Off-Farm Income

Have you ever gone to a wedding in somebody's old barn, loved the venue, had a great time and later asked your spouse, "why don't we do that"?  It looks simple doesn't it?  Most people don't have land or barns, so, if you have one, the other or both, why wouldn't people just flock to your property and pay you thousands of dollars to have their weddings there? Our guest today, Lea Cahill, has gone...

On today's re-cap episode we are going back into the archives into one of my trips out to North Carolina to speak at the University Of Mount Olive.  While I was there I was lucky enough to visit the Broadslab Distillery and hear a great story of entrepreneurship and full-time farming.  I'm happy to bring this interview with Jeremy Norris back to you today. The original show notes are below. SHOW N...

When you are young, you have energy, and you might as well take advantage of it!  That is very true for today's guest, Lane Willard.  Lane is between his 9th and 10th Grade years right now, and he has one year of FFA under his belt.  And, he has been busy.  In addition to working on his families farm, he is playing sports, raising his own livestock, farming his own ground and participating in the...

I've got nothing but gratitude for you in this episode.  We just hit 2 million downloads, and my mind is blown!  I've known this was coming for some time, but I don't think it really hit me until I actually saw the number on the screen.  What makes this more unbelievable is that we just celebrated hitting our one millionth download in August of 2021.  So, it took us 7 years to hit one million and...

All summer we have been profiling students transitioning from their 9th to their 10th grade years in the FFA.  These interviews are a lot of fun to do because if I can ask just the right question I can tap into area of expertise that are already developed in these young students. Our guest today is Hayven Smethurst.  She has a lot of involvement in the FFA.  She joined because she thought it would...

Tip Of The Week Is there a way to make your livestock stand out if stolen? Rural Crime In The U.S. https://etvnews.com/udaf-issues-warning-rising-number-of-stolen-livestock-and-livestock-killings/ https://www.enidnews.com/news/pollard-farms-former-ranch-manager-accused-of-stealing-selling-cattle/article_30231848-140d-11ed-80d3-43d738f3af80.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://mydr...

I am sure you have heard it said before that farmers take great care of everything: livestock, soil, crops, equipment - except they neglect themselves.  This neglect can come in the form of nutrition, exercise and mental well being.  In fact, even though farming is associated with very difficult, manual labor, with a lot of the technology that is available today to farmers, it can be a very sedent...

On tomorrow's ag business episode I am profiling an entrepreneur who is staying fit on her farm.  I thought bringing back this episode with Dolly Denson, "The Fit Stock Show Mom", was the perfect segue into this business interview.  Today, Dolly has grown her business even more and is the host of the "Be The Mom Movement Podcast".   The original show notes are below. SHOW NOTES KEY IDEAS:  Those o...

When I conducted my interview with Carter Ollendick it was right before he and his parliamentary procedure team departed for a competition.  Naturally, I asked him about his participation in both the Conduct Of Meetings team as well as the Parli team during the interview, and he had something interesting to say.  He told me that he would recommend participation in these teams to incoming FFA stude...

There are a lot of horrible stories out there right now about the natural disasters that our fellow humans, and more specifically, our fellow farmers and ranchers, are experiencing.  If you are not going through these dramatic hardships, and you have tinges of guilt about "why not me" or "why am I so lucky", you are not dealing with something abnormal.  This is probably a very low form of what is...

Everyone likes to joke about sibling fights, sibling rivalries, etc.  And, of course, there is a little bit of truth in every joke or it just wouldn't be funny.  However, many of the students that I get to interview on the show live way out on farms or in very small towns where their siblings might be the only other kids around.  And, when they are being brought up in a farming and/or ranching sit...

Tip Of The Week Nobody, even a judge is above the law! Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.facebook.com/1405668393032001/posts/pfbid028u7vQu4YyvuM1kjxGjokmewm9na8PzAGBeMnbinWtG4TVZYtU4PS36Uv3UWxsxjDl/?d=n https://www.wvva.com/2022/07/25/higher-drug-use-linked-increase-crime-wyoming-county/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/spike-pembrokeshire-livestock-deaths-due...

