Ag Opportunities Volume 17, Number 3 March 2006 Farm Beginnings Gives Aspiring Farmers Firsthand Advice By Chuck Adamson Senior Information Specialist Extension & Ag Information Bill Haigler can’t stop smiling as he walks his 80-acre farm in scenic Howell County. The former professional cranberry grower from Wisconsin bought the property a year ago and moved to this rural southern Missouri community of Pottersville. In his previous job he was an employee. Now he’s a landowner. "I know I want to farm. I know I want to wake up every morning and come out here," Haigler said. "I walk out here and I’m just giddy." Haigler and his wife, Cynthia, are two of the 15 aspiring farmers taking part in the University of Missouri Extension Farm Beginnings course in West Plains. The course, which focuses on marketing and other business aspects of the trade, uses practicing farmers to teach and to mentor aspiring ones. Randy Saner, the MU Extension livestock specialist overseeing the Missouri course, said one goal is to get the students to develop an on-paper business plan. "So many people don’t have that... What we see is a lot of people move in, last three or fours years, and get out because they run out of money," Saner said. "People often don’t see their farm as a business. They see it as a quality of life. You need to see it as a business. You can have quality of life, but you can’t live without an income." Besides giving a realistic calculation of expenses and profits, a formal business plan will increase the likelihood of a farmer being approved for a loan, Saner said. Farm Beginnings began in Wabasha County, MN. The idea for the course grew out of a meeting in 1994 by a group of farmers interested in preserving the future of family farming, according to the Farm Beginnings Web site. The course is meant to offer mentoring and classroom instruction on sustainable and profitable farming methods. This year’s MU Extension course is the first one in Missouri. Haigler said he’s looking for a niche product, or several such products for that matter. He spent 2005 building the couple’s recently finished home and is now planting and building animal pens to test different plants and livestock. He has seven goats, a half-dozen heritage breed turkeys, six calves, a growing blueberry patch and dozens of pecan trees with more than a hundred more trees ordered. He hopes to continue planting blueberries and pecans until he has fields full of both. In the meantime, Cynthia works as a sales manager for a cell phone company in West Plains to pay the couple’s bills. While some farm beginnings students like Bill have commercial growing experience, many of the class of the students are new to farming. Ann Ulett, 50, from a Chicago suburb, flies twice a month to Missouri to attend the course. The financial professional wants a new life in the Ozarks, one that doesn’t include long hours in an office. She half-jokingly called her plans to buy land and start an organic produce farm her "midlife crisis." "I’m coming down here to live with the real people," Ulett said. Cattle farmer Al Vance was similarly inexperienced in 1975 when he, then a recent college graduate, and his parents, from Chicago to become farmers in West Plains. The family purchased the farm -- he has 500 acres of pasture -- where Vance eventually raised his own family and still farms today. Vance spoke to students in January about the need for ethical business practices and about marketing products via a co-op. He is a member of South Ozarks Premier Beef Marketers, a cow-calf producer co-op. The group pools its livestock to gain marketing advantages. Strong and consistent ethics will convince buyers to return to a product again and again and pay more for it, Vance explained. Ethics means a willingness to pull a less than premium animal from a herd being sold. Such practices build buyers’ confidence in the products and increases overall value. "You’ve got to be thinking about the good of the group," Vance said. "It’s the quality of the individuals that’s even more important than the quality of their animals that leads to a successful co-op." Cost of the 10-week MU Extension course is $500 per single person or couple. Scholarships are available. There are plans for similar Missouri courses this fall in Lebanon and if there is enough interest, courses will be organized in the St. Louis area and again in West Plains. Saner said he needs a minimum of 10 singles or couples per location to justify the course. Classes include field trips to farms, business plan development and an additional month or more of mentoring by working farmers. For more information about Farm Beginnings in West Plains call Saner at 417-256-2391 or for information on other Missouri locations contact Debi Kelly at 800-433-3704 (in Missouri only), or from outside Missouri call 573-882-1905. ********************************************************************* Wood- and corn-fired furnaces and boilers offer cheaper alternative to traditional fuels By Chuck Adamson