By ‘kids’, I mean our son who will be 4 in August and the little girl I have taken in for daycare for the last two years.  She just turned three.

Above: John and Shea feeding bottle lambs

Two toddlers combined with my opinions about mixing parenting and farming was not a recipe for getting work done.  In times gone by the ‘tie the kid to the fence while you drive the tractor’ parenting theory was quite prevalent.  We’re not into that here.

Despite John’s frustration that I’ve been unavailable to help him for the past three and a half years, I firmly stuck to what I consider common sense.

Forcing two-yearolds in snow suits to walk up and down a huge hill back and forth to the barn with no help mom’s carrying buckets of grain, for example.  Or leaving them screaming while you feed hay because the kiddies – 25  lbs – are scared of the sheep – 150 lbs – when mom’s not carrying them.  These things don’t take a lot of deliberation to figure out.

Now that they’re bigger, though, and more comfortable in the barn, I’m going to take advantage of my new ability to get things done – and to let the kids get things done.

There is nothing small people like better than to feel they’re getting to contribute and be a part of what you’re doing.  It applies in the barn just as well as in the kitchen.

So, with that said, here are a few tricks I’ve figured out and picked up from other farm moms for helping kids enjoy chore time:

• Hay is always fun.  If you think you don’t have a need to have loose hay around, think again.  A safe spot – like that empty pen – is a great place for a climbing, burying roll in the hay, kid style.
• If you have an extra pen, why not put a slide or some sand in with some sand toys?  Or wood shavings.  The extra pen is a blessing.
• Trampoline with enclosure a.k.a. huge playpen.  I met a sheep farmer whose children – 3 years and 18 months – would spend all chore time playing on the trampoline with special ‘barn’ stuffed animals and soft balls.
• Give them their own, kid sized tools.  Our son has a pitchfork with a 36 inch long handle.  We taught him how to use it without injuring anyone and he loves it.  Visiting children get excited to take a turn really feeding the sheep.
• Make sure they can get up high.  Kids are eye level with sheep and a good head shorter than even a young calf.  Let them get out of range of licking, nibbling and loud baaaa-ing when they need to.

And, finally:

• Don’t wear out your welcome.  Be prepared to pack it in within a few minutes if the kids get tired.  I don’t mean jump the second someone make a peep.  Make a judgment call.  Have you been focusing on your work to the exclusion of the kids for too long?  A little independent time is important, but once they’re done, you need to be done too.

Growing up on a farm is something I always knew I wanted for my kids.  I don’t want to farm first, parent second, though.  But I also don’t want to parent first and farm not at all.  That would be cheating them of all the great things kids can learn and do on the farm.

So, as ‘my’ kids get more independent and confident, I will let them see me – and help me – work more.  With a little forethought, it can be good for all involved.

If you have any tricks to share when it comes to combining farm and kids, please tell.  Even if you have the most incredible ‘tie them to the fence’ farm parenting story.  I’m up for a good laugh.  (Funny, mostly because it’s a thing of the past, for the most part.  Thankfully!)

What is (or was) your biggest roadblock to starting a farm?

This was my first poll question of choice for you readers.

How to get enough money to start

Lack of farming know-how

The time it takes when you’re still working an off-farm job

Other answer…

Those were the options I provided for your polling pleasure.

I know that many of you saw the poll in our sidebar because, so far, 63 of you answered it.  And, of those 63, 57% said that how to get enough money to start their farm was the biggest issue.

So, now I have a question about poll etiquette.  Because, really, is it bad form to ask about someone’s challenges without at least a bit of knowledge that might help them over the hurdle??

How to get enough money to do anything is a sticking point for a lot of people and farming has a lot more ‘junk’ surrounding it than most businesses.

For one thing, there is a whole societal belief that food is cheap.  And, yes, crappy food is cheap – at the initial outlay.  The true cost of crappy food, or pseudo-food, as I like to call it, comes when you look at the health care bills it causes and the environmental damage it does.  When you’re producing good food, naturally the cost is going to be higher.

So, I guess step one to getting enough money to start a farm is to clear society of some old, mistaken beliefs about food and install some new ones.

