On tomorrow’s Ag Business Episode a previous FFA guest comes back on the show.  It has been 8 years since Andrew Swafford was first a guest on the Off-Farm Income Podcast, and I am amazed with what he is doing today!

On our Re-Cap Episode I’m bringing back his very first interview from 2015 so you can see the before and he after picture.

The original show notes are listed below.

SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING ANDREW SWAFFORD!

Andrew Swafford graduated from Bledsoe County High School in June of 2015.  He is now at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  He is still active in FFA and still participating in an SAE project.

Andrew started his own business with honey that he was producing on his own property called Andy’s Bee Keeping.  He is selling honey, lip-balm and hand salves.  He is marketing his products in stores, on social media and on his own website.  But that was not what impressed me the most.  Andy wants to grow his business to the point that he does not have to work another job.  Then he wants to build his own lab and develop technology that will help to solve world food shortages.  That is a long way from where I was when I was 18 years old!

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Andy’s Bee Keeping – Honey Production and Product Sales

HIGH SCHOOL:  Bledsoe County High School, Pikeville, TN

COLLEGE: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

HIGH SCHOOL MASCOT: Warriors

FFA ADVISOR: Ronny Collier

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ANDREW SWAFFORD:

Click on the picture below to be taken to the Bledsoe County High School Website:

Andrew’s FFA Advisor’s Email Address: LINK

Bledsoe High School Telephone Number: 423-447-6370

FFA LINKS:

National FFA Organization

Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE’s)

Support FFA 

Donate to FFA – One way that FFA students are able to start small businesses is through an FFA grant of $1,000.  In 2014, 141 FFA students received these grants.  With your donations, more students can get this head start – pay it forward. REASONS TO

DONATE TO FFA:

• Only 2% of Americans grow and raise most of the food and livestock consumed by the other 98% as well as the rest of the world.  FFA is providing the needed education, training and resources to Americans that will carry that torch forward and insure that America continues to have inexpensive, quality food.
• Rural Communities will rely on entrepreneurship in the future for population growth and job creation.  The FFA is a major catalyst to that entrepreneurial growth.
• Farmers, ranchers and those working in agriculture give the rest of America incredible amounts of freedom because the search for food is as simple as going to the grocery store:

“Because American farmers are able to provide for so many of us, they give more and more of us the freedom to pursue goals and livelihoods beyond growing the food we need to survive.”

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack 

More Places You Can Listen to Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald: