Episode 168: "Debunked by Nature" and Lessons from Farm Life with Mollie Engelhart

Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

After growing up on a farm, Mollie Engelhart built a vegan restaurant empire in Los Angeles, which she planned to sell before COVID disrupted her plans. During the pandemic, she lost her income and spent time back on the farm, using nature's lens to question societal constructs like veganism. These experiences inspired her book, Debunked by Nature, where she shares her shift to truth-seeking based on natural cycles. She now lives on a Texas ranch, advocating for authentic living through storytelling.

Mollie experiments with regenerative techniques on her Texas ranch, like mulching to combat oak wilt and bale grazing to boost soil health in caliche soils. She advocates for local food systems, resilient communities, and soil stewardship through her book and Epoch Times writings. She aims to inspire sustainable farming through her innovative practices, like propagating adapted trees and hedging crop plantings.

In this episode, John and Mollie discuss:

  • Shifting away from veganism and recognizing life-death cycles in food production.

  • Building resilient communities through local food systems and family governance.

  • Using deep mulching with juniper chips to reverse oak wilt in Texas' calcareous soils.

  • Enhancing soil fertility through bale grazing, leveraging carbon to boost pasture growth.

  • Adapting crop plantings, like late-season corn and sesame, to hedge against erratic weather and pests.

  • Propagating locally adapted tree varieties to support regional farming success.

  • Observing local ecosystems to inform management, avoiding blanket solutions for diverse soils.

Additional Resources Click here to order Mollie's book.

To read Mollie's opinion section of the Epoch Times, click here.

About John Kempf John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.

Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.

Support For This Show & Helping You Grow Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.

AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.

AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.

Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.

Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com

2025-09-25 55 min Transcript

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Transcript

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Hi, friends. Welcome back to the

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Regenerative Agriculture

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Podcast. This is Jon, and we're

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back with Molly Engelhardt.

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But I wanted to have you back

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because I think your current

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work and the book that you're in

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the process of releasing is so

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relevant for our times where we

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have this

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increasing polarity

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and this division

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between farmers and their

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consumers. And there is this

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moment

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following what happened with

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COVID and with growing awareness

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of food supply chain issues and

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collective public health issues

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over the course of the last

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three or four years, that

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people—there's an openness to

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asking questions that hasn't

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existed for quite some time, it

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feels like.

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And

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your message and what you've

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been working on here over the

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last year or two

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addresses this so directly.

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So I don't want to

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to put to use my words to

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describe what you're doing.

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Tell us a bit about your book

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and your message and what it is

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you're working on.

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Well,

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my book really came out of

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my relationship with nature.

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And I was living I grew up on a

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farm, so I have like a farming

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childhood background.

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And then I moved to Los Angeles

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and lived a very

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modern L .A. life for many, many

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years. I was,

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I would say, a feminist and a

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workaholic. And I was All of the

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strive to do, I can do what men

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can do, all of that was very

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loud in me.

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I built up this empire.

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And at the beginning of COVID,

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before COVID started, I was

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selling it for between $25 and

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$31 million.

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And so I thought I had

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succeeded. I had built this

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thing. I grew it bigger.

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I'm selling it to a venture

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capital firm. And I could just

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be a full -time mom and shift

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what I was doing.

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And somewhere along the way, I'd

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learned about regenerative

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agriculture and really had

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shifted what was important to me

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away from veganism and what I

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was doing to regenerative

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agriculture. But I'm no dummy,

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like if I'm going to sell my

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business and get out and then do

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that.

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But COVID not only robbed me of

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that deal and that opportunity,

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but it robbed me of

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my income and my business that I

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was running for those 15 years.

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And in that time, I spent a lot

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of time on the farm, a lot of

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time observing.

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And I started to realize in a

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world where everybody was

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talking about truth and

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misinformation and what's true

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and my truth and there's

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subjective truth and all this,

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I started to ask, what is truth?

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And I realized that nature was

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an expression of

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God's perfection.

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And so in being a seeker of

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truth,

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Could I take these constructs

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that are being thrown through

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the air all the time for

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division,

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for dividing us?

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And could I take it to the

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savanna,

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the woods, or the farm and

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ask,

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does this exist in nature?

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And it really started with

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veganism. Like there is no

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veganism. It doesn't exist.

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My whole life was based on that.

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And then you get to the farm and

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you see that,

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well, blood meal, bone meal,

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feather meal, chicken food, all

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coming out of the consolidated

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feedlot system.

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Organic fertilizer in the

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degenerative organic system is

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literally just byproducts of the

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death industry.

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And I say that in quotation

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marks that

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vegans hate. And so all of our

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vegetables

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energetically are

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feeding on that death.

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And so there is no plate of food

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without death. I cannot have an

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animal on my plate, but my

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avocado toast, there was ground

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squirrels killed.

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have that avocado toast when

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those avocado trees were young.

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In the toast itself there was

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rabbits and squirrels and foxes

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and whatever snakes and frogs

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that were got up into the

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combine and there was

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cats and rat traps to protect

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the grain. I mean there is no

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food without death.

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Every

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What's a part of there is no

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life without death.

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It's a part of the cycle.

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It's two sides of the same coin.

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It's not actually a failure.

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It's a function of life.

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And so my

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book is called Debunked by

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Nature. And essentially, I take

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these ideas that I was taught in

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college in Los Angeles, in

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Ithaca, New York.

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I grew up in the most liberal

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ideas. And I just say,

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Do they make sense?

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And not all my ideas are

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political that I question.

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I talk about co -sleeping.

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I talk about breastfeeding.

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I talk about, you know, why

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would we think we could,

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Nestle's company could make

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something more nutritious than

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the

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mother's milk? It doesn't make

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any sense. And would a lion

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sleep

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far away from her child where

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she can't see it.

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Only time that happens in nature

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with mammals is when the deer,

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when bovine are first born and

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they don't have the scent of the

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animal yet. The mother will

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sleep close by where she can see

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it, but that the predator would

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come for her rather than the

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baby until the baby can run.

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That is the only time we see a

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mammal sleeping away from their

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mother.

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young.

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And so we have created a culture

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where we put the baby in a

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separate room and watch it with

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a digital monitor or whatever.

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So not all my ideas are

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political.

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They're just kind of about

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societal norms.

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And are these things normal or

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have we lost our way?

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Has God shown us the perfect

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design and we are ignoring it?

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A bit ago, you mentioned some of

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the truths that you observed

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emerging from nature when you

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started paying attention.

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I've always been intrigued by

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the

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analogs between

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the way plants develop and

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livestock develop and our own

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spiritual growth as well.

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So this one example,

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that I've mentioned before is

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the process of the very simple

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process of photosynthesis.

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And it's 24 hour circadian

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rhythm.

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You have plants that are

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collecting energy from the light

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during the day while the sun is

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shining

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and storing and conserving that

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energy to grow at night.

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80 % of cell division happens

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between 3 a .m.

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and

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8 a .m. or

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you could say during the darkest

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time of the night and at dawn.

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And when you think about that

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from a spiritual perspective,

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There's a powerful analog here

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that we are to collect energy

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from the light during the bright

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times of our lives so

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that we have conserved energy

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and stored energy to

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develop and grow during the

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trials and tribulations that

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come.

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And

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so

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my

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question, you mentioned you've

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touched on a few, but what are

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some of the truths that you

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observed in nature that or

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some of your memorable moments

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that you look back now and you

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say, aha, that was a

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breakthrough?

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Yeah.

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I've told this story before, but

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I was

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breastfeeding my second child,

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and my first child was a

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toddler.

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And I was vegan, and my mindset

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was vegan,

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and I was feeding my toddler oat

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milk.

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My father had given me a cow.

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Her name is Una.

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I still have Una.

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And

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she was bred when I got her, and

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she had a bull calf.

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And her udder is very, very big.

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She's a European big.

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And her back two teats were too

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00:07:53,980 --> 00:07:56,019
low to the ground for the calf

264
00:07:56,019 --> 00:07:57,639
to nurse on. So he just focused

265
00:07:57,639 --> 00:07:58,860
on the front two, and we were

266
00:07:58,860 --> 00:08:00,939
milking off the back two.

267
00:08:01,279 --> 00:08:02,759
And we had got her for compost.