If that’s step one, it kinda sounds like there might be a lot of steps before you get to the money part, doesn’t it?

But wait, there’s more than just cheap food ‘junk’ that makes it difficult to make a living farming.  As a fascinated observer of humanity, I have noticed that it isn’t only long time farmers who have the ‘Life is hard,  please notice me struggling’ mindset.

It seems that a lot of new farmers getting into sustainable agriculture have that same mindset and, honestly, it’s a killer.  This is the ‘Poor Dirt Farmer Junk’.

(John used to say that he was a poor dirt farmer.  But he has learned that to say this is to invoke the wrath of the wife.)

If you want to repel abundance, this is the way to do it.  Don’t get me wrong, farming is not Easy Street financially.  Yes, we struggle too.  But if you’re into farming because your identity is about struggle, well, a bucket of cash could fall on you and you’d still figure out how to make it hard.

So, do I have any new useful answers for those who are in the ‘not enough money’ category?  I’ll do my best, but it might not be what you’re expecting.

Three Financial Thoughts For Planning Your Farm:

1. Do it yourself:  Do what yourself, you ask?  All of it.
   Yes, the goal is to pay yourself a reasonable wage; $15 or $20 per hour, say.  But start where you are.  If you have little financial capital, make it up in hourly capital.
2. Sell first, then produce:  A lot of farmers (especially conventional farmers) have gotten into the habit of producing something and then trying to sell it.  Don’t do it!  Sell it – or, at very least, market it – first so you know you can sell it.If you don’t know how a C.S.A. (Community Supported Agriculture) program starts yet, find out now.
3. Know yourself:  (and your spouse/partner/family)
   Make no mistake, you will be short of cash and/or time – likely both.  Unless you save A LOT of money before starting your farm, you will have a farmer’s lifestyle for some years.

   Know what need motivates you to farm and be able to tell when enough is enough, for you and for your family.  Because, yes,  everyone can survive with nothing but second hand clothes, old cars, “No, we can’t rent a movie”, “No, you can’t play hockey”, “No, we can’t have a vacation”, without cable TV and “No, Daddy won’t be home to tuck you in”.

   But, can they thrive in the conditions you’re planning on foisting on them?

I know, number 3 doesn’t sound like a financial thought but it applies directly.  If you’re going to make hard financial choices for your family, make sure the individual personalities you’re dealing with can thrive despite them.

Even better would be to make the financial choices that help your family thrive.  But don’t ask me exactly how to do that.  When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, here is an unofficial number 4:  Starting a farm is like having kids.  You’re never really going to be ready or have enough money but that shouldn’t stop you.  Follow numbers 1 through 3, then jump in.

Your options are sink or swim and, in the case of farming, neither one is likely to kill you.

This month, I’ve chosen Chili for the pork recipe.  Reason?  I was inspired by the beans!  I’ve been shelling dry beans for next year’s seed and fresh beans for eating this week and wanted to share some of my beany-ness with you.

This is more of a concept than an actually recipe.  For those of you who have a favourite Chili recipe already, you could simply experiment with some of the following ideas:

Add Pork

• Cut your favourite (or least favourite, as it will take on the chili flavour) cut of pork into one inch cubes.
• Season with salt and pepper before browning in hot oil in small batches.  Add to chili before simmering.
• Also, cook bacon till crisp and crumble into chili.  How much bacon, you ask?  It’s up to you.  How much do you like bacon?
• Use the left over  oil to saute your onions, peppers, garlic or other veggie additions.

  

Make Kickin’ Chili

The next suggestion sounded a little odd to me the first time I read it, but then I remembered experimenting with dark chocolate in my chili once upon a time.  Suddenly, coffee doesn’t sound so strange.

• If you’re using your own chili recipe, simply replace some of the liquid with good quality coffee.  Substitute about 1/8 cup of coffee per serving of chili.
• If you like the sound of caffeine in your food , but don’t have a favourite chili recipe click on the picture above for a somewhat complex version from Epicurious.com.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

This is one of my favourite, easy stir fry recipes.  With luck, there will still be some local broccoli around to use in it!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup dry Sherry
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips
• 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Cooked rice of your choice

Preparation:

Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain well.

Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat well, reserving marinade. Add cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry until almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil until sauce thickens and coats meat and broccoli, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.

I say this is a basic recipe because it doesn’t contain any strange ingredients.  However, I’m interested in hearing from anyone who has a similar recipe that can be done without the 1 to 4 hour wait on the beef.

As usual, I love to hear about your kitchen adventures whether you’re using these recipe ideas or not!

I write my experiences and thoughts about the realities of starting a farm, no holds barred, no rose coloured glasses, and people find me.  In startling numbers.  These days, one of my ‘How to Start a Farm’ series can usually be found on page one or two of Google.  (You can buy a $90 e-book on how to get yourself on the first pages of a Google search!)

I’m so encouraged that such numbers of you want to start farms!  I can’t tell you what that would do for our communities, our health and our economies if you all actually did it!

(Come on! You can do it!)

So, give me a moment of your time, and tell me what it is about farming that interests you.  I’m including some questions to get you started.  But don’t feel you need to answer them.  Just take a minute to tell me where you’re at with your farm dream and where you want to be.

If you’re not among the ‘dreaming about farming’ group but have already reached your farm dream, in whole or in part, put your two cents in!  I’m looking to get some serious farm-start-up momentum going over the next little while!

I’ve gone through the family farm situation while growing up and I’m deeply embroiled in creating and re-creating a farm now.  Creating a farm has so many facets.  It can get beyond overwhelming.  Tell me where your overwhelm is.  I’ve been to enough of the valleys and peaks that small farm start up can take you to.

There is a reason things get repeated enough times to become cliche.  Usually, they get said a lot because they’re true.

So here’s mine:  If I can help just one person succeed at a new farm, I’ll be happy.

I’m fascinated to know what draws different people to farming.  And, I love writing about the process we’re going though on our farm.  Give some good thoughts and I’ll have writing fodder for the upcoming winter writing season!

Here are those questions (should you want them):

1. If you’re looking into what it takes to start a farm (or turn your farm into your job), do you truly think you might do it some day?
2. If you already have started your own farm, is it working out the way you imagined it would?
3. What part of starting your farm (or expanding from hobby farm to income farm) has got you stumped?
4. In your wildest dreams, what does your farm look like?

I do realize that those who have sought us out and bought memberships to a Meat CSA are probably foodies to some degree and have plenty of great recipe resources.  I like to send them anyway, though, because it means I have an excuse to spend time searching for new ways to make delicious dinners.  And, it seems that the more I send out recipes, the more recipes get sent to me.

And what’s better than searching around the net and the cookbooks at the library and finding something good to make?  Why, having something mouthwatering arrive directly to you inbox, that’s what.  (Hmm… You know what I mean.  The recipes arrive in my inbox.  Although… Having, say, the Garlicky Roast Beef below come fully prepared via email would be pretty Awesome-Sauce.  In case you’re interested, I didn’t make up the very descriptive term Awesome-Sauce.  Here‘s where it comes from.  Funny.)

Alright.  What say we get to said recipes before I get too carried away about email delivery food and funny comics.

This beef recipe has a great rub for almost any type of meat.  Here it’s specifically for a meat platter but it makes me think of the best darn brown bag lunch around.

Garlicky Roast Beef

(as stolen from the Canadian Living website)

A 3-lb (1.5 kg) eye of round oven roast will yield the pound of beautiful slices you need for the platter, plus plenty of leftovers to enjoy on another occasion.

Servings: 36 slices

Ingredients:

9 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup (75 mL) minced fresh parsley
3 tbsp (50 mL) grainy mustard
1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) each salt and pepper
1 eye of round oven roast (3 lb/1.5 kg)

Preparation:

There is some confusing language used around farming.  Even the word farming doesn’t really convey what the job entails.  (A lot of jobs have this problem, though.  When we say police officer, we don’t think paperwork, but I understand that they do a lot of it.)

I think the business of farming suffers more acutely from this confusion, though, because of the romanticism that it stirs up in people.  When people – even farmers – think of farming, they’re imagining sunny afternoons planting crops, late night barn checks watching and listening to their peaceful animals and all of the outdoor, in-touch with nature tasks that farmers do.  Even the less desirable tasks that come to mind are of the outdoor, hands on variety.

How many people picture paperwork, computer time and a long list of phone calls when they think of farming?  Not many.

And what on earth could farmers need to spend that much office time for, you ask?  Why, marketing of course.  Let me elaborate.

Marketing wasn’t always a task that the small family farm had to engage in, for sure.  In fact, at least since the Barley Days (1860 to 1890) here in Prince Edward County, marketing has been done by out side bodies.  Export to other countries and continents has been going on for generations.

My own Great Grandfather was a grain buyer for Pioneer Seed in Alberta around 1900.  He would travel from farm to farm buying up all the grain to export and ship to cities.  Similarly, nowadays, farmers can simply haul all their grain to the elevator or all their animals to the auction hall and wait for a cheque to arrive in their mailbox.

So why, you ask, do farmers need to do marketing if the systems for it are already so well established?  Why, if you can simply transport it to the right place and wait for a cheque, should farmers do anything else?  The long answer to that could be another post altogether to discuss the ethics of certain production models, start-up costs and more.

The short answer is this ‘Mailbox’ business model sees the farmer getting about 9¢ per retail dollar.  So bread, for example, you’d make about 14¢ for the wheat it took to make one loaf.  The ‘Do your Marketing’ model of small farm businesses can see you making 60, 70, 80, 90 cents on the dollar.

Hmm… a lot less work to get the same money.  Or a lot more money for the same work. Marketing looks pretty good, all of a sudden.

For those who have read the previous posts in this series, you already know that keeping your pencil sharp is essential.  The difference is that, on John’s Opa’s farm, the main use of the pencil was the math required to spend less than you make.  Your pencil will have more varied work.  It still has to do those expense calculations, but it also has to plan how best to market what your farm is producing.

For anyone seriously looking at farming for a living, I give you yet another set of questions to ask yourself:  Do you like dealing with people?  Are you a planner?  Are you self motivated?  Basically, do you want to do the marketing?

Because, farming really is more than half marketing.  Said another way, the success of your farm is based at least 50% on the quality – and possibly the quantity – of the marketing you do.

You might want to get a second pencil.  It’s going to be busy.

While doing dishes after dinner, I let my mind wander. It’s the only sensible thing to do with the first solitary moments of the day. For me, it makes work feel like leisure time. It was that thought that made the light bulb go on. My apologies in advance for those who don’t follow my logic.

See, I was having a leisurely moment while doing dishes. At that same moment, John was laying under the haybine fixing and, no doubt, swatting mosquitoes in equal measure. That was more than an hour ago and he’s still fixing and swatting.

The fixing of the haybine is something that should have happened last winter but I’ll save the reality of a stupid-long to-do list for another entry. This entry in The Real Farm Life is about fixing, building, solving, creating and jimmy-rigging. And enjoying it.

I’m not kidding when I say that MacGyver has nothing on him. My husband makes our farm run. Anytime something gets broken – or old – he can fix it. And not just fix. He can resurrect, resuscitate, create and recreate like a surgeon. We wouldn’t be farming if he couldn’t.

If you’ve read the first two entries in this series, you already know that start-up farming and finances are not bosom buddies. If you really want to be scared, check out the price of a new haybine, even a small one. Or calculate how much the local equipment repair shop will charge to maintain an old, worn out machine.

Here’s a haybine advertised for sale. The dealer describes it as ‘a honey’. I can tell you that it would take more than honey and the list price of $2350 plus tax to keep this aging beauty making hay.

Here at J. & C. Nyman Farms, we take great pride in spending very little money on farm equipment that gets the job done. We have a gorgeous fleet of antique and nearly antique machines that cost up to $800 each. That’s right, up to $800. (Anyone who took me up on checking out the price of a new haybine is saying, “Not possible. That guy would have to be a magician.” Farmers are Magicians was the alternative title for this post.)

