Off-farm Income

SHOW NOTES The Off-Farm Income Podcast has its focus on small business and entrepreneurship in agriculture.  But a broader goal is helping people in the agricultural and farming lifestyle.  From time to time, I am contacted by people with businesses servicing the farming industry who want to come on the show and talk about what they do.  I investigate what each of these companies are offering to determine if there is actual value offered to farmers.  I allow some of them to come on the show and tell some of them "no". I was recently contacted by Brandon Bruckman of Insight Real Estate Partners.  He wanted to come on the show and talk about the service that they offer to retiring farmers to help them shield the money they obtain from the sale of their farms from taxes.  They use a 1031 exchange to do this, and Brandon explained to me that there is a mis-perception about 1031 exchanges in which farmers believe they can only exchange to another farm, and therefore to shield the money they have to farm until

SHOW NOTES In today's bonus episode we are going to re-visit the business of killing mosquitos and helping people to be comfortable at their own homes.  I see a lot of crossover between this business and the types of certifications and knowledge that we already have in agriculture.  This business probably will not work in every part of the U.S., but I suspect that it will work in more places than you might think. Here are the show notes from the original episode with Dane Reiter. KEY IDEAS: Dane has a great story.  He walked onto the baseball team at the University of Southern Mississippi and made the team!  After playing baseball in college he went on to get his MBA.  Now, he and his partner have started Mosquito Defense Solutions in Southern Mississippi.  Does this seem like a person who goes after what he wants?  You bet! I was excited to bring you this episode.  So many times the skills we develop on the farm can translate into services to provide people in the city.  This business seemed to fit that

Sign Up To Receive Our FFA Stories Newsletter! Email address: SHOW NOTES WELCOMING BACK ELY BOULDS! Today's interview is one my favorite things to do, and that is to catch up with a previous guest who is achieving huge things!  Ely Boulds was just on the show in February of 2020 on episode #763 talking about his national proficiency award and the business he had started with his father, Dewey Lime Spreading. Ely has now been nominated for an American Star Award in Agribusiness, and I couldn't be more excited for him.  Ely's supervised agricultural experience and business have been recognized by the National FFA as one of the top four out of the over 700,000 FFA students in the U.S.  We will have our fingers crossed for him during the National Convention! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Agricultural Service Business HIGH SCHOOL: El Dorado High School; El Dorado, Illinois MASCOT: Eagles FFA ADVISOR: Kaleb Irwin CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ELY BOULDS: Click on the picture below to be taken to the El

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES Sign Up To Receive Our FFA Stories Newsletter! Email address: This past weekend was the 5th father/daughter weekend that I have spent with Hattie in Yellowstone.  I cannot believe how fast time flies.  We have already spent one half of a decade doing these trips! http://www.offincome.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Snow-the-Bear.mp4 We had a great time on the trip from going to the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook to watching grizzly bears to seeing a different grizzly bear fight off a wolf to keep an elk carcass from getting stole.  If you are ever trying to plan a trip to this great park and need tips and advice, just let

SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING JON SANWALD! The way my mind works, it is always looking for trends or for repeating themes that come up in my work.  I am very fortunate in what I do that I get to speak to so many FFA students and get a feel for the type of people they are and where their values lie. One of the recurring themes that comes up over and over again is how good FFA students are with money.  Over the course of the past six years of producing this show I have continued to interview students who started showing animals at a young age and then sold those animals at their fair auctions.  Almost always, these students saved that money and then reinvested it back into livestock or into their business going forward. Our guest today, Jon Sanwald, did exactly that.  Starting as a very young man, showing and selling pigs, he saved all of his money.  Once he had enough saved he reinvested that money into his very first heifer.  Then over time he started rolling the revenue created by his cattle into more cattle.  To

SHOW NOTES For the second week in a row I am bringing you an interview for our rural crime episode.  Today I am interviewing Dave Young, the co-founder of Vistelar and their training director.  Dave has copious amounts of experience in personal safety and crime prevention, and he is allowing us to tap into all of that today to learn more about preventing rural crime. Dave is also the author of the book, How to Defend Your Family and Home: Outsmart an Invader, Secure Your Home, Prevent a Burglary and Protect Your Loved Ones from Any Threat.  The information that Dave shares in this book will be a real asset to you in preparing for the unthinkable. You are going to really enjoy this very interesting interview. Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