268
00:08:02,959 --> 00:08:04,220
I was still in my vegan mind.

269
00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:05,040
I was going to have a cow.

270
00:08:05,139 --> 00:08:05,980
I was going to set off my

271
00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:07,060
compost with her poop.

272
00:08:07,699 --> 00:08:08,500
And

273
00:08:08,660 --> 00:08:10,199
But my uncle was drinking the

274
00:08:10,199 --> 00:08:11,779
milk from those back two teats.

275
00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:13,439
And so I go to get the oat milk

276
00:08:13,439 --> 00:08:14,240
out of the refrigerator.

277
00:08:14,399 --> 00:08:17,040
I'm holding my infant nursing on

278
00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,040
my mind. I'm nursing the infant.

279
00:08:19,180 --> 00:08:20,100
That's perfect food.

280
00:08:20,180 --> 00:08:21,939
It's divine. It's it's all the

281
00:08:21,939 --> 00:08:23,019
nutrients, everything that it

282
00:08:23,019 --> 00:08:24,439
needs for this area has the

283
00:08:24,439 --> 00:08:25,600
microbiology has the

284
00:08:26,129 --> 00:08:29,269
the immune stuff for this exact

285
00:08:29,269 --> 00:08:30,069
area.

286
00:08:30,050 --> 00:08:31,449
And I look at the oat milk and

287
00:08:31,449 --> 00:08:33,129
the Tetra Pak from Costco, and I

288
00:08:33,129 --> 00:08:34,970
look at this glass half gallon

289
00:08:34,970 --> 00:08:37,710
ball jar of Una's milk in my

290
00:08:37,710 --> 00:08:38,509
refrigerator.

291
00:08:38,590 --> 00:08:39,570
And I think,

292
00:08:40,570 --> 00:08:42,389
why would I think

293
00:08:42,870 --> 00:08:45,039
that that is death?

294
00:08:45,139 --> 00:08:46,919
That is pus, that is gross, that

295
00:08:46,919 --> 00:08:47,840
is bad for you.

296
00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,559
And this oat milk, sterile Tetra

297
00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:52,799
Pak from Costco is

298
00:08:54,009 --> 00:08:56,190
somehow good for my kid.

299
00:08:56,309 --> 00:08:57,109
Like it just,

300
00:08:57,399 --> 00:08:58,960
broke my head at that moment

301
00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,180
because obviously the breast is

302
00:09:01,180 --> 00:09:03,350
best. And then Una is living in

303
00:09:03,350 --> 00:09:05,029
the same environment as I am,

304
00:09:05,110 --> 00:09:05,909
but dirtier.

305
00:09:06,450 --> 00:09:08,090
And so her milk has to be

306
00:09:08,090 --> 00:09:10,009
healthful and nourishing for my

307
00:09:10,009 --> 00:09:10,809
toddler,

308
00:09:10,750 --> 00:09:11,889
cannot be harmful.

309
00:09:12,509 --> 00:09:14,350
And I just like secretly, I

310
00:09:14,350 --> 00:09:15,509
didn't even want the vegans to

311
00:09:15,509 --> 00:09:17,169
know that I was secretly feeding

312
00:09:17,169 --> 00:09:19,490
my toddler raw milk from my cow

313
00:09:19,490 --> 00:09:21,129
because I was afraid.

314
00:09:23,639 --> 00:09:26,960
So what happened in the shift

315
00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:30,319
from that moment you had this

316
00:09:30,319 --> 00:09:31,580
realization, in that moment you

317
00:09:31,580 --> 00:09:32,379
were afraid,

318
00:09:32,639 --> 00:09:35,779
and now you stand on the eve of

319
00:09:35,779 --> 00:09:36,960
releasing this book,

320
00:09:37,730 --> 00:09:38,529
which

321
00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,059
hopefully

322
00:09:40,730 --> 00:09:42,769
controversial in the very best

323
00:09:42,769 --> 00:09:43,569
sort of way.

324
00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:44,590
Controversial in the sense that

325
00:09:44,590 --> 00:09:45,710
it inspires lots of

326
00:09:45,710 --> 00:09:46,809
conversations and inspires

327
00:09:46,809 --> 00:09:48,169
people to reevaluate what

328
00:09:48,169 --> 00:09:49,470
happened from that moment of

329
00:09:49,879 --> 00:09:52,179
being afraid to speak out to

330
00:09:52,179 --> 00:09:52,979
now.

331
00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:54,360
I'm still afraid.

332
00:09:54,580 --> 00:09:55,620
Being a torchbearer.

333
00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:57,100
I mean, I think I'm still

334
00:09:57,100 --> 00:09:57,919
afraid. I think

335
00:09:59,759 --> 00:10:01,559
I don't think anybody's not

336
00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:03,340
afraid. I think it's either you

337
00:10:03,340 --> 00:10:04,879
can be afraid and you can still

338
00:10:04,879 --> 00:10:07,580
take action or you're afraid and

339
00:10:07,580 --> 00:10:08,460
you're in inaction.

340
00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,240
And so just the other night, me

341
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:12,320
and my husband went somewhere

342
00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:13,500
and then we stopped on the way

343
00:10:13,500 --> 00:10:14,679
home and I went to the restroom

344
00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:15,479
and

345
00:10:15,210 --> 00:10:17,690
someone stopped me in the

346
00:10:17,909 --> 00:10:20,350
restroom and said, I know who

347
00:10:20,350 --> 00:10:21,669
you are, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma.

348
00:10:21,789 --> 00:10:23,809
And I said, oh, thank you.

349
00:10:24,519 --> 00:10:26,659
And I all of a sudden had this

350
00:10:26,659 --> 00:10:28,980
like fear come over me because I

351
00:10:28,980 --> 00:10:29,779
wrote this book

352
00:10:30,389 --> 00:10:32,679
in in the three hours of the

353
00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:33,799
morning from four a .m.

354
00:10:33,860 --> 00:10:34,799
to six a .m.

355
00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:36,220
at that time that we're supposed

356
00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:37,019
to be growing. Right.

357
00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:38,359
I

358
00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:38,759
got

359
00:10:38,419 --> 00:10:39,219
up at four a .m.

360
00:10:39,180 --> 00:10:39,980
for six weeks

361
00:10:39,919 --> 00:10:41,539
every morning when my kids were

362
00:10:41,539 --> 00:10:42,799
sleeping. No kid on

363
00:10:42,799 --> 00:10:44,080
the boob. No, nothing.

364
00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:45,539
I could just focus and did it

365
00:10:45,539 --> 00:10:46,779
from six, eight, four a .m.

366
00:10:46,799 --> 00:10:47,599
to six a .m.

367
00:10:47,759 --> 00:10:48,899
So I was very intimate.

368
00:10:48,940 --> 00:10:50,299
It was me in the living room of

369
00:10:50,299 --> 00:10:52,799
my home in very dark kind of

370
00:10:53,139 --> 00:10:54,879
cave like experience.

371
00:10:54,879 --> 00:10:56,539
And I just told the truth.

372
00:10:56,659 --> 00:10:58,360
The truth came out of my heart

373
00:10:58,360 --> 00:10:59,159
and I

374
00:10:59,590 --> 00:11:00,909
felt like it was just coming out

375
00:11:00,909 --> 00:11:01,830
of me, coming out of me, coming

376
00:11:01,830 --> 00:11:02,629
out of me.

377
00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:04,399
And then I sent it

378
00:11:04,809 --> 00:11:06,409
to Taylor and he gave it to Paul

379
00:11:06,409 --> 00:11:07,629
and Paul and me went back and

380
00:11:07,629 --> 00:11:08,610
forth. And that's the editor

381
00:11:08,610 --> 00:11:09,409
from acres.

382
00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:11,379
And then it's just me and Paul.

383
00:11:11,519 --> 00:11:12,840
And so that's pretty intimate

384
00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:14,180
too. And then

385
00:11:14,529 --> 00:11:15,750
all of a sudden you're like, Oh,

386
00:11:15,750 --> 00:11:16,649
we need some blurbs.