John takes enjoyment from the task and pride in a job well done when a hunk of rusty, dented metal that is twice his age can be pulled out of a fence bottom and returned to it’s original function through his handiwork. The fact that neighbouring farmers will pull into the field just to watch and wax-nostalgic over our 1953 tractor pulling a 1960-something combine is just icing on the cake. The real payback is that the whole set up actually pays for itself. And it does so on our small farm.

I can actually see that phrase in my mind. It pays for itself. It’s on a marquee complete with flashing bulbs and neon. I’m not joking. That’s how significant it is that a small farm can make equipment pay for itself. The gurus of small family farming in North America will tell you to get cozy with your neighbours and borrow tractor and driver services instead of buying and maintaining your own. It’s definitely a viable option. That brings me to the crux of the thing.

If you’re considering getting into farming, take stock of your mechanical ability and your desire to put it to good and frequent use. Are you a MacGyver? If so, it’s a green light. Start checking out farm auctions and dealerships and assessing how much fixing cheap equipment in your neck of the woods will run you.

If you’re not so inclined, it might be an idea to take stock of how much equipment your desired farm enterprise requires. We have a good friend who runs a small organic and heirloom vegetable farm. They could do what they need with one small tractor and cultivator and a good relationship with the neighbouring farmer.

We, on the other hand, have many mouths to feed. Making hay for any number of animals is not something you can get done as a favour. Even bartering for it would see you giving up your Great Aunt’s silver tea service or your vintage Indian motorcycle. The problem is, older farmers with the time to make your hay wouldn’t know what to do with your valuables once they earned them.

No deal. Either you’re a fixer or a trader. And some things just can’t be traded. And, even if you’re a trader, there are umpteen dozen little gadgets and ‘useful tools’ that you could sink your account at the farm store with. From buying a new chicken waterer instead of slapping a little silicone on a leak to tossing the whole ax when you break the handle instead of saving the head and installing a new handle. There are a million ways you can make your farm sink or swim.

The final word is this: If you’re going to be a farmer, you’re going to have to have a little bit of MacGyver in you.

Do us all a favour, though. Don’t have the hair bit. Have a different bit. Please.

Farming can look really good from a middle income drudgery job that has you bored out of your mind for 40 hours a week. You and whoever you share your life with might even head to your favourite wing joint once a week to mull over how and when to make your farming dreams come true.

Maybe you imagine a nice house in the country with an old red barn or a rustic market garden plot while you browse the garden centre, coffee in hand, picking out terracotta pots for your balcony herb garden.

These are just couple of brief mental images – possible normal, everyday scenarios – that I ask anyone thinking about starting a farm to scrutinize closely. How much of what you consider ‘normal, everyday’ could you stand to forgo?

This is important because, unless you’re bringing a small fortune into the farming venture with you (read: a cool million, no exaggeration), some of what you consider incidental will become luxury.

Farming as a small business (as opposed to a large business that you create with your million dollar investment) is not very financially profitable. Sure, there is a great return on investment if you’re counting health, peace of mind and other soul-salve type personal rewards. But, it is generally accepted that actual profit above and beyond a somewhat meager wage for your labour is hard to come by, to say the least.

I’m not saying it will never happen. I’m saying it takes a long time and requires that you ‘keep your pencil sharp’ as John’s Opa and weathered dairy farmer would say.

Let me lay out what ‘keeping your pencil sharp’ might entail using the two scenarios from above.

Start with the wing night dream session after a torturous week in a cubicle.

First things first, weekly wing night is out. Unless there is at least one substantial off-farm income, that weekly restaurant trip will turn into a biannual event.

How’s that working for you so far? Remember that you’re trading some of it for other rewards like starry skies, letting kids run out the door unchecked, getting your hands dirty and feeling connected to the natural cycles of the Earth.

Let’s talk about your forty hour work week. Feel long, does it? Well, you’re in luck. It’s history. Juggling an off farm job or a veggie CSA means 7 days a week from sunrise to sunset, or longer for part of the year, at least.

