OFI 1708: Become A Rural Living Expert | David Ridle | Skagit Farmers Supply | Re-Cap Episode

On tomorrow’s Ag Business Episode I am interviewing a woman with an incredible breadth of knowledge and passion for farming, livestock, gardening and the soil. She has a very unique and successful model of consultation for small farmers and left me realizing how little I actually know. So, for today’s re-cap episode I am going back to a 2016 interview I did with David Ridle of Skagit Farmers Supply where he was consulting with people on small acreages, as an employee of the co-op.

The original show notes are below.

SHOW NOTES

KEY IDEAS:

I am very excited for this week’s episode. I have had this vision of a person who does the same work as crop advisor but for small farmers and ranchers. This person would cater to the people who have decided to give farming a try, and they don’t know everything yet. For a couple of years I have searched for somebody who does this, and I have failed to find them. I am sure they are out there, but I have not been able to locate them.

Somehow, in the last part of 2015, I fell across Skagit Farmer’s Supply website. By a stroke of luck their frequently asked questions page came up, and it mentioned their “rural living experts” who could come and consult with small farmers on a myriad of questions. I was ecstatic, only nervous that they might not grant me an interview.

My nervousness was completely unfounded. I was put in touch with David Ridle, the “rural living expert” and he was more than happy to speak with me. His position is exactly what I had been searching for. Between he and I, we could not think of another place in America where this position exists.

I believe that this is a very viable way for an individual to bring in supplemental income for their farm. David and I agreed that approaching a local coop that does not have a rural living expert position and selling the position to the manager was probably the best approach and business model. David is right that in order to sell the position to the manager you need to understand how much you need to sell to make the position pay for itself, including benefits, etc. However, you could sell this position in a number of ways. You could be a sub-contractor who does not receive benefits, and do this on your own schedule so you can farm effectively.

If you have farm and animal husbandry knowledge and want to make supplemental income, I think this is the episode for you to listen to. I believe this position is going to become more and more common.

Here is an example of an event that David might find himself responsible for:

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