Podcast Extra: Navigating Macroeconomic Shocks with John Kempf and Dr. Michael McNeill - Acres Eco-Ag Conference 2025

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Welcome everyone.

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I've been really fascinated by

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the topic of macroeconomics in

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general,

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understanding how our banking

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system works,

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and

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understanding how

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macroeconomics really influence

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agriculture, and how they

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influence farming,

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and the rise and decline of

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civilizations throughout

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history.

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When I was having this

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conversation with Taylor one day

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and he asked me, he said, well,

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I think you need to talk about

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this

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topic at the conference.

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Well,

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I had all well -meaning

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intentions to come prepared to

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this talk with lots of notes

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about specific reports that I

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had written, specific

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documentation.

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Thanks to me not having enough

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to get done, none of that

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happened.

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But when I was here, I realized

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there were several people here

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who I didn't realize were going

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to be here who had actually

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lived through some of the

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experiences that I wanted to

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talk about. And so what better

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opportunity than to get some

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friends up here on the stage and

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actually have a conversation

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about some of the things that

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have happened over the last 60

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years around American

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agriculture and agricultural

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economics.

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I'm very pleased and very

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delighted to let all of you know

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that Michael McNeil is here

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today, and he's going to be

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joining me here on stage to talk

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about agriculture economics,

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because he got the inside story.

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So, please welcome Michael.

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Thanks for being here, Michael.

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All

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right, so,

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we,

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in a certain sense, we know that

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Farm economics and farm

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financial condition is very

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stressed in the countryside

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right now. We stand in, I think

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you could arguably say we stand

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in very perilous conditions,

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many farming operations do.

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I think it is important for us

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to realize, particularly for

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myself, many of us in the

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younger generation,

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to recognize and understand how

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we got to this place.

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It's been very fascinating for

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me.

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I grew up listening to my

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grandfather's stories.

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My grandfather was a

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conscientious objector during

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the Second World War.

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He was born in 1918.

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After the war, after his war

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service was over, he came back

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home,

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got married,

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bought a farm,

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it was a small dairy farm,

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and he paid for that farm in

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four years with

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the proceeds from the farm.

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And I've heard many stories, in

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fact, if you,

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I have read,

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haven't gone deep enough to

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validate this, but I've read

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that during the time period in

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the late 40s and through the

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50s,

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and in some areas even into the

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early 60s,

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the common payoff period for a

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farm, depending on the region

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and the context, was five to

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seven years,

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and occasionally as much as nine

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years.

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It's a very different

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macroeconomic environment from

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where we are today.

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I think many

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people in the younger generation

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kind of have this expectation

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that,

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well, the context as we know is

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that

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all of us who are paying

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attention very clearly

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understand that there is a lot

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of economic extraction.

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that is happening out of rural

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economies.

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There's a lot of economic

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extraction from rural

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communities. Rural communities

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are becoming financially

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distressed.

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The population is declining.

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And the kind of the general

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assumption,

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if we are not familiar with

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history, is that all of this

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economic extraction occurred by

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a large number of different

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people

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and corporations, businesses,

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making interests,

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or making decisions in their own

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self -interest,

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and that we got to this place

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where we are today, over a 70 or

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80 year history,

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kind of gradually,

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slowly,

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by people who didn't think about

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the long -term consequences of

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decisions that they're making,

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and the impact that they would

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have.

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I don't believe that to be the

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case.

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Once you really study history,

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I've come to the conclusion

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that this was very deliberate,

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it was designed, and it was

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intended at the highest levels.

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This was not accidental.

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This was a very deliberate, very

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intentional process.

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And so

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there was this one report,

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An Adaptive Program for

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Agriculture,

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was a report that was published

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in 1962 by the American

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Committee for Economic

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Development.

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And I'd suggest you go look up

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the report if you're interested,

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but what happened

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That report came to the

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conclusion, I'm just

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speaking very broadly here, but

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in essence they said that

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we're running into trouble

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managing the country.

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The rural population is too

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independent.

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They're financially independent.

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They're heavily armed.

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They have a significant, quite a

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fair -sized population.

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They could overthrow the

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government if they wanted to.

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And we don't have effective

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control of our food supply and

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being able to keep our food

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supply cheap and inexpensive for

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the long term because of their

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independent -mindedness.

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And if we want to

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maintain a cheap food supply

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for

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the long term,

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we have two possible pathways.

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We can institute supply controls

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as in similar to the Canadian

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system

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or

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we can

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deplete

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economic success, the financial

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success of the rural

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communities,

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and bring them

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under our control through

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financial management.

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And they chose the second

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choice, the second pathway.

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From that pathway forward,

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through the late 1960s,

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1970s,

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there were salesmen traveling

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rural highways selling credit to

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farms.

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Very inexpensive credit,

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making credit very attractive to

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farmers, getting them used to

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using credit.

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And then of course, the early

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1980s came the 1980s farm

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crisis.

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Interest rates hiked,

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farms were forced into

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bankruptcy.

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And by the way, one of the

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stated goals of this economic

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development report that I missed

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mentioning was the explicitly

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stated outcome of reducing the

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farm population by 60 % in five

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years.

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That was a stated articulated

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goal.

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So where

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we are today is not an accident.

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And this continued extraction of

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trying to keep farmers right on

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the tipping threshold of

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remaining economically viable,

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not going bankrupt, but

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continues consolidation,

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is deliberate and intentional.

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And

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the

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point that I want for us to come

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away with,

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or for us to think about, is how

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do we put ourselves into a

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position where we are not

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vulnerable going forward?

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With that,

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I'm very grateful to Michael for

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joining me here on the stage

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because Michael actually lived

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through the 1980s farm crisis

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and he had a very interesting

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inside perspective on what was

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happening with credit management

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and how this whole situation

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evolved.

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So,

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Michael, I feel like I've given

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entirely too long of a prelude

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here to set the stage.

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but

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I'd love for you to tell us

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about the

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context of your experience.

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What was the scope of the work

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that you were doing during this

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period, and what were the things

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that you observed in the

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countryside as this situation

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evolved?

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Well, your presentation of

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what was going on was very

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accurate.

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There was that movement to

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reduce the number of us farmers

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by a dramatic amount.

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And the economic approach was

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a really good way to do that.

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And it was very effective.

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And I'm going to say about

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1984,

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85,

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it sort of started dawning on

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people that were wanting this to

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happen, that

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how do we put the brakes on

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this?

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Because

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farmers were dropping like

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flies.

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And they were the good ones that

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they were taking out.

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Because if they had some equity

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buildup,

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they were probably

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pretty good farmers.

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And because the banks were

300
00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:01,139
desperate for money,

301
00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,500
that's the ones you shut down.

302
00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:06,319
And it dawned on them, this

303
00:09:06,319 --> 00:09:07,580
isn't working very well.

304
00:09:08,580 --> 00:09:11,899
And so I was fortunate enough to

305
00:09:11,899 --> 00:09:13,620
get a job.

306
00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,039
I had a five year contract to

307
00:09:18,049 --> 00:09:19,230
save

308
00:09:20,370 --> 00:09:22,049
the farmers that were...

309
00:09:22,649 --> 00:09:23,449
Was that your mandate?

310
00:09:24,330 --> 00:09:25,470
That was my mandate,

311
00:09:26,819 --> 00:09:29,399
but it was kind of sneaky in

312
00:09:29,399 --> 00:09:32,840
that I worked with FMHA

313
00:09:34,049 --> 00:09:35,009
farm loans,

314
00:09:35,610 --> 00:09:36,950
the guaranteed loans, and they

315
00:09:36,950 --> 00:09:38,389
said, well the job you're going

316
00:09:38,389 --> 00:09:40,820
to have is we want you to to go

317
00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:43,710
out and check

318
00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:46,940
the banks that are working with

319
00:09:46,940 --> 00:09:48,059
these guaranteed loans.

320
00:09:48,759 --> 00:09:50,720
You basically are going to

321
00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,059
monitor them and make sure

322
00:09:52,059 --> 00:09:53,179
they're doing this correctly.

323
00:09:55,039 --> 00:09:57,399
So I was working as an

324
00:09:57,399 --> 00:09:59,580
agricultural consultant and I

325
00:09:59,580 --> 00:10:01,480
was helping my farmers as best I

326
00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,379
could because I could see I was

327
00:10:03,379 --> 00:10:05,059
losing farmers, which meant

328
00:10:05,820 --> 00:10:07,360
I'm losing business too.

329
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:08,799
And so

330
00:10:10,129 --> 00:10:11,570
I'm going to have to figure out

331
00:10:11,570 --> 00:10:12,370
a way to

332
00:10:12,379 --> 00:10:13,179
help them.

333
00:10:14,009 --> 00:10:15,509
So I kind of launched on this

334
00:10:15,509 --> 00:10:16,850
project and learned how to make

335
00:10:16,850 --> 00:10:19,789
cash flows and understand the

336
00:10:19,940 --> 00:10:20,740
financing.

337
00:10:21,179 --> 00:10:23,200
So I would take a work with a

338
00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:25,940
grower and develop a cash flow

339
00:10:25,940 --> 00:10:29,159
program for him that was

340
00:10:29,509 --> 00:10:30,690
going to work in this very

341
00:10:30,690 --> 00:10:31,549
difficult time.

342
00:10:32,909 --> 00:10:34,049
Take that to the bank

343
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,080
and say, OK,

344
00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,320
here's the cash flow.

345
00:10:38,399 --> 00:10:39,340
This guy is going to work.

346
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,159
No, we're going to sell him out.

347
00:10:42,129 --> 00:10:44,569
No, why would you sell him out

348
00:10:44,569 --> 00:10:47,049
because see he can he's gonna

349
00:10:47,049 --> 00:10:48,430
survive this No,

350
00:10:49,029 --> 00:10:49,950
we're gonna sell him out

351
00:10:50,330 --> 00:10:51,950
what they needed was his money.

352
00:10:53,279 --> 00:10:55,379
And so I'd say no we've worked

353
00:10:55,379 --> 00:10:56,720
really hard in this cash flow

354
00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:58,700
It's very accurate and

355
00:10:59,009 --> 00:11:00,049
he's agreed that he's gonna

356
00:11:00,049 --> 00:11:01,210
follow it like a budget.

357
00:11:02,169 --> 00:11:03,870
Nope. That's it So

358
00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:06,879
then I opened my badge and show

359
00:11:06,879 --> 00:11:09,740
that I am an auditor for FMHA

360
00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:11,200
guaranteed loans and

361
00:11:11,799 --> 00:11:13,399
the banker Oh, well,

362
00:11:13,819 --> 00:11:14,919
maybe we gotta look at this

363
00:11:14,919 --> 00:11:15,719
again

364
00:11:16,779 --> 00:11:19,220
And so I went through quite a

365
00:11:19,220 --> 00:11:20,360
few of those scenarios.

366
00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,319
Those farmers are still viable

367
00:11:23,319 --> 00:11:24,119
and

368
00:11:23,970 --> 00:11:25,350
working well today.

369
00:11:25,710 --> 00:11:26,629
It's unfortunate there weren't

370
00:11:26,629 --> 00:11:27,649
more of you in the countryside

371
00:11:27,649 --> 00:11:28,449
in that position.

372
00:11:28,629 --> 00:11:29,669
There weren't very many.

373
00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:31,919
And so I

374
00:11:33,029 --> 00:11:34,289
learned a lot from that.

375
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:38,960
Things got better.

376
00:11:39,779 --> 00:11:41,059
We were able to kind of put the

377
00:11:41,059 --> 00:11:43,840
brakes on that and it leveled

378
00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:44,639
out.

379
00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:45,519
Now,

380
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,320
I see things starting to tighten

381
00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:49,279
up again today.

382
00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:50,240
And guess what?

383
00:11:50,899 --> 00:11:52,019
It's for the same reason.

384
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:53,980
You need to reduce the farmers

385
00:11:53,980 --> 00:11:55,480
to a lesser number,

386
00:11:55,820 --> 00:11:56,860
easier to control.

387
00:11:57,700 --> 00:11:59,500
You do that through economics.

388
00:12:00,490 --> 00:12:02,450
So let's back up just a step.

389
00:12:02,669 --> 00:12:04,710
You used a phrase just now.

390
00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:05,909
You said you see a similar

391
00:12:05,909 --> 00:12:07,009
scenario emerging.

392
00:12:07,820 --> 00:12:10,200
What was the

393
00:12:10,570 --> 00:12:12,470
situation analysis prior

394
00:12:13,330 --> 00:12:14,970
to the 1980s? What did it look

395
00:12:14,970 --> 00:12:16,450
like through the 60s and 70s?

396
00:12:16,590 --> 00:12:17,590
It was boom time.

397
00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:20,740
You couldn't make a mistake.

398
00:12:22,049 --> 00:12:23,450
Anything you invested in,

399
00:12:23,789 --> 00:12:25,269
any expansion you did,

400
00:12:25,929 --> 00:12:26,809
just made things

401
00:12:27,250 --> 00:12:28,049
better.

402
00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:29,620
It was great.

403
00:12:31,159 --> 00:12:33,559
It was a time I was starting up

404
00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:34,359
farming,

405
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,419
and I started with a quarter

406
00:12:37,419 --> 00:12:38,319
section of land.

407
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,240
In a matter of three or four

408
00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:43,120
years, I'd expanded that to 900

409
00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:43,919
acres,

410
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,269
which was a pretty good jump in

411
00:12:46,269 --> 00:12:47,230
a pretty short time.

412
00:12:48,309 --> 00:12:50,149
I'd had a small

413
00:12:50,649 --> 00:12:53,210
feeding lot operation.

414
00:12:53,350 --> 00:12:55,269
I was feeding out about 40 head

415
00:12:55,269 --> 00:12:56,069
of cattle.

416
00:12:56,899 --> 00:12:58,980
I ramped that up to 350 head of

417
00:12:58,980 --> 00:12:59,779
cattle.

418
00:13:00,190 --> 00:13:01,669
Oh, it's really working good.

419
00:13:02,180 --> 00:13:03,340
4 % interest,

420
00:13:04,210 --> 00:13:07,490
borrowing money, things were

421
00:13:07,490 --> 00:13:08,289
great.

422
00:13:09,700 --> 00:13:11,100
And then all of a sudden that 4

423
00:13:11,100 --> 00:13:14,139
% interest went to 18 % in a

424
00:13:14,139 --> 00:13:15,460
matter of a few months.

425
00:13:16,649 --> 00:13:18,169
And then all the cattle I had on

426
00:13:18,169 --> 00:13:20,370
feed all of a sudden went from

427
00:13:20,370 --> 00:13:22,730
being very profitable to being

428
00:13:22,730 --> 00:13:24,389
tremendous loss.

429
00:13:26,370 --> 00:13:29,430
And so I personally experienced

430
00:13:29,430 --> 00:13:30,230
it.

431
00:13:30,899 --> 00:13:32,259
and I figured a way out of it,

432
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:33,480
and then I took that

433
00:13:34,179 --> 00:13:36,799
information to everyone else

434
00:13:36,799 --> 00:13:37,599
that I could help.

435
00:13:38,549 --> 00:13:41,350
And so I see a similar situation

436
00:13:41,350 --> 00:13:42,490
developing now,

437
00:13:43,100 --> 00:13:44,519
but it's going to be different.

438
00:13:45,750 --> 00:13:47,490
But there's different reasons,

439
00:13:47,610 --> 00:13:49,029
but the economic pressure is

440
00:13:49,029 --> 00:13:49,889
going to be the same.

441
00:13:50,590 --> 00:13:51,610
There are many questions that I

442
00:13:51,610 --> 00:13:52,450
would like to ask,

443
00:13:52,929 --> 00:13:53,729
but,

444
00:13:53,450 --> 00:13:55,389
and I want to, this is such an

445
00:13:55,389 --> 00:13:56,549
important topic, I want to open

446
00:13:56,549 --> 00:13:57,909
it up for all of you to be able

447
00:13:57,909 --> 00:13:59,129
to ask questions as well, but

448
00:13:59,129 --> 00:14:00,710
one

449
00:14:01,309 --> 00:14:02,490
of the, I think one of the

450
00:14:02,490 --> 00:14:04,450
fundamental questions we need to

451
00:14:04,450 --> 00:14:05,730
be thinking about and be asking

452
00:14:05,730 --> 00:14:07,789
ourselves is, how do we insulate

453
00:14:07,789 --> 00:14:09,110
ourselves? How do we protect

454
00:14:09,110 --> 00:14:10,269
ourselves and not put ourselves

455
00:14:10,269 --> 00:14:11,230
in a vulnerable position?

456
00:14:12,029 --> 00:14:13,129
That's the right question to

457
00:14:13,129 --> 00:14:13,929
ask.

458
00:14:14,340 --> 00:14:16,379
And I spoke about that

459
00:14:17,179 --> 00:14:18,500
Well, on Tuesday, we talked

460
00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:20,659
about how do you

461
00:14:20,659 --> 00:14:23,980
develop a farming system

462
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,129
that's resilient to all the

463
00:14:27,129 --> 00:14:28,169
changes that we're going to

464
00:14:28,169 --> 00:14:28,969
experience.