Senior Information Specialist Extension & Ag Information In most cases, burning wood for heat is cheaper than using natural gas or propane. Burning corn can be cheaper still. James Quinn, a University of Missouri Extension horticultural associate, gave about 100 professional vegetable growers a breakdown of the costs of heating greenhouses with wood and shelled corn versus the costs of more traditional fuels like natural gas. Under current market prices traditional fuels were never close. A wood- or corn-fired furnace or boiler will save money every time. Quinn made his presentation on alternative fuels for heating greenhouses at the Jan 31 annual Greenhouse Growers School in Columbia, MO. He used fuel cost tables from Pennsylvania State University to support his presentation. Melvin Sauder, a Latham, MO farmer who was at the workshop, estimated he has averaged $2,000 in annual heat savings - more than 30 percent of his total bill -since he installed a wood-fired boiler five years ago. The boiler supplements propane-generated heat for his 2,500-square-foot greenhouse and 1,300-square-foot workshop. The wood boiler cost him $5,600 to purchase and install. "I have a lot of wood on the farm. So the wood was there. It just needed to be cut," Sauder said. Sauder, an Old Order Mennonite, has a 200-acre farm. Cutting the 20 to 25 cords of wood he burns in a winter is more work, he said, but worth it. Quinn said before purchasing corn or wood furnace growers should know exactly what fuel it requires. Some furnaces burn pure shelled corn, while others require a mixture of corn and wood pellets. Some burn just wood pellets and others can burn common firewood. He said to make sure that fuel is readily available and inexpensive. Quinn suggested buying corn directly from farmers. Quinn said to ask the furnace salesperson how often the hopper needs to be filled under maximum heat output and inquire about maintenance and cleaning requirements. Growers should plan on costs to build a fuel storage area. Quinn said many of the furnace models must be ordered a month to six months in advance of installation. Quinn suggested keeping another heat source, such as propane, to help heat on extremely cold nights and to act as a backup heat source in case of a breakdown. Other alternative fuel sources Quinn briefly discussed included waste cooking oil, solar panels and landfill gas. For more information on alternative fuel sources, tips on insulating greenhouses and for formulas on greenhouse heating needs and estimated costs by fuel type, contact Quinn at 573-882-7511 or at quinnja@missouri.edu. Information on wood burning can be found by logging on to www.extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides and clicking on "Forestry" and then clicking on "Wood Fuel for Heating." Information on burning corn as fuel can be found on the Penn State Web site at http://energy.cas.psu.edu/EnergySelector. The Greenhouse Growers School was part of the 2006 Show-Me AgClassic Ag Sciences Week, an annual science fair and trade show sponsored in part by the University of Missouri-Columbia. ********************************************************************* Good Teens Make Good Farm Workers By Chuck Adamson Senior Information Specialist Extension & Ag Information In a room with more than 20 fruit growers assembled, the topic of teen labor became a lively one. How do you find good workers, many wanted to know. That is, the kind who show up on time, don’t dress like slackers and answer the phone in a tone that doesn’t sound like they just woke up. Once hired, how do you keep teens from talking too much? Even more perplexing, how do employers keep hormones in check between the sexes? Michele Warmund, a professor of horticulture with the University of Missouri-Columbia, discussed recruiting, hiring and retaining good teenage workers at this month’s Mid-America Fruit Growers Conference. These topics, she realized, hadn’t been covered in previous conferences. "It suddenly dawned on me that we don’t talk about one of the hardest things these days. That’s labor," Warmund said. "We have to put the same amount of effort into hiring and training good people as we put into producing an apple crop." She gave the growers -- many of them employ teenagers in their retail produce markets and stores -- a series of tips. To begin with, find the best people. Warmund suggested seeking referrals from those who work closest with youth already, including coaches, drama teachers, youth ministers and 4-H advisors. Also, she said, hardworking teens usually have friends with similar habits. "By the same token, if you hire a slouch, his friends are probably slouches too," Warmund said. "If you find a good employee, ask him if he has any friends." the interview process, employers should talk less and listen more. Ask questions that require an explanation, not obvious yes-no questions. For example, asking a person whether they are a team player is almost sure to generate an affirmative response. Instead, ask a