387
00:11:16,710 --> 00:11:17,509
So it's like, we're going to

388
00:11:17,470 --> 00:11:18,610
give it to a few people to get a

389
00:11:18,610 --> 00:11:20,049
blurb. And then all of a sudden

390
00:11:20,049 --> 00:11:22,009
I had this realization in the

391
00:11:22,009 --> 00:11:23,069
restroom as this woman was like,

392
00:11:23,110 --> 00:11:24,430
Oh my God, Molly, I follow you

393
00:11:24,430 --> 00:11:25,230
on Instagram.

394
00:11:25,230 --> 00:11:26,470
And I just had this thought

395
00:11:26,470 --> 00:11:27,269
like, Oh my God,

396
00:11:28,049 --> 00:11:30,269
I just felt so naked, like my

397
00:11:30,269 --> 00:11:32,750
whole soul is on display, but

398
00:11:33,379 --> 00:11:35,299
I believe that I was led there.

399
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,200
this because the way I tell this

400
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:39,779
story is not didactic.

401
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,580
It is not telling people what

402
00:11:41,580 --> 00:11:43,360
they must believe, but in the

403
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,620
most honest way and sometimes

404
00:11:45,620 --> 00:11:46,519
looking bad,

405
00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:49,159
how did I believe this thing?

406
00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:50,639
And now how do I believe this

407
00:11:50,639 --> 00:11:52,919
thing and connecting those dots?

408
00:11:52,980 --> 00:11:54,820
And I'm hoping that

409
00:11:55,169 --> 00:11:57,220
it is controversial in that

410
00:11:57,220 --> 00:11:59,379
people find out about it and I

411
00:11:59,379 --> 00:12:01,100
can connect those dots for other

412
00:12:01,100 --> 00:12:01,899
people.

413
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:03,179
Because the

414
00:12:04,610 --> 00:12:07,450
idea that I jumped out of bed

415
00:12:07,450 --> 00:12:09,649
five days after having a baby

416
00:12:09,649 --> 00:12:11,769
and strapped my baby to me and

417
00:12:11,769 --> 00:12:14,370
went to work to prove that I was

418
00:12:14,370 --> 00:12:15,769
just as strong as a man,

419
00:12:16,409 --> 00:12:17,209
that's broken.

420
00:12:17,610 --> 00:12:18,409
That idea,

421
00:12:18,799 --> 00:12:21,889
and that harms my body, it harms

422
00:12:21,889 --> 00:12:22,689
my children.

423
00:12:23,090 --> 00:12:23,889
And

424
00:12:23,460 --> 00:12:25,419
what kind of idea is that?

425
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:26,879
Like, I need to be as strong as

426
00:12:26,879 --> 00:12:27,679
a man?

427
00:12:28,330 --> 00:12:29,950
who cannot push a baby out of

428
00:12:29,950 --> 00:12:31,389
them, grow a baby in them and

429
00:12:31,389 --> 00:12:32,649
bring it forth into this world,

430
00:12:32,889 --> 00:12:35,289
five days later, and I'm just

431
00:12:35,289 --> 00:12:37,350
like there at work, pale as can

432
00:12:37,350 --> 00:12:38,149
be, bleeding,

433
00:12:38,569 --> 00:12:40,990
proving how strong I am, that

434
00:12:40,990 --> 00:12:43,720
mindset that I can do anything

435
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,899
he can do, instead of that we

436
00:12:45,899 --> 00:12:47,879
are a bond and we are two

437
00:12:48,190 --> 00:12:50,430
halves of one whole,

438
00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:53,990
each perfect in our shortcomings

439
00:12:53,990 --> 00:12:56,230
and our strengths to complement

440
00:12:56,230 --> 00:12:57,029
each other,

441
00:12:57,610 --> 00:13:00,909
I was indoctrinated and I spent

442
00:13:00,909 --> 00:13:02,590
much of my life trying to live

443
00:13:02,590 --> 00:13:04,690
up to these ideas that I was

444
00:13:04,690 --> 00:13:07,409
told. And if I can give a woman

445
00:13:07,409 --> 00:13:09,769
a permission at a much younger

446
00:13:09,769 --> 00:13:11,049
age to start having children,

447
00:13:11,389 --> 00:13:13,389
at a much younger age to decide

448
00:13:13,389 --> 00:13:14,950
to let her husband be the

449
00:13:14,950 --> 00:13:15,750
breadwinner,

450
00:13:16,899 --> 00:13:18,600
I will love to cause

451
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:20,759
just that little transformation.

452
00:13:21,019 --> 00:13:21,819
If I can,

453
00:13:21,879 --> 00:13:22,679
I had

454
00:13:24,009 --> 00:13:24,990
Abortions when I was younger,

455
00:13:25,129 --> 00:13:26,649
like, I'm going to have to live

456
00:13:26,649 --> 00:13:28,370
with that sin that I did that.

457
00:13:28,450 --> 00:13:30,190
But if I can lead someone.

458
00:13:30,289 --> 00:13:32,990
through my experience to where I

459
00:13:32,990 --> 00:13:35,370
am at 47 and where I was at 22

460
00:13:35,370 --> 00:13:38,179
and let them see my mistakes,

461
00:13:38,299 --> 00:13:39,820
maybe they don't have to live

462
00:13:39,820 --> 00:13:41,259
the mistakes I did.

463
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,679
And maybe God can use my

464
00:13:43,899 --> 00:13:45,860
shortcomings and

465
00:13:46,169 --> 00:13:47,730
my missteps to

466
00:13:48,809 --> 00:13:50,950
help other women feel strength

467
00:13:50,950 --> 00:13:54,370
in being the feminine that they

468
00:13:54,370 --> 00:13:55,169
are.

469
00:13:55,899 --> 00:13:57,100
And that's just one part of the

470
00:13:57,100 --> 00:13:58,679
book. But in the feminine and

471
00:13:58,679 --> 00:13:59,479
masculine,

472
00:13:59,340 --> 00:14:00,840
if I if just that could help

473
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:02,240
people, I feel like

474
00:14:03,259 --> 00:14:04,799
that would be great because I

475
00:14:04,799 --> 00:14:06,500
feel like way the way I pushed

476
00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:08,840
my body for my first two

477
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,399
children, what was not right,

478
00:14:11,639 --> 00:14:12,919
and especially at the age that I

479
00:14:12,919 --> 00:14:13,719
was.

480
00:14:15,190 --> 00:14:16,370
Well, sometimes we approach

481
00:14:16,370 --> 00:14:17,590
projects because

482
00:14:18,220 --> 00:14:19,559
we're passionate about them.

483
00:14:20,490 --> 00:14:22,090
Sometimes we approach projects

484
00:14:22,090 --> 00:14:23,190
because they're a dream that

485
00:14:23,190 --> 00:14:24,289
we've had for a long time.

486
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:26,740
And sometimes we're led into

487
00:14:26,740 --> 00:14:28,539
projects kind of inadvertently,

488
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:29,819
and we only realize what we're

489
00:14:29,819 --> 00:14:31,220
doing kind of after the fact.

490
00:14:32,340 --> 00:14:34,720
And so

491
00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:38,259
as you now stand on this stage,

492
00:14:38,319 --> 00:14:39,960
obviously, you've you've

493
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:41,159
completed writing the book.

494
00:14:41,259 --> 00:14:42,059
You have a manuscript.

495
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:43,259
You're about to send it out into

496
00:14:43,259 --> 00:14:44,059
the world.

497
00:14:45,509 --> 00:14:46,370
You just

498
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,399
you preempted part of my

499
00:14:48,399 --> 00:14:49,460
question. So now I'm going to

500
00:14:49,460 --> 00:14:50,659
expand that. I was going to ask

501
00:14:50,659 --> 00:14:52,450
the question, what are what are

502
00:14:52,450 --> 00:14:53,870
the changes that you hope can be

503
00:14:53,870 --> 00:14:55,569
inspired in people's lives by

504
00:14:55,569 --> 00:14:56,490
raising the book in the world?

505
00:14:56,490 --> 00:14:58,210
But now I'd like to broaden

506
00:14:58,210 --> 00:14:59,009
that.

507
00:15:01,019 --> 00:15:02,299
more expansively than just what

508
00:15:02,299 --> 00:15:03,440
you described for young women?

509
00:15:03,559 --> 00:15:04,519
What are all the possible

510
00:15:04,519 --> 00:15:05,319
transformations?