465
00:14:29,110 --> 00:14:30,069
We're going to experience

466
00:14:30,069 --> 00:14:31,090
climate change

467
00:14:31,690 --> 00:14:34,340
because climate does change.

468
00:14:35,139 --> 00:14:35,939
Nothing new there.

469
00:14:36,639 --> 00:14:38,919
But we're probably going to see

470
00:14:38,919 --> 00:14:40,100
a little bit more violent

471
00:14:40,100 --> 00:14:41,580
weather conditions, maybe more

472
00:14:41,580 --> 00:14:42,740
drought, more storms.

473
00:14:43,789 --> 00:14:45,430
Develop a farming system that's

474
00:14:45,430 --> 00:14:46,389
resilient to that.

475
00:14:47,569 --> 00:14:48,590
We're going to see

476
00:14:50,490 --> 00:14:53,769
changes in social

477
00:14:54,529 --> 00:14:55,329
and

478
00:14:55,549 --> 00:14:56,769
political things

479
00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:58,059
that are happening in our

480
00:14:58,059 --> 00:14:59,919
country and around the world.

481
00:15:00,830 --> 00:15:02,389
We need a farming system that's

482
00:15:02,389 --> 00:15:04,059
resilient to those.

483
00:15:06,919 --> 00:15:09,139
So how do you develop a

484
00:15:09,139 --> 00:15:11,000
resilient farming system?

485
00:15:12,549 --> 00:15:13,870
The first thing, and the most

486
00:15:13,870 --> 00:15:15,269
important thing, I think,

487
00:15:15,769 --> 00:15:16,569
is knowledge.

488
00:15:17,620 --> 00:15:19,970
So I feel like I'm preaching to

489
00:15:19,970 --> 00:15:20,909
the choir here.

490
00:15:21,430 --> 00:15:22,409
That's why you're here,

491
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:23,860
to get more knowledge.

492
00:15:25,179 --> 00:15:27,179
But look around at the empty

493
00:15:27,179 --> 00:15:27,979
chairs.

494
00:15:28,399 --> 00:15:29,379
There's a lot of people that

495
00:15:29,379 --> 00:15:30,600
should have been here that

496
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:31,399
aren't here.

497
00:15:32,100 --> 00:15:35,129
And so that lack of knowledge is

498
00:15:35,129 --> 00:15:36,769
going to be a big problem.

499
00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:40,519
Another way

500
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,139
to develop resilience is through

501
00:15:43,139 --> 00:15:43,939
diversity.

502
00:15:46,139 --> 00:15:48,559
A corn soybean farming system is

503
00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:50,059
not a very diverse system.

504
00:15:50,860 --> 00:15:52,620
We need to look at other crops.

505
00:15:53,059 --> 00:15:54,240
We need to get those

506
00:15:55,159 --> 00:15:56,799
working for us, we need to maybe

507
00:15:56,799 --> 00:15:59,200
look at niche markets and make

508
00:15:59,379 --> 00:16:00,500
our farm

509
00:16:00,940 --> 00:16:03,409
resilient to these changes.

510
00:16:04,179 --> 00:16:05,580
So those are some of the key

511
00:16:05,580 --> 00:16:06,539
things to look at.

512
00:16:07,220 --> 00:16:08,379
But one of the big ones,

513
00:16:08,779 --> 00:16:10,679
because of this economic side

514
00:16:10,679 --> 00:16:12,179
that we're now talking about, I

515
00:16:12,179 --> 00:16:15,460
think one of the big ones is do

516
00:16:15,460 --> 00:16:17,799
not be reliant on outside

517
00:16:17,799 --> 00:16:18,599
funding.

518
00:16:19,289 --> 00:16:20,389
Fund your operation

519
00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:21,730
yourself,

520
00:16:22,070 --> 00:16:24,289
which may mean making your own

521
00:16:24,539 --> 00:16:26,440
inputs on your farm.

522
00:16:27,639 --> 00:16:29,240
we can raise covered crops, we

523
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,779
can make our own fertility that

524
00:16:30,779 --> 00:16:31,579
way.

525
00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:32,860
Kind of hard on your business,

526
00:16:32,940 --> 00:16:33,740
John, but sorry.

527
00:16:36,149 --> 00:16:36,949
But

528
00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,840
another thing that I think is

529
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,319
really important is to avoid

530
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:44,299
listening to biased advisors.

531
00:16:45,409 --> 00:16:47,870
I work with a lot of my

532
00:16:48,250 --> 00:16:49,889
growers now that

533
00:16:50,970 --> 00:16:53,529
Well, they go to their seed

534
00:16:53,529 --> 00:16:55,149
dealer to decide what seeds

535
00:16:55,149 --> 00:16:55,949
should I plant.

536
00:16:56,250 --> 00:16:58,049
They go to the fertilizer dealer

537
00:16:58,049 --> 00:17:00,309
to what fertilizer should I use.

538
00:17:01,529 --> 00:17:02,569
And you

539
00:17:02,889 --> 00:17:04,470
have to be really careful.

540
00:17:06,130 --> 00:17:07,109
These people are very

541
00:17:07,109 --> 00:17:08,410
knowledgeable about what they're

542
00:17:08,410 --> 00:17:10,680
selling, but they're also very

543
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:11,980
exuberant in doing so.

544
00:17:13,450 --> 00:17:15,109
You got to do a good job, John,

545
00:17:15,170 --> 00:17:16,269
or you won't stay in business.

546
00:17:16,710 --> 00:17:17,509
But

547
00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:19,190
they can be biased.

548
00:17:19,390 --> 00:17:20,190
And so you need to be careful.

549
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,119
to be careful to get your

550
00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:25,400
information and knowledge from

551
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:26,740
unbiased providers.

552
00:17:27,279 --> 00:17:28,519
I didn't realize I should be

553
00:17:28,519 --> 00:17:29,720
wearing steel -toed boots up

554
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:30,519
here on stage.

555
00:17:30,599 --> 00:17:32,279
Well, you said to be honest,

556
00:17:33,099 --> 00:17:34,700
to lay it out like you see it.

557
00:17:34,700 --> 00:17:35,500
So I did.

558
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,680
But there are a lot of good

559
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,519
people in agri -industry.

560
00:17:42,809 --> 00:17:44,230
You have to find them,

561
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:46,079
because there are some that are

562
00:17:46,079 --> 00:17:46,879
not.

563
00:17:47,029 --> 00:17:49,690
When you speak about resilience,

564
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:51,460
the need to develop resilience,

565
00:17:51,740 --> 00:17:52,539
I

566
00:17:52,490 --> 00:17:53,890
want to come back to the

567
00:17:53,890 --> 00:17:55,430
economics and the farm funding

568
00:17:55,430 --> 00:17:56,549
piece, because I think that is a

569
00:17:56,549 --> 00:17:57,349
very important piece.

570
00:17:57,450 --> 00:17:58,250
But

571
00:17:57,859 --> 00:18:01,309
one other aspect I'd like

572
00:18:01,309 --> 00:18:03,990
to ask you about is the

573
00:18:04,490 --> 00:18:06,769
resilience of community and

574
00:18:06,769 --> 00:18:07,569
relationships.

575
00:18:08,700 --> 00:18:10,180
Because when

576
00:18:11,190 --> 00:18:13,829
we get into difficult times,

577
00:18:14,549 --> 00:18:16,769
It is often people helping each

578
00:18:16,769 --> 00:18:17,569
other out.

579
00:18:17,990 --> 00:18:19,109
And this is something that I

580
00:18:19,109 --> 00:18:20,769
think is very different today as

581
00:18:20,769 --> 00:18:22,470
a society, culturally, is very

582
00:18:22,470 --> 00:18:23,769
different today from what it was

583
00:18:23,769 --> 00:18:24,650
in the 1980s.

584
00:18:25,309 --> 00:18:26,869
People worked together

585
00:18:26,869 --> 00:18:28,170
collaboratively much more so.

586
00:18:28,230 --> 00:18:29,289
The agricultural community has

587
00:18:29,289 --> 00:18:30,809
kept some of this, but society

588
00:18:30,809 --> 00:18:31,609
at large,

589
00:18:32,329 --> 00:18:34,750
to a large degree, has lost the

590
00:18:34,750 --> 00:18:35,549
desire,

591
00:18:36,319 --> 00:18:37,700
perhaps even the ability, to

592
00:18:37,700 --> 00:18:38,779
work together effectively.

593
00:18:39,470 --> 00:18:41,390
in equal exchange,

594
00:18:41,829 --> 00:18:42,629
or I shouldn't even say in equal

595
00:18:42,589 --> 00:18:43,670
exchange, but just for the

596
00:18:43,670 --> 00:18:44,710
purpose and the sake of helping

597
00:18:44,710 --> 00:18:45,509
each other out.

598
00:18:45,750 --> 00:18:47,150
The farming community still does

599
00:18:47,150 --> 00:18:47,950
that

600
00:18:48,039 --> 00:18:49,099
reasonably well.

601
00:18:49,900 --> 00:18:51,579
In a crisis scenario, when

602
00:18:51,579 --> 00:18:52,559
there's a fire or something

603
00:18:52,559 --> 00:18:53,400
happens, there's an accident,

604
00:18:53,519 --> 00:18:54,420
something happens, people show

605
00:18:54,420 --> 00:18:55,339
up to help each other out.

606
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,380
But that isn't routine, standard

607
00:18:57,380 --> 00:18:59,140
operating procedure anymore, in

608
00:18:59,140 --> 00:19:00,420
many cases, the way it was in

609
00:19:00,420 --> 00:19:01,240
the 1980s.

610
00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,440
How important is that,

611
00:19:03,819 --> 00:19:05,019
and how important is it for us

612
00:19:05,019 --> 00:19:06,859
to develop that?

613
00:19:07,410 --> 00:19:08,490
I think it's very crucial.

614
00:19:10,569 --> 00:19:11,609
During the

615
00:19:12,819 --> 00:19:15,259
early 80s and into the 70s,

616
00:19:15,730 --> 00:19:18,730
we saw people struggling.

617
00:19:19,890 --> 00:19:22,029
As we went into this farm

618
00:19:22,029 --> 00:19:22,829
crisis,

619
00:19:23,390 --> 00:19:25,269
people were losing

620
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,019
combines or losing their new

621
00:19:28,019 --> 00:19:29,759
tractor that they bought.

622
00:19:30,980 --> 00:19:31,779
And then they were,

623
00:19:32,059 --> 00:19:32,859
hey,

624
00:19:32,740 --> 00:19:34,180
I'm not using mine that much.

625
00:19:34,259 --> 00:19:35,420
Why don't we work together on

626
00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:36,220
this?

627
00:19:36,099 --> 00:19:38,619
And they started teaming up and

628
00:19:38,619 --> 00:19:39,960
they were able to save their

629
00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,500
farms and save their business.

630
00:19:43,049 --> 00:19:44,609
was sharing equipment.

631
00:19:46,069 --> 00:19:46,869
Today,

632
00:19:48,099 --> 00:19:50,420
I hate to admit this, but it

633
00:19:50,420 --> 00:19:52,039
seems like neighbors

634
00:19:52,349 --> 00:19:53,149
sitting there watching.

635
00:19:53,269 --> 00:19:54,069
I think,

636
00:19:54,250 --> 00:19:55,549
I think old John's going to go

637
00:19:55,549 --> 00:19:57,730
down. I'll get his, I'll get his

638
00:19:57,730 --> 00:19:58,529
farm back.

639
00:19:58,809 --> 00:20:00,029
Just let him go under,

640
00:20:00,450 --> 00:20:01,250
you know,

641
00:20:01,109 --> 00:20:02,369
not go help him at all.

642
00:20:02,809 --> 00:20:03,609
That,

643
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:04,740
that's not going to work

644
00:20:06,009 --> 00:20:06,849
because,

645
00:20:08,430 --> 00:20:09,630
so you do that.

646
00:20:10,079 --> 00:20:11,039
You get his farm.

647
00:20:12,019 --> 00:20:13,720
You haven't paid attention to

648
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:15,299
what was causing that loss.

649
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,339
And that loss will come back and

650
00:20:17,339 --> 00:20:18,279
haunt you as well.

651
00:20:19,150 --> 00:20:20,569
Because now you're farming more

652
00:20:20,569 --> 00:20:21,369
land,

653
00:20:21,349 --> 00:20:22,149
you're gonna need more

654
00:20:21,890 --> 00:20:22,690
machinery,

655
00:20:23,329 --> 00:20:24,750
you're gonna need maybe more

656
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:25,549
labor,

657
00:20:26,180 --> 00:20:27,559
and you gotta be able to find

658
00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:28,359
it.

659
00:20:28,380 --> 00:20:31,579
Or if you borrow money to get

660
00:20:31,579 --> 00:20:32,379
it,

661
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:33,960
now that

662
00:20:34,170 --> 00:20:36,410
economic stranglehold is there.

663
00:20:36,930 --> 00:20:37,809
When you look at

664
00:20:38,339 --> 00:20:41,200
how the value of farmland has

665
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,359
become disassociated with the

666
00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:44,819
value of the crop that you are

667
00:20:44,819 --> 00:20:45,619
producing,

668
00:20:46,660 --> 00:20:48,359
you look at the agricultural

669
00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:49,740
landscape, who are the possible

670
00:20:49,740 --> 00:20:50,960
buyers of farmland today?

671
00:20:51,099 --> 00:20:51,899
What is their defining

672
00:20:51,819 --> 00:20:52,619
characteristic?

673
00:20:53,740 --> 00:20:55,720
They have to have substantial

674
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:57,440
existing equity or financial

675
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:58,240
resources.

676
00:20:58,519 --> 00:20:59,839
You cannot get into farming

677
00:20:59,839 --> 00:21:00,639
without

678
00:21:00,509 --> 00:21:02,670
outside or already existing

679
00:21:02,670 --> 00:21:04,230
resources, perhaps from a

680
00:21:04,230 --> 00:21:05,569
previous generation or from some

681
00:21:05,569 --> 00:21:06,369
other

682
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,039
financial successes that you've

683
00:21:08,039 --> 00:21:08,839
had.

684
00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:10,759
When you look at that scenario,

685
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:14,539
it is very difficult next to

686
00:21:14,539 --> 00:21:15,859
impossible for

687
00:21:16,210 --> 00:21:17,849
young people who aren't already

688
00:21:17,849 --> 00:21:19,509
in farming to get into farming

689
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:21,859
without significant debt.

690
00:21:22,819 --> 00:21:23,619
And so

691
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,240
earlier

692
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:26,440
you mentioned

693
00:21:26,930 --> 00:21:29,859
that we should avoid

694
00:21:30,460 --> 00:21:32,259
using bank financing,

695
00:21:32,779 --> 00:21:34,019
if that was my interpretation of

696
00:21:34,019 --> 00:21:34,819
what you said.

697
00:21:35,589 --> 00:21:37,930
And today that seems like a pipe

698
00:21:37,930 --> 00:21:39,539
dream to most farmers.

699
00:21:39,970 --> 00:21:41,269
How do we get ourselves into a

700
00:21:41,269 --> 00:21:42,069
different situation?

701
00:21:42,619 --> 00:21:43,419
Good question.

702
00:21:43,799 --> 00:21:45,680
And I get that asked of me quite

703
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:46,480
often.

704
00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:47,420
That means you should by now

705
00:21:47,420 --> 00:21:48,500
have a good answer.

706
00:21:50,519 --> 00:21:52,779
My grandson asked me that same

707
00:21:52,779 --> 00:21:53,579
question.

708
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,160
He is 19

709
00:21:57,630 --> 00:21:59,569
years old and said, Grandpa,

710
00:21:59,930 --> 00:22:01,470
you know, I think I'd like to

711
00:22:01,470 --> 00:22:02,269
farm.

712
00:22:02,789 --> 00:22:04,150
How do I do that?

713
00:22:05,490 --> 00:22:06,630
I said, well, you can't do it

714
00:22:06,630 --> 00:22:07,430
without me.

715
00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:09,720
And he's like,

716
00:22:10,819 --> 00:22:12,440
You know, I mean, he's 19.

717
00:22:12,599 --> 00:22:13,399
He's like,

718
00:22:13,319 --> 00:22:14,119
what do you mean?

719
00:22:14,579 --> 00:22:16,460
I can handle this.

720
00:22:17,130 --> 00:22:17,930
I'm a man.

721
00:22:18,769 --> 00:22:20,269
And I said, now, listen, let's

722
00:22:20,269 --> 00:22:21,750
just do a little scenario here.

723
00:22:21,930 --> 00:22:22,930
Here's a sheet of paper.

724
00:22:23,670 --> 00:22:24,890
I want you to write down what

725
00:22:24,890 --> 00:22:26,069
you need to start farming.

726
00:22:27,809 --> 00:22:28,650
You'll need a tractor.

727
00:22:29,339 --> 00:22:31,940
You'll need a planter.

728
00:22:32,869 --> 00:22:34,809
So we went through the list of

729
00:22:35,450 --> 00:22:36,650
tools that he may need.

730
00:22:36,710 --> 00:22:37,509
I said,

731
00:22:37,450 --> 00:22:38,390
you'll need some land.