How about the vehicle that got you to the restaurant. Can you drive something cheaper? More versatile? Rustier? Something that is full of little bits of hay and smells suspiciously like livestock? Our Ford Focus is my farm truck, hay and all.

How about the dream farm scenario number two? I’m sure you can see where I’m going with the coffee and nice terracotta pots.

Sure, you won’t be confined to your balcony but your plants will be in whatever pots you can get at Giant Tiger for $3.99 or the cracked ones the old farmer left in your newly acquired, dilapidated drive shed. The coffee is something you’ll stop for on your way to wing nights – on your new schedule, in your new farm truck/’92 Ford Taurus wagon.

(Guilty conscience here: We currently drive a 2005 Ford Focus wagon, fully loaded with leather seats. We got it on lease and have been kicking ourselves – hard – and wearing the exact same clothes to wing night every since.)

Your nice house will be a wonderful home, if you make it so. But if you’re used to calling the repair folks whenever your tap is dripping, you’ll likely need to think again. A lot of minor things can be overlooked if you have to trade your dinner to get them fixed.

The big red barn, while an icon of simpler, nostalgic times, will be dark and damp and not that great for raising animals in. When the roof leaks, it will have to be fixed before the house gets any attention and will cost significantly more than you can fathom being able to afford. Here is where the line of credit becomes your friend and your foe. If you had any space left on it after planting crops, it’s full now. Better not schedule any more emergencies till after harvest time.

Have I got you kissing your computer terminal with it’s regular, tidy summed paycheque yet?

This is the reality of starting up a farm. The money will be tighter than most people can ever see themselves coping with. Handling money stress is a job requirement. But, if you’re up for it, if you can let financial uncertainty and the need for new shoes slide off your back like water off a duck, the rewards are worth it. And, if you keep your pencil sharp, you’ll see a sustainable farm income in time.

I get a lot of people landing on our blog because they’re interested in starting a farm. While I think this is wonderful – mostly because it means that we’re not the only crazy people on the planet! – I wonder how much these would-be farmers actually know about farming.

There is still (perhaps more now than in the past?) a glamorization of farming that is totally false. More people hop on the ‘eat local/save the environment/chemicals are bad’ bandwagon everyday and, at first blush, farming can look like an idyllic way of getting in on it all.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re on that bandwagon too. It’s a good place to be for the physical and mental healthy of our family and for the environment. I just think that there is a misconception about the life of a farmer that needs to be cleared up.

More people getting into farming is good for everyone. I want those who choose to farm to succeed. Starting a business you’re not prepared for is a sure-fire way of not doing that. Hence this series of posts about The Real Farm Life. So, here we go:

The Real Farm Life Fact #1: Farming Let’s You Get In Touch With Nature

You thought I was going to start by trying to scare you off farming, didn’t you? I might yet. But I want people to get into farming because it adds to the greater good and is a great way of life for you and your family. If it really is for you, that is.

Take getting in touch with nature as an example. What do you think of when you read that? Are you thinking sunny walks through tree lined pastures while you check your hay crops?

Yep. That’s farming.

How about the sun setting over the roof of your barn with the sounds of your laying hens settling onto their roost for the night?

That’s farming too.

And feeling your muscles burn just enough to know that you and your kids are not couch potatoes.

Farming does that.

Okay, how about raccoons taking down half an acre of sweet corn just before harvest to the tune of $250 of heirloom seed and countless (and penniless) hours of labour?

You got it. Farming.

Worse yet. Getting up 3 times through the night to feed a tube down the throat of a newborn lamb in minus 30 Celsius weather trying in the hope of getting it warm and nourished enough to survive only to find it cold and still come morning?

Farming.

These things are just as much a part of farming. Don’t get me wrong, often enough, you find a revived, tail-wagging bundle of energy come morning to reward your sleepless night. If not, it wouldn’t be worth doing, would it?

And it is worth doing. Again: If it’s for you.

Everyone likes the idea of farm life. But if you’re going to take it on, you’d better like actually doing it. And you need to be able to handle the parts you don’t like.