511
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:06,279
What are all the possible things

512
00:15:06,279 --> 00:15:07,799
that you hope might come true by

513
00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:08,680
putting this book into the

514
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:09,480
world?

515
00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:12,180
Well, I feel that we're in a

516
00:15:12,180 --> 00:15:14,519
place and in a time where

517
00:15:14,799 --> 00:15:16,419
everything is about division.

518
00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:17,779
And

519
00:15:17,460 --> 00:15:18,340
I think,

520
00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:20,519
and we're all consuming so much

521
00:15:20,519 --> 00:15:22,860
information and there's so much.

522
00:15:23,389 --> 00:15:24,669
But if you look at all the

523
00:15:24,669 --> 00:15:25,469
information that we have, we're

524
00:15:25,389 --> 00:15:26,750
consuming, whether it's social

525
00:15:26,750 --> 00:15:27,549
media, whether it's

526
00:15:27,509 --> 00:15:28,970
environmental justice, whether

527
00:15:28,970 --> 00:15:30,429
it's regenerative agriculture,

528
00:15:30,889 --> 00:15:31,710
chemical agriculture,

529
00:15:33,190 --> 00:15:35,269
a lot of the underlying message

530
00:15:35,269 --> 00:15:37,230
is like us and them,

531
00:15:37,610 --> 00:15:38,909
good and bad,

532
00:15:39,309 --> 00:15:40,169
separation, separation,

533
00:15:40,350 --> 00:15:41,149
separation.

534
00:15:41,820 --> 00:15:42,620
And

535
00:15:43,230 --> 00:15:44,970
while we're fighting about all

536
00:15:44,970 --> 00:15:45,769
these things,

537
00:15:46,139 --> 00:15:47,559
the ability for us to reproduce

538
00:15:47,559 --> 00:15:49,460
is being poisoned out of us.

539
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,860
Our ability to even have local

540
00:15:53,860 --> 00:15:55,759
secure food systems is

541
00:15:55,759 --> 00:15:57,340
collapsing. We're in an agrarian

542
00:15:57,340 --> 00:15:58,879
collapse that has never been

543
00:15:58,879 --> 00:15:59,700
seen before.

544
00:16:01,019 --> 00:16:03,460
170 ,000 farms, you were there

545
00:16:03,460 --> 00:16:04,279
when I got corrected.

546
00:16:04,419 --> 00:16:07,639
I said 140 ,000 and Merrill West

547
00:16:07,639 --> 00:16:09,779
from the Free Farm Alliance

548
00:16:09,779 --> 00:16:12,899
said, I think it's 170 ,000 in

549
00:16:12,899 --> 00:16:14,600
eight years. So if that's true,

550
00:16:15,289 --> 00:16:17,370
That's one in 15 farms we lost

551
00:16:17,370 --> 00:16:19,529
in the last eight years.

552
00:16:20,009 --> 00:16:21,909
I just spoke to a representative

553
00:16:21,909 --> 00:16:22,709
in Texas.

554
00:16:22,970 --> 00:16:24,930
He said that Texas lost 4 ,000

555
00:16:24,930 --> 00:16:27,230
family farms in the last year.

556
00:16:27,690 --> 00:16:29,350
So we are in a collapse.

557
00:16:29,690 --> 00:16:32,669
And my hope is that

558
00:16:33,169 --> 00:16:35,490
on a greater scale, people can

559
00:16:35,490 --> 00:16:37,230
be drawn back to the land.

560
00:16:37,370 --> 00:16:39,289
And if not, that may not mean

561
00:16:39,289 --> 00:16:41,049
they're going to pick up a

562
00:16:41,049 --> 00:16:42,149
garden hoe or they're going to

563
00:16:42,149 --> 00:16:43,509
pick up a shovel or get on a

564
00:16:43,509 --> 00:16:44,309
tractor.

565
00:16:44,919 --> 00:16:46,039
that maybe it means they're

566
00:16:46,039 --> 00:16:47,620
willing to drive 45 minutes to

567
00:16:47,620 --> 00:16:49,519
pick up raw milk from their

568
00:16:49,519 --> 00:16:51,600
local Amish farmer, or they're

569
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,039
willing to drive out and get a

570
00:16:53,039 --> 00:16:55,600
CSA box, or join a CSA, or get a

571
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,110
meat box, or any of those

572
00:16:58,110 --> 00:16:59,049
things. Because

573
00:16:59,419 --> 00:17:01,759
so many farmers are white

574
00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:02,559
knuckling it,

575
00:17:02,919 --> 00:17:04,460
working a second job

576
00:17:05,029 --> 00:17:07,009
just to lose money to grow our

577
00:17:07,009 --> 00:17:09,460
food. And this is not right.

578
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:10,880
And although that's not what my

579
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:11,700
book is about,

580
00:17:12,829 --> 00:17:14,390
being reconnected to how

581
00:17:14,390 --> 00:17:16,769
important healthy soil is and

582
00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:19,259
being in the circadian rhythm of

583
00:17:19,259 --> 00:17:21,460
life and eating local food and

584
00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:23,500
the coherency of local food and

585
00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:24,299
all of that.

586
00:17:25,279 --> 00:17:26,680
I hope that it inspires people

587
00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:28,740
to remember that there is more

588
00:17:29,759 --> 00:17:32,359
people than there is masters.

589
00:17:32,980 --> 00:17:34,779
And so we get to vote every time

590
00:17:34,779 --> 00:17:36,319
we spend our money and.

591
00:17:37,069 --> 00:17:38,750
there is these resilient

592
00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:40,410
communities in parts of this

593
00:17:40,410 --> 00:17:41,849
country and in parts of other

594
00:17:41,849 --> 00:17:42,649
countries,

595
00:17:42,730 --> 00:17:44,670
and there's largely non

596
00:17:44,670 --> 00:17:45,630
-resilient communities.

597
00:17:45,869 --> 00:17:47,869
And I want us to move back to

598
00:17:47,869 --> 00:17:49,049
more resiliency.

599
00:17:49,349 --> 00:17:50,569
And I was just talking about

600
00:17:50,569 --> 00:17:51,609
this with my husband yesterday,

601
00:17:51,710 --> 00:17:52,670
because he's

602
00:17:53,490 --> 00:17:55,150
Mexican and he's indigenous from

603
00:17:55,150 --> 00:17:55,950
Mexico.

604
00:17:55,829 --> 00:17:57,210
And someone called me last night

605
00:17:57,210 --> 00:17:59,190
and said somebody that I went to

606
00:17:59,190 --> 00:18:00,769
high school had died of a drug

607
00:18:00,769 --> 00:18:01,869
overdose. And

608
00:18:03,690 --> 00:18:04,809
I told

609
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:06,460
my husband and I

610
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:09,779
He said, that seems like you get

611
00:18:09,779 --> 00:18:11,299
that phone call all the time.

612
00:18:11,380 --> 00:18:13,180
And I said, it's been a lot.

613
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:14,380
And I tried to count and I

614
00:18:14,380 --> 00:18:15,700
actually couldn't remember all

615
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:18,140
the people from my hometown that

616
00:18:18,140 --> 00:18:19,240
have died of a drug overdose.

617
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,240
And then if you add the people I

618
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:22,420
know in Los Angeles from the

619
00:18:22,420 --> 00:18:24,259
time I lived there, and he's

620
00:18:24,259 --> 00:18:25,900
from this small indigenous

621
00:18:25,900 --> 00:18:26,960
village in Mexico.

622
00:18:27,380 --> 00:18:28,619
And he said, you know, I don't

623
00:18:28,619 --> 00:18:29,660
know anybody that died

624
00:18:30,069 --> 00:18:30,869
of

625
00:18:31,150 --> 00:18:32,069
a drug overdose.

626
00:18:32,390 --> 00:18:33,470
And I said, you don't?

627
00:18:33,589 --> 00:18:35,130
And we got to talking and he

628
00:18:35,130 --> 00:18:36,230
said he knows one guy that

629
00:18:36,230 --> 00:18:38,009
passed out drunk and died of

630
00:18:38,009 --> 00:18:39,910
smoke inhalation,

631
00:18:40,309 --> 00:18:42,349
but he doesn't have any body.

632
00:18:43,140 --> 00:18:44,200
And he said that it's just

633
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:45,380
starting to creep into the

634
00:18:45,380 --> 00:18:46,180
villages.