732
00:22:39,049 --> 00:22:40,410
And I'm going to tell you right

733
00:22:40,410 --> 00:22:41,609
now, it's too expensive for you

734
00:22:41,609 --> 00:22:42,970
to buy, so you're going to have

735
00:22:42,970 --> 00:22:43,769
to rent it.

736
00:22:46,849 --> 00:22:47,849
So you have to go out there and

737
00:22:47,849 --> 00:22:48,649
compete and

738
00:22:48,930 --> 00:22:50,750
get that land rented.

739
00:22:51,190 --> 00:22:52,450
So we put down a number for

740
00:22:52,450 --> 00:22:53,250
that.

741
00:22:53,509 --> 00:22:54,789
We got through that list.

742
00:22:55,759 --> 00:22:57,039
I said, OK, add that up.

743
00:22:57,140 --> 00:22:58,579
See how does that look?

744
00:22:59,299 --> 00:23:00,599
He pulls out his phone.

745
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:02,119
He types all these numbers in

746
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:02,919
it.

747
00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:04,740
He said, that's $3 million.

748
00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:06,400
I said, that's right.

749
00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:07,720
He said, well, I don't have

750
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:08,920
enough money to pay first

751
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:09,819
semester college.

752
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,359
How am I going to get $3

753
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:12,159
million?

754
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:13,700
And I said, now do you

755
00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:15,079
understand why I said you can't

756
00:23:15,079 --> 00:23:15,940
farm without me?

757
00:23:17,650 --> 00:23:18,829
Because I own the equipment.

758
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:20,220
It's paid for.

759
00:23:21,589 --> 00:23:22,890
And if I want to share that with

760
00:23:22,890 --> 00:23:24,289
you, I can get you started.

761
00:23:25,099 --> 00:23:26,279
But without that, you're not

762
00:23:26,279 --> 00:23:27,079
going to start.

763
00:23:28,319 --> 00:23:30,220
And so I thought about that

764
00:23:30,630 --> 00:23:31,529
conversation,

765
00:23:32,150 --> 00:23:32,950
and

766
00:23:32,559 --> 00:23:33,359
John,

767
00:23:33,380 --> 00:23:34,180
how

768
00:23:34,039 --> 00:23:35,200
do you There's a lot of guys out

769
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:36,720
there that are kind of my age

770
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:37,519
that are still farming.

771
00:23:38,660 --> 00:23:40,220
We're going to reset American

772
00:23:40,220 --> 00:23:41,759
agriculture here real soon.

773
00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:43,700
How can we do that

774
00:23:44,009 --> 00:23:45,470
and what will it look like?

775
00:23:46,130 --> 00:23:48,150
Well, here's what I think what

776
00:23:48,150 --> 00:23:49,529
it will look like without

777
00:23:49,529 --> 00:23:51,650
significant rapid intervention.

778
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,680
I think it will look like rapid

779
00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:56,599
consolidation because the only

780
00:23:56,599 --> 00:23:58,279
people who can afford to buy

781
00:23:58,279 --> 00:24:00,299
land in today's environment are

782
00:24:00,299 --> 00:24:02,259
existing farmers or investors,

783
00:24:02,519 --> 00:24:04,259
which spells consolidation.

784
00:24:06,109 --> 00:24:07,549
Traveled around the world quite

785
00:24:07,549 --> 00:24:08,349
a bit.

786
00:24:08,940 --> 00:24:10,660
Just got back from Ukraine.

787
00:24:11,549 --> 00:24:13,269
I was on a farm there.

788
00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:15,579
Fairly sizable.

789
00:24:16,140 --> 00:24:17,660
1 .1 million acres.

790
00:24:18,910 --> 00:24:20,369
I've been traveling in Brazil.

791
00:24:21,210 --> 00:24:22,009
Same thing.

792
00:24:22,150 --> 00:24:23,150
Giant farms.

793
00:24:24,490 --> 00:24:25,789
Is that the way we want to go?

794
00:24:27,089 --> 00:24:27,889
It's the way we're going.

795
00:24:28,430 --> 00:24:29,609
We're headed there.

796
00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:33,490
And what that's going to do is

797
00:24:33,490 --> 00:24:34,289
take out

798
00:24:34,619 --> 00:24:36,339
a good majority of the people

799
00:24:36,339 --> 00:24:37,509
here in this room.

800
00:24:38,430 --> 00:24:39,940
We can look forward to being

801
00:24:39,940 --> 00:24:41,380
farm workers instead of farmers.

802
00:24:42,259 --> 00:24:45,000
And that means we become serfs?

803
00:24:45,279 --> 00:24:46,500
Slaves? How do you want to...

804
00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:47,680
More so than we already are?

805
00:24:48,039 --> 00:24:48,839
Yes.

806
00:24:49,339 --> 00:24:50,139
Yes.

807
00:24:51,009 --> 00:24:52,109
So it's

808
00:24:52,809 --> 00:24:53,609
happening.

809
00:24:54,319 --> 00:24:56,220
Is that the policy that we want?

810
00:24:57,109 --> 00:24:58,470
Ask yourself that question.

811
00:24:58,519 --> 00:24:59,319
and

812
00:25:00,150 --> 00:25:01,410
then do something about that

813
00:25:01,410 --> 00:25:02,210
answer.

814
00:25:02,539 --> 00:25:03,960
What can we do about it in our

815
00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,039
own individual lives?

816
00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:06,660
You haven't yet, I'm also

817
00:25:06,660 --> 00:25:07,839
recognizing you haven't yet

818
00:25:07,839 --> 00:25:09,160
answered my original question of

819
00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:10,940
how do we put ourselves out of a

820
00:25:10,940 --> 00:25:12,220
position of being beholden to

821
00:25:12,220 --> 00:25:13,019
the bank?

822
00:25:14,769 --> 00:25:16,470
What I've been working with some

823
00:25:16,470 --> 00:25:19,880
of my young growers is I said,

824
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,380
okay, here's a way to start.

825
00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:24,579
Go look into this

826
00:25:24,579 --> 00:25:26,559
organic farming,

827
00:25:27,410 --> 00:25:29,049
acquire some cattle.

828
00:25:31,150 --> 00:25:33,549
And then be friendly with your

829
00:25:33,549 --> 00:25:34,369
next door neighbor.

830
00:25:35,460 --> 00:25:36,259
Let him,

831
00:25:37,259 --> 00:25:38,920
convince him if you pasture your

832
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:39,980
cattle on

833
00:25:40,799 --> 00:25:42,539
his cover crop, on his farm,

834
00:25:43,839 --> 00:25:45,720
that that's going to benefit him

835
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:46,839
because he's going to get a

836
00:25:46,839 --> 00:25:49,190
better yield from having the

837
00:25:49,190 --> 00:25:50,490
cover crop and having it

838
00:25:50,490 --> 00:25:51,289
pastured.

839
00:25:52,230 --> 00:25:53,650
And you're going to do well

840
00:25:54,339 --> 00:25:55,819
because you got free feed.

841
00:25:57,559 --> 00:25:58,440
It's collaboration.

842
00:25:58,839 --> 00:25:59,920
It's working together.

843
00:26:00,319 --> 00:26:01,640
Back to what we said.

844
00:26:02,220 --> 00:26:03,660
we did when we were really

845
00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:04,460
pressured,

846
00:26:04,660 --> 00:26:05,579
we worked together.

847
00:26:06,559 --> 00:26:07,799
And so I think it's going to

848
00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:09,460
take that kind of collaboration

849
00:26:09,460 --> 00:26:11,579
between the

850
00:26:13,079 --> 00:26:14,240
cash grain farmer

851
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:16,920
and a livestock producer

852
00:26:17,839 --> 00:26:19,039
and

853
00:26:19,569 --> 00:26:23,009
the elderly farming population

854
00:26:23,009 --> 00:26:24,799
and the young population.

855
00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:26,640
If you collaborate,

856
00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:29,680
we'll make it, we'll survive.

857
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,529
And you'll do that without a lot

858
00:26:32,529 --> 00:26:33,849
of borrowed money.

859
00:26:34,319 --> 00:26:35,779
So I have conversations with

860
00:26:35,779 --> 00:26:37,140
many of these younger,

861
00:26:37,539 --> 00:26:39,140
both younger existing farmers

862
00:26:39,140 --> 00:26:40,480
and younger would -be farmers,

863
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,579
who many of them are quite

864
00:26:43,579 --> 00:26:46,720
cynical about the generosity

865
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:48,400
or lack thereof of the older

866
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:49,680
generation. They look at,

867
00:26:49,819 --> 00:26:51,259
they're very smart young people,

868
00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:52,259
they're capable of looking at

869
00:26:52,259 --> 00:26:53,240
the history and

870
00:26:53,809 --> 00:26:54,609
understanding

871
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,799
the financial opportunity, the

872
00:26:57,799 --> 00:26:58,819
growth opportunity, and the very

873
00:26:58,819 --> 00:27:00,140
different farming and

874
00:27:00,140 --> 00:27:01,539
macroeconomic environment that

875
00:27:01,539 --> 00:27:03,460
existed 20 and 30 and 40 years

876
00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:04,259
ago.

877
00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:06,039
And they're saying, we want to

878
00:27:06,039 --> 00:27:07,099
farm. They're having these

879
00:27:07,099 --> 00:27:08,400
conversations with older people.

880
00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:09,599
But from

881
00:27:10,009 --> 00:27:11,410
their perspective, many of the

882
00:27:11,410 --> 00:27:13,589
older people care only about

883
00:27:13,589 --> 00:27:14,390
cashing out.

884
00:27:15,269 --> 00:27:17,990
They care about getting the

885
00:27:17,990 --> 00:27:19,410
maximum of the market value for

886
00:27:19,410 --> 00:27:20,470
their land. There isn't a

887
00:27:20,470 --> 00:27:22,609
particularly strong interest in

888
00:27:22,609 --> 00:27:23,970
facilitating the next generation

889
00:27:23,970 --> 00:27:26,130
of farmers. How do we navigate

890
00:27:26,130 --> 00:27:26,930
that scenario?

891
00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:29,720
I see that as

892
00:27:30,259 --> 00:27:33,359
part of our society today that

893
00:27:33,599 --> 00:27:36,980
has been developing a concept

894
00:27:36,980 --> 00:27:38,140
we call greed.

895
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,200
And greed is a very...

896
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:43,039
And it's a very powerful

897
00:27:43,039 --> 00:27:44,240
motivator and driver.

898
00:27:44,619 --> 00:27:47,240
And our society,

899
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,380
because of

900
00:27:49,690 --> 00:27:51,670
all of our electronics and

901
00:27:51,670 --> 00:27:52,470
things,

902
00:27:52,789 --> 00:27:54,930
are seeing things happen fast.

903
00:27:55,569 --> 00:27:58,049
We need instant gratification.

904
00:27:58,470 --> 00:27:59,789
We can't look forward

905
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:01,740
very easily anymore.

906
00:28:02,150 --> 00:28:03,569
And it's been a result of

907
00:28:03,890 --> 00:28:05,569
some of the technologies that

908
00:28:05,569 --> 00:28:07,650
we've acquired that have

909
00:28:07,650 --> 00:28:08,930
certainly been helpful and

910
00:28:08,930 --> 00:28:09,730
useful,

911
00:28:10,269 --> 00:28:11,990
but there is a downside to that.

912
00:28:12,740 --> 00:28:14,160
that most people don't see.

913
00:28:14,759 --> 00:28:16,480
And I'm not bashing technology

914
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:17,400
because I love it.

915
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,450
I do a lot with it, but I don't

916
00:28:20,450 --> 00:28:21,630
let it run my life.

917
00:28:21,890 --> 00:28:24,359
I use it to better my life.

918
00:28:25,710 --> 00:28:28,029
And when you start doing that,

919
00:28:29,039 --> 00:28:30,579
you back away from

920
00:28:31,150 --> 00:28:32,970
money being your

921
00:28:33,349 --> 00:28:35,789
sole purpose in life.

922
00:28:36,279 --> 00:28:37,079
And so,

923
00:28:37,339 --> 00:28:38,960
okay, I'm not the youngest guy

924
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:39,900
here on the stage.

925
00:28:40,940 --> 00:28:43,140
And would I like to sell my farm

926
00:28:43,140 --> 00:28:45,200
and get all this money?

927
00:28:46,069 --> 00:28:47,230
What would I do with it?

928
00:28:48,329 --> 00:28:49,129
No,

929
00:28:49,460 --> 00:28:50,259
I respect that.

930
00:28:50,970 --> 00:28:52,329
That's pretty much it.

931
00:28:52,470 --> 00:28:53,990
Yeah, it's so exciting.

932
00:28:54,589 --> 00:28:56,210
I can hardly hardly wait.

933
00:28:57,640 --> 00:28:58,440
Thanks, John.

934
00:29:00,460 --> 00:29:01,259
Touche.

935
00:29:03,619 --> 00:29:05,039
But I

936
00:29:05,450 --> 00:29:07,710
think there is some of that goes

937
00:29:07,710 --> 00:29:09,269
on, but I'm seeing a movement.

938
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,220
People are recognizing that.

939
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:13,680
No, maybe maybe

940
00:29:14,059 --> 00:29:16,619
I want to want to eat here as I

941
00:29:16,619 --> 00:29:18,519
get older. And I better have

942
00:29:18,519 --> 00:29:19,359
somebody out there that's

943
00:29:19,359 --> 00:29:20,519
willing to produce that food.

944
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,420
And I

945
00:29:24,380 --> 00:29:26,640
think that if we pay attention

946
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:27,440
and

947
00:29:27,839 --> 00:29:29,480
develop resilient farming

948
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:30,279
systems,

949
00:29:31,579 --> 00:29:32,680
we'll survive it.

950
00:29:33,450 --> 00:29:34,250
All right.

951
00:29:34,109 --> 00:29:35,089
I've got about 20 other

952
00:29:35,089 --> 00:29:36,109
questions that I'd like to ask

953
00:29:36,109 --> 00:29:37,569
Michael, but I'd like to open it

954
00:29:37,569 --> 00:29:38,910
up for the audience because this

955
00:29:38,910 --> 00:29:39,710
is

956
00:29:39,970 --> 00:29:42,769
a rare opportunity to have a

957
00:29:42,769 --> 00:29:43,930
conversation with someone who

958
00:29:43,930 --> 00:29:45,609
was actually on the inside, who

959
00:29:45,609 --> 00:29:47,210
saw what was happening in the

960
00:29:47,210 --> 00:29:48,470
banking industry in the 1980s

961
00:29:48,470 --> 00:29:49,650
from the inside, who's had a

962
00:29:49,650 --> 00:29:50,450
depth of experience.

963
00:29:51,009 --> 00:29:52,109
So I'd like to just open it up

964
00:29:52,109 --> 00:29:52,909
for any questions.

965
00:29:52,750 --> 00:29:53,730
Anyone have any questions for

966
00:29:53,730 --> 00:29:55,029
Michael or any questions on this

967
00:29:55,029 --> 00:29:55,829
topic?

968
00:29:55,430 --> 00:29:56,230
Yes.

969
00:29:56,450 --> 00:29:57,589
I have two.

970
00:29:58,109 --> 00:29:59,289
One is one

971
00:29:59,859 --> 00:30:02,279
way to mitigate some of the risk

972
00:30:02,279 --> 00:30:03,480
of

973
00:30:04,170 --> 00:30:05,769
farms

974
00:30:06,119 --> 00:30:06,919
going

975
00:30:07,230 --> 00:30:09,609
away is a

976
00:30:09,609 --> 00:30:12,450
effective succession plan.

977
00:30:13,460 --> 00:30:15,980
So I think the whole family

978
00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:17,740
needs to work on those

979
00:30:17,740 --> 00:30:19,980
succession plans so that if a

980
00:30:19,980 --> 00:30:22,200
surprise death comes along or

981
00:30:22,450 --> 00:30:24,109
something like that, there's a

982
00:30:24,109 --> 00:30:25,190
way to keep that

983
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:26,640
farm running

984
00:30:27,230 --> 00:30:30,349
with family members, which can

985
00:30:30,349 --> 00:30:32,569
alleviate the financial burden

986
00:30:32,569 --> 00:30:33,930
of buying land in the first

987
00:30:33,930 --> 00:30:34,730
place.

988
00:30:35,279 --> 00:30:37,220
The other thing is, on the other

989
00:30:37,220 --> 00:30:38,160
side of the coin,

990
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,039
there's plenty of people

991
00:30:40,829 --> 00:30:44,190
that are in their 60s and 70s

992
00:30:44,190 --> 00:30:46,519
and 80s that don't have anybody

993
00:30:46,519 --> 00:30:47,319
to

994
00:30:47,390 --> 00:30:49,789
take the farm after they die.

995
00:30:51,529 --> 00:30:54,650
And so that's a real problem for

996
00:30:54,650 --> 00:30:55,910
a lot of people I know.

997
00:30:56,609 --> 00:30:59,390
And maybe you could discuss that

998
00:30:59,390 --> 00:31:00,190
a little bit.

999
00:31:00,420 --> 00:31:01,660
Well, I think you're on the

1000
00:31:01,660 --> 00:31:03,380
right track. Developing an

1001
00:31:03,660 --> 00:31:06,279
appropriate succession plan for

1002
00:31:06,279 --> 00:31:07,599
the land is very important.

