Off-Farm Income

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 National FFA Convention. Penn State is a very storied and very well known university, but did you know it all started with agriculture?  On today's Ag College Episode we get to delve into that history and see what it has become throughout the entire commonwealth campus system.  Hundreds of opportunities await agriculture students in State College, Pennsylvania and we have four great guests to tell you about all them!

Tip Of The Week Coast To Coast, we need to protect copper wire Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-hay-bales-set-on-fire-kingfisher-garfield-county/61195550 https://www.wymt.com/2024/06/26/police-laurel-county-looking-stolen-atvs/ https://www.wgmd.com/dsp-looking-to-identify-suspects-in-thefts-of-copper-wire-from-farm-irrigation/ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cherokee-county-sheriff-s-office-seeks-info-in-tractor-theft/ar-BB1kiflB?ocid=feedsansarticle Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/brazen-burglar-raided-kent-farms-for-£55k-equipment-then-fooled-victims-to-sell-it-on/ar-AA1f5pWH?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1 https://farmersforum.com/cattle-heist-75-black-angus-vanish-from-quebec-farm/ https://www.beefcentral.com/news/repeat-offender-pleads-guilty-to-aggravated-cruelty-to-livestock/ Africa https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/law-crime/former-deputy-minister-arrested-for-alleged-theft-of-farm-equipment/#google_vignette https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/amp/crop/article/2001497825/siaya-farmers-abandon-maize-after-dismal-yields-turn-to-fruit-farming Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mccordsville-man-allegedly-steals-car-joyrides-tractor-before-being-found-urinating-in-roadway-in-bartholomew-county/ar-BB1nsGXD?ocid=BingNewsVerp&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1 https://www.missourivalleytimes.com/stories/moorhead-man-arrested-in-pisgah,55572

Ryan Yoder and his family are full-time, first generation farmers in Vermont.  Sitting in a picturesque valley in the west/central part of the state they grow fruit, vegetables, meat chickens and corn.  They turn a lot of what they grow and what their neighbors grow into value added products such as popped popcorn and apple cider vinegar, and they have a number of sales outlets as well as revenue streams. In today's episode Ryan will tell us all about his journey, his philosophy on farming and how growing up in Nepal influenced his life today!

How about sub-contracting as a corporate pilot as your form of off-farm income?  Seem impossible?  I would have thought it was unrealistic until I interviewed today's guest, Andrew Ambrose. Andrew owns his own business, Fly Twins LLC, and he farms 750 acres in Southeast Missouri in addition to that.  If that is not enough, he also owns his own excavating company.  As Andrew put it, it would not be uncommon to see him flying a corporate customer across the country in the morning and driving a combine that evening.  This is an interesting way to producing off-farm income.

Well, there is at least one more farm update episode to come, and I'll explain that in today's show.  I will also touch on our hot weather, irrigation, our creek, wildfires and what in the world the episode title is all about.

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 National FFA Convention. Northwest Oklahoma State University sits in a small town and rural county, and it is poised to give you exactly the agricultural education and college experience that you are looking for.  There is something special about going to college in a small community that wraps itself around its university, and I believe that Alva, Oklahoma is one of these places.  If that were not enough, the many activities for students, including "Howdy Week" and "Bahama Breakaway" create bookends to a school year full of opportunity.  If you are looking for the place that you will fit and can complete your degree without debt, this is probably the perfect fit!

Tip Of The Week Be careful what driveway you turn into Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.abc10.com/article/news/crime/butte-county-illegal-marijuana-farm/103-221e7bc8-a5ee-466b-9f88-25d6864780a9 https://www.delcotimes.com/2024/06/19/investigators-say-sleighton-farm-school-fire-was-arson-ask-for-publics-help/ https://www.magnoliareporter.com/news_and_business/regional_news/article_c851392c-2e11-11ef-ba57-b79fbac7ef20.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/staffordshire/south-staffordshire/2024/06/17/police-hunt-6000-horsebox-stolen-from-lay-by-off-a-road/ https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/was-ramming-escaped-cow-the-only-way-to-keep-public-safe?utm_campaign=Best of Farmers Weekly email 66&utm_content=R ead more&utm_term=https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/was-ramming-escaped-cow-the-only-way-to-keep-public-safe&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Farmers Weekly Africa https://neweralive.na/posts/stock-theft-accused-denies-guilt https://www.citizen.co.za/northern-natal-news/news-headlines/dundee-courier/2024/06/21/dundee-saps-farmers-apprehend-stock-thief/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.ktiv.com/2024/06/20/pocahontas-man-arrested-multiple-charges-livestock-theft/ https://www.kezi.com/news/local/man-charged-in-alleged-theft-of-nearly-100-000-from-lane-county-livestock-association/article_d21aa7b4-2f28-11ef-b695-abef9b7b3a92.html

On today's show I am speaking with Peter Dalton.  Peter owns the company, "Hunt Country Wildlife Removal" in Loudoun County, Virginia.  This is a side business that kind of started by accident.  Peter taught himself how to trap, and along the way started trapping for friends and neighbors when they had nuisance animals.  Pretty soon he was doing a lot of trapping, and he finally started charging people for the service. Through word of mouth the business has grown and grown.  Peter is very busy with this side business these days, and he and his wife are also developing their farmstead.  He has a lot of great advice on equipment to use, how to work in urban areas and what you can do in rural areas.  I learned about a method of trapping foxes and coyotes in the episode that I never heard about, and you will benefit from this as well!