635
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,279
But in Oaxaca, there's largely

636
00:18:48,279 --> 00:18:50,759
no government in the

637
00:18:50,759 --> 00:18:51,559
municipalities.

638
00:18:51,460 --> 00:18:54,019
It's all elders and

639
00:18:54,019 --> 00:18:57,099
patrols, men controlling the,

640
00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:59,240
you know, and it's all kind of

641
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:00,039
social

642
00:19:02,089 --> 00:19:04,309
governance and not big

643
00:19:04,309 --> 00:19:05,950
government. And I thought it's

644
00:19:05,950 --> 00:19:06,890
very interesting.

645
00:19:07,069 --> 00:19:07,869
So I looked it up.

646
00:19:07,890 --> 00:19:09,349
We have a five thousand eight

647
00:19:09,349 --> 00:19:12,069
hundred times the death rate

648
00:19:12,069 --> 00:19:13,490
from drugs in the United States

649
00:19:13,490 --> 00:19:14,789
that they do in Mexico.

650
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,220
It's 31 people per 100 ,000

651
00:19:18,220 --> 00:19:19,019
here,

652
00:19:19,039 --> 00:19:19,839
and it's 0

653
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:22,900
.53 in Mexico,

654
00:19:23,299 --> 00:19:25,859
and 0 .71 in the urban areas of

655
00:19:25,859 --> 00:19:27,460
Mexico. So it's a little higher

656
00:19:27,460 --> 00:19:28,880
in the urban areas, but still

657
00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:29,819
very, very low.

658
00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:32,299
And so my point is that when the

659
00:19:32,299 --> 00:19:33,099
family

660
00:19:33,579 --> 00:19:35,759
So in these rural communities in

661
00:19:35,759 --> 00:19:36,559
Mexico,

662
00:19:36,420 --> 00:19:37,900
still largely governed by the

663
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:38,700
community,

664
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:39,839
and it's still largely governed

665
00:19:39,839 --> 00:19:41,900
by the family unit, the mother,

666
00:19:42,019 --> 00:19:43,519
father, child as the foundation

667
00:19:43,519 --> 00:19:44,640
and the greater community

668
00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:46,539
outside of that, that that

669
00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:48,680
way of governance is the

670
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,680
greatest way of governance that

671
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,380
humanity has ever had.

672
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,480
And it is not a relic of the

673
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,500
past, but it is a reflection of

674
00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:57,880
what we need to get back to.

675
00:19:58,279 --> 00:19:59,079
And so

676
00:19:59,079 --> 00:20:00,740
Ultimately, I hope that we can

677
00:20:00,740 --> 00:20:02,740
get to more communal living,

678
00:20:03,339 --> 00:20:04,139
tribal,

679
00:20:04,099 --> 00:20:06,240
not tribal exactly, but living

680
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,559
in groups where our wealth is

681
00:20:08,559 --> 00:20:11,380
not measured by Bitcoin or

682
00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:14,029
dollars in the bank, but how

683
00:20:14,029 --> 00:20:14,829
many

684
00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,019
people can come to our aid when

685
00:20:17,019 --> 00:20:18,700
something goes wrong and how

686
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:21,259
many resources we have combined.

687
00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:22,500
And

688
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,299
that's what real value is.

689
00:20:25,380 --> 00:20:26,759
And that is what I would hope

690
00:20:27,849 --> 00:20:29,349
is the outcome of the book.

691
00:20:29,390 --> 00:20:30,589
And you might say, well, it's a

692
00:20:30,589 --> 00:20:31,970
weird outcome from what you're

693
00:20:31,970 --> 00:20:32,769
talking about.

694
00:20:32,970 --> 00:20:34,890
But no, I don't think that's the

695
00:20:34,890 --> 00:20:36,869
natural way for us to be living.

696
00:20:37,789 --> 00:20:39,990
And I would say that this

697
00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:41,029
weekend, you know, we're doing

698
00:20:41,029 --> 00:20:42,509
this big festival and some

699
00:20:42,509 --> 00:20:43,710
people quit at the last minute.

700
00:20:43,890 --> 00:20:44,990
And people that haven't worked

701
00:20:44,990 --> 00:20:46,470
for me in a year showed up and

702
00:20:46,470 --> 00:20:47,450
said they're going to work and

703
00:20:47,450 --> 00:20:48,650
called their friend who's an IT

704
00:20:48,650 --> 00:20:49,829
guy to fix this thing.

705
00:20:49,910 --> 00:20:52,789
And, you know, all that goodwill

706
00:20:52,789 --> 00:20:54,390
and grace that I have in the

707
00:20:54,390 --> 00:20:55,670
community from just

708
00:20:56,319 --> 00:20:57,980
Shows back up and that's more

709
00:20:57,980 --> 00:20:59,900
valuable than money.

710
00:21:02,150 --> 00:21:02,950
You know, there are

711
00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:04,159
political

712
00:21:04,430 --> 00:21:07,819
elements to what you've written

713
00:21:07,819 --> 00:21:09,769
about in your book only largely

714
00:21:09,769 --> 00:21:11,859
because. so many of these issues

715
00:21:11,859 --> 00:21:13,740
and these stories have become

716
00:21:13,740 --> 00:21:15,359
politicized over the last decade

717
00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:16,159
or two.

718
00:21:16,759 --> 00:21:18,680
But there is this element

719
00:21:19,349 --> 00:21:20,309
of

720
00:21:20,910 --> 00:21:22,809
being on the conservative end of

721
00:21:22,809 --> 00:21:24,349
the spectrum at its very

722
00:21:24,349 --> 00:21:25,149
foundation.

723
00:21:26,009 --> 00:21:26,809
Part

724
00:21:27,019 --> 00:21:28,680
of being a conservative is that

725
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:29,480
there are

726
00:21:29,660 --> 00:21:32,960
values and morals and things

727
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,880
that you have a desire to

728
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:35,680
conserve.

729
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,660
There is a desire to conserve

730
00:21:37,660 --> 00:21:38,799
things and preserve them for the

731
00:21:38,799 --> 00:21:39,599
future.

732
00:21:40,819 --> 00:21:41,619
And

733
00:21:41,299 --> 00:21:43,740
perhaps I shouldn't have framed

734
00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:44,920
this question quite in this way,

735
00:21:45,019 --> 00:21:46,680
but I'll just ask it from a very

736
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:47,500
open perspective.

737
00:21:48,259 --> 00:21:49,339
What are the things...

738
00:21:49,519 --> 00:21:50,460
I love your title.

739
00:21:50,619 --> 00:21:52,140
I love the title, Debunked by

740
00:21:52,140 --> 00:21:53,359
Nature, because I think if we

741
00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:55,599
went back to the foundational

742
00:21:55,599 --> 00:21:57,579
spiritual principles that are

743
00:21:57,890 --> 00:21:59,589
evidenced in nature, that are

744
00:21:59,589 --> 00:22:00,509
displayed in nature

745
00:22:01,109 --> 00:22:02,369
as God's creation,

746
00:22:03,099 --> 00:22:03,899
then

747
00:22:06,019 --> 00:22:07,160
I just lost my train of thought.

748
00:22:07,220 --> 00:22:08,099
What was my question going to?

749
00:22:08,140 --> 00:22:09,259
Oh, my question was going to be

750
00:22:09,259 --> 00:22:11,559
with that with that title and

751
00:22:11,559 --> 00:22:12,480
with some of the things that

752
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:13,279
you've written about.

753
00:22:13,859 --> 00:22:15,019
Oh, what is it that you want

754
00:22:15,019 --> 00:22:16,500
people to know about the book?

755
00:22:19,059 --> 00:22:21,289
That I'm totally honest, that

756
00:22:21,599 --> 00:22:24,279
I share exactly where I was and

757
00:22:24,279 --> 00:22:26,599
how I got to where I am.

758
00:22:27,470 --> 00:22:28,269
And when

759
00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:30,720
I say Mother Nature is

760
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,240
conservative, I in the byline of

761
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,720
the book, I do mean that in the

762
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:38,660
sense that there is things that

763
00:22:38,660 --> 00:22:40,019
want to be conserved, that

764
00:22:40,019 --> 00:22:41,559
nature is always healing itself.