potential employee to give an example of when they worked with people and then to explain how that experience turned out. Tell employees of the workplace expectations, Warmund said. Young adults don’t always know what older workers consider to be assumed behaviors, like dressing professionally and being timely. "I would not ask them what they think they should wear. I would just tell them up front how it is they need to dress," Warmund said. She said when a worker makes a mistake, speak with them privately about it. When they do well, praise them publicly. "It takes so little to praise someone, yet we do it so little," Warmund said. Paul Peters, of Peters Market and Orchard in Waverly Mo, said he’ll only hire a teen worker who applies for the job personally. "If mom or dad initiates the contact, I’m not hiring them," Peters said. "I want people with initiative." He needs about a third more young workers than older workers to keep a schedule covered, he said, because younger people often have other commitments and need more time off. He’s happy to grant that time off, but said that he tells potential workers that if they want a summer job then they need to commit to giving him one weekend day per week come fall. The annual fruit conference, in Excelsior Springs, Mo., Jan. 17-19, had about 115 participants and more than a dozen vendors. Rex Rees, president of the Kansas Fruit Growers Association, said that overall participation has been increasing each year. The conference is in its sixth year as a joint event between the Missouri State Horticulture Society and the Kansas Fruit Growers Association, Rees said. Speakers gave presentations on a variety of subjects including pest management, winemaking, field spraying and growing small fruits and tree fruits. This year, the conference organizers added a marketing section. The number of grape growers and winery operators attending the conference has increased in recent years since the addition of sessions geared toward that industry, Rees said. "There are more wineries going in on both the Kansas and Missouri side," Rees said. "Traditionally in MO the larger wineries were on the St Louis side of the state. Now more are going in around Kansas City." For more information call Michele Warmund, 573-882-9632. ********************************************************************* Financing Options and Opportunities USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans are often provided to beginning farmers who cannot qualify for conventional loans because they have insufficient financial resources. FSA also helps established framers who have suffered financial setbacks from natural disasters, or whose resources are too limited to maintain profitable farming operations. FSA makes direct and guaranteed farm ownership (FO) and operating loans (OL) to family-size farmers who can’t obtain commercial credit farm a bank, Farm Credit system institutions, or other lender. FSA loans can be used to purchase land, livestock, equipment, feed seed and supplies. FSA loans can also be used to construct buildings or make farm improvements. FSA guaranteed loans provide conventional agricultural lenders with up to a 95 percent guarantee of the principal loan amount. The lender, is responsible for servicing a borrower’s account for the life of the loan. All loans must meet certain qualifying criteria to be eligible for guarantees and FSA has the right and responsibility to monitor the lender’s servicing activities. FSA also makes and services direct farm ownership and operating loans and OL loans. However, because FSA receives limited funding for direct loans, applicants sometimes have to wait for funds to become available. FSA has developed a new fact sheet, "How to Complete an FSA Loan Application," that provides step-by-step instructions on the forms that farmers need to sue to apply for a direct farm loan. It is via the internet at www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/pubfacts.htm (from Women’s Agricultural Network Newsletter, Vol 4, Issue 3) ********************************************************************* Rural Youth Loans Do your kids want to start their own businesses but don’t have the money to get things going? Did you know FSA provides loans to youth between the ages of 10 and 20 to help them develop an agriculture-related business venture? Youth loans can provide up to $5,000 to purchase livestock, equipment or raise crops. To be eligible, projects must: be carried out by youths participating in 4H, FFA or similar organizations; be recommended by a project advisor such as a 4H club advisor, Vo-Ag teacher or extension agent; generate enough income to meet expenses; and repay the loan. In most cases, a co-signor is not required. Further information is available at www.fsa.usda.gov/in/yl.htm (from Women’s Agricultural Network Newsletter, Vol 4, Issue 3) ********************************************************************* *** In Print/On-Line *** *Trees of Missouri* includes 174 species of trees that