This is our second to last farm update episode, and today is just that....a farm update.

Obviously, the reason that I started interviewing FFA students was their involvement in entrepreneurship.  The way that the FFA facilitates exposure and learning in entrepreneurship is second to none.  And, as the title of this episode suggests it really is an entrepreneurship incubator. That is very apparent in our interview with today’s guest, Jenna Spangler.  Jenna is a very competitive person, and upon joining the FFA she found that this organization served her competitive spirit very well.  Through a myriad of different contests and competitions, she found exactly what she was looking for.  Then the day came that she wanted to go on a mission trip and needed to raise $150 to make this happen.  Jenna decided that she would make ice cream and sell it to people for the fundraiser and actually pre-sold what she needed to raise.

Today is all about the "Built Ford Tough Dealer Scholarship".  Special thanks to listener, Joel Nickerson, the general manager of Butler Ford in Ashland, Oregon for reaching out to me with this information. Here is the link to the scholarship sign up form: https://analytics.clickdimensions.com/cn/aunbc/ford2023

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 National FFA Convention. Ridgewater College has the most unique and intriguing internship program that I have profiled to date.  And, even though there is no student housing, the options for students to house in Willmar are different than any I have heard of before as well.  Aside from this, Ridgewater offers excellent opportunities to learn about agriculture, establish your agricultural career or get you started towards your four year agricultural degree.

Tip Of The Week Advocate for yourself when working with the law enforcement Rural Crime In The U.S. https://www.ktul.com/news/local/reward-offered-after-a-tractor-theft-leads-to-destruction-of-200-hay-bales-in-wilburton-oklahoma-tulsa-kokh-investigation-lcso-latimer-county-sheriffs-office-crime-stoppers-arrest https://www.wkow.com/news/crime/dane-county-farmer-s-tip-leads-to-manhunt-arrest-in-randolph-stabbing/article_b4a181f8-2393-11ef-86d2-ff9b27bc7e84.html Across The Pond, Down Under And Up Above https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/drugs-horse-buggies-and-20-shipping-containers-uncovered-in-alleged-stolen-haul/ar-BB1nITxU https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/rural/rural-crime/hertfordshire-farmer-targeted-again-following-theft-of-11-goats/ https://www.agriland.co.uk/farming-news/30-20kg-bags-of-calf-milk-stolen-from-wiltshire-farm/ Africa https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-242358.html https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/eastern/2024-06-06-man-arrested-14-goats-recovered-in-machakos/ Chalk One Up For The Good Guys https://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/dec-reports-arrests-in-timber-theft-oil-spill-in-allegany-county/article_3db02a5e-2438-11ef-8d6d-4fed347a5bd9.html https://ktla.com/news/california/homeless-outreach-unit-discovers-stolen-john-deere-tractor-in-southern-california-riverbed/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/sparta-man-charged-stealing-cattle-131659576.html

Today's episode highlights how the FFA can put another tool, the tool of entrepreneurship, in a student's arsenal.  Elyce Burzlaff is mid-way through her sophomore year of high school.  Last May a guest speaker came to her school and spoke with the FFA students.  During that discussion, Elyce and her classmates were challenged to come up with an entrepreneurial idea.  This led Elyce down a path of thinking of ways she could create revenue and determining what resources were at her disposal.  Then she remembered that her mom had some equipment that could be used for making shirts.

What do all these great folks with different passions have in common?  Cambridge, Idaho is the answer and I will explain why in today's show.

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I have a list of businesses that I like to revisit and get different perspectives from different business owners on.  The business of manure spreading is on that list.  There is a wide range of complexity in this business.   Everywhere that anyone raises livestock there is the need to deal with manure.  If you live in the Northeast you might just be dealing with small farmyards.  A tractor with a bucket and a PTO driven manure spreader might be all the equipment you need for your business. And then there is the Midwest and all of the cattle on feed plus the massive fields of crop ground that are there.  To run a manure spreading business in this region you need big equipment and a lot of it. In today's interview I get to speak with Chadd Schmidt, one of the owners of 4 Bar S Inc.  4 Bar S is a manure spreading and pen cleaning business that Chadd's parents started in the 1980's.  Today they are running top of the line, triple axle, manure spreaders that can haul up to 48 ton.  And they have four of them!

We celebrated Hattie's high school graduation starting last Wednesday with the ceremony on Thursday and party on Saturday.  That has been all encompassing and is the topic of today's Farm Update.

I don't know if you have noticed, but his show is about non-conformists and people who look at the world a different way.  All of us fit that definition a little bit by the mere fact that we want to farm and only 2% of our population is in that career field.  But what about that person that says "why do I have to do it that way"? Today's guest, Ben Rykerd, is that person.  Ben is now 29 years old.  He describes himself as having a "travel bug" and he has known this since he was a kid.  So, as high school was coming to a close Ben didn't just take the next prescribed step in the journey, he stopped and asked himself what type of life he wanted to have.

Today's Farm Update Episode includes a large announcement about the future of the Off-Farm Income Podcast.  I hope you will all tune in and share this moment with me.