1003
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:09,440
However,

1004
00:31:09,750 --> 00:31:11,309
With the stroke of a pen, I can

1005
00:31:11,309 --> 00:31:12,109
be all erased.

1006
00:31:12,630 --> 00:31:14,390
So government policy is going to

1007
00:31:14,390 --> 00:31:15,190
be

1008
00:31:15,230 --> 00:31:17,789
really important for us to pay

1009
00:31:17,789 --> 00:31:19,609
very close attention to.

1010
00:31:19,789 --> 00:31:20,869
Can you just expand on that

1011
00:31:20,869 --> 00:31:21,710
thought for a bit?

1012
00:31:21,789 --> 00:31:23,130
How can government policy

1013
00:31:23,130 --> 00:31:24,210
destroy a succession plan?

1014
00:31:25,529 --> 00:31:26,690
You can do it

1015
00:31:27,190 --> 00:31:28,630
economically by

1016
00:31:28,970 --> 00:31:30,170
taxation.

1017
00:31:32,369 --> 00:31:33,869
So if you die,

1018
00:31:35,259 --> 00:31:37,079
you could have written all kinds

1019
00:31:37,079 --> 00:31:39,279
of great ideas on how you could

1020
00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:42,779
transition to your

1021
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,019
children or your grandchildren,

1022
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:47,900
but they could raise the tax on

1023
00:31:47,900 --> 00:31:49,400
that transition so high

1024
00:31:49,710 --> 00:31:50,990
that they'll have to sell the

1025
00:31:50,990 --> 00:31:51,789
farm to do it.

1026
00:31:52,900 --> 00:31:53,700
So

1027
00:31:54,109 --> 00:31:55,869
laws and rules and policy

1028
00:31:55,869 --> 00:31:58,369
changes are something we need to

1029
00:31:58,369 --> 00:32:00,269
pay a great deal of attention to

1030
00:32:00,269 --> 00:32:01,069
right now.

1031
00:32:03,019 --> 00:32:03,819
All right.

1032
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:04,779
And OK.

1033
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:06,279
Yes.

1034
00:32:05,740 --> 00:32:06,539
Let's go to you.

1035
00:32:16,430 --> 00:32:18,289
land, and I would have been the

1036
00:32:18,289 --> 00:32:19,630
fourth generation on my family

1037
00:32:19,630 --> 00:32:20,849
farm, but it did not.

1038
00:32:21,269 --> 00:32:22,069
There was not.

1039
00:32:22,390 --> 00:32:23,190
The

1040
00:32:23,599 --> 00:32:25,680
relationship was not there.

1041
00:32:26,630 --> 00:32:28,970
And so for my situation, I was

1042
00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:30,309
in the dream of farming, went to

1043
00:32:30,309 --> 00:32:31,130
college for agriculture.

1044
00:32:31,529 --> 00:32:32,730
It wasn't going to happen to me

1045
00:32:32,730 --> 00:32:33,549
here at my family farm.

1046
00:32:34,279 --> 00:32:36,240
So my husband and I thought how

1047
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:38,839
much money we'd make, and it's

1048
00:32:38,839 --> 00:32:39,819
built into our real estate.

1049
00:32:40,150 --> 00:32:41,210
Build it as you're learning

1050
00:32:41,210 --> 00:32:42,529
about real estate, find rental

1051
00:32:42,529 --> 00:32:44,009
properties, build it in homes,

1052
00:32:44,529 --> 00:32:45,849
and develop a small set of

1053
00:32:45,849 --> 00:32:46,730
conditions in our town.

1054
00:32:48,279 --> 00:32:50,000
Backstorage, a few years ago, we

1055
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,619
were able to purchase 320 acres

1056
00:32:52,619 --> 00:32:54,240
because of the hard work that we

1057
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:55,720
put in for 80 years in real

1058
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:56,519
estate.

1059
00:32:56,750 --> 00:33:00,089
So my question for you is, I now

1060
00:33:00,089 --> 00:33:02,150
have 330 acres total.

1061
00:33:02,890 --> 00:33:04,190
We are in year two of

1062
00:33:04,190 --> 00:33:05,569
transitioning out of corn and

1063
00:33:05,569 --> 00:33:06,529
soybean from vegetable

1064
00:33:06,529 --> 00:33:08,130
production to organic,

1065
00:33:08,769 --> 00:33:10,170
which entered a revolution in

1066
00:33:10,170 --> 00:33:10,970
productivity.

1067
00:33:11,529 --> 00:33:13,049
We are completely funding it

1068
00:33:13,049 --> 00:33:13,849
ourselves.

1069
00:33:13,690 --> 00:33:15,089
We do have a bank loan.

1070
00:33:15,309 --> 00:33:17,359
We have $230 ,000 loan every

1071
00:33:17,359 --> 00:33:18,160
year we have to pay.

1072
00:33:19,019 --> 00:33:20,339
Currently don't have any sheet

1073
00:33:20,339 --> 00:33:21,980
metal yet. Just put it in cash

1074
00:33:21,980 --> 00:33:23,039
during the last year.

1075
00:33:25,299 --> 00:33:27,539
What I believe would benefit me

1076
00:33:27,539 --> 00:33:28,339
is,

1077
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,160
what are some ideas?

1078
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:32,279
What is out there right now that

1079
00:33:32,279 --> 00:33:33,079
is making money?

1080
00:33:33,099 --> 00:33:34,019
What is the cutting edge?

1081
00:33:34,119 --> 00:33:35,039
What are niche markets?

1082
00:33:35,769 --> 00:33:37,049
What are value -added topics

1083
00:33:37,049 --> 00:33:38,170
that we can create?

1084
00:33:39,380 --> 00:33:40,660
Inheritance Network for me,

1085
00:33:40,740 --> 00:33:41,539
working with neighboring

1086
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,160
landowners, the person we bought

1087
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:45,059
it from was a third generation,

1088
00:33:45,380 --> 00:33:46,960
removed. They live in the

1089
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:47,759
Northern Fairway.

1090
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:49,579
We were in Wisconsin.

1091
00:33:49,980 --> 00:33:51,059
They didn't have any connections

1092
00:33:51,059 --> 00:33:52,019
in the land. They were renting

1093
00:33:52,019 --> 00:33:53,819
it for the last 12 years to farm

1094
00:33:53,819 --> 00:33:54,619
farmers.

1095
00:33:55,349 --> 00:33:56,970
So working with my neighbors to

1096
00:33:56,970 --> 00:33:58,650
borrow equipment, we have no

1097
00:33:58,650 --> 00:33:59,450
stock right there.

1098
00:33:59,650 --> 00:34:01,130
But we normally want to go from

1099
00:34:01,130 --> 00:34:03,549
nothing to probably 500 pounds

1100
00:34:03,549 --> 00:34:05,269
of beef cattle or roast beef

1101
00:34:05,269 --> 00:34:06,069
cattle.

1102
00:34:06,190 --> 00:34:09,070
So for me, I want to know, what

1103
00:34:09,070 --> 00:34:10,469
is this cutting edge that I can

1104
00:34:10,469 --> 00:34:11,409
get into? I'm going to have to

1105
00:34:11,409 --> 00:34:12,750
do everything from scratch.

1106
00:34:12,909 --> 00:34:14,130
I need to buy from her family.

1107
00:34:14,150 --> 00:34:15,610
I need to figure out all of the

1108
00:34:15,610 --> 00:34:16,410
meat systems.

1109
00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:18,300
If grass -fed meat is the way to

1110
00:34:18,300 --> 00:34:19,100
go.

1111
00:34:19,039 --> 00:34:20,780
But I think I would just love to

1112
00:34:20,780 --> 00:34:22,460
hear discussions like, what is

1113
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:23,260
the next thing?

1114
00:34:23,380 --> 00:34:24,460
What is this cutting edge?

1115
00:34:26,260 --> 00:34:28,340
Well, I may give you an answer

1116
00:34:28,340 --> 00:34:29,340
that you

1117
00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:30,480
don't like,

1118
00:34:31,139 --> 00:34:32,900
but you spend a lot of time with

1119
00:34:32,900 --> 00:34:35,139
production and it's exciting.

1120
00:34:35,369 --> 00:34:36,670
you're getting really good at

1121
00:34:36,670 --> 00:34:37,470
it.

1122
00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:39,079
What you need to really get good

1123
00:34:39,079 --> 00:34:39,880
at is marketing.

1124
00:34:41,710 --> 00:34:43,389
You gotta really put some effort

1125
00:34:43,389 --> 00:34:44,190
into marketing.

1126
00:34:45,659 --> 00:34:47,380
I've noticed that as I travel

1127
00:34:47,380 --> 00:34:48,219
around the world.

1128
00:34:50,380 --> 00:34:52,579
I've met farmers that instead

1129
00:34:52,989 --> 00:34:54,929
of going down to their local co

1130
00:34:54,929 --> 00:34:56,449
-op elevator and selling their

1131
00:34:56,449 --> 00:34:57,250
product,

1132
00:34:58,030 --> 00:34:59,510
they're traveling to

1133
00:35:00,010 --> 00:35:01,630
Turkey, they're going to Israel,

1134
00:35:01,769 --> 00:35:03,170
they're going all

1135
00:35:03,550 --> 00:35:04,389
over the world.

1136
00:35:05,039 --> 00:35:06,739
in finding a market.

1137
00:35:07,269 --> 00:35:09,679
They may go to Japan and say,

1138
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:11,659
well, I found a guy that wants

1139
00:35:12,099 --> 00:35:14,460
to buy my marifat peas.

1140
00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:16,260
And you're like, well, what kind

1141
00:35:16,260 --> 00:35:17,079
of a pea is that?

1142
00:35:17,079 --> 00:35:17,980
I don't even know what.

1143
00:35:18,829 --> 00:35:20,130
But there's the market.

1144
00:35:20,369 --> 00:35:21,369
He found a market.

1145
00:35:22,090 --> 00:35:22,890
So I'm

1146
00:35:23,630 --> 00:35:25,230
going to suggest you spend a lot

1147
00:35:25,230 --> 00:35:27,289
of time with marketing right

1148
00:35:27,289 --> 00:35:28,090
now,

1149
00:35:28,500 --> 00:35:29,380
because you've got everything

1150
00:35:29,380 --> 00:35:30,180
else

1151
00:35:30,179 --> 00:35:31,619
pretty well under control.

1152
00:35:32,349 --> 00:35:33,349
Sounds like you're doing a good

1153
00:35:33,349 --> 00:35:34,150
job there.

1154
00:35:34,530 --> 00:35:35,630
But marketing is going to be

1155
00:35:35,630 --> 00:35:36,430
really important.

1156
00:35:36,940 --> 00:35:38,760
So start looking for a market

1157
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:40,119
for something and

1158
00:35:41,039 --> 00:35:41,920
be open -minded.

1159
00:35:43,119 --> 00:35:45,150
And you've got a guy that wants

1160
00:35:45,150 --> 00:35:45,950
something,

1161
00:35:46,050 --> 00:35:47,369
a group, company,

1162
00:35:48,199 --> 00:35:49,599
can you produce it?

1163
00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,260
Come home and say, yes, I can,

1164
00:35:52,340 --> 00:35:53,340
or no, I can't.

1165
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:54,920
Go back out and look again.

1166
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,360
But marketing is going to be key

1167
00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:59,340
for you to be sustainable.

1168
00:36:01,090 --> 00:36:02,889
And to build on Michael's

1169
00:36:02,889 --> 00:36:03,690
comment,

1170
00:36:04,650 --> 00:36:06,949
Sometime ago, on the podcast, I

1171
00:36:06,949 --> 00:36:07,829
interviewed a farmer from

1172
00:36:07,829 --> 00:36:09,250
Nebraska named Steve Tucker, and

1173
00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:10,789
I would highly recommend that

1174
00:36:10,789 --> 00:36:11,789
interview from a marketing

1175
00:36:11,789 --> 00:36:12,590
perspective.

1176
00:36:12,570 --> 00:36:14,309
But Steve described an

1177
00:36:14,309 --> 00:36:15,110
experience

1178
00:36:15,670 --> 00:36:16,769
that I have

1179
00:36:17,559 --> 00:36:20,139
heard people relate probably at

1180
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:21,539
least two dozen times.

1181
00:36:22,989 --> 00:36:23,789
Steve,

1182
00:36:23,710 --> 00:36:26,030
as a farmer, went to Expo West,

1183
00:36:26,329 --> 00:36:27,730
which is the big natural health

1184
00:36:27,730 --> 00:36:29,489
products expo out in Anaheim,

1185
00:36:29,590 --> 00:36:30,390
California.

1186
00:36:31,309 --> 00:36:33,429
and walked through and visited.

1187
00:36:33,670 --> 00:36:34,889
There was all these companies

1188
00:36:34,889 --> 00:36:35,710
that have all these natural

1189
00:36:35,710 --> 00:36:36,510
products.

1190
00:36:37,050 --> 00:36:38,389
And he's like, well, where are

1191
00:36:38,389 --> 00:36:39,530
you getting the millet from?

1192
00:36:39,590 --> 00:36:40,429
Or where are you getting this

1193
00:36:40,429 --> 00:36:41,630
product from? Oh, we're getting

1194
00:36:41,630 --> 00:36:43,329
it from Japan. We're getting it

1195
00:36:43,329 --> 00:36:45,130
from overseas. They're importing

1196
00:36:45,130 --> 00:36:45,930
it.

1197
00:36:45,949 --> 00:36:46,889
I said, well, wouldn't you like

1198
00:36:46,889 --> 00:36:48,110
to source that from a farmer

1199
00:36:48,110 --> 00:36:48,989
here in North America?

1200
00:36:49,090 --> 00:36:50,150
It's like, oh, yeah, we would

1201
00:36:50,150 --> 00:36:50,950
absolutely love to.

1202
00:36:50,869 --> 00:36:51,929
We just we don't know who to

1203
00:36:51,929 --> 00:36:53,110
call. Nobody carries it.

1204
00:36:53,190 --> 00:36:54,110
Nobody's distributing it.

1205
00:36:54,889 --> 00:36:56,369
So he was able to build those

1206
00:36:56,369 --> 00:36:57,170
relationships.

1207
00:36:57,570 --> 00:36:59,090
And I've I've heard this story

1208
00:36:59,090 --> 00:37:00,409
over and over that there are

1209
00:37:00,409 --> 00:37:03,449
many emerging companies

1210
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,840
that are looking for supply

1211
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:08,880
chain of non -traditional

1212
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:09,680
products,

1213
00:37:10,559 --> 00:37:11,579
but they don't know who to call.

1214
00:37:12,409 --> 00:37:13,289
They can't find it.

1215
00:37:13,809 --> 00:37:15,010
And the farmers aren't reaching

1216
00:37:15,010 --> 00:37:15,810
out to them.

1217
00:37:16,570 --> 00:37:18,349
So there is this mismatch.

1218
00:37:18,449 --> 00:37:20,289
There's actually a company that

1219
00:37:20,289 --> 00:37:21,690
has just launched over the last,

1220
00:37:22,050 --> 00:37:23,469
I think the last year,

1221
00:37:23,980 --> 00:37:24,780
called Rhizosphere,

1222
00:37:25,389 --> 00:37:27,510
that is intended to be kind of

1223
00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:29,010
an online dating service, if you

1224
00:37:29,010 --> 00:37:31,090
will, of matching up growers and

1225
00:37:31,090 --> 00:37:33,750
producers with buyers.

1226
00:37:34,489 --> 00:37:35,969
So that's one thing that I would

1227
00:37:35,969 --> 00:37:37,150
mention, just echoing and

1228
00:37:37,150 --> 00:37:38,150
building on Michael's comment.

1229
00:37:38,250 --> 00:37:39,250
And then there is another one,

1230
00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:41,039
and that is

1231
00:37:41,889 --> 00:37:44,670
many farmers today are trapped

1232
00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:46,300
by debt and

1233
00:37:47,539 --> 00:37:50,039
they have become inflexible on

1234
00:37:50,039 --> 00:37:52,019
the types of crops that they

1235
00:37:52,019 --> 00:37:53,760
think of themselves capable of

1236
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:54,560
producing.

1237
00:37:55,900 --> 00:37:56,700
And

1238
00:37:56,829 --> 00:37:59,840
because they have all of this

1239
00:38:00,179 --> 00:38:00,980
capital,

1240
00:38:01,460 --> 00:38:03,679
all this capex tied up in

1241
00:38:03,679 --> 00:38:05,519
combines and tractors and grain

1242
00:38:05,519 --> 00:38:06,500
bins and everything else that

1243
00:38:06,500 --> 00:38:08,000
locks them into producing a

1244
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:08,800
certain crop.

1245
00:38:10,559 --> 00:38:11,460
Several weeks ago,

1246
00:38:11,900 --> 00:38:13,539
I was visiting one of our

1247
00:38:13,539 --> 00:38:14,500
customers in California,

1248
00:38:15,639 --> 00:38:16,539
and he's

1249
00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:18,579
like, well, times are really

1250
00:38:18,579 --> 00:38:19,380
tough right now.

