farm blogger helping farmers blog
I’m a little partial to this featured farmer, since I married him.
1. Tell a little about you and your operation.
I farm with my wife and children on a central Midwest cash grain and purebred cattle operation. I have in the past been very involved with farm organizations and politics. For politics I have done two terms as a school board member, three terms as a township trustee, two terms as a township supervisor, so I have run my own election campaigns. I have also been a major to minor advisor to four US Senator campaigns, four Governor campaigns, and a couple Presidential campaigns. I have also been very involved at a whole lot of other political stuff. I also worked almost 8 years as the State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency/USDA in my state. I also am getting back involved with some organizations after having to lay off when I worked for the Feds.
Our farm operation is a corn/soybean operation typical of many Midwestern farm, but also has a purebred cattle component that has been very good for my children to learn life skills, even though they do not fully understand that yet. My wife also has her own operation which she farms along with us and is a very big reason that I am able to do all the “extra” stuff I do. We have “enough” acres to stay busy, some small farm advocates would say too many, but I would like to expand since I think one if not two of my kids want to come back to the farm. We also have finally got to the place with of purebred operation where we plan to start selling more show cattle to others.
2. What made you want to start your podcast?
My wife made me do it. No really, she listened to several podcasts and thought I would be good at it. We also get together every now and then with fellow farm policy wonks and we talk about things at “Garry’s office” and many times she has said she wished she had recorded what we were talking about. So Judi set it up and trained me to do it and I started talking.
3. What has been the biggest surprise since you started? or something you didn’t expect:
The number of downloads of my weekly video and the farmers from way overseas that listen in. I also was just surprised anybody would want to listen to me.
4. What is your favorite episode and why?
The one I did in the planter when I was upset with the Smithfield CEO saying that because of the price of corn his mother could not afford pork chops anymore. Give me a break he is the largest producer of pork in the United States and a multi-millionaire and he is just wanting cheap inputs for his industrial operation. I was on a role. Now, I am not against large farmers or any kind of business model, but give me a break, here is a guy who for decades has been able to buy his major input, feed, at below the cost of production, due to the subsidies of the farm program and now that he has to pay maybe what it is actually worth he is crying about the price. Look at how the cost of many things has inflated for years and now that food is maybe feeling pressure from other people around the world who only want to eat better and can now afford it and he is “unhappy”. I know we will have “cheap” food again, but for now it is at a good price for farmers. Livestock just have to survive for a little while longer, eventually grain producers will over produce and livestock prices will rise and then livestock will have their day. I do believe the days of sub $3 corn are probably gone for a long time. Cost of production is just too high to be produced at those levels.
5. What are your future plans for your podcast?
I want to do two a week during the winter so I will have done 52 in my first year. I also want to just get better at it and provide to my audience what it wants. I also plan to blog more. Lots of material will be out there over the next two years.
Follow Bill on his blog FarmAndRanchCountry.com or twitter @BillGraff and his podcast FarmAndRanchCountry
I love his answer to what made him start doing a podcast. and saying "My wife made me do it." That's priceless!
Hello, I'm FARMnWIFE: A wife that farms in the middle of the mid-west. I created this site to help anyone involved in ag to raise their voice and tell their farm story online by creating or improving their blogs.
If only he was so compliant about everything else.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
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