Rural Heritage October/November 2025

• A forage specialist to know what to feed to your livestock. • A meteorologist to know what the weather will be. • A nutritionist to know how to feed your livestock for maximum growth. • A veterinarian to deal with livestock medical problems. • A detective to find out what’s happening on your farm. • A business analyst to take your farm to profitability. • An insurance agent to manage risk. • A banker to finance any changes on your farm. • A mechanic to fix equipment that breaks.

• An engineer to figure out how to do or build something. • A contractor to build your buildings. • A lumber jack to harvest the trees on your land. • A conservationist to take proper care of your land. • A butcher to handle your down cows. • A marketer to promote your products. • A counselor to advise your family and your employees. • A flight specialist not to fly off the handle when something goes wrong. This list, while funny, is also true and it comes from a man with 20-plus years experience grazing cattle, Shorty Hochstetler.

October/November 2025

15