765
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,200
It's always trying to get back

766
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,779
to a homeostasis.

767
00:22:45,279 --> 00:22:47,539
And so I don't mean like

768
00:22:48,390 --> 00:22:50,269
nature is Trump Vance.

769
00:22:50,369 --> 00:22:51,630
That's not what I mean.

770
00:22:53,650 --> 00:22:56,069
I don't think nature cares one

771
00:22:56,069 --> 00:22:56,869
bit.

772
00:22:57,579 --> 00:22:59,700
What I mean is there

773
00:23:01,390 --> 00:23:03,049
is ways that are just

774
00:23:03,650 --> 00:23:06,029
foundationally positive of God's

775
00:23:06,029 --> 00:23:08,369
design that we can see in

776
00:23:08,369 --> 00:23:09,169
nature.

777
00:23:09,349 --> 00:23:10,690
And when we're being told

778
00:23:10,690 --> 00:23:11,650
things,

779
00:23:12,630 --> 00:23:14,269
socialism makes no sense in

780
00:23:14,269 --> 00:23:15,410
nature. I mean, if you were to

781
00:23:15,410 --> 00:23:16,990
take socialism and it doesn't,

782
00:23:17,210 --> 00:23:18,549
you never see your cows being

783
00:23:18,549 --> 00:23:19,349
like, you know what?

784
00:23:19,869 --> 00:23:20,750
I really think I should be

785
00:23:20,750 --> 00:23:22,690
sharing my grass with the

786
00:23:22,690 --> 00:23:23,509
neighbor's cows.

787
00:23:23,650 --> 00:23:25,190
He's over grazing down there.

788
00:23:25,250 --> 00:23:26,670
We should break the fence in and

789
00:23:26,670 --> 00:23:27,910
let them come in.

790
00:23:28,170 --> 00:23:29,950
This is not how it works.

791
00:23:30,970 --> 00:23:33,170
trees do plant share information

792
00:23:33,170 --> 00:23:35,730
share food underground yes and

793
00:23:35,730 --> 00:23:37,569
that's like all for the benefit

794
00:23:37,569 --> 00:23:39,730
of the whole and but

795
00:23:40,579 --> 00:23:42,460
it is in all of us to have

796
00:23:42,460 --> 00:23:44,380
survival and not to be selfish

797
00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:45,900
or that we should be narcissists

798
00:23:45,900 --> 00:23:47,420
or selfish or whatever but you

799
00:23:47,420 --> 00:23:49,259
can look that everything is

800
00:23:49,259 --> 00:23:51,400
going to want to survive and so

801
00:23:52,019 --> 00:23:53,920
this idea that we shouldn't,

802
00:23:54,059 --> 00:23:55,519
that like survival of the

803
00:23:55,519 --> 00:23:56,819
fittest or wanting to be strong

804
00:23:56,819 --> 00:23:58,460
or wanting to be successful or

805
00:23:58,460 --> 00:24:00,359
wanting to be entrepreneurial is

806
00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,880
bad. I think it's in nature.

807
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,339
It's in us to want to do that.

808
00:24:05,660 --> 00:24:06,460
And that doesn't,

809
00:24:08,059 --> 00:24:11,059
it's not in us to want to do,

810
00:24:11,220 --> 00:24:12,480
some people get hard jobs and

811
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:13,640
some people get easy jobs and

812
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:14,799
everybody gets paid the exact

813
00:24:14,799 --> 00:24:15,799
same amount. That's not,

814
00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:17,159
it's not,

815
00:24:17,670 --> 00:24:18,470
it doesn't make any sense.

816
00:24:18,900 --> 00:24:19,700
Yeah, exactly.

817
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:20,980
When you look at plants and the

818
00:24:20,980 --> 00:24:22,200
way that they share information

819
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:23,480
and that they share resources,

820
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:25,480
plant communities, microbial

821
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,539
communities and so forth.

822
00:24:26,779 --> 00:24:27,579
And and

823
00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:30,339
one of the foundational aspects

824
00:24:30,339 --> 00:24:31,559
of that

825
00:24:32,769 --> 00:24:33,990
image is

826
00:24:34,359 --> 00:24:36,000
that they are all producers.

827
00:24:37,230 --> 00:24:38,029
Yes.

828
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,519
You don't just you don't just

829
00:24:40,519 --> 00:24:41,940
get to just consume

830
00:24:42,319 --> 00:24:44,480
without producing in a natural

831
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:45,980
ecosystem and expect to survive

832
00:24:45,980 --> 00:24:46,779
in the long term.

833
00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:48,599
No. And that's the craziest

834
00:24:48,599 --> 00:24:50,140
thing when people say, I just

835
00:24:50,140 --> 00:24:51,539
got an argument with someone on

836
00:24:51,539 --> 00:24:52,339
Instagram the other day.

837
00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:53,159
They're like,

838
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:55,440
Do you think that people's

839
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,079
income should be directly

840
00:24:57,079 --> 00:24:58,640
related to their outcome?

841
00:24:58,740 --> 00:24:59,579
And I was like, yes.

842
00:25:02,559 --> 00:25:04,519
And I was like, do you think the

843
00:25:04,519 --> 00:25:06,380
person that is greeting people

844
00:25:06,380 --> 00:25:08,319
at Walmart gets paid the same as

845
00:25:08,319 --> 00:25:09,119
the CEO?

846
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:10,099
No, because they're

847
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:12,440
like, if that greeter was gone,

848
00:25:12,859 --> 00:25:14,460
I largely think that greeter job

849
00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:16,059
is a kindness to give people

850
00:25:16,059 --> 00:25:16,859
jobs that

851
00:25:17,039 --> 00:25:18,740
can't otherwise work at another

852
00:25:18,740 --> 00:25:19,539
job.

853
00:25:19,579 --> 00:25:22,000
So this is not, it's not, it's

854
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,259
not an integral part of the

855
00:25:23,259 --> 00:25:25,140
whole thing. If the CEO is gone,

856
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:26,440
then things are going to start

857
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,039
to fall apart. And this idea

858
00:25:29,039 --> 00:25:30,319
that, and then this person said,

859
00:25:30,420 --> 00:25:31,339
well, every, you believe

860
00:25:31,339 --> 00:25:32,700
everybody was made in God's

861
00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:33,500
image and everybody,

862
00:25:34,099 --> 00:25:36,259
yes, in God's eyes, everybody is

863
00:25:36,259 --> 00:25:38,000
of equal value, but you can't

864
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,440
expect the owner of a business

865
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,200
who's trying to support their

866
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:43,400
family to pay every single

867
00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:44,200
person.

868
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:45,519
Even when we say diversity in

869
00:25:45,519 --> 00:25:46,519
our culture, we mean,

870
00:25:46,869 --> 00:25:48,670
diversity in the way you make

871
00:25:48,670 --> 00:25:51,730
love or in the way that you

872
00:25:52,650 --> 00:25:55,130
identify as your gender or the

873
00:25:55,130 --> 00:25:56,490
color or how much melanin you

874
00:25:56,490 --> 00:25:57,289
have in your skin.

875
00:25:57,450 --> 00:25:59,289
But those people can do those

876
00:25:59,289 --> 00:26:00,930
things, but largely agree on

877
00:26:00,930 --> 00:26:02,109
everything else and have the

878
00:26:02,109 --> 00:26:02,990
same ideas.

879
00:26:03,470 --> 00:26:04,809
So they're not a diversity of

880
00:26:04,809 --> 00:26:05,609
function.

881
00:26:05,430 --> 00:26:06,890
They're just a diversity of like

882
00:26:06,890 --> 00:26:07,690
on

883
00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:09,460
the outside.

884
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,619
And so for me, true diversity

885
00:26:11,619 --> 00:26:14,299
like exists in nature is all

886
00:26:14,299 --> 00:26:15,259
these different things,

887
00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:16,680
different species, different

888
00:26:16,829 --> 00:26:18,329
plants, different things.

889
00:26:18,799 --> 00:26:19,859
all together

890
00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:23,740
functioning for themselves and

891
00:26:23,740 --> 00:26:24,579
for each other.

892
00:26:27,750 --> 00:26:28,809
Molly, where can people find

893
00:26:28,809 --> 00:26:29,609
your book?

