SHOW NOTES

INTRODUCING MADISON SHINER! 

Rabbits are an underrepresented meat and show animal in agriculture.  At all the fairs there are young men and women who are showing rabbits, but you just don’t see them held up with as high of regard as the cattle, pigs or sheep.  That should really change.

In 550+ episodes of the Off-Farm Income Podcast, I have come to love rabbit production for both meat and show.  I have interviewed adults who had a fertilizer business based on nothing more than rabbit fecal matter or “rabbit tea”.  But what I really love about rabbits are the opportunities that they give to students who are not able to raise large livestock for one reason or another.

I have seen rabbits be the answer for a student who wants to raise livestock, but they have limited to no space.  And, I have seen rabbits become a niche product that make good money for students because so few people raise and market them for meat.

In today’s episode I get to see how rabbits not only do everything that I have already mentioned, but how they can propel you into the national spotlight and into international business.  Our guest, Madison Shiner, has done exactly this and started her own business, Mad Hatter Rabbitry, along the way.

As a sophomore in high school Madison has already had unbelievable success with rabbits.  She was awarded the reserve national champion in the national rabbit show in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2018.  This propelled her to selling her rabbits all over the country and even internationally.  Madison now has rabbit customers in Malaysia, and they are proudly using her rabbits to build their own supply.

In addition to all of the success with rabbitry, Madison shows horses and shares an equal if not greater passion for the large animals.  This year she is going to forgo the national rabbit show for a horse show that is closer to home as she pursues greatness in the equestrian world as well.

SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE: Rabbit and Horse Showing and Sales

HIGH SCHOOL: Central Columbia High School; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

MASCOT: Blue Jays

FFA ADVISOR: Douglas Brown

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MADISON: Click on the picture below to be taken to the Central Columbia High School website:

Madison’s FFA Advisors’ Email Addresses: dbrown@ccsd.cc

Central Columbia High School’s Telephone Number: 570-784-2850

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 

 Where Off-Farm Income And Matt Brechwald Can Be Heard:

Member Of The National Association Of Farm Broadcasters