Farm Futures logo

The expertise you need may be close byThe expertise you need may be close by

Between the Fencerows: Turns out a long-delayed website refresh simply needed the right builder: a farm kid.

Kyle Stackhouse, Blogger

January 23, 2025

2 Min Read
Traffic cone and hard hat on laptop suggesting website construction
Getty Images/AndreyPopov

If memory serves me, we started our website in 2014. The decision was driven by an impending change in internet providers, the convenience of ‘forever’ email addresses, as well as the desire to have a presence where prospective landlords and business partners could go to learn about us.

2014 was a wet spring and there we simply could do nothing in the fields. Everything on the need to do list had been crossed off. So, I began researching web hosting companies. I found one I liked that was reasonably priced, our domain name was purchased, our email addresses created, and I tinkered to build our first (crude) website.

The first version was basically our resume and contact information put into an online format. Sometime in that first year I added some photos. That was it. And it stayed unchanged for several years. A few years ago, I took some photos and paid the provider to update the website for me. We cleaned up some of the information and made it look more modern.

Last summer I noticed additional monthly charges for the webservice. I found it was because we were still using an old format and needed to migrate to new web software. That change fell firmly at the bottom of my ‘to do’ list and I paid the $7 a month fee. In December I finally had enough time to do some research. Though I’m sure I could do web design, it just isn’t something I want to know how to do. I asked the company what it would cost to do the update for me. They gave me a couple proposals, but I thought they were too much for a simple 5-page website. That was when it dawned on me to have one of our kids do it.

Related:Will Brazil get its corn planted?

I don’t remember how it came up the other night, but somehow, I smarted off to our kids and offered $150 for one of them to update our website onto the new system. I guess the number was big enough because more than one volunteered.

Ava, the oldest, ended up with the job. I logged her in. She asked me some questions. I pointed her to the provider’s FAQ section. About an hour later, she was done! She even added a credits page that playfully brags about the child that maintains the website! It all worked out. She made some money, I saved some money, the website is cleaned up, and the additional fee is gone!

Read more about:

Farmer Voice

About the Author

Kyle Stackhouse

Blogger

After graduating from Purdue University in 1999 with a degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Kyle Stackhouse began farming in Plymouth, Ind., in northern Indiana. Kyle farms alongside his father Brad, not as an employee but as an owner who runs separate businesses in three counties in a 20-mile radius.  Kyle shares insight into day to day operations, current issues, and management of the family's mid-sized grain farm that specializes in NON-GMO and Identity Preserved crops.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like