1251
00:38:19,829 --> 00:38:21,050
I wasn't able to get, we've been

1252
00:38:21,050 --> 00:38:22,289
growing onions for the last half

1253
00:38:22,289 --> 00:38:23,269
a dozen years, I wasn't able to

1254
00:38:23,269 --> 00:38:24,349
get a contract to grow onions

1255
00:38:24,349 --> 00:38:25,150
this next year.

1256
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:27,019
I haven't been able to get a

1257
00:38:27,019 --> 00:38:27,940
contract to grow tomatoes.

1258
00:38:28,139 --> 00:38:28,940
I haven't been able to get a

1259
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:29,840
contract to grow peppers.

1260
00:38:30,739 --> 00:38:31,820
So we're going to grow something

1261
00:38:31,820 --> 00:38:33,340
this next year, but I don't know

1262
00:38:33,340 --> 00:38:34,480
what it is. We'll just, we'll

1263
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:35,579
pivot. We'll find something for

1264
00:38:35,579 --> 00:38:36,400
which we can have a market.

1265
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:37,280
We'll grow something else.

1266
00:38:38,159 --> 00:38:40,940
And this was a spirit that

1267
00:38:41,599 --> 00:38:43,380
I was very familiar with because

1268
00:38:43,380 --> 00:38:44,960
I grew up on a vegetable farm.

1269
00:38:45,429 --> 00:38:46,889
And we had the same thing.

1270
00:38:47,010 --> 00:38:49,010
We were constantly, our crop mix

1271
00:38:49,010 --> 00:38:50,190
was constantly changing.

1272
00:38:50,309 --> 00:38:51,690
We didn't even have the

1273
00:38:51,690 --> 00:38:53,469
expectation that we would be

1274
00:38:53,469 --> 00:38:55,699
growing the exact same mix and

1275
00:38:55,699 --> 00:38:58,190
ratios of crops in three or four

1276
00:38:58,190 --> 00:38:58,990
years from now.

1277
00:38:58,889 --> 00:39:00,010
There was a need for constant

1278
00:39:00,010 --> 00:39:00,810
fluidity.

1279
00:39:01,590 --> 00:39:02,929
And that attitude of

1280
00:39:02,929 --> 00:39:03,730
flexibility,

1281
00:39:03,989 --> 00:39:05,349
that internal resilience

1282
00:39:05,949 --> 00:39:07,449
has been lost.

1283
00:39:08,219 --> 00:39:10,980
Both many operations don't have

1284
00:39:10,980 --> 00:39:13,019
that internal resilience because

1285
00:39:13,019 --> 00:39:16,099
of financial burden and debt

1286
00:39:16,099 --> 00:39:17,900
obligations and so forth, but

1287
00:39:17,900 --> 00:39:18,920
they also have lost it

1288
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:19,720
internally,

1289
00:39:19,980 --> 00:39:20,980
where they don't have the

1290
00:39:20,980 --> 00:39:22,619
internal resilience or the

1291
00:39:22,619 --> 00:39:24,539
desire to look for other crops

1292
00:39:24,539 --> 00:39:25,340
and look for other

1293
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:26,260
opportunities. So that is

1294
00:39:26,260 --> 00:39:28,159
something that I would point out

1295
00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:29,539
also, I believe is highly

1296
00:39:29,539 --> 00:39:30,539
important, is to develop that

1297
00:39:30,539 --> 00:39:31,340
internal flexibility.

1298
00:39:32,449 --> 00:39:33,409
We have another question over

1299
00:39:33,409 --> 00:39:34,210
here.

1300
00:39:50,219 --> 00:39:52,000
I don't have a qualified

1301
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:53,099
opinion, but he does.

1302
00:40:12,670 --> 00:40:14,530
by two people who encountered

1303
00:40:14,530 --> 00:40:16,929
it, who put it into this cross,

1304
00:40:17,829 --> 00:40:20,880
which then is made available for

1305
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:22,199
new farmers.

1306
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:25,019
And with all sorts of them more,

1307
00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:27,739
get them to the point where they

1308
00:40:27,739 --> 00:40:30,679
have the expertise to grow the

1309
00:40:30,679 --> 00:40:31,480
crops.

1310
00:40:32,059 --> 00:40:34,219
And essentially,

1311
00:40:35,159 --> 00:40:38,019
it allows young people to get

1312
00:40:38,019 --> 00:40:40,769
into agriculture like that,

1313
00:40:41,150 --> 00:40:42,190
just like

1314
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:43,720
that.

1315
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:47,659
They don't have that damage on

1316
00:40:47,659 --> 00:40:48,659
the Asian part.

1317
00:40:49,079 --> 00:40:51,159
And they have the support of

1318
00:40:51,159 --> 00:40:52,920
being healthy and experts in

1319
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:54,119
behavior culture.

1320
00:40:54,980 --> 00:40:58,400
So this collaborative strategy

1321
00:40:58,400 --> 00:40:59,460
is important,

1322
00:41:00,030 --> 00:41:02,340
and it's something that can be

1323
00:41:02,340 --> 00:41:04,320
cultivated in any local area.

1324
00:41:04,559 --> 00:41:06,179
All it took were a couple people

1325
00:41:06,179 --> 00:41:07,500
to say, hey, you know what?

1326
00:41:07,719 --> 00:41:08,980
There's a problem here.

1327
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:12,360
Let's begin to work on this as a

1328
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:13,160
community.

1329
00:41:14,050 --> 00:41:15,610
And the two, that's the key.

1330
00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:39,900
Don't tell that to a bureaucrat

1331
00:41:39,900 --> 00:41:41,159
in DC. They will figure out a

1332
00:41:41,159 --> 00:41:41,960
way.

1333
00:41:46,730 --> 00:41:47,550
Thank you, John.

1334
00:41:48,670 --> 00:41:49,470
You have a question here?

1335
00:41:54,090 --> 00:41:55,449
My opinion of the farm usually

1336
00:41:55,449 --> 00:41:56,250
has this,

1337
00:41:56,570 --> 00:41:58,769
or what we've done before is,

1338
00:41:59,130 --> 00:41:59,930
I

1339
00:41:59,860 --> 00:42:01,239
don't know if we've gone into

1340
00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:03,760
debt and we've at least spent

1341
00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:05,539
as many money

1342
00:42:05,909 --> 00:42:08,710
we do have on infrastructure for

1343
00:42:08,710 --> 00:42:09,510
the farm.

1344
00:42:09,630 --> 00:42:12,010
Are you suggesting not to go

1345
00:42:12,010 --> 00:42:14,099
into debt or to spend it on any

1346
00:42:14,099 --> 00:42:17,219
preservers? on the farm this

1347
00:42:17,219 --> 00:42:18,099
coming year,

1348
00:42:18,679 --> 00:42:20,289
or what's your thought on that?

1349
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,239
Financing, you talked about your

1350
00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:54,239
grandfather financing the farm

1351
00:42:54,239 --> 00:42:55,039
and

1352
00:42:55,300 --> 00:42:56,659
paid it off in four years.

1353
00:42:57,699 --> 00:42:58,539
That's reasonable.

1354
00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:00,440
You can probably trust

1355
00:43:00,909 --> 00:43:02,469
things not to change too

1356
00:43:02,469 --> 00:43:04,530
dramatically over a two, three,

1357
00:43:04,650 --> 00:43:05,450
four year period.

1358
00:43:05,909 --> 00:43:07,369
But if you got to do it over a

1359
00:43:07,369 --> 00:43:08,369
30 year period,

1360
00:43:09,739 --> 00:43:11,380
be very cautious about doing

1361
00:43:11,380 --> 00:43:13,119
that in today's environment.

1362
00:43:20,199 --> 00:43:21,039
Appreciate you having this

1363
00:43:21,039 --> 00:43:21,860
conversation, John.

1364
00:43:22,059 --> 00:43:23,599
I had so many thoughts when we

1365
00:43:23,599 --> 00:43:24,400
were starting.

1366
00:43:24,820 --> 00:43:26,039
We most of the time, at the end

1367
00:43:26,039 --> 00:43:27,000
of the day, when we're in

1368
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:28,840
economics, we are rangers, we

1369
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:29,820
always look at this.

1370
00:43:30,679 --> 00:43:31,480
I mean, that finance

1371
00:43:31,460 --> 00:43:32,440
conversation, right?

1372
00:43:33,199 --> 00:43:34,780
The average ranger in the U .S.

1373
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:35,680
loses

1374
00:43:35,219 --> 00:43:37,059
1 1⁄2 % of his or her investment

1375
00:43:37,059 --> 00:43:38,199
if he falls back from the ranger

1376
00:43:38,199 --> 00:43:39,000
group.

1377
00:43:39,610 --> 00:43:40,410
So,

1378
00:43:40,409 --> 00:43:41,690
the payback period isn't quite

1379
00:43:41,690 --> 00:43:42,530
the same, do you think?

1380
00:43:43,429 --> 00:43:44,710
Because the rangers aren't

1381
00:43:44,710 --> 00:43:45,510
making money.

1382
00:43:45,969 --> 00:43:47,210
They're always making money the

1383
00:43:47,210 --> 00:43:48,010
way they did.

1384
00:43:48,250 --> 00:43:49,530
Did you make more money than I

1385
00:43:49,530 --> 00:43:50,489
do, John? Remember I mentioned

1386
00:43:50,489 --> 00:43:51,289
you were a ranger?

1387
00:43:52,650 --> 00:43:54,030
I was walking somewhere in

1388
00:43:54,030 --> 00:43:55,289
Hartford yesterday to come up

1389
00:43:55,289 --> 00:43:56,590
with a conversation, to have a Q

1390
00:43:56,590 --> 00:43:58,389
&A, where people were trying to

1391
00:43:58,389 --> 00:43:59,190
pass a

1392
00:43:59,369 --> 00:44:00,170
chalkboard.

1393
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:01,900
And kind

1394
00:44:02,690 --> 00:44:03,630
of in critical of three

1395
00:44:03,630 --> 00:44:05,170
generations, one of the problems

1396
00:44:05,170 --> 00:44:06,090
here is

1397
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:07,200
that

1398
00:44:07,860 --> 00:44:10,900
for, what, 40 years, have 17

1399
00:44:10,900 --> 00:44:11,700
,000

1400
00:44:38,079 --> 00:44:39,519
Real estate should be now a

1401
00:44:39,519 --> 00:44:40,760
reventure for a lot of people.

1402
00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:43,440
It's all trying to play grass

1403
00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:45,500
-cut games based on inflation,

1404
00:44:45,699 --> 00:44:46,500
right?

1405
00:44:47,670 --> 00:44:48,470
And

1406
00:44:48,019 --> 00:44:49,480
it's then this macroeconomic

1407
00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:51,900
policy that's forcing a tension

1408
00:44:51,900 --> 00:44:53,719
between the boomers and the

1409
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:54,619
younger generation,

1410
00:44:55,199 --> 00:44:56,300
trying to borrow the farmer,

1411
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:58,699
because the boomers have been

1412
00:44:58,699 --> 00:45:01,139
squeezed by this extractive

1413
00:45:01,139 --> 00:45:02,139
nature of inflation.

1414
00:45:02,940 --> 00:45:04,199
And now we're doing nothing to

1415
00:45:04,199 --> 00:45:05,820
pass along, because they don't

1416
00:45:05,820 --> 00:45:07,000
have the money to go to

1417
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:08,559
sustained retirement, besides

1418
00:45:08,559 --> 00:45:09,780
transferring the asset,

1419
00:45:10,380 --> 00:45:11,440
which means you can't afford to

1420
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:12,240
transfer money.

1421
00:45:13,070 --> 00:45:14,630
And so, at the end of our route

1422
00:45:14,630 --> 00:45:15,430
for my century,

1423
00:45:15,869 --> 00:45:16,889
through the profit model,

1424
00:45:17,670 --> 00:45:19,389
we still have no money, no land,

1425
00:45:19,510 --> 00:45:21,849
no cattle, no flat land, or any

1426
00:45:21,849 --> 00:45:23,369
of the rest of the five years.

1427
00:45:23,940 --> 00:45:25,360
We are going to do all the

1428
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:26,239
problems that we want.

1429
00:45:26,909 --> 00:45:28,429
And the challenge is then that

1430
00:45:28,429 --> 00:45:29,980
we don't hate ourselves.

1431
00:45:30,159 --> 00:45:30,960
We're not hating anyone.

1432
00:45:31,139 --> 00:45:32,500
We just believe that

1433
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:34,360
In order for us to raise money

1434
00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,539
with all these children, we have

1435
00:45:36,539 --> 00:45:37,699
to go out there and do it.

1436
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:38,880
And we have to do something for

1437
00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:39,940
everybody, including the people

1438
00:45:39,940 --> 00:45:40,740
behind this.

1439
00:45:41,469 --> 00:45:43,980
So a lot of the young people are

1440
00:45:43,980 --> 00:45:45,199
walking away with the question

1441
00:45:45,199 --> 00:45:46,000
of the U .S.

1442
00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:46,519
government

1443
00:45:45,980 --> 00:45:46,780
trying

1444
00:45:47,039 --> 00:45:48,079
to sell a product to the

1445
00:45:48,079 --> 00:45:48,880
children.

1446
00:45:49,449 --> 00:45:50,829
I feel instead of like

1447
00:45:51,329 --> 00:45:52,949
Andy said in there, we have to

1448
00:45:52,949 --> 00:45:54,610
understand the dilemma from the

1449
00:45:54,610 --> 00:45:55,949
older generation's perspective.

1450
00:45:57,010 --> 00:45:59,030
They got extracted from and

1451
00:45:59,030 --> 00:46:00,590
gained with monetary policy.

1452
00:46:00,969 --> 00:46:02,289
Back to the conversation you had

1453
00:46:02,289 --> 00:46:04,150
earlier about monetary policy

1454
00:46:04,150 --> 00:46:04,950
for the U .S.

1455
00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:06,739
as a whole has a recurrence of

1456
00:46:06,739 --> 00:46:08,039
the gutter of agriculture being

1457
00:46:08,039 --> 00:46:09,539
naturally based, and even more

1458
00:46:09,539 --> 00:46:10,340
than that, the work of

1459
00:46:10,139 --> 00:46:11,840
generation, and the amplitude of

1460
00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:12,640
the consequences.

1461
00:46:14,699 --> 00:46:16,000
The same thing that we're in a

1462
00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:18,480
place where we

1463
00:46:19,619 --> 00:46:21,119
have a gutter of capital -based

1464
00:46:21,119 --> 00:46:21,920
inclination,

1465
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:22,680
soil,

1466
00:46:22,619 --> 00:46:23,420
health,

1467
00:46:23,340 --> 00:46:24,960
money, culture, labor,

1468
00:46:25,590 --> 00:46:26,769
functional work of generation,

1469
00:46:27,500 --> 00:46:28,559
and everything in that body,

1470
00:46:29,489 --> 00:46:31,170
and we're trying to take

1471
00:46:31,170 --> 00:46:32,769
responsibility for fixing that.

1472
00:46:33,650 --> 00:46:35,289
But we're all trying to figure

1473
00:46:35,289 --> 00:46:36,110
out how to make that happen.

1474
00:46:37,750 --> 00:46:38,989
And it goes to what you were

1475
00:46:38,989 --> 00:46:40,670
saying of the inheritance and

1476
00:46:40,909 --> 00:46:42,429
the youth and all 40 of them

1477
00:46:42,429 --> 00:46:43,230
together.

1478
00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:45,559
How do you guys promote the

1479
00:46:45,559 --> 00:46:46,659
young people over me,

1480
00:46:47,679 --> 00:46:49,820
start to finally connect with

1481
00:46:50,349 --> 00:46:52,190
those that are going to work for

1482
00:46:52,190 --> 00:46:53,130
a non -financial,

1483
00:46:53,469 --> 00:46:54,750
non -profit for the next,

1484
00:46:55,489 --> 00:46:56,849
figure out how to actually

1485
00:46:56,849 --> 00:46:58,510
restore the capital base of the

1486
00:46:58,510 --> 00:47:01,250
society, including mentoring the

1487
00:47:01,250 --> 00:47:02,070
younger generation of the

1488
00:47:02,070 --> 00:47:03,289
private citizens again.

1489
00:47:03,989 --> 00:47:04,789
Because

1490
00:47:04,230 --> 00:47:05,809
trying to do it now is killing.

1491
00:47:11,289 --> 00:47:12,090
So

1492
00:47:14,489 --> 00:47:16,150
your question, Joel, succinctly

1493
00:47:16,150 --> 00:47:17,989
is how do we propose that a

1494
00:47:17,989 --> 00:47:19,860
younger generation connect and

1495
00:47:19,860 --> 00:47:20,940
interact and develop those

1496
00:47:20,940 --> 00:47:21,900
relationships with the older

1497
00:47:21,900 --> 00:47:22,840
generation, is that it?

1498
00:47:29,239 --> 00:47:30,039
Well,

1499
00:47:42,579 --> 00:47:43,619
you brought up a very

1500
00:47:44,210 --> 00:47:46,650
important problem and it is very

1501
00:47:46,650 --> 00:47:47,650
difficult to do.

1502
00:47:48,150 --> 00:47:49,969
I am seeing an increase though

1503
00:47:49,969 --> 00:47:50,769
in interest

1504
00:47:51,510 --> 00:47:52,310
in

1505
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:54,980
moving capital

1506
00:47:56,989 --> 00:47:58,570
to the younger generation.

