Off-Farm Income

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 sell...

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.c...

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 w...

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 f...

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...

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...

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 ag...

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...

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 liabi...

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 Bos...

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...

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...

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/ ht...

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/ ht...

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...

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 No...

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 t...

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 w...

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 transporta...

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/wc...

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 busine...

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 a...

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 anesthesiolog...

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...