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.’

First-generation farmer Russell Hedrick went from firefighter to farmer. After six years of farming, he is considered one of the most progressive farmers in North Carolina. You’ll love to hear his story of bucking tradition, sticking to different and focusing on profitability. Oh, and did we mention he makes moonshine?

When Heather Moore was 9 years old, her family sold their small dairy. From that day on, she dreamt of starting her own dairy. Listen to her journey to building Moore Family Farms.

Ben Neale is a lifelong learner. As such, he took the knowledge and relationships he began developing with ranchers as a kid and has built a ranching business from the ground up. Today his operation includes a herd of 200 cows, a small flock of sheep, honeybees and a USDA inspected meat processing facility.

First-generation farmer Jacob Schmidt of west central Illinois grows corn and soybean and has his own cow-calf operation. Hear how he got his start into farming and agriculture on The First Years with host Anna-Lisa Laca.

Andrew Hartshorn grew up in his family's funeral business. After meeting his wife Amy, he fell in love with not only her but the farming lifestyle her family enjoyed. Andrew built his business from the ground up, under the wing of his father-in-law who he affectionately calls Mr. Phillip. A failed rice crop in his fourth year of farming sent the young farmer $60,000 into debt and tempted him to quit. That same experience also propelled his business forward when he picked up 2,000 acres nearby from a farmer who also lost his rice crop but didn't have the guts to stay in the game. The very next year he was able to pay off that debt and has been steadily building his Arkansas farm ever since. Andrew's story is one of hard work, determination and dilligence.