Getting in touch with nature through farming means nurturing life, coaxing it and coddling it with your own dirty hands but it also means holding death in those same hands. You have to be able to watch death, to touch it, run the shovel and go back to the coddling and coaxing with vigor. Can you do it?

(For the record, I spill more tears at lambing time than I would otherwise cry in a whole year).

In the paper, you have some time to make sure you got your ideas across. For example, if you forgot an important detail, you likely have a few hours at least to inform the reporter of your mistake. My experience with TV has been that they check with you ahead of time regarding the questions they want to ask you.

I was interviewed live recently concerning farming and the Canadian Young Farmer’s Forum I was attending and they did a ‘pre-interview’ on the phone. One of the producer’s asked me questions for about a half an hour the week before I was scheduled to be on. Talk about thorough! (I guess they we’re making sure I could speak French well enough as it was on a Quebec station).

My other recent TV interview had John and I talking about our sugar bush while standing next to the sap evaporator in our sugar shack. This on was pre-recorded and we had a little pre-game discussion about what the interviewer would ask each of us.

So, TV has been easy and print media is inherently fool-proof if you’re paying attention. Radio, not so much for me.

So, here are some tips on how to make a radio interview successful:

Tip #1: Remember that the radio announcer is also producing the show

I’m sure there is someone else actually producing the show but the announcer is in charge of making sure things happen when they’re meant to. They turn themselves on and off, so to speak and, I believe, they start and stop their own ads. (I’m sure there is a technical way to describe this. I’m just reporting what I’ve witnessed.)

What I’m trying to say is, these folks are multi-tasking BIG time. So, try to be an easy guest. Sit there and take direction.

Tip #2: Take a gift

I don’t mean a new set of barbecue tools. There is no such thing as a Radio Announcer Gift Registry at Sears. I mean, if you’re promoting a food item, for example, take them a sample.

We’re making maple syrup and using syrup to make other goodies. I took a bottle of freshly bottled syrup and some of my Great Granny’s shortbread made with syrup.

He was happy. A happy announcer will do a good job of promoting you. And, it’s a nice thing to do.

N.B. Dis regard the ‘no barbecue tools’ comment if you’re promoting your new line of barbecue tools.

Tip #3 Know what you want to say

This is where I’ve fallen down on the job. Twice.

The announcer knows that you’re there to talk about fill in the blank. I’m sure some of them are more conscious of your needs than others but, to be safe, don’t rely on them being aware of your message.

Do everyone a favour and ask yourself: “What is the point of my going on the radio?” Then write a list.

Next time, my list will look like this:

1. Maple syrup festival this weekend – both days
2. Teens get free baked goodies
3. Teens from our entrepreneurial program are giving tours to the public
4. Yes, despite the weather, we have maple syrup and other farm fresh goods
5. Our website and farm name
6. We’re number 35 on the map
7. Baby lambs to see

In actual fact, it would have been more bare bones because you don’t want to be reading your detailed list while talking on the radio. I added some details for you, the reader, as you don’t live in my head and likely wouldn’t get much from a cryptic ‘Note to Colleen’.

The things on this list may seem obvious. They should be no-brainers. In my experience though, when you get into a new situation like talking on the radio for the first (or second) time, it is possible to go into ‘no-brain mode’.

The first time I was interviewed, I didn’t mention how people could get a hold of me to register for our teen program. D’uh. Today, I didn’t mention the name of our farm or our number on the festival map. Thankfully, the host mentioned my name repeatedly and that gives a clear hint as to farm name.

Despite the learning curve, being on the local radio station is great free publicity. And it really wasn’t that hard to get into. I simply thought about what I had to offer the public that was more than the farmer next door – a teen entrepreneurial program – and sent an email to the station outlining the program and asking to get on the air.

For anyone trying to grow a customer list, I strongly encourage you to go ‘on the air’. All you need is something a little bit different that the public might be interested in. And the tips above won’t hurt either because once you go to commercial, there is no changing what listener’s heard.

If the announcer was frazzled because you distracted them from their work, if you didn’t bring even a coffee in case you’ve caught them on a bad day or if you forgot to tell them your farm name, you’re out of luck. This time.

Next time, I’ll be armed with my list.