forrest Durham was first a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast back in 2015 when he was an FFA student and running a roasted corn business.  As a high school student Forrest was attending an average of 14 fairs or festivals per year for a total of 28 days.  He was selling around 500 ears of corn per day at an average profit of $2 per ear.  That's around $30,000 in profit.  Not bad for a high scho...

Forrest Durham is one of the most memorable FFA entrepreneurs that I ever profiled on this show.  In just 12-16 weekends per year, during high school, he was making an very impressive income selling roasted corn at fairs and festivals.  Forrest has continued his entrepreneurial ways and now taken over his father's fudge business and his running both a mobile stand, brick and mortar location and ma...

Baylor Bloom is the owner of "Full Bloom Harvesting", a tree shaking business located in the Central Valley of California serving almond farmers in and around Gustine.  At the time of this interview Baylor was almost 1/2 through his final semester of his 9th grade year of high school.  However, his expertise on the permanent crop farming industry of California was like somebody who had been farmin...

My mom was a painter, and she used to watch Bob Ross on PBS religiously.  Bob had a saying that has become very popular.  When a brush stroke that he didn't intend happened, he called it a "happy little accident".  I have stolen that phrase, but I use it when I talk about why I raise goats.  Me becoming a goat farmer is definitely a "happy little accident". On today's farm update episode, goats is...

Levi Knopp is just finishing up his first year of high school, but he is fortunate to be finishing his 3rd year of FFA already.  Coming from one of the school districts that allows middle school FFA, Levi got an early start.  Levi was preceded in the FFA by his sister, and she has been a significant role model for him.   Levi has a lot of high school and FFA ahead of him, but he already has very c...

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 Rural crime is more prevalent in the U.S. than reported Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/california-green-energy-investment-scheme/103-c2bf5a3b-e1c1-4931-8aa9-df785effb274 https://www.agweb.com/news/machinery/used-machinery/crime-sprees-target-precision-ag-technology-farms-and-dealerships Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.bridportne...

I have been fascinated with the idea of growing fodder as a livestock feed since I first learned about it in 2015.  Recently I began searching for a guest to come on the show who was using this model, and I found Al Noorda just one state away in Utah. Al is the owner of Spring Creek Livestock & Feed in Cedar Foot, Utah.  He has been growing and feeding fodder for about ten years to his cattle and...

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode we are profiling a farmer who is feeing everything with fodder.  This individual has really revolutionized fodder production as a feed source for his livestock.  This made me think of the very first time I heard of fodder, and that was during an interview with Nancy Schiffer of the Kuna FFA Chapter in 2015.  So, we are brining it back for you today as a lead in to...

Peyton Zinner is a former Middle School FFA President, and now she is a freshman FFA member at Western Hills High School in Frankfort, Kentucky.  Peyton has grown up in an agricultural and FFA family.  Actually, her uncle is one of her FFA advisors, and she keeps her sheep at his home. Peyton is already making very mature decisions for her age.  She has two major focus areas.  First, is the FFA.  ...

  HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Today is a great day for Americans, farmers, and non-farmers alike.  As we celebrate the anniversary of American Independence we should think about the men and women who lived through this time.  With this in mind, let's look at how it impacted farmers in the colonies during the 18th Century. Here are a few of the things that farmers went through during the Revolutionary War:...

Landon Berg is our first "Featured Freshman" guest of 2023.  At the time of the recording he was right in the middle of the second half of his first year of high school.  Landon lives on his fourth generation family farm, and with his father and brother they raise cattle, sheep and grow corn and soybeans.   Landon has a passion for livestock evaluation, and that led him to be on the high school li...