Off-Farm Income

Our guest today is very good at keeping a secret!  At almost the moment that we finished our interview, he ended the call and proposed to his girlfriend!  And, I would not be including this in the show notes if she had not said yes.  Congratulations to the happy couple! Well, Landon Wenger is certainly laying the foundations for the rest of his life.  At age 19 he has been named as a state winner...

Today's episode is a "best of" episode.  I interviewed FFA students from all over the U.S. last Christmas about the community service projects they were doing, and I wanted to bring it back to you this year.

Starting tomorrow and going through the 6th of January, I am running "best of" episodes.  I can do 7 episodes per week, but I need a break! And I am taking one.  I hope you enjoy the memories everyone!  

Merry Christmas everyone...just a quick check in to say I appreciate you on this most special of holidays!  

Christmas is a very special time of year, and it is really where the community service portion of the FFA can shine.  On today's episode we are going to profile a chapter, Northwestern FFA from West Salem, Ohio, that shines very bright at this time of year by helping to provide much needed supplies for people all around the world. Joining us today to represent Northwestern FFA is Kade Tegtmeier, t...

Tip Of The Week Don't lose money by saving electricity at Christmas Rural Crime In The U.S. https://ruralradio.com/kneb-am/news/cheyenne-co-sheriffs-office-investigating-stolen-truck-and-firearm/ https://www.powelltribune.com/stories/former-officer-convicted-of-stealing-horse-lying-to-forest-service,110407 Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/quads-worth...

Julia McCarthy is a farmer, rancher and freelance writer from Grangeville, Idaho.  Several months back I read an article of hers in a publication about agriculture in my state called Ag Proud Idaho.  The topic caught my eye and I liked the writing, so I invited Julia to be a guest on the show.  Finally, we got the interview done.   Freelance writing is one of my favorite forms of off-farm income....

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am profiling a freelance, agricultural writer.  This is one of my favorite forms of off-farm income.  For today's re-cap episode I went back to episode #1233 and an interview I did with Rachel Gabel of the "The Fence Post Magazine".  In this interview we talked a lot about how freelance writers can get started and be successful, but we did it from the editor's p...

Lillie Cagle is a 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Agricultural Education.  She is also a Tennessee State Officer and a previous guest on this show.  Lillie just appeared on Off-Farm Income in April of 2023 after becoming a state officer.  She had a phenomenal SAE and was doing a ton of good for agriculture.  In just the span of 6 months from being on the show she found herself...

A quick farm update for all of you today, and a sure fire method for keeping any livestock or dogs from going under your fences.  

Teak Barhaug is the past president of the Alaska FFA, a current student at the University Of Alaska - Fairbanks and a former resident of Wyoming.  When Teak's father transferred to Alaska to finish his career in the National Forest Service it came at a bit of a price.  Teak's mother, Kimberly, was a former FFA member, Teak's brother had been involved in the 4h and was progressing into the FFA and...

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 What if you are attacked with pepper spray? Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philly-man-charged-with-using-bear-spray-on-victim-in-nj-robbery/3715884/ https://salinapost.com/posts/8d9358f2-1c94-465a-9ae2-f48418f92e8f https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/info-sought-on-gate-theft-by-sioux-center/article_7cf974e2-93a9-11ee-bd36-2b76307bc7b3.html https://ww...

Forrest Pritchard is a regenerative and multi-generational farmer from the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia.  His families roots on the farm go to the mid-1800's, and today he has transformed the look and production of the farm back to something that might resemble how farmsteads operated in that time. Forrest was not always interested in regenerative, direct to consumer farming.  However, a...

On tomorrow's Ag Business Episode I am speaking with a farmer and author who has written a book about how to start your farm.  I thought this interview that I did with Mara Fielder could bring some real life to the interview I am playing tomorrow.  On tomorrow's show we will talk about timing and things to take into consideration when beginning.  But, in this interview with Mara, we hear it from s...

Andrew Pingenot is the Chapter President of the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter, he is a distributor of high quality animal feeders and he is just a junior in high school.  Farming and raising cattle on his families multi-generational farm in Iowa, Andrew has embraced the family tradition.  As such, when he was 15 years old, he and his father attended the Iowa Beef Expo in an effort to learn more ab...

Applying for, receiving and working in an Internship was one of the best things I did while I was in college.  And, even though it sounds like everyone does this when you listen to my Ag College Episodes, that is not true.  Many college students allow this opportunity to pass them right by. On today's episode I really want to encourage students to get involved in internships during the time they a...

Pepper Elmore is the Chapter Reporter for the Kremlin FFA in Kremlin, Oklahoma.  Knowing she wanted to be part of the FFA, when it came to join Pepper chose to go to school at Kremlin-Hillsdale, in spite of the fact that it is 45 minutes from her ranch, because her local school did not offer agriculture.  Pepper is well versed in fitting, showing and husbandry of cattle through her families busine...

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 Should we throw rural crime prevention to the dogs? Rural Crime In The U.S. https://newschannel9.com/news/offbeat/great-pyrenees-casper-that-killed-8-coyotes-to-protect-sheep-nominated-for-farm-dog-of-the-year-american-farm-bureau-purina-georgia-john-wierwille-ewe-can-do-it-naturally-landscaping-pregnant-mate-daisy-lifeline-animal-project https://drgnews.com/2023/12/07/203349/ http...

Will Meadows is a multi-generational cattle rancher from Alabama and a very successful personality in agricultural social media, posting videos on TikTok, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram.  He is now generating revenue from his social media channels as well as selling bulls for his families farm through his video efforts. On today's episode we are going to talk about how he has accomplished this in...

On today's re-cap episode I want to explore the idea of building your own agricultural communications business.  This is something that can literally be done from anywhere, and my previous guest did exactly that.  Tomorrow's ag business interview involves an young man who is an up and coming cattle rancher and who is making his off-farm income through posting about his farm on social media. Develo...

Vanessa Trotter is a 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Nursery Operations.  This all began when she was 8 years old.  Her father had just recently purchased his families farm that had been auctioned off when his grandfather passed away 20+ years earlier.  After the purchase he approached Vanessa, the eldest of four children, and told her that she would be going to college in 10 y...

One of the ways that I deal with stress in my life is by writing.  I often write things that nobody ever sees, but it helps me when I get my thoughts on out on paper so having an audience for what I have written is not important.  Last night I had an experience that really made me give thought to things I have been observing in our society that have been bothering me.  It was still on my mind this...

Kendra Downing is a 2023 National Proficiency Winner in the category of Ag Sales - Entrepreneurship.  Growing up as the 4th generation on her families farm she, her sister and her parents were sitting on the front porch one day contemplating what enterprise the kids could start to generate revenue.  The idea of a pumpkin patch was proposed, and it was decided to purse that endeavor.  That was the...