894
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:31,759
You can go to debunked by nature

895
00:26:31,759 --> 00:26:32,559
dot com.

896
00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,880
You could go to Acres website

897
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:37,599
because Acres published my book

898
00:26:37,599 --> 00:26:39,240
or you could go to Amazon.

899
00:26:39,869 --> 00:26:42,069
I know people hate Amazon, but I

900
00:26:42,069 --> 00:26:43,670
know people love free shipping.

901
00:26:45,940 --> 00:26:47,900
So people like free shipping

902
00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:49,339
more than they hate Amazon.

903
00:26:49,539 --> 00:26:51,440
That is what I know about life.

904
00:26:53,299 --> 00:26:55,119
And so and I also.

905
00:26:55,190 --> 00:26:56,809
write for Epoch Times like three

906
00:26:56,809 --> 00:26:58,589
times a week if people want to

907
00:26:58,589 --> 00:27:00,869
hear my weekly rants about

908
00:27:00,869 --> 00:27:02,630
whatever I think about is going

909
00:27:02,630 --> 00:27:03,430
on in the world.

910
00:27:03,849 --> 00:27:05,230
You can find me in the opinion

911
00:27:05,230 --> 00:27:07,289
section of Epoch Times every

912
00:27:07,509 --> 00:27:08,970
week.

913
00:27:09,940 --> 00:27:11,200
But can I ask you a question?

914
00:27:12,450 --> 00:27:13,289
That was the first one.

915
00:27:15,130 --> 00:27:15,930
OK, can I ask you?

916
00:27:15,930 --> 00:27:16,990
I'm going to ask you.

917
00:27:17,549 --> 00:27:18,349
So

918
00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:19,819
I have an idea.

919
00:27:20,299 --> 00:27:21,779
So do you know what Oakville is?

920
00:27:22,829 --> 00:27:23,629
Yes.

921
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,420
Okay, so you know there's oak

922
00:27:25,420 --> 00:27:26,880
wilt going on like crazy in the

923
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:27,720
hill country of Texas.

924
00:27:29,289 --> 00:27:31,529
So I have a theory and I have

925
00:27:31,529 --> 00:27:33,490
some preliminary evidence that

926
00:27:33,490 --> 00:27:35,009
my theory could be correct, but

927
00:27:35,009 --> 00:27:36,569
I want to run my theory by you.

928
00:27:37,089 --> 00:27:38,710
So oak wilt is happening in all

929
00:27:38,710 --> 00:27:40,630
these areas with highly alkaline

930
00:27:40,630 --> 00:27:41,430
soil,

931
00:27:41,549 --> 00:27:42,849
very little ground cover.

932
00:27:43,490 --> 00:27:44,690
It's mostly these trees are

933
00:27:44,690 --> 00:27:47,269
growing in just limestone or

934
00:27:47,269 --> 00:27:48,730
caliche as we call it, like

935
00:27:48,730 --> 00:27:49,529
crushed up.

936
00:27:50,619 --> 00:27:51,559
And so I

937
00:27:52,009 --> 00:27:54,049
put six inches of just regular

938
00:27:54,049 --> 00:27:55,529
mulch from the cedar trees,

939
00:27:55,609 --> 00:27:56,730
which are really juniper ash.

940
00:27:56,869 --> 00:27:57,970
But here in Texas, if you call

941
00:27:57,970 --> 00:27:59,150
them juniper ash, they look at

942
00:27:59,150 --> 00:28:00,289
you like you're an alien.

943
00:28:00,569 --> 00:28:01,849
So cedar trees

944
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:05,059
mulch down and it's largely

945
00:28:05,059 --> 00:28:06,869
reversing oak wilt.

946
00:28:07,190 --> 00:28:08,450
And so I have a theory that

947
00:28:08,450 --> 00:28:09,430
there's oak wilt,

948
00:28:09,769 --> 00:28:11,609
there's not enough diversity of

949
00:28:14,799 --> 00:28:17,420
And so one thing is taking over

950
00:28:17,420 --> 00:28:20,079
and that is why the oak will is

951
00:28:20,079 --> 00:28:21,980
happening because I and I think

952
00:28:21,980 --> 00:28:23,299
when I'm bringing up the fungal

953
00:28:23,299 --> 00:28:25,720
load by adding 6 to 8 inches of

954
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:26,960
mulch and

955
00:28:27,299 --> 00:28:29,460
then watering, it is reversing

956
00:28:29,460 --> 00:28:30,259
in two years.

957
00:28:30,730 --> 00:28:31,930
Totally. You can't even tell the

958
00:28:31,930 --> 00:28:34,410
trees had Oakville and I think

959
00:28:34,410 --> 00:28:36,529
that that is reversing Oakville.

960
00:28:36,730 --> 00:28:37,730
But everybody's like you.

961
00:28:37,869 --> 00:28:38,809
If you could just reverse

962
00:28:38,809 --> 00:28:40,150
Oakville with doing that, then

963
00:28:40,150 --> 00:28:41,170
everybody would doing that.

964
00:28:41,230 --> 00:28:42,029
And I'm like, well,

965
00:28:43,140 --> 00:28:45,059
Okay, I don't

966
00:28:45,630 --> 00:28:46,430
know if anybody else has tried

967
00:28:46,390 --> 00:28:47,650
it, but now I didn't take

968
00:28:47,650 --> 00:28:48,450
pictures at the beginning.

969
00:28:48,549 --> 00:28:49,430
It was literally just.

970
00:28:49,980 --> 00:28:51,700
the realtor said, you're going

971
00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:52,599
to have to take out these trees.

972
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:53,539
They're almost dead.

973
00:28:53,700 --> 00:28:54,980
They were really bad shape.

974
00:28:55,119 --> 00:28:56,140
And I was like, well, they're

975
00:28:56,140 --> 00:28:57,420
giving me the littlest bit of

976
00:28:57,420 --> 00:28:59,480
shade at the late afternoon sun.

977
00:28:59,599 --> 00:29:01,019
So I planted pecan trees

978
00:29:01,019 --> 00:29:01,819
underneath them.

979
00:29:01,740 --> 00:29:02,819
And I thought, we'll just leave

980
00:29:02,819 --> 00:29:04,859
them here until the pecan trees

981
00:29:04,859 --> 00:29:05,779
get a little bit bigger.

982
00:29:06,119 --> 00:29:07,380
And that was my plan.

983
00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:09,039
But I put down a bunch of mulch

984
00:29:09,039 --> 00:29:10,900
and water because I planted the

985
00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:11,700
pecan trees.

986
00:29:12,670 --> 00:29:14,529
And now you can't even tell that

987
00:29:14,529 --> 00:29:15,450
they ever had oakwill.

988
00:29:15,569 --> 00:29:16,809
They're just totally shade,

989
00:29:16,990 --> 00:29:18,509
totally filled in, totally

990
00:29:18,509 --> 00:29:19,309
beautiful.

991
00:29:19,490 --> 00:29:20,809
And then the other one that's

992
00:29:20,809 --> 00:29:22,349
like the best looking tree on my

993
00:29:22,349 --> 00:29:23,549
property is next to where the

994
00:29:23,549 --> 00:29:24,910
guys drop all the mulch.

995
00:29:25,009 --> 00:29:26,049
You know, the trucks come and

996
00:29:26,049 --> 00:29:27,309
drop the mulch on my property.

997
00:29:27,690 --> 00:29:30,130
And this one is totally healed

998
00:29:30,130 --> 00:29:30,930
as well.

999
00:29:31,109 --> 00:29:33,089
So now I want to go and I look

1000
00:29:33,089 --> 00:29:34,549
on my property and all the most

1001
00:29:34,549 --> 00:29:36,269
sick trees are in the most

1002
00:29:36,269 --> 00:29:38,109
caliche soil, no ground cover,

1003
00:29:38,410 --> 00:29:39,210
just white

1004
00:29:39,420 --> 00:29:40,220
soil.

1005
00:29:40,299 --> 00:29:42,319
So I think I want to try this

1006
00:29:42,319 --> 00:29:44,660
and take photos and document it

1007
00:29:44,660 --> 00:29:45,980
is my next, I'm trying to get

1008
00:29:45,980 --> 00:29:46,779
some,

1009
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:48,559
trying to get a TCQ permit so I

1010
00:29:48,559 --> 00:29:49,960
can get all this mulch from the

1011
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:51,299
floods. I'm in Kerr County where

1012
00:29:51,299 --> 00:29:52,460
all those floods just happened.