1507
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:02,780
It's easier to do within the

1508
00:48:02,780 --> 00:48:03,739
family than

1509
00:48:04,150 --> 00:48:04,950
it is

1510
00:48:05,170 --> 00:48:06,510
outside of the family.

1511
00:48:07,210 --> 00:48:08,449
And outside of the family,

1512
00:48:08,769 --> 00:48:11,570
the land trust idea is a good

1513
00:48:11,570 --> 00:48:13,369
one. And I've worked with that

1514
00:48:13,369 --> 00:48:15,389
some, and it works quite well.

1515
00:48:16,769 --> 00:48:18,409
But within the family,

1516
00:48:19,110 --> 00:48:20,719
there's always

1517
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:22,699
stresses.

1518
00:48:23,159 --> 00:48:24,679
So we call them family stresses

1519
00:48:24,679 --> 00:48:26,920
that make things difficult.

1520
00:48:31,380 --> 00:48:32,719
We need change.

1521
00:48:33,389 --> 00:48:35,809
Change comes fastest with

1522
00:48:36,309 --> 00:48:37,769
pressure,

1523
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:41,559
be that political pressure, be

1524
00:48:41,559 --> 00:48:42,900
that economic pressure.

1525
00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:45,800
And we are going to be pressured

1526
00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:46,600
in

1527
00:48:46,929 --> 00:48:48,130
the next few years.

1528
00:48:48,980 --> 00:48:51,539
And so I'm going to get brave

1529
00:48:51,539 --> 00:48:52,380
and say we're going to see a

1530
00:48:52,380 --> 00:48:54,360
major reset in American

1531
00:48:54,360 --> 00:48:55,160
agriculture,

1532
00:48:55,849 --> 00:48:57,130
probably in the next five years.

1533
00:48:59,019 --> 00:49:00,219
And when you think we're going

1534
00:49:00,219 --> 00:49:01,500
to have a major reset within the

1535
00:49:01,500 --> 00:49:03,079
next five years, what are the,

1536
00:49:04,650 --> 00:49:05,610
I know you don't have a crystal

1537
00:49:05,610 --> 00:49:06,410
ball and

1538
00:49:06,750 --> 00:49:07,550
you're not investing,

1539
00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:09,680
but

1540
00:49:10,380 --> 00:49:12,159
You have the benefit of having

1541
00:49:12,159 --> 00:49:14,340
had experience kind of from an

1542
00:49:14,340 --> 00:49:15,659
inside point of view during the

1543
00:49:15,659 --> 00:49:16,460
80s.

1544
00:49:17,289 --> 00:49:18,889
What do you think that reset

1545
00:49:18,889 --> 00:49:20,429
might look like from your

1546
00:49:20,429 --> 00:49:21,230
perspective?

1547
00:49:21,090 --> 00:49:22,349
What are some of the things that

1548
00:49:22,349 --> 00:49:23,530
you see emerging that other

1549
00:49:23,530 --> 00:49:24,389
people might not see?

1550
00:49:26,130 --> 00:49:28,800
I see it potentially going two

1551
00:49:29,530 --> 00:49:30,469
different directions,

1552
00:49:31,070 --> 00:49:32,550
and it may go both directions at

1553
00:49:32,550 --> 00:49:33,389
the same time.

1554
00:49:33,989 --> 00:49:35,889
I see that there'll be a

1555
00:49:35,889 --> 00:49:37,289
reduction in the number of

1556
00:49:37,289 --> 00:49:38,869
farmers and an increase in farm

1557
00:49:38,869 --> 00:49:39,670
size.

1558
00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:40,900
That's one direction.

1559
00:49:41,579 --> 00:49:43,260
I also think that we're going to

1560
00:49:43,260 --> 00:49:45,940
see an increase in very small

1561
00:49:45,940 --> 00:49:46,840
farms and

1562
00:49:47,150 --> 00:49:48,210
more food production.

1563
00:49:49,070 --> 00:49:50,769
As we learn that food is

1564
00:49:50,769 --> 00:49:51,570
medicine,

1565
00:49:52,150 --> 00:49:53,110
it's taking us a while to figure

1566
00:49:53,110 --> 00:49:53,910
that one out,

1567
00:49:54,650 --> 00:49:56,440
but as we do that, we're going

1568
00:49:56,440 --> 00:49:58,800
to see smaller operations

1569
00:50:00,230 --> 00:50:01,090
growing.

1570
00:50:03,139 --> 00:50:05,400
Talking to one of my friends at

1571
00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:06,599
John Deere,

1572
00:50:07,059 --> 00:50:07,860
he said, well,

1573
00:50:08,440 --> 00:50:10,340
the largest selling tractor

1574
00:50:10,340 --> 00:50:11,140
right now

1575
00:50:11,489 --> 00:50:13,849
is a 25 to

1576
00:50:14,610 --> 00:50:16,289
40 horsepower tractor.

1577
00:50:16,989 --> 00:50:18,210
That's our big market.

1578
00:50:19,170 --> 00:50:20,869
I said, well, who's buying

1579
00:50:20,869 --> 00:50:21,670
those?

1580
00:50:21,849 --> 00:50:23,989
Well, people are going out and

1581
00:50:23,989 --> 00:50:25,570
getting a 20 -acre tract of land

1582
00:50:25,570 --> 00:50:27,889
or 10 -acre tract of land or a 5

1583
00:50:27,889 --> 00:50:30,090
-acre tract of land and growing

1584
00:50:30,090 --> 00:50:30,890
food.

1585
00:50:31,949 --> 00:50:33,469
And so I think that we're going

1586
00:50:33,469 --> 00:50:34,769
to see that

1587
00:50:35,250 --> 00:50:36,050
increase,

1588
00:50:36,489 --> 00:50:37,690
and the population is going to

1589
00:50:37,690 --> 00:50:39,869
move out of urban areas into

1590
00:50:39,869 --> 00:50:40,670
that.

1591
00:50:41,349 --> 00:50:42,510
So you're going to see the big

1592
00:50:42,510 --> 00:50:44,309
ones, they're going to happen,

1593
00:50:44,969 --> 00:50:45,769
and you're going to see the

1594
00:50:45,650 --> 00:50:46,570
little ones increase.

1595
00:50:47,369 --> 00:50:49,610
So I'd like to build on the

1596
00:50:49,610 --> 00:50:50,449
question that the young lady

1597
00:50:50,449 --> 00:50:52,510
asked earlier about where the

1598
00:50:52,510 --> 00:50:54,769
economic opportunity is in grass

1599
00:50:54,769 --> 00:50:55,570
-fed beef production,

1600
00:50:56,130 --> 00:50:58,369
and ask a version of that

1601
00:50:58,369 --> 00:50:59,230
question of

1602
00:50:59,539 --> 00:51:00,719
where is the economic

1603
00:51:00,719 --> 00:51:03,019
opportunity and where is the

1604
00:51:03,019 --> 00:51:04,579
community -building opportunity

1605
00:51:05,179 --> 00:51:05,980
for

1606
00:51:06,449 --> 00:51:08,590
the younger generation that

1607
00:51:08,590 --> 00:51:11,389
perhaps is developing financial

1608
00:51:11,389 --> 00:51:12,449
resources outside of

1609
00:51:12,449 --> 00:51:13,489
agriculture, coming into

1610
00:51:13,489 --> 00:51:14,550
agriculture in a smaller way?

1611
00:51:14,610 --> 00:51:15,809
So this second track, this

1612
00:51:15,809 --> 00:51:17,670
second pathway that you just got

1613
00:51:17,670 --> 00:51:18,470
done describing,

1614
00:51:19,300 --> 00:51:20,100
There

1615
00:51:20,630 --> 00:51:23,369
is a measure of

1616
00:51:23,369 --> 00:51:25,489
frustration or dissatisfaction

1617
00:51:25,489 --> 00:51:26,449
by many who are getting into

1618
00:51:26,449 --> 00:51:27,630
this space and doing smaller

1619
00:51:27,630 --> 00:51:29,070
scale vegetable production or

1620
00:51:29,070 --> 00:51:29,870
fruit production,

1621
00:51:30,889 --> 00:51:31,929
CSAs perhaps,

1622
00:51:32,269 --> 00:51:33,590
whatever the case might be.

1623
00:51:33,809 --> 00:51:35,860
And they work

1624
00:51:36,300 --> 00:51:39,079
very hard for 10 or 15 years

1625
00:51:39,079 --> 00:51:40,000
and

1626
00:51:40,469 --> 00:51:41,829
they achieve some level of

1627
00:51:41,829 --> 00:51:43,309
success but they've worn out

1628
00:51:43,309 --> 00:51:44,530
their body in the process.

1629
00:51:44,929 --> 00:51:46,869
And they realize at some point

1630
00:51:46,869 --> 00:51:48,929
that that pathway for many

1631
00:51:48,929 --> 00:51:50,130
hasn't been sustainable.

1632
00:51:50,199 --> 00:51:51,199
for the long term.

1633
00:51:52,139 --> 00:51:52,940
So,

1634
00:51:53,750 --> 00:51:54,670
there's kind of a two -fold

1635
00:51:54,670 --> 00:51:56,489
question here, is where is the

1636
00:51:56,489 --> 00:51:58,610
economic opportunity for those

1637
00:51:58,610 --> 00:52:00,050
people, for that group of people

1638
00:52:00,050 --> 00:52:01,190
who wants to come in with more

1639
00:52:01,190 --> 00:52:02,409
limited personal resources?

1640
00:52:03,949 --> 00:52:05,869
And kind of a related question

1641
00:52:05,869 --> 00:52:06,690
to that is,

1642
00:52:07,260 --> 00:52:08,820
speaking to the community

1643
00:52:08,820 --> 00:52:10,300
resilience piece that you spoke

1644
00:52:10,300 --> 00:52:11,320
about earlier, where is the

1645
00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:12,960
opportunity and the pathway for

1646
00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:13,860
building community?

1647
00:52:15,699 --> 00:52:18,280
I'll share a personal experience

1648
00:52:18,280 --> 00:52:19,730
that I observed.

1649
00:52:21,010 --> 00:52:23,889
I live in Kossuth County, Iowa.

1650
00:52:25,369 --> 00:52:27,260
It's a double county, so it's a

1651
00:52:27,260 --> 00:52:28,060
large county.

1652
00:52:29,809 --> 00:52:31,929
In Kossuth and Palo Alto

1653
00:52:31,929 --> 00:52:32,730
counties,

1654
00:52:33,210 --> 00:52:35,590
five years ago, we had 2 ,200

1655
00:52:35,590 --> 00:52:37,269
acres of row crop organic

1656
00:52:37,269 --> 00:52:38,070
farming,

1657
00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:41,510
a fairly nice amount.

1658
00:52:42,650 --> 00:52:43,949
This past spring,

1659
00:52:44,780 --> 00:52:46,739
we planted a little over 120

1660
00:52:46,739 --> 00:52:47,539
,000.

1661
00:52:48,579 --> 00:52:51,300
So there's been a shift there.

1662
00:52:52,570 --> 00:52:54,980
What did that do to our

1663
00:52:54,980 --> 00:52:55,780
community?

1664
00:52:56,849 --> 00:52:58,710
Well, I live in Algona.

1665
00:52:59,530 --> 00:53:01,929
It's a small rural town in

1666
00:53:01,929 --> 00:53:02,730
Kossuth County.

1667
00:53:04,679 --> 00:53:05,760
Main Street was

1668
00:53:06,550 --> 00:53:07,350
dying.

1669
00:53:09,199 --> 00:53:11,099
If you go down in the middle of

1670
00:53:11,099 --> 00:53:11,900
the afternoon,

1671
00:53:12,579 --> 00:53:13,760
drive down Main Street, you'd

1672
00:53:13,760 --> 00:53:14,960
probably see one or two cars

1673
00:53:14,960 --> 00:53:15,980
parked in front of the bank,

1674
00:53:17,079 --> 00:53:18,460
maybe

1675
00:53:19,630 --> 00:53:20,590
one in front of

1676
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:22,119
a restaurant,

1677
00:53:23,079 --> 00:53:23,880
maybe two.

1678
00:53:26,019 --> 00:53:27,159
three or four or five in front

1679
00:53:27,159 --> 00:53:27,960
of the bar,

1680
00:53:28,179 --> 00:53:28,980
unfortunately.

1681
00:53:32,300 --> 00:53:34,019
There'd be some in front of the

1682
00:53:34,019 --> 00:53:36,400
dentist's office and that type

1683
00:53:36,400 --> 00:53:38,059
of similar service offices were

1684
00:53:38,059 --> 00:53:39,079
still there.

1685
00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:40,600
That was it.

1686
00:53:42,610 --> 00:53:43,410
Today,

1687
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:47,539
if you drive down Main Street,

1688
00:53:47,940 --> 00:53:50,219
say a Thursday afternoon,

1689
00:53:51,250 --> 00:53:52,449
you're gonna have a hard time

1690
00:53:52,449 --> 00:53:53,369
finding a place to park.

1691
00:53:54,150 --> 00:53:55,289
You're probably gonna have to go

1692
00:53:55,289 --> 00:53:57,210
to a side street or maybe one of

1693
00:53:57,210 --> 00:53:58,570
the parking lots behind the

1694
00:53:58,570 --> 00:53:59,370
stores.

1695
00:54:00,389 --> 00:54:01,190
What happened?

1696
00:54:02,719 --> 00:54:05,000
The more money is staying in

1697
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:05,800
that community,

1698
00:54:06,469 --> 00:54:07,889
and that community's coming back

1699
00:54:07,889 --> 00:54:08,690
alive.

1700
00:54:09,570 --> 00:54:11,469
So as we change our agricultural

1701
00:54:11,469 --> 00:54:12,329
systems,

1702
00:54:13,409 --> 00:54:14,929
rural communities can thrive

1703
00:54:14,929 --> 00:54:15,730
again,

1704
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:17,539
and there is proof of it there.

1705
00:54:18,360 --> 00:54:19,160
Okay, very good.

1706
00:54:19,340 --> 00:54:20,340
I want to go back, come over

1707
00:54:20,340 --> 00:54:21,140
here to the question.

1708
00:54:50,679 --> 00:54:52,739
If we as an older generation,

1709
00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:55,980
sorry to sound mad, but we're

1710
00:54:55,980 --> 00:54:56,780
takers,

1711
00:54:57,400 --> 00:54:59,820
we need to be givers now to

1712
00:54:59,820 --> 00:55:02,960
rebuild the human biology that

1713
00:55:03,280 --> 00:55:06,019
this gentleman is, obviously is.

1714
00:55:06,460 --> 00:55:08,159
He's trying to find somebody

1715
00:55:08,159 --> 00:55:10,000
that's a giver to

1716
00:55:10,349 --> 00:55:11,150
help

1717
00:55:11,119 --> 00:55:13,989
rebuild not only what's in the

1718
00:55:13,989 --> 00:55:14,789
brain on

1719
00:55:15,030 --> 00:55:16,690
your own farm, and maybe you can

1720
00:55:16,690 --> 00:55:20,070
help him help you rebuild that

1721
00:55:20,070 --> 00:55:21,389
biology in your farm.

1722
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:23,559
But a comment about Dr.

1723
00:55:23,639 --> 00:55:24,440
Lyons'

1724
00:55:24,429 --> 00:55:26,550
question for State of Ontario.

1725
00:55:27,710 --> 00:55:29,909
When I went to Ball Lake, I was

1726
00:55:29,909 --> 00:55:32,110
told that if you invested or

1727
00:55:32,110 --> 00:55:33,630
even lost a bit of dollar, you

1728
00:55:33,630 --> 00:55:34,489
could go to the bank,

1729
00:55:35,039 --> 00:55:37,739
multiplied seven times in the

1730
00:55:37,739 --> 00:55:38,659
local community.

1731
00:55:40,329 --> 00:55:41,889
Oh, I can't remember the name,

1732
00:55:41,989 --> 00:55:44,590
but there was a deal here in the

1733
00:55:44,590 --> 00:55:46,389
90s that for each dollar you

1734
00:55:46,389 --> 00:55:47,849
spent on supplements,

1735
00:55:48,579 --> 00:55:49,380
by the way, we're buying

1736
00:55:49,360 --> 00:55:51,530
supplements to realize those

1737
00:55:51,530 --> 00:55:52,610
things weren't in our food.

1738
00:55:52,989 --> 00:55:54,710
For each dollar you spent on

1739
00:55:54,710 --> 00:55:55,550
supplements,

1740
00:55:56,230 --> 00:55:58,230
you saved $40 from the risk of

1741
00:55:58,230 --> 00:55:59,409
life of a pharmaceutical.

1742
00:56:00,190 --> 00:56:01,329
So if you went to this

1743
00:56:01,329 --> 00:56:03,010
gentleman's farm and

1744
00:56:03,349 --> 00:56:04,670
bought his food,

1745
00:56:05,230 --> 00:56:07,150
that then negated it into

1746
00:56:07,150 --> 00:56:07,950
perceptibles.

