I had the opportunity to farm 100 acres of pasture while I was in high school. FCSAmerica was willing to grant me a loan, cosigned by my mom and dad, so that I could raise my first set of steers. That was in the summer of 2005.

Each year, we try to make a profit and improve the operation through better efficiencies relating to costs, cattle performance or yields.

I think the biggest mistake a lot of people make is not looking at their financials close enough or getting the calculator out to run some numbers before making a decision. There’s a lot of risk in agriculture, but there’s a lot of reward, too.