SHOW NOTES Today we get to profile a fascinating agricultural business.  Craig Bailey, the owner of Green Mount Grain Roasting, will be joining us to talk all about the business of mobile grain roasting.  This is a very niche business, and as he will explain you need to be located in the correct type of area for this business to work. Craig is a fascinating entrepreneur.  He has a high risk tolerance, and that his what led him to start his poultry farm and to purchase the equipment for grain roasting.  In addition to that he is doing row crop farming and raising some livestock. This is a fascinating business that I never knew about until one of our listeners, Josh Gullman, contacted me and suggested it.  Craig serves smaller farmers and dairies in his area who don't raise enough grain and soybeans to purchase their own roaster, and who are not big enough to get priority at the stationary roasting businesses.  Craig services four states with his equipment, and believes there is room for other people in t

SHOW NOTES Introducing Sean Westergaard!  Sean has an awesome and non-traditional supervised agricultural experience.  He is cleaning and maintaining gutters in his town and the four towns around him.  He has identified his target customer, which is the elderly.  As I was thinking about this it dawned on me that by providing this service Sean might actually save a life.  If there was nobody there to provide this service an older person might climb a latter that just should not.  A fall from that height could be devastating.  So, luckily they have Sean there to do it for them! SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Gutter Cleaning & Maintenance HIGH SCHOOL: Westwood High School; Sloan, Iowa MASCOT: Rebels FFA ADVISOR: Dan Witten CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SEAN WESTERGAARD: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Westwood High School Website: Sean's FFA Advisor's Email Address:  dwitten@wcsdrebels.com Westwood High School Telephone Number:  712-428-3355 FFA LINKS: National FFA Organization Supervised Ag

SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING KADEN MITCHELL! Today I get to visit with a student who has been on the show before.  Kaden Mitchell who previously was on the show in episode 451 is coming back on the show to give us an update.  Ironically, I did not realize that Kaden had been on the show before we finished all of the recording, so this sounds just like a normal FFA interview. Kaden is now at Oklahoma State University studying agricultural business and pre-law.  He started his lawn business, Mitchell Lawn Services, when he was in the 8th grade and it has been growing ever since.  Kaden hired his first employee when he was a freshman in high school and had his grandfather drive them around to different jobs.  Over time Kaden grew his business through word of mouth, calling potential customers, Facebook and outstanding customer service. In the interview Kaden goes through the list of equipment that he had by the time he entered college.  He had really built the business way up.  Now that he is living in Stillwater f

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES Sign Up To Receive Our FFA Stories Newsletter! Email address: On today's Tuesday episode we look back at why the Off-Farm Income Podcast was originally started.  The ultimate purpose of this show was to help people be happy or at least content. We look at that purpose and how buying materials goods can cloud what really makes us happy and keep us from ever reaching the lifestyle that we are dreaming about. Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING DEVIN CASELMAN! I am 47 years old at the time of this writing.  I am also highly motivated and see copious amounts of opportunity in my future by being an entrepreneur.  But, I haven't always been this way.  There was a time when life had really beat me up, and it seemed like I was locked into one job and one type of lifestyle for the next 20 years. Eventually, entrepreneurship rescued me from this outlook on life and that enthusiasm and motivation returned.  However, after 7 years as a full-time entrepreneur that could slip away again.  In my case it never has, and why that has never happened is worth exploring. While I was interviewing today's guest, Devin Caselman, it dawned on me why my perspective stays so fresh.  It is because I get to speak with students like him twice per week, all year long.  Devin is very busy, and he is a hard worker.  However, he has the freshness of youth to frame his perspective, and all of us adults could learn a lot from him. In the interview Devin an

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES This week we have a special Rural Crime Episode for you.  I am speaking with Philip Clarke, the executive Editor of Farmer's Weekly.  Farmer's Weekly is a publication based in the United Kingdom. I have been reading so many stories about rural crime in the U.K. that I wanted to speak with somebody who understood the scope and specifics of the issues there better than me.  It seems that three out of every four articles I read about rural crime in the U.K. are published by Farmer's Weekly, so that seemed like a good place to begin my search. I was very fortunate that Philip was willing to take the time to come on the show.  In t

SHOW NOTES In today's interview I get to connect with a listener of the show and talk about how he and his wife are making their farm dream come true.  I will be speaking with Justin Farrish from West Virginia.  Justin has a really interesting farm story.  This farm was started by his great-grandfather in the first half of the 20th Century.  West Virginia is rocky, mountainous and filled with trees, so there was lots of work to do.  Justin talks about his great-grandfather digging out stumps by hand to clear land for grazing.  It is really amazing. Today Justin and his wife have been able to move their family to the farm and start putting it back into production.  They had to start with remodeling the existing home and making it livable.  After that it there is fencing and more clearing to do.  They have done a lot of work already and have a lot ahead, but they want to carry this legacy forward and are prepared for this. In the interview we talk about all the challenges that come with a multi-generatio