are organized by leaf arrangement and shape. The book is illustrated with the same drawings used in the original. This version is colorized. It also contains easy-to-understand descriptions and range maps. It can be ordered at www.mdcnatureshop.com or by calling toll-free 877-521-8632. The item number is 01-0092. The price is $7.50 *How to Direct Market Your Beef* The book portrays how one couple used their family’s ranch to launch a profitable, grass-based beef operation focused on direct market sales. The book is filled with examples of real-life experiences and provides valuable tips for direct marketing beef from slaughtering to sales. It also has a special Entrepreneurs section that highlights farmers and ranchers who have marketed their sustainably raised food in innovative ways. The book is available from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is $14.95 or online at www.sare.org/publications/beef/beef.pdf Call 301-374-9696 to order. *2006 Midwest Commercial Vegetable Production Guide* is now available for $12/copy from University of Missouri Extension Publications by calling 1-800-292-0969. ********************************************************************* *** IN THE NEWS *** Farmers can grant hunting access via a national leasing network. They pay $100 to an online manager at the Farmers National Co, who lists and promotes properties on the Internet and handles the leases. The Hunting Lease Networking (www.nationalhuntingleases.com/)already lists more than 300,000 acres for hunting, and 20,000 hunters are registered. Such services will abound as third-party handling of hunting and other recreational land access become the norm. For some producers, the online leasing network offers a way to increase income...up to a few thousand bucks a year. (Kiplinger Agriculture Newsletter No 77, Vol 4) A general Conservation Reserve Program sign-up starts March 27. It will be the first broad access to the CRP since 2004. In time, USDA wants to contract 39.2 million acres, the maximum allowed. USDA officials also will be contacting owners whose CRP contracts, covering some 16 million acres, will expire in 2007. Most of that land has been scored on benefits to land, water and wildlife. Based on those, owners will be able to extend or renew contracts from two to 15 years. (Kiplinger Agriculture Newsletter No 77, Vol 4) USDA Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Grants--The USDA recently announced the opening of an annual funding solicitation for rural renewable energy projects and energy efficiency improvements. This year's solicitation allows for $11.4 million in competitive grant funds and $176.5 million in guaranteed loans for the purchase of renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses. Grant awards for renewable energy projects will be between $2,500 and $500,000 and $1,500 and $250,000 for energy efficiency improvements; grant amounts cannot exceed 25 percent of eligible project costs. Proposals are due May 12. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.g po.gov/2006/pdf/E6-1923.pdf ********************************************************************* *** ON THE CALENDAR *** March 1, 9, 16--Annie’s Project 2: Women Marketing Grain, Palmyra, MO. Call 573-633-2640. March 3-4--MO State Beekeepers Assn and Kansas Honey Producers Assn Joint Spring Meeting, Overland Park, KS. Call 913-831-6096. March 3--Bridging the Gap - Selling Food to Di s tributors, Fairgrounds, Fairfield, IA. Call 515-294-0588, Schultz@iastate.edu March 6, 8, 13, 15--Golden Age Farming, Jefferson City (573-581-3231) and Hale, MO (660-646-0811). March 8--Bridging the Gap - Selling Food to Di s tributors, Fairgrounds, Atlantic, IA. Call 515-294-0588, Schultz@iastate.edu March 9-10--Cultural Competency Working with Rural Latinos Institute, Lebanon, MO. Call 573-884-3794. March 10-12--Fiber Retreat, Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-681-5551. March 11--Basic Beekeeping Workshop, Raytown, MO. Call 816-358-3893 or 816-690-8007. March 16--Sheep Shearing School, Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-681-5551. Mach 18--Spring Horticulture Seminars, Mountain Grove, MO. Call 417-547-7513. March 20-21--Advanced Meat Goat Management Training Workshop, West Plains, Mountain Grove, Lebanon, and Springfield. Call 417-256-2391 or http://extension.missouri.edu/howell/ March 25--Beginning Beekeepers Class, Union, MO. Call 573-764-2922. March 25--Quail Habitat Improvement Workshop, Troy, MO. Call 636-528-4877 ext 3. April 1--Farmers Exhibition 2006, Shawnee, KS. hartwood2@mindspring.com April 8--Farmers Exhibition 2006, Kansas City, MO. hartwood2@mindspring.com April 19-20--Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show, Kansas City, MO. 913-491-6500 May 6--Family Farm 2006--America’s First Freedom, Silex, MO. Call 573-485-7261. June 1, 8, 15--Annie’s Project 2: Women Marketing Grain, Palmyra, MO. Call 573-633-2640. June 5-9--Artificial Insemination Goat Clinic, Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-681-5551. June 28-30--Grant I Writing Workshop, Springfield, MO. Call 417-732-6485. July 12-14--Grant II Writing Workshop, Springfield, MO. Call 417-732-6485. July 30--MO Young Farmers/Young Farm Wives Annual Summer Tour, Chillicothe, MO. Call 573/751-8467. Aug 9-11--Grant III Writing Workshop, Springfield, MO. Call 417-732-6485. Aug 10-20--2006 MO State Fair, Sedalia, MO Aug 15-17--5th National SARE Conference, Oconomowoc, WI. Go to www.sare2006.org/ Green Hills Farm Project 2006 Farm Walk Schedule March 18-10 am, Greg & Jan Judy, Clark, MO, 573-874-1816 Rancher-Author, Greg Judy tells a great story in his book "No Risk Ranching: Custom Grazing on Leased Land" about making money with no fixed assets. If you have read the book now you can see the Judy farm at this farm walk. Here is just a sampling of the projects the Judy farm has: St. Croix hairsheep, Southpole cattle from the Bent Tree Farms, custom grazing, Tamworth grazing pigs, boar billygoats on spanish meat goats, Great Pyrenees guard dog and more! Bring a covered dish and appetite. April 22-11 am, Kerry & Barb Buchmayer, Purdin, MO, 660-244-5858 This organic dairy family is well known for their tasty milk and eggs but their tenacity for marketing has carried them towards success! Come and see the processing plant where the milk is processed and bottled in glass. The Buchmayer's also churn butter! They have pastured layers and katahdin sheep, working dogs and an Akbash guard dog. Bring the checkbook and take home some samples! Bring a covered dish and lawn chairs. May 20-3 pm Ray & Susan Stropes, Chilhowee, MO 816-653-4467 We always enjoy visiting the Stropes Farm. Their lovely home sits right on a small lake where one can look over the vast pastures and cattle. Come see how Ray & Susan manage their cattle. Ray always has a new idea he is working on. Bring a covered dish and lawn chairs. June 15-5 pm, John & Jackie Woods, Smithville, MO, 816-532-3795 This farm has been in the family for many generations. Raising Cattle and goats using a MIG, the Woods continue to farm despite the growing urban sprawl around them. Having a farm so close to the urban area presents great opportunities and challenges. Bring lawn chairs and a covered dish. July 20-5 pm, Matt & Tina Reichert, Brunswick, MO, 660-548-3283 Using MIG methods to manage their cattle and goats, the Reichert family has worked hard these past years to convert brushy hill ground into great grazing pastures. The Bed and Breakfast and youth camps are continuing to grow. Bring lawn chairs and a covered dish. Aug 17-5 pm John & Rose Blaszak, Polo, MO, 660-354-3438 John & Rose and their growing family are like many of us who pursue careers off the farm and have that dream of a farm on a little acreage. Raising chickens for meat and a garden is a great way to bring that dream to reality. Bring lawn chairs and a covered dish. Sept 21-5 pm, Jordan & Anne Bentley, Brookfield, MO, 660-388-6825 City Slickers think'n they're going to homestead!? Jordan & Anne have bought just less than 40 acres with nothing but a pond on it. They have been raising chickens, turkeys and lambs for the past six years on rented ground. They will begin raising the same this spring on the new home place. All pastured meats are direct marketed locally or in Kansas City. They have not built a home as of the first of the year, but they will be living there this spring. This is a dream come true for the Bentleys! Contact them early this spring for directions or call Barb Buchmayer. Their contact information will change this spring! Bring lawn chairs and covered dish. Oct 19-4 pm, Doug & Diane Peterson, Ridgeway, MO, 660-824-4276 Doug and Diane raise cattle and use MIG methods. "We have a cattle only operation at this time. We have expanded quite a bit in the last few years and are still trying to get everything figured out. We will try and look at one or two different grazing systems. One will be fairly large with 200 cows being run together as one herd. This large of a herd have some very unique benefits and problems. Because we expanded our grass base faster than we wanted to purchase cows we run a combination of our own cows plus some contract cows for other people. We have also started selling a limited amount of grass fed all natural beef to customers in the Kansas City/St. Joe area. We are a family operation." Bring lawn chairs and covered dish. Nov-Workshop/Seminar will be announced 2006 Market Gardening Workshops Growing Growers Program For more information on each of these workshops, call 913-488-1270, growers@ksu.edu March 5--Soil Building for Vegetable and Fruit Crops, Leavenworth, KS. April 3--General Plant Production Workshop, Kansas City, KS. May 8--Equipment and Safety Workshop, Olathe, KS. June 5--Harvesting and Post-Harvest Handling Workshop, TBA. July 10--The Taste and Nutrition of Local Vegetables Workshop, Lawrence, KS. Aug 27--Pests, Diseases and Weeds, Independence, MO. Sept 25--An Integrated Farm, Higginsville, MO. Oct 21--Business Management for Small Farms, TBA.