The First Years

Jarrod Sanders decided he wanted to become a farmer to do something bigger than himself. So in March he got up the nerves to approach an established farmer in his community to serve as his mentor. Over the past few months he’s acquired the knowledge necessary to start his own farm and is in the process of securing a Micro-Loan from FSA to buy his own cows.

Wesley Kent started his farm with a 100-cow dairy in 2000. Since that time he’s diversified his operation to include beef cows, 600 acres of crop and pasture land and two turkey houses. In this episode he walks us through the process of raising turkeys from the time they arrive on the farm until the time they leave. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tyler Hedge is a first generation farmer from Indiana. Growing up, he watched his neighbor farm, and now he's working alongside him trying to build his business for his kids to enjoy later in life.

Matt Niswander grew up in the suburbs of Tennessee. At 16, he took a job at a local dairy farm and fell in love with the industry. Now a physician’s assistant, Matt farms alongside his wife and three sons. He shares the headwinds he faced and how he is showing his children and others the importance of agriculture.

Tom Murray started his farm with his wife Nancy in 1991. At that time their sole focus was breeding impeccably beautiful cows. In 1997, they even had a cow break the world record for milk production. But today, genetics are just a small portion of a broader business plan that includes a cheese room and events venue. Changes they made to keep their farm viable in today’s dairy economy. Check out Tom’s journey and hear about the time he sold all of his milk cows because ‘the time was right.’