SHOW NOTES KEY IDEAS: In this episode we are looking at how to use Craigslist to market your service or products. What methods can you use to make your ad stand out? How can you build trust and rapport with customers through a Craigslist Ad? How can you tell your story? How can you show them that you have the solution to their problems? Adverstising on Craigslist is 100% free, and every effective.  Any business starting in this space should be using this opportunity to spread the word about your business! Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING RACHYL KITTEN! You may have noticed when I interview FFA students about their small businesses that I always ask them if they are going to continue the business after they are done with high school and the FFA.  I would say that 90% of the time the answer is either they do not know or "no, I am going to become a ________". I stop short of pushing my guests at this point as I don't want to force them into something that is the wrong fit.  However, the 10% of the time a student tells me that they want to continue the business they have started and make a career out of it, it is very exciting for me.  I know that stude

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES Sign Up To Receive Our FFA Stories Newsletter! Email address: On today's Tuesday episode I revisit a listener question that I had received some time back about starting a direct to consumer meat business.  We will cover a number of things in this episode including how to select the pasture that you are going to lease and getting creative in finding your target market.  We will also talk a bit about the podcasting business and how I built mine. Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:   Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES INTRODUCING SKYLER STORIE! Interviewing FFA students on this show is always an inspiration experience.  The energy, optimism and enthusiasm that these students have is unmatchable. In today's episode I get to speak a truly amazing young man.  Skyler Storie has grown up on his families farm in Conway, Missouri.  He has not taken a minute of it for granted.  Rather than wishing he lived in town, closer to friends or with more amenities nearby, he has embraced what he can do on his farm. Since Skyler was ten years old he has been doing "ride-a-longs" with a large animal veterinarian a couple of days of the week, every summer.  H

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES Links To This Week's Stories: This week on our rural crime bonus episode we talk about what a booking photo should really look like, how black markets develop and political rioting on farms. Tip Of The Week The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence The Gift of Fear - you should read this once every year! Rural Crime https://www.abc27.com/news/local/lebanon/lebanon-county-man-arrested-for-vandalism-in-overnight-crime-spree/ Where The 2nd Amendment Does Not Exist https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18727060.sussex-rural-crime-members-fear-animal-rights-protests/ https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2020/09/thre

SHOW NOTES Last week when I was calling around to find out who needed hay due to the wildfires in the West I received a lot of referrals to other people to check with.  One of those referrals was to the NGO (non-governmental organization) called Ranch Aid and its founder, Jonathan Cutler.  Ranch Aid is an exceptional organization that helps to feed livestock and even wildlife during natural disasters. In today's episode I interview Jonathan about this great organization so that everyone out there can know that they can call them for help if need be.  And, so people can support them. You will be amazed at the logistical ability this organization has.  After the hurricane hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Ranch Aid was able to arrange for barges, aircraft, helicopters, etc. to help get feed to livestock on the island.  It is truly amazing what they do, and they are constantly on the alert.  When Jonathan and I finished our interview he was preparing for a conference call to discuss the hurricane that was currentl

(function(t,e,s,o){var n,c,l;t.SMCX=t.SMCX||[],e.getElementById(o)||(n=e.getElementsByTagName(s),c=n[n.length-1],l=e.createElement(s),l.type="text/javascript",l.async=!0,l.id=o,l.src="https://widget.surveymonkey.com/collect/website/js/tRaiETqnLgj758hTBazgd9drLJnboGjIT22BjcFIstsIWlxPDKvTp9FSNMbyGKlQ.js",c.parentNode.insertBefore(l,c))})(window,document,"script","smcx-sdk"); SHOW NOTES KEY IDEAS: I loved the story associated with this interview.  There are many ways that people find themselves pursuing entrepreneurship.  Cyanne Storms' story is the type that makes you jealous.  This certainly was not the case for me, and probably not for most of us. Cyanne is retired, but she likes to stay active.  She also loves horses.  The combination of the two led her to her business.  But not so fast!  It is not that simple.  While at the stables Cyanne noticed old and tattered horse blankets that were being thrown out.  She thought that was a waste and decided to repair them.  She started doing this, and people were so