1747
00:56:08,630 --> 00:56:10,289
He put the money in the bank,

1748
00:56:11,199 --> 00:56:14,179
multiplied seven times 40,

1749
00:56:14,639 --> 00:56:17,719
280 multiplier in the local

1750
00:56:17,719 --> 00:56:18,519
community.

1751
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:20,059
But I want to give this

1752
00:56:20,059 --> 00:56:22,559
gentleman a hand for being the

1753
00:56:22,559 --> 00:56:24,559
biology that we need above the

1754
00:56:24,559 --> 00:56:26,760
soil he is trying so hard to

1755
00:56:26,760 --> 00:56:27,560
make it work.

1756
00:56:28,820 --> 00:56:29,620
Amen.

1757
00:56:30,099 --> 00:56:30,900
Thank you.

1758
00:56:31,590 --> 00:56:32,390
John,

1759
00:56:36,579 --> 00:56:37,840
can I add more to that?

1760
00:56:38,199 --> 00:56:39,000
Yes.

1761
00:56:40,460 --> 00:56:41,820
As a young guy without a message

1762
00:56:41,820 --> 00:56:43,260
in life, how can I find the

1763
00:56:43,260 --> 00:56:44,880
older generation to help me?

1764
00:56:44,940 --> 00:56:46,780
I'm not primarily talking about

1765
00:56:46,780 --> 00:56:47,580
the financial.

1766
00:56:48,469 --> 00:56:49,750
I've done a really good job, you

1767
00:56:49,750 --> 00:56:51,429
know, figuring out how to

1768
00:56:51,429 --> 00:56:52,429
finalize my occupation.

1769
00:56:53,300 --> 00:56:55,079
My biggest pain point is not

1770
00:56:55,079 --> 00:56:56,219
being able to train the younger

1771
00:56:56,219 --> 00:56:57,019
generation.

1772
00:56:57,650 --> 00:56:58,789
They have a school system that's

1773
00:56:58,789 --> 00:57:00,590
all about recruiting and

1774
00:57:00,590 --> 00:57:02,030
information rather than critical

1775
00:57:02,030 --> 00:57:02,830
thinking.

1776
00:57:02,969 --> 00:57:04,150
They don't have much chance to

1777
00:57:04,150 --> 00:57:05,409
learn skills, and they get in

1778
00:57:05,409 --> 00:57:06,289
trouble with their whole life,

1779
00:57:06,389 --> 00:57:07,510
and it's hard to work for it.

1780
00:57:09,449 --> 00:57:12,130
I am spending more money to

1781
00:57:12,130 --> 00:57:13,789
redeem the states and hold

1782
00:57:13,789 --> 00:57:15,389
states to try to train new

1783
00:57:15,389 --> 00:57:16,969
people to turn them into useful

1784
00:57:16,969 --> 00:57:18,630
workers in the labor force and

1785
00:57:18,630 --> 00:57:20,550
global economy than I am on

1786
00:57:20,550 --> 00:57:21,350
pain.

1787
00:57:22,150 --> 00:57:24,409
I need help from elders to help

1788
00:57:24,409 --> 00:57:26,210
me mentor the young generation.

1789
00:57:26,920 --> 00:57:27,900
Because if I don't have

1790
00:57:27,900 --> 00:57:29,440
experience to teach them the

1791
00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:30,679
character and wisdom that they

1792
00:57:30,679 --> 00:57:31,480
need,

1793
00:57:31,659 --> 00:57:33,320
I'm not going to survive the

1794
00:57:33,320 --> 00:57:34,980
economics of pain and mistakes.

1795
00:57:36,230 --> 00:57:38,010
And I can't be an executive at a

1796
00:57:38,010 --> 00:57:40,710
family farm while also trying to

1797
00:57:40,710 --> 00:57:41,510
be a mom

1798
00:57:41,719 --> 00:57:44,039
to a whole handful of kids that

1799
00:57:44,039 --> 00:57:45,320
I'm trying to turn into workers.

1800
00:57:45,940 --> 00:57:47,179
I can do it a little bit.

1801
00:57:47,360 --> 00:57:48,820
I don't have the intensity, the

1802
00:57:48,820 --> 00:57:51,119
time required to restore the

1803
00:57:51,119 --> 00:57:52,239
keeping my own family in

1804
00:57:52,239 --> 00:57:54,460
operation while trying to also

1805
00:57:54,460 --> 00:57:55,920
be an executive at a new

1806
00:57:55,920 --> 00:57:57,400
apartment that I might have to

1807
00:57:57,400 --> 00:57:58,200
still afford.

1808
00:58:12,789 --> 00:58:14,949
You've identified a problem that

1809
00:58:14,949 --> 00:58:16,409
I think we're all struggling

1810
00:58:16,409 --> 00:58:17,309
with right now.

1811
00:58:18,360 --> 00:58:20,099
It sort of has to do with a

1812
00:58:20,099 --> 00:58:20,900
cycle

1813
00:58:21,139 --> 00:58:23,239
that you have a

1814
00:58:26,980 --> 00:58:28,559
difficult life and

1815
00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:30,820
then you have a very good life

1816
00:58:30,820 --> 00:58:31,659
of opulence.

1817
00:58:32,269 --> 00:58:33,150
than a difficult,

1818
00:58:33,510 --> 00:58:35,289
and the generations go from

1819
00:58:35,289 --> 00:58:36,690
generation to generation.

1820
00:58:38,010 --> 00:58:40,289
And so if you're coming off of a

1821
00:58:40,289 --> 00:58:42,030
difficult time

1822
00:58:42,349 --> 00:58:43,150
period,

1823
00:58:43,690 --> 00:58:44,849
I think of the depression.

1824
00:58:46,440 --> 00:58:49,860
Strong men make good

1825
00:58:49,860 --> 00:58:51,579
times, good times make weak men.

1826
00:58:51,739 --> 00:58:53,619
That describes it perfectly.

1827
00:58:54,280 --> 00:58:56,599
And we are right now in the good

1828
00:58:56,599 --> 00:58:58,699
times are making weak men.

1829
00:59:03,280 --> 00:59:04,599
That's what we're talking about

1830
00:59:04,599 --> 00:59:05,400
today.

1831
00:59:05,239 --> 00:59:06,719
It looks like we're going to

1832
00:59:06,719 --> 00:59:07,679
change that,

1833
00:59:08,079 --> 00:59:10,500
and with that change will come

1834
00:59:10,500 --> 00:59:11,300
some pain,

1835
00:59:12,260 --> 00:59:13,440
and with that pain will come

1836
00:59:13,440 --> 00:59:14,240
some good men.

1837
00:59:17,369 --> 00:59:18,909
Sorry, Joel, that's somewhat of

1838
00:59:18,909 --> 00:59:19,969
a non -answer, but that's the

1839
00:59:19,969 --> 00:59:21,030
best answer you're getting at

1840
00:59:21,030 --> 00:59:21,830
the moment.

1841
00:59:22,690 --> 00:59:24,309
Troy, could you step back to the

1842
00:59:24,309 --> 00:59:25,429
microphone so we can capture the

1843
00:59:25,429 --> 00:59:26,230
recording? And while you're

1844
00:59:26,170 --> 00:59:27,429
doing that, I'll go to Nigel.

1845
01:00:02,980 --> 01:00:03,780
Is

1846
01:00:04,099 --> 01:00:05,699
there the ability for victory

1847
01:00:05,699 --> 01:00:06,500
gardens?

1848
01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:08,019
It's a great idea.

1849
01:00:09,699 --> 01:00:12,599
I spent a month in Ukraine

1850
01:00:12,599 --> 01:00:14,179
this summer

1851
01:00:15,039 --> 01:00:17,909
and they have torn up their

1852
01:00:18,130 --> 01:00:18,949
lawns.

1853
01:00:19,599 --> 01:00:20,780
There are no more lawns.

1854
01:00:21,639 --> 01:00:23,739
It's from the edge of the house

1855
01:00:23,739 --> 01:00:25,039
to the edge of their neighbor's

1856
01:00:25,039 --> 01:00:26,599
house is all garden.

1857
01:00:27,460 --> 01:00:28,619
That's their victory garden.

1858
01:00:29,630 --> 01:00:30,730
Again, adversity

1859
01:00:31,139 --> 01:00:33,880
probably brought that on.

1860
01:00:35,409 --> 01:00:37,150
But what I experienced while

1861
01:00:37,150 --> 01:00:39,269
traveling there was some really

1862
01:00:39,269 --> 01:00:40,090
good food.

1863
01:00:41,190 --> 01:00:42,869
It was really, really good.

1864
01:00:43,889 --> 01:00:45,869
Nutrient -dense, good flavor.

1865
01:00:47,170 --> 01:00:49,489
So these home gardens are

1866
01:00:49,809 --> 01:00:50,949
growing really good food.

1867
01:00:52,079 --> 01:00:52,980
Can we do that?

1868
01:00:53,440 --> 01:00:54,240
Yes, we can.

1869
01:00:54,710 --> 01:00:55,750
Do we want to do it?

1870
01:00:56,579 --> 01:00:58,699
Maybe we're a little lazy, I

1871
01:00:58,699 --> 01:00:59,500
don't know.

1872
01:00:59,619 --> 01:01:00,539
Maybe we don't have the

1873
01:01:00,539 --> 01:01:02,460
adversity and the pressure to do

1874
01:01:02,460 --> 01:01:04,920
it, but I think that the time is

1875
01:01:04,920 --> 01:01:07,539
coming when we realize that

1876
01:01:07,539 --> 01:01:09,809
quality of our food is going to

1877
01:01:09,809 --> 01:01:10,610
be very important.

1878
01:01:11,559 --> 01:01:12,860
I'm reminded of a phrase.

1879
01:01:13,809 --> 01:01:15,150
I've repeated it several times

1880
01:01:15,150 --> 01:01:16,409
already here at this event.

1881
01:01:16,750 --> 01:01:18,130
It was originally coined by

1882
01:01:18,130 --> 01:01:19,349
Charles Walters, who was the

1883
01:01:19,349 --> 01:01:20,809
original founder of Acres USA,

1884
01:01:22,380 --> 01:01:24,199
and he repeated frequently

1885
01:01:25,090 --> 01:01:27,210
people leave their census as a

1886
01:01:27,210 --> 01:01:28,010
group,

1887
01:01:28,059 --> 01:01:29,099
and they come to their census

1888
01:01:29,099 --> 01:01:29,920
one at a time,

1889
01:01:31,739 --> 01:01:33,079
unless you have

1890
01:01:33,420 --> 01:01:35,699
significant adversity, as in

1891
01:01:35,699 --> 01:01:36,500
Ukraine,

1892
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:37,739
and then you can have, and so,

1893
01:01:38,920 --> 01:01:42,199
as painful as this may sound

1894
01:01:42,199 --> 01:01:43,000
to say,

1895
01:01:43,280 --> 01:01:44,500
and it is painful for me to say

1896
01:01:44,500 --> 01:01:45,300
this,

1897
01:01:45,320 --> 01:01:47,039
but perhaps the adversity hasn't

1898
01:01:47,039 --> 01:01:48,440
become significant enough yet.

1899
01:01:49,340 --> 01:01:50,739
Perhaps the pain hasn't become

1900
01:01:50,739 --> 01:01:52,659
significant enough yet to really

1901
01:01:52,659 --> 01:01:54,900
inspire systemic, a desire for

1902
01:01:54,900 --> 01:01:56,179
systemic level change within

1903
01:01:56,179 --> 01:01:57,199
society as a whole.

1904
01:01:59,750 --> 01:02:00,550
Yes.

1905
01:02:00,820 --> 01:02:02,179
I just had a thought,

1906
01:02:02,519 --> 01:02:04,280
regarding Joel's question.

1907
01:02:05,099 --> 01:02:06,760
That is something we can hear,

1908
01:02:07,019 --> 01:02:07,820
we can

1909
01:02:08,039 --> 01:02:10,579
see the wealth of knowledge and

1910
01:02:10,860 --> 01:02:12,380
inspiration that it has,

1911
01:02:14,519 --> 01:02:15,360
and that it's all been

1912
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:16,160
happening.

1913
01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:19,440
And I'm here with such a

1914
01:02:19,440 --> 01:02:20,260
community of people.

1915
01:02:21,119 --> 01:02:23,480
And that maybe we have to recall

1916
01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:26,840
that he needs to have at

1917
01:02:26,840 --> 01:02:28,500
least one or two chains of

1918
01:02:28,500 --> 01:02:29,300
labor.

1919
01:02:29,320 --> 01:02:30,460
It's not a recommendation,

1920
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:33,030
it can be a desire to justify

1921
01:02:33,030 --> 01:02:34,610
being a partisan.

1922
01:02:35,480 --> 01:02:37,440
kind of knowledge, and they even

1923
01:02:37,440 --> 01:02:39,500
feel that they're part of the

1924
01:02:39,500 --> 01:02:40,860
system that's changing,

1925
01:02:41,380 --> 01:02:42,639
that they know that they're not

1926
01:02:42,639 --> 01:02:45,320
just working in a little area,

1927
01:02:45,519 --> 01:02:46,920
that they're working on this

1928
01:02:46,920 --> 01:02:47,720
farm,

1929
01:02:47,679 --> 01:02:48,480
and they're,

1930
01:02:48,400 --> 01:02:50,039
okay, this is all working with

1931
01:02:50,039 --> 01:02:50,840
them.

1932
01:02:50,699 --> 01:02:52,719
They actually see that they're

1933
01:02:52,719 --> 01:02:54,800
really part of the transition.

1934
01:02:55,699 --> 01:02:56,940
So when that comes with

1935
01:02:56,940 --> 01:02:58,139
knowledge and education,

1936
01:02:58,840 --> 01:03:00,800
they have so much technology to

1937
01:03:00,800 --> 01:03:02,059
put this knowledge on.

1938
01:03:02,519 --> 01:03:04,179
And then we'll buy it as a

1939
01:03:04,179 --> 01:03:04,980
trial,

1940
01:03:04,920 --> 01:03:06,380
not on their cell phone,

1941
01:03:06,900 --> 01:03:08,750
to distract them, to let them

1942
01:03:08,750 --> 01:03:10,869
know how someone can buy your

1943
01:03:10,869 --> 01:03:11,670
phone.

1944
01:03:11,650 --> 01:03:12,450
You acknowledge,

1945
01:03:13,309 --> 01:03:15,190
by some way or another, where

1946
01:03:15,190 --> 01:03:17,340
you sat with the other human

1947
01:03:17,340 --> 01:03:19,139
consulting folks.

1948
01:03:19,619 --> 01:03:22,019
So that's just something that

1949
01:03:22,019 --> 01:03:23,860
makes this knowledge spread

1950
01:03:23,860 --> 01:03:26,320
around to the people in your

1951
01:03:26,320 --> 01:03:29,320
community in some form or

1952
01:03:31,570 --> 01:03:44,769
another.

1953
01:03:52,210 --> 01:03:55,489
in allowing us to access the

1954
01:03:55,489 --> 01:03:57,070
wisdom of previous generations.

1955
01:03:57,840 --> 01:03:59,199
It can be a very valuable tool

1956
01:03:59,199 --> 01:04:00,219
for that. However,

1957
01:04:00,880 --> 01:04:02,960
I'm of the persuasion that

1958
01:04:03,469 --> 01:04:04,269
the

1959
01:04:04,650 --> 01:04:06,789
venue or the means of

1960
01:04:07,260 --> 01:04:08,440
giving access to that

1961
01:04:08,440 --> 01:04:09,639
information is

1962
01:04:10,079 --> 01:04:11,360
perhaps more important than the

1963
01:04:11,360 --> 01:04:12,239
information itself.

1964
01:04:13,250 --> 01:04:14,849
And to state it directly,

1965
01:04:15,460 --> 01:04:18,179
I'm of the opinion that

1966
01:04:18,389 --> 01:04:20,250
human -to -human communication

1967
01:04:21,010 --> 01:04:22,590
we can convey and communicate

1968
01:04:22,590 --> 01:04:24,090
things and connect with people's

1969
01:04:24,090 --> 01:04:25,550
hearts and minds in ways that we

1970
01:04:25,550 --> 01:04:26,769
will never be able to with

1971
01:04:26,769 --> 01:04:27,570
technology.

1972
01:04:28,090 --> 01:04:29,090
At least I sure hope that

1973
01:04:29,090 --> 01:04:29,890
remains the case.

1974
01:04:31,619 --> 01:04:32,420
You

1975
01:04:32,829 --> 01:04:33,710
know, the

1976
01:04:34,150 --> 01:04:36,030
very first time I had Michael on

1977
01:04:36,030 --> 01:04:36,830
the podcast,

1978
01:04:37,849 --> 01:04:38,650
my

1979
01:04:39,110 --> 01:04:41,150
first interview with him is

1980
01:04:41,150 --> 01:04:42,510
still to this day one of the

1981
01:04:42,510 --> 01:04:44,010
most popular podcast interviews

1982
01:04:44,010 --> 01:04:44,810
of all time.

1983
01:04:45,409 --> 01:04:46,630
And Michael said some things

1984
01:04:46,630 --> 01:04:48,369
that were very provocative and

1985
01:04:48,369 --> 01:04:49,510
that depending on who would have

1986
01:04:49,510 --> 01:04:51,250
said them, would have offended a

1987
01:04:51,250 --> 01:04:52,050
lot of people.

