SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING JUSTIN HOEFT! 

I have only had one other student from Amherst High School on this show, but each time I have interviewed one of these students their SAE has been fantastic!  Today I get to profile Justin Hoeft.  His predecessor on this show, Evan Palmer, was concerned with the sky and flying drones.  Justin is focusing his attention on what is under water, and he is making fishing lures.

Justin has been developing this SAE over time, but he is having great success now.  His company is called J.R. Lucky Lures, and his products are now being sold by Cabelas!  Justin has some big goals that were born out of this SAE project.

Justin is now studying mechanical engineering at the University of Nebraska.  He wants to learn to how better develop and produce products.  He will be continuing with his fishing lure business.  But, he has his sites set on eventually making his own line of boats for retail sale.  I am confident that he will get there.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Fishing Lure Production and Sales

HIGH SCHOOL: Amerst High School; Amherst, Nebraska

MASCOT: Broncos

FFA ADVISOR: Katie Hothem

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JUSTIN HOEFT:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Amherst High School Website:

Justin's FFA Advisor's Email Address: [email protected]

Amherst High School Telephone Number:  (308) 826-3131

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.

Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.

Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

 

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

 SHOW NOTES

KEY IDEAS: 

Our guest today has a passion for farming, a path to farming full-time and a job that he likes that might keep him from doing just that!

Chris Benton and his wife Leann are the owners and founders of C&L Farms Grows.  They have an 8 acre farm about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, Georgia and they are focused on growing microgreens.  Chris told me that he chose microgreens for a number of reasons.  The fact that there is an almost immediate harvest and return, nobody in his area was doing it and they are so nutritious were among his top reasons for this decision.

The way that Chris and Leann developed their business is interesting as well.  Chris grew up around agriculture and wanted to be involved with that.  Leann did not necessarily have the same desire to farm, but she wanted to find a niche business that would allow her to work from home for a number of reasons.  Thus the business was developed.  It allows Chris to be involved in agriculture, and it allows Leann to stay at home.

In this episode Chris and I discuss a way of creating your off-farm income that I have never really focused on, and that is having a job but working from home.  This is what Chris does, so he rarely has to suffer through the notorious commutes associated with the Atlanta metro area.  The ability to work from home gives Chris a lot of the same flexibility that entrepreneurs have when it comes to farming.  When something comes up during the day that Leann needs help with, Chris can break away and help really quick.  This way, when Chris' work day ends, he does not have a list of things that have to get done at home.  He has already finished those.

This reminded me a flier that I received from the State of Montana a couple of years ago.  In an effort to get people who had attended college in Montana to return to the state they sponsored a "work from home" campaign.  The flier invited me to come back to Montana to live.  Then it gave instructions on how to convince your employer to allow you to work remotely so you could do just this.

I found this very innovative at the time since the State of Montana did not have the jobs to attract people back to the rural areas that they had left, but they thought outside the box on how to make this happen.

ADVICE FROM CHRIS:

COUPLE: If you are going to farm micro greens, start with just a couple of trays while you learn what you are doing.  Work out a system before you grow too fast.

OVERHEAD: This business is great in that not a lot of overhead is required.  It really lowers the barriers to entry.

NICHE: Chris found out that nobody in his area was growing or selling micro greens.  He chose this as his crop because he and Leanna could serve two local farmer's markets as well as restaurants with a product that was otherwise not available.

BEST BUSINESS ADVICE CHRIS HAS EVER RECEIVED:

"Be committed to success" - Chris states that without this commitment you will not make it through the hard times, and this advice has helped him in those very times.

RESOURCE RECOMMENDATION:

Chris highly recommends The Urban Farmer: Growing Food for Profit on Leased and Borrowed Land as a book to help anyone get started in farming.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Website: LINK

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: LINK

Instagram: LINK

Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

 

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING ZACH GLENN! 

My final interview at the Nevada FFA Convention was with Zach Glenn who had just won a gold proficiency award in agricultural mechanics and will be applying to compete at the National FFA Convention.

Zach has a definite mechanical aptitude and it is now bringing him recognition and awards.  He got started working with his hands in his grandfather's shop in Challis, Idaho of all places.  This led him to his FFA projects and got him to join the FFA.

As time went one Zach started rebuilding a 1969 Volkswagen Beatle into a Baja Bug.  This has been a complete tear down and rebuild, and he is learning a ton.  Zach also has a placement SAE with a mechanical company in the Elko, Nevada area that is leading him towards diesel mechanics.

Zach's biggest project so far has been a multi-month rebuild on a dump truck.  He learned about a lot of aspects including hydraulics, air brakes and electronics.  This has been very inspirational for Zach.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Ag. Mechanics & Research

HIGH SCHOOL: Spring Creek High School; Spring Creek, Nevada

MASCOT: Spartans

FFA ADVISOR: Ty Smith

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ZACH GLENN:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Spring Creek High School Website:

Zach's FFA Advisor's Email Address: [email protected]

Spring Creek High School Telephone Number: 775-753-5575

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.

Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.

Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

 

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

SHOW NOTES

STATE OF THE FARM EPISODE! 

 

New D&B Under Construction

As you all know I host a radio show and podcast for D&B Supply, a farm and ranch retailer based in Caldwell, Idaho.  Naturally, this is where I do my shopping for equipment, veterinary supplies, clothing, you name it.  Well, they are building a brand new store just two miles from the end of my driveway.  I am very excited about this as I will be able to just jump on my bicycle and go to D&B.  You know, like a farmer in Germany might.

As of right now, when I need something farm and ranch related, which, other than groceries, is all I shop for, I have to drive either into Meridian or Nampa, Idaho.  So, I have a 25 to 35 minute drive, depending on which store I choose.  Soon, this will be very easy.  The only mixed emotions I have on this is that the building of this new store is a clear cut example of how fast my little community is growing and how much more growth is anticipated here.

 

Auction Day

I am taking a bit of a risk this year to expand my cow herd.  The ground that I have had in production for hay is being converted to pasture.  The alfalfa stand is 7 years old this year, so we just planted a pasture mix into it a couple of weeks ago.  I just walked it yesterday, and the orchard and rye grasses we planted are sprouting.

This means two things for us.  First, I will have to buy all or most of my hay.  This is the risky part.  As hay prices fluctuate, and I am no longer growing my own I may regret this decision.  Second, I will now have more pasture than I have cattle.  So, I am retaining my heifers to grow my herd.  This means that I am short on cattle to sell this coming fall.

So, I spent last Friday at the auction.  I bought one steer to be able to market to our customers, and I suspect I will buy a couple more in the coming weeks.  I also sold a three year old cow that was not working out.  This all worked out because she sold for more than the steer I purchased.  So, I had no money out of pocket.  I actually still received a check.

But, it was a busy day at the auction. I was there early to purchase

the steer, and then I waited until the very end for my cow to sell.  They sold about 750 head that day, so it was a long, long day.  The lines to drop off my cow, and then later to pick up my steer were also very long.  The main photo for this post was taken at the end of the day when I was waiting to pick up the steer

I always enjoy going to the auction.  Buying cattle low and selling them high was the specialty of my step-grandfather who introduced me to this business.  When I go to the auction I am definitely out of my element. I am certainly not a "cattle trader", but I strive to be one.  So, whenever I go, I spend a lot of time just watching, listening and taking notes.  One of these days I will be that old man that is there every Friday that the auctioneer knows as a savvy trader.

Kidding Continues

We are about 1/2 way through our kidding season now.  Hattie is becoming more and more astute on the farm.  In this picture she has a sizable Boer buckling that wasn't nursing enough.  She tried to get him to bottle feed, but he wasn't having it.  So, she decided to tube it with some milk replacer to make sure it had the energy to keep fighting his siblings for the milk.  Of course this means kids in the house.  But luckily we haven't had to keep any in the house overnight this year.

 

Farm Fitness

Almost exactly one year ago I had a calf that I needed to castrate, and I had waited way too long to get this done.  He was big, and I don't have a calf table....yet.  I got him penned up, roped his head and tied him off. Then I went to throw him.  You know, the way I did when I was 20.

SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING ANTHONY BARNES! 

Today's episode is my third installment of four interviews I was able to do at the 2019 Nevada State FFA Convention.  Please forgive my voice as I was sick, and after the previous two interviews I was going down hill fast!

With all that said, I was thrilled to meet and interview Anthony Barnes.  He had just been selected as the 2019 Star Farmer for Nevada two days earlier and was still absorbing that honor.  Anthony lives on his families ranch to the south of Elko, Nevada at the base of the beautiful, Ruby Mountains.  He works on his families ranch and told me that his parents have always stressed horsemanship.

Anthony and his brothers started their own herd of registered Angus cattle which they are marketing to ranches in their region of Northern Nevada.  He describes the work that goes into collecting data for EPD's (estimated progeny differences) as well as marketing the seed stock that they are raising.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Diversified Agricultural Placement

HIGH SCHOOL: Spring Creek High School; Spring Creek, Nevada

MASCOT: Spartans

FFA ADVISOR: Ty Smith

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ANTHONY BARNES:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Spring Creek High School Website:

Anthony's FFA Advisor's Email Address: [email protected]

Spring Creek High School Telephone Number: 775-753-5575

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE's)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA - One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start - pay it forward.

REASONS TO DONATE TO FFA:

Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.

Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.

Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“The future of American agriculture depends on the involvement and investment in America’s youth, In order to prepare for the population of tomorrow, we need to encourage America’s youth today, and show that careers in agriculture are profitable, rewarding, and vital.”.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue

Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

 

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters