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, tha...

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 Illinoi...

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-sei...

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. Recen...

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...

"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, thi...

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 i...

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...

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/...

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...

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 th...

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 gr...

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.htm...

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 produc...

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 IDE...

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...

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 exper...

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-e...

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...

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....

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,...