In today's episode we are interviewing a fascinating entrepreneur with a fascinating, value added, agricultural business.  Tina Schooler and her husband farm lavender, and they create a myriad of value added products with the lavender that, until this interview, I did not know were possible to make.  Chief on my list to try is the lavender beer bread. Where I live in Idaho, there are a few differe...

This great interview with Alaskan, Jennifer Sharrock, is the perfect tie in to tomorrow's Ag Business Interview.  Jennifer is a teacher at heart and teaches people in Alaska how to grow their own food and increase their self-sufficiency.  It is my pleasure to bring this interview back to you today. The original show notes are below. SHOW NOTES It is always exciting to interview a person who had a...

What year in school is too soon to start an agricultural business that serves large farmers?  I'm not sure, but, based on today's interview, I know that the answer is not 9th Grade.  Ashton Brusveen has just completed his 9th Grade year of high school, and he has been part of the FFA since 7th Grade.  He has grown up farming on his families land, helping to produce corn, soybeans, rye and wheat.  ...

I think that every one of us that owns property, raises livestock or grows crops has days that, as hard as you try, you cannot remember why you are doing this.  Some days can be so frustrating that you just cannot remember why it is all worth it.  I am definitely having one of those days today, and I'll share the whole story with you on today's episode. More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Incom...

It has been a lot of fun to profile this group of FFA students as they begin their journeys in this fantastic organization.  One of the reasons I enjoy it so much is it gives me a chance to capture their level of knowledge, sophistication and responsibility right at the beginning of their journey.  Then, in a few years I can speak with them again and see how they have grown and really become exper...

Tip Of The Week Lions And Teen Driver's, Oh My Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.deltaplexnews.com/jefferson-county-sheriffs-office-searching-for-stolen-tractor/ https://kgab.com/cheyenne-police-asking-for-publics-help-in-solving-trailer-theft/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/20292758.17-year-old-boy-arrested-several-sheep-killed/ https://www.edenm...

I am a huge fan of wool and wool clothing.  I am also a huge fan of my family heritage and legacy.  But....I am no comparison when it comes to today's guest.  Starting when she was 13 years old, Kelsey Patton, decided that she wanted to knit a sweater.  However, she and her mother did not just go buy her some yarn so she could get started.  Instead, they purchased sheep, a spinning wheel and much...

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am profiling a very impressive entrepreneur with a passion for wool. I also have a passion for wool, which was reflected in this solo episode from 2019.  Below are the original show notes: Show Notes Me and the whole family were back up in the Wood River Valley of Idaho this weekend so that I could elk hunt.  It just so happened that a friend of ours had a condo...

Our guest today is well ahead of her time advocating for agriculture and dispelling myths about animal ag as well as the FFA.  After listening to her interview, there will be no question in your mind why she is doing this. Taylor Russell comes from a rich, Wisconsin, FFA tradition.  Her aunt was the first ever female national officer from Wisconsin, both of her parents were state officers, her two...

It almost seems like farming has taken a back seat for me this summer so far.  Immediately after getting home from a very rare, but very large and fun vacation it was time to start turning over a rental house from which a tenant had moved out.  So, I've been irrigating in the morning, getting work done on the podcast and then heading into Boise to work on one of our streams of revenue. In today's...

Our guest today is not afraid to get started.  She first began raising goats when she was five years old by asking for a pet goat for her birthday.  Her parents said that she could have one only if she took responsibility for it, and she did without hesitation.  Fast forward 8 years, and Kylie Mann found herself in her second year of FFA during the 8th Grade.  Her small chapter needed people to fi...

Tip Of The Week Clean out the garage and the shop to make room for vehicles. Rural Crime In The U.S. https://fox40.com/news/local-news/catalytic-converter-woodland-police-etch/ https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/gas-theft-becoming-an-issue-for-farmers-in-kern-county https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/pharr-pd-searching-for-stolen-tractor-trailer/ Across The Pond, Down Under And Up...

On today's episode Ryan Conklin, attorney and owner of Wright & Moore Law Co. in Delaware, Ohio, returns to the show to discuss another revenue generating agreement possible on your farm.  Ryan first appeared on the show in episode #1353 where we discussed cell tower leases and what to look for if you were going to put one on your farm.  In today's episode we are going to talking about renewable e...