When ag producers think about how to add income by starting a new business, they can look at Iowa’s Kelly Garrett as a successful model to follow. But even an entrepreneurial whiz like Garrett required some trial and error.
Perhaps best known for being the first American farmer to sell carbon credits to a corporation, Garrett grows corn and wheat on 7,000 acres and grazes 700 head of cattle. He also co-founded XtremeAg, a digital platform to help farmers make sustainability improvements through educational videos. He owns Garrett Trucking and is a majority partner in KSX Transportation. He and a partner run Integrated Ag Solutions, an innovative soil management company. His GLC Beef is a direct-to-consumer business. Last year he bought the local service station/restaurant in Dow City, his hometown.
But his amazing success isn’t due to some mystical Midas Touch. In fact, his first foray into side hustling didn’t go well at all. He partnered in a business that made pillows, throw rugs and blankets. “I thought I was going to get outside of agriculture and make more serious money,” he explains on the latest episode of Grow Getters, a podcast focused on how ag producers are creating new businesses to diversify their operations. With a rueful smile, he adds, “I lost a few dollars.”
The experience, however, provided a direction. “I didn’t know the term at the time, but it’s called intentional congruence,” he says. “What that means is one business grows out of the other. It’s kind of like a spiderweb. I know it seems like we have a lot going on right now, but it didn’t happen overnight.”
The transportation business grew from the trucks he used for hauling his own harvest. His deep interest in sustainability and regenerative farming led to XtremeAg. Selling directly to consumers was a natural extension of his cattle business. Even the service station fits the paradigm. “That station is very important to my family, my community and my trucking business,” he says. “That’s where we buy fuel for our fleet. And we think we have the best lunch in any gas station around because we have GLC beef going in there.”
For producers thinking about starting a new business, he advises, “Start small and start with what you know. Try to include some intentional congruence because there are hidden profits in efficiency. That will really help you do a better job in the long run.”
Watch the full interview on Grow Getters
Visit his website: https://garrettlandcattle.com/
Visit XtremeAg: https://www.xtremeag.farm/
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