1988
01:04:52,539 --> 01:04:54,179
He said things like, stop

1989
01:04:54,179 --> 01:04:55,420
poisoning your land.

1990
01:04:55,949 --> 01:04:57,090
That was one of the direct

1991
01:04:57,090 --> 01:04:58,550
quotes, the direct phrases.

1992
01:05:00,539 --> 01:05:01,420
And when

1993
01:05:02,440 --> 01:05:03,240
you have

1994
01:05:03,610 --> 01:05:06,090
such provocative statements, and

1995
01:05:06,090 --> 01:05:06,890
you could almost say

1996
01:05:06,889 --> 01:05:07,690
confrontation,

1997
01:05:09,289 --> 01:05:10,269
that could have offended a lot

1998
01:05:10,269 --> 01:05:11,070
of people,

1999
01:05:11,119 --> 01:05:12,460
but it didn't. Why not?

2000
01:05:14,719 --> 01:05:16,460
The reason it didn't is because

2001
01:05:16,460 --> 01:05:17,920
people could sense that Michael

2002
01:05:17,920 --> 01:05:18,720
cared.

2003
01:05:19,389 --> 01:05:20,309
They could sense that Michael

2004
01:05:20,309 --> 01:05:21,969
cared deeply about them, that he

2005
01:05:21,969 --> 01:05:23,989
cared deeply about their

2006
01:05:23,989 --> 01:05:24,789
operation.

2007
01:05:24,909 --> 01:05:27,030
And because they could feel that

2008
01:05:27,030 --> 01:05:27,830
he cared,

2009
01:05:28,179 --> 01:05:29,820
he could say things and

2010
01:05:30,519 --> 01:05:32,159
people could receive things and

2011
01:05:32,159 --> 01:05:33,380
receive information that they

2012
01:05:33,380 --> 01:05:34,480
otherwise never would have been

2013
01:05:34,480 --> 01:05:35,280
able to

2014
01:05:35,190 --> 01:05:36,730
because of the place that he was

2015
01:05:36,730 --> 01:05:37,550
coming from within.

2016
01:05:38,289 --> 01:05:40,230
And because of that dynamic,

2017
01:05:40,989 --> 01:05:42,469
because it's the place within,

2018
01:05:42,670 --> 01:05:43,470
you know,

2019
01:05:43,340 --> 01:05:45,179
Otto Scharmer developed this,

2020
01:05:45,480 --> 01:05:47,900
what is called Theory U,

2021
01:05:48,239 --> 01:05:50,119
of emerging leadership and

2022
01:05:50,119 --> 01:05:51,380
developing future technologies.

2023
01:05:52,840 --> 01:05:53,980
And he

2024
01:05:54,449 --> 01:05:55,869
has this quote that says

2025
01:05:55,869 --> 01:05:57,210
something to the effect of,

2026
01:05:58,139 --> 01:06:00,019
see if I can remember it now,

2027
01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:02,969
not the facilitator, but

2028
01:06:05,619 --> 01:06:07,900
I'm forgetting a key word,

2029
01:06:08,400 --> 01:06:09,500
but something to the effect of,

2030
01:06:09,539 --> 01:06:12,019
a person who desires to create

2031
01:06:12,019 --> 01:06:12,820
change,

2032
01:06:15,500 --> 01:06:18,039
an intervention was the word

2033
01:06:18,039 --> 01:06:18,840
that I'm looking for,

2034
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:19,960
an intervener,

2035
01:06:20,489 --> 01:06:22,809
The outcome of an intervention

2036
01:06:22,809 --> 01:06:25,280
has nothing to do with the

2037
01:06:25,280 --> 01:06:27,250
knowledge or the skills of the

2038
01:06:27,250 --> 01:06:28,050
intervener.

2039
01:06:30,119 --> 01:06:31,440
It has everything to do with the

2040
01:06:31,440 --> 01:06:32,659
place within from which the

2041
01:06:32,659 --> 01:06:33,460
intervener comes.

2042
01:06:35,489 --> 01:06:36,929
That cannot be replicated by

2043
01:06:36,929 --> 01:06:37,730
technology.

2044
01:06:37,929 --> 01:06:38,730
So that is,

2045
01:06:39,170 --> 01:06:40,829
what that means in part is that

2046
01:06:40,829 --> 01:06:42,130
all of us are here at the Acres

2047
01:06:42,130 --> 01:06:43,190
Conference and yes, this

2048
01:06:43,190 --> 01:06:44,429
information has been recorded,

2049
01:06:44,869 --> 01:06:46,329
it's been digitized, it'll be

2050
01:06:46,329 --> 01:06:47,610
distributed to a large audience

2051
01:06:47,610 --> 01:06:48,690
and it's available for anyone

2052
01:06:48,690 --> 01:06:49,949
who has the interest as people

2053
01:06:49,949 --> 01:06:51,090
come to their senses one at a

2054
01:06:51,090 --> 01:06:51,890
time,

2055
01:06:51,869 --> 01:06:53,809
but that is a passive process.

2056
01:06:54,349 --> 01:06:55,570
All of you here in the room have

2057
01:06:55,570 --> 01:06:57,030
the opportunity to engage in an

2058
01:06:57,030 --> 01:06:59,710
active process where you can be

2059
01:06:59,710 --> 01:07:00,530
evangelists

2060
01:07:00,969 --> 01:07:02,650
and you need to be evangelists.

2061
01:07:04,139 --> 01:07:06,079
to share the inspiration and the

2062
01:07:06,079 --> 01:07:07,340
information that you found here

2063
01:07:07,340 --> 01:07:09,619
with other people, because that

2064
01:07:09,619 --> 01:07:10,420
cannot be done.

2065
01:07:10,340 --> 01:07:11,639
replicated by technology, and

2066
01:07:11,639 --> 01:07:12,739
that is what is most effective.

2067
01:07:13,670 --> 01:07:14,470
So,

2068
01:07:14,380 --> 01:07:15,400
sorry for the soapbox.

2069
01:07:18,320 --> 01:07:19,120
Yes,

2070
01:07:22,099 --> 01:07:22,900
Troy.

2071
01:07:22,860 --> 01:07:23,900
With that being said,

2072
01:07:25,599 --> 01:07:28,519
every farmer that lays in here,

2073
01:07:29,019 --> 01:07:30,480
that the young man was asking

2074
01:07:30,480 --> 01:07:31,320
for help on,

2075
01:07:32,110 --> 01:07:33,989
has the opportunity to be that

2076
01:07:33,989 --> 01:07:34,789
teacher.

2077
01:07:35,280 --> 01:07:36,080
You can.

2078
01:07:36,360 --> 01:07:38,260
You can have a field day at your

2079
01:07:38,260 --> 01:07:40,500
place. You can coordinate those

2080
01:07:40,500 --> 01:07:42,099
field days to those kind of

2081
01:07:42,099 --> 01:07:42,900
people,

2082
01:07:43,039 --> 01:07:44,460
appeal to organizations,

2083
01:07:44,840 --> 01:07:46,079
appeal to universities,

2084
01:07:47,400 --> 01:07:49,960
natural gardens, anybody that

2085
01:07:49,960 --> 01:07:50,920
will listen to you.

2086
01:07:51,039 --> 01:07:53,400
And I'm doing that today about

2087
01:07:53,619 --> 01:07:54,420
many times.

2088
01:07:54,960 --> 01:07:56,760
And it's amazing, especially

2089
01:07:56,760 --> 01:07:58,360
what we've entered in the

2090
01:07:58,360 --> 01:08:00,719
regenerative agriculture and the

2091
01:08:00,719 --> 01:08:03,300
soil health topic.

2092
01:08:03,809 --> 01:08:05,349
How many people are really

2093
01:08:05,349 --> 01:08:07,570
interested to come and listen to

2094
01:08:07,570 --> 01:08:08,370
you?

2095
01:08:08,480 --> 01:08:10,440
And when they do that, and

2096
01:08:10,440 --> 01:08:11,579
you're enthusiastic,

2097
01:08:12,039 --> 01:08:13,380
and they're enthusiastic,

2098
01:08:14,000 --> 01:08:15,780
you can really have a profound

2099
01:08:15,780 --> 01:08:19,220
impact on them and help

2100
01:08:19,529 --> 01:08:21,350
them help themselves become

2101
01:08:21,350 --> 01:08:23,170
educated in something that they

2102
01:08:23,170 --> 01:08:23,970
want to do.

2103
01:08:24,409 --> 01:08:27,210
So even if you can't help the

2104
01:08:27,210 --> 01:08:28,750
young people financially, and

2105
01:08:28,750 --> 01:08:30,090
that's very difficult to do in

2106
01:08:30,090 --> 01:08:31,670
education, you can still do it

2107
01:08:31,670 --> 01:08:32,470
with knowledge.

2108
01:08:32,890 --> 01:08:36,010
and first -hand experience on

2109
01:08:36,010 --> 01:08:37,989
your farm so they can see what

2110
01:08:37,989 --> 01:08:40,449
it's like to be on a farm and

2111
01:08:40,449 --> 01:08:42,029
maybe you've had some activity

2112
01:08:42,029 --> 01:08:43,109
where you've been doing soil

2113
01:08:43,109 --> 01:08:45,420
tests or harvesting or something

2114
01:08:45,420 --> 01:08:46,840
of that nature where they can

2115
01:08:46,840 --> 01:08:48,399
actually see what you're doing

2116
01:08:48,399 --> 01:08:49,739
and what farming's about.

2117
01:08:50,359 --> 01:08:52,699
And that might motivate them to

2118
01:08:52,880 --> 01:08:55,399
develop their work ethics and be

2119
01:08:55,399 --> 01:08:56,920
able to satisfy their future

2120
01:08:56,920 --> 01:08:57,720
labels.

2121
01:08:58,899 --> 01:08:59,699
Thank you, Troy.

2122
01:08:59,500 --> 01:09:00,300
Thank you.

2123
01:09:01,500 --> 01:09:02,939
So there's

2124
01:09:05,079 --> 01:09:06,039
one more thought that has come

2125
01:09:06,039 --> 01:09:07,380
to mind based on what Troy just

2126
01:09:07,380 --> 01:09:08,180
said,

2127
01:09:08,199 --> 01:09:09,760
and we've

2128
01:09:10,159 --> 01:09:11,180
just been ending on this very

2129
01:09:11,180 --> 01:09:13,300
positive note, so I'm hesitant

2130
01:09:13,300 --> 01:09:14,479
almost to take it in a different

2131
01:09:14,479 --> 01:09:15,279
direction.

2132
01:09:15,890 --> 01:09:17,210
But something that

2133
01:09:18,539 --> 01:09:19,739
actually may have been you,

2134
01:09:19,819 --> 01:09:20,859
Michael, that pointed it out to

2135
01:09:20,859 --> 01:09:21,659
me years ago,

2136
01:09:22,539 --> 01:09:23,340
when

2137
01:09:25,399 --> 01:09:27,579
you have an established farm and

2138
01:09:28,439 --> 01:09:29,579
you're successful,

2139
01:09:29,920 --> 01:09:31,239
you're later in life, let's just

2140
01:09:31,239 --> 01:09:32,239
say for the sake of discussion,

2141
01:09:32,340 --> 01:09:34,680
have a 3 ,000 acre operation in

2142
01:09:34,680 --> 01:09:35,480
Iowa,

2143
01:09:36,539 --> 01:09:38,680
you actually have a tremendous

2144
01:09:38,680 --> 01:09:39,480
ability

2145
01:09:39,960 --> 01:09:42,079
to help other young farmers get

2146
01:09:42,079 --> 01:09:42,880
started.

2147
01:09:43,890 --> 01:09:44,690
Not just,

2148
01:09:44,909 --> 01:09:46,130
we need to think in terms of

2149
01:09:46,130 --> 01:09:48,090
stacking enterprises and

2150
01:09:48,529 --> 01:09:51,039
in terms of perhaps a small

2151
01:09:51,039 --> 01:09:52,699
share of the overall acreage

2152
01:09:52,699 --> 01:09:53,500
that you're running.

2153
01:09:53,960 --> 01:09:55,800
If someone wants to get started

2154
01:09:55,800 --> 01:09:56,600
growing,

2155
01:09:57,319 --> 01:09:58,800
I'm making it up, growing 10

2156
01:09:58,800 --> 01:10:00,119
acres of vegetables or 10 acres

2157
01:10:00,119 --> 01:10:00,920
of elderberries,

2158
01:10:01,220 --> 01:10:02,539
is it really such a significant

2159
01:10:02,539 --> 01:10:04,579
burden on your operation to help

2160
01:10:04,579 --> 01:10:05,739
them out by renting them 10

2161
01:10:05,739 --> 01:10:06,760
acres out of 3 ,000?

2162
01:10:07,840 --> 01:10:09,180
It's very trivial.

2163
01:10:10,109 --> 01:10:11,630
can be very trivial to a large

2164
01:10:11,630 --> 01:10:12,689
operation, but extremely

2165
01:10:12,689 --> 01:10:13,890
meaningful to someone that's

2166
01:10:13,890 --> 01:10:14,690
starting out.

2167
01:10:15,439 --> 01:10:16,539
And there's tremendous

2168
01:10:16,539 --> 01:10:18,449
opportunity there that I think

2169
01:10:18,449 --> 01:10:19,569
is underutilized and

2170
01:10:19,569 --> 01:10:21,590
underappreciated because so

2171
01:10:21,590 --> 01:10:23,109
often we think of it in terms

2172
01:10:23,109 --> 01:10:23,909
only of,

2173
01:10:24,439 --> 01:10:26,460
well, I need my 3 ,000 acres.

2174
01:10:26,939 --> 01:10:28,140
What can he possibly do?

2175
01:10:28,199 --> 01:10:29,279
What can somebody else possibly

2176
01:10:29,279 --> 01:10:30,079
do with 10?

2177
01:10:30,319 --> 01:10:31,319
But when we think about

2178
01:10:31,319 --> 01:10:32,600
different enterprises, when you

2179
01:10:32,600 --> 01:10:33,400
think about

2180
01:10:33,619 --> 01:10:35,659
As Michael's example of grazing

2181
01:10:35,659 --> 01:10:37,060
livestock on cover crops, you

2182
01:10:37,060 --> 01:10:38,640
can actually bring in

2183
01:10:38,640 --> 01:10:40,079
complementary enterprises that

2184
01:10:40,079 --> 01:10:41,619
do not directly compete with

2185
01:10:41,619 --> 01:10:42,859
what is on the existing acres,

2186
01:10:43,239 --> 01:10:44,800
that can be an accelerant for

2187
01:10:44,800 --> 01:10:46,380
success for the next generation.

2188
01:10:47,109 --> 01:10:48,670
To add to that a little bit,

2189
01:10:49,890 --> 01:10:51,710
another thing that I've found is

2190
01:10:51,710 --> 01:10:53,729
getting harder and harder to

2191
01:10:53,729 --> 01:10:55,810
find good labor, good help.

2192
01:10:56,949 --> 01:10:59,350
And so I find a young man,

2193
01:10:59,609 --> 01:11:00,869
that's willing to

2194
01:11:01,310 --> 01:11:03,449
learn and work.

2195
01:11:04,039 --> 01:11:06,619
I'm willing to rent him some of

2196
01:11:06,619 --> 01:11:07,899
my land and

2197
01:11:08,310 --> 01:11:09,110
help him

2198
01:11:09,939 --> 01:11:11,979
grow and expand.

2199
01:11:12,539 --> 01:11:15,159
And as he does, that covers my

2200
01:11:15,159 --> 01:11:17,180
labor problems because he's

2201
01:11:17,399 --> 01:11:19,720
enthusiastic and wants to help.

2202
01:11:19,960 --> 01:11:21,760
And he's very motivated because

2203
01:11:21,760 --> 01:11:23,579
he knows if he keeps doing a

2204
01:11:23,579 --> 01:11:24,380
good job,

2205
01:11:24,930 --> 01:11:26,270
this thing will just go more and

2206
01:11:26,270 --> 01:11:27,970
more and more in his direction.

2207
01:11:28,460 --> 01:11:30,140
And so that's something to think

2208
01:11:30,140 --> 01:11:31,520
about really hard.

2209
01:11:32,600 --> 01:11:34,479
Labor is our problem right now,

2210
01:11:34,800 --> 01:11:36,880
and that is a good way to help a

2211
01:11:36,880 --> 01:11:38,180
young man get started farming.

2212
01:11:39,350 --> 01:11:40,630
On that note, I want to say

2213
01:11:40,630 --> 01:11:41,829
thank you all for being here,

2214
01:11:42,010 --> 01:11:43,829
and I invite all of you to be

2215
01:11:43,829 --> 01:11:45,170
evangelists for acres and all

2216
01:11:45,170 --> 01:11:46,050
the good things that you learned

2217
01:11:46,050 --> 01:11:47,350
here as you go home from this

2218
01:11:47,350 --> 01:11:48,550
event. So thank you, Michael,

2219
01:11:48,590 --> 01:11:49,390
for being here.

2220
01:11:49,729 --> 01:11:50,529
Thank you for all your work.