1013
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:54,559
And I'm trying to see if I could

1014
00:29:54,559 --> 00:29:56,720
just put six to eight inches of

1015
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:58,059
mulch a couple times a year.

1016
00:29:58,180 --> 00:29:59,880
And if I could reverse oat will.

1017
00:30:00,319 --> 00:30:01,480
So what do you think of this

1018
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:02,279
theory?

1019
00:30:03,339 --> 00:30:04,139
Well, it doesn't really matter

1020
00:30:04,079 --> 00:30:04,879
what I think.

1021
00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:05,680
It sounds like you already have

1022
00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:06,920
some preliminary evidence that's

1023
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:07,720
worth pursuing.

1024
00:30:08,029 --> 00:30:09,470
Yes, I do. But I don't know if

1025
00:30:09,470 --> 00:30:11,890
you know the science, but I just

1026
00:30:11,890 --> 00:30:12,690
don't.

1027
00:30:13,019 --> 00:30:13,819
Well,

1028
00:30:13,779 --> 00:30:14,980
any time, you know, it's

1029
00:30:17,220 --> 00:30:18,880
once you start digging into

1030
00:30:19,599 --> 00:30:22,700
the multitude of possible

1031
00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:24,140
interactions and synergistic

1032
00:30:24,140 --> 00:30:25,880
effects that a health and a

1033
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:27,700
functioning microbiome can have.

1034
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,920
I mean, look, the reality is,

1035
00:30:30,670 --> 00:30:31,470
well,

1036
00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:33,740
you go to citrus greening and

1037
00:30:33,740 --> 00:30:34,539
citrus in Florida.

1038
00:30:34,559 --> 00:30:36,960
As an example, here we have a

1039
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,799
bacterial infection of a plant's

1040
00:30:38,799 --> 00:30:39,599
vascular tissue.

1041
00:30:40,279 --> 00:30:41,119
And they're now

1042
00:30:43,059 --> 00:30:44,480
one of the more recent

1043
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:45,279
innovations

1044
00:30:45,359 --> 00:30:47,400
and I use the word innovations

1045
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:48,200
loosely here,

1046
00:30:48,750 --> 00:30:50,490
is they're injecting antibiotics

1047
00:30:50,490 --> 00:30:51,569
into the tree trunks.

1048
00:30:53,730 --> 00:30:54,769
And okay,

1049
00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:56,789
let's pause and ask for a

1050
00:30:56,789 --> 00:30:57,849
second, where do antibiotics

1051
00:30:57,849 --> 00:30:58,649
come from?

1052
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:03,180
They come from fungus in the

1053
00:31:03,180 --> 00:31:03,980
soil.

1054
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,950
And what type

1055
00:31:07,950 --> 00:31:11,269
of microbes are oak

1056
00:31:11,269 --> 00:31:12,670
trees particularly dependent on?

1057
00:31:13,140 --> 00:31:14,279
They're dependent on fungus.

1058
00:31:14,809 --> 00:31:16,670
They thrive in a fungal dominant

1059
00:31:16,670 --> 00:31:18,190
system, which by the way, is

1060
00:31:18,190 --> 00:31:19,789
very challenged in

1061
00:31:20,099 --> 00:31:22,299
an oxidized calcareous soil,

1062
00:31:22,380 --> 00:31:23,500
such as the ones that you have.

1063
00:31:24,519 --> 00:31:25,319
And so

1064
00:31:25,450 --> 00:31:28,880
there are dozens of possible,

1065
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:30,400
probably hundreds or maybe even

1066
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,380
thousands of possible mechanisms

1067
00:31:32,380 --> 00:31:33,720
and modes of action of different

1068
00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:34,619
things that could be

1069
00:31:34,619 --> 00:31:35,419
contributing to that

1070
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:36,200
regeneration.

1071
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:37,240
The reality is,

1072
00:31:39,130 --> 00:31:41,210
We could spend a lot of time

1073
00:31:41,210 --> 00:31:42,349
trying to identify them and

1074
00:31:42,349 --> 00:31:44,089
understand them, or we can just

1075
00:31:44,089 --> 00:31:45,750
go ahead with a cultural

1076
00:31:45,750 --> 00:31:47,670
practice that has observed to

1077
00:31:47,670 --> 00:31:48,549
bring results,

1078
00:31:49,029 --> 00:31:50,289
try to measure and document

1079
00:31:50,289 --> 00:31:52,329
those results and say, here's

1080
00:31:52,329 --> 00:31:53,329
what we did and here's what

1081
00:31:53,329 --> 00:31:54,129
worked.

1082
00:31:54,210 --> 00:31:55,009
And

1083
00:31:54,990 --> 00:31:57,710
let the research catch up with

1084
00:31:57,710 --> 00:31:59,630
the practical application, which

1085
00:31:59,630 --> 00:32:00,849
seems to be the recurring

1086
00:32:00,849 --> 00:32:02,650
pattern in the most innovative

1087
00:32:02,829 --> 00:32:04,230
landscape stewards.

1088
00:32:05,049 --> 00:32:06,250
Yeah, and I'm seeing it.

1089
00:32:06,349 --> 00:32:07,609
I think it's everywhere, not

1090
00:32:07,609 --> 00:32:09,390
just on the oak trees.

1091
00:32:10,619 --> 00:32:13,099
bale grazed last year on my

1092
00:32:13,099 --> 00:32:15,059
fields because there was little

1093
00:32:15,059 --> 00:32:16,839
to no rain last winter.

1094
00:32:17,420 --> 00:32:19,200
And so you can see where the

1095
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:20,299
round bales were.

1096
00:32:21,059 --> 00:32:22,279
Right now, the swergum is like

1097
00:32:22,279 --> 00:32:24,650
as tall as I am and been grazed

1098
00:32:24,650 --> 00:32:25,769
once or twice already,

1099
00:32:26,150 --> 00:32:27,730
but it's that tall.

1100
00:32:28,150 --> 00:32:29,309
And everywhere else, it's like

1101
00:32:29,309 --> 00:32:31,549
calf, ankle, knee high,

1102
00:32:31,630 --> 00:32:32,430
wherever.

1103
00:32:32,589 --> 00:32:34,230
And it's not even like, oh,

1104
00:32:34,329 --> 00:32:35,129
well,

1105
00:32:34,910 --> 00:32:36,990
I was feeding swergum hay, so

1106
00:32:36,990 --> 00:32:38,630
it's extra seeds got dropped in

1107
00:32:38,630 --> 00:32:40,150
that area because I was feeding

1108
00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:41,299
grass.

1109
00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:42,259
So

1110
00:32:41,990 --> 00:32:45,049
just the residue of the circle

1111
00:32:45,049 --> 00:32:46,849
where the bale was, just that

1112
00:32:46,849 --> 00:32:50,150
carbon being left on the soil

1113
00:32:50,150 --> 00:32:52,730
has these circles on my whole

1114
00:32:52,730 --> 00:32:53,529
field.

1115
00:32:53,809 --> 00:32:56,109
that the hay is as tall as me

1116
00:32:56,109 --> 00:32:57,730
versus below my knee.

1117
00:32:58,349 --> 00:33:00,509
And so my thought, and I don't

1118
00:33:00,509 --> 00:33:02,069
know the economics and that's

1119
00:33:02,069 --> 00:33:03,630
why I want to try to get all the

1120
00:33:03,630 --> 00:33:06,390
waste from the river flooding if

1121
00:33:06,390 --> 00:33:08,349
I can get that carbon.

1122
00:33:09,359 --> 00:33:11,220
But I think just putting a

1123
00:33:11,220 --> 00:33:13,859
little bit of carbon on my

1124
00:33:13,859 --> 00:33:15,359
fields is going to be far more

1125
00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:17,079
useful than any kind of

1126
00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:19,200
application of nitrogen

1127
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,640
fertilizer or manure because I

1128
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:22,869
have done that.

1129
00:33:23,250 --> 00:33:24,930
I've done manure, I've done this

1130
00:33:24,930 --> 00:33:26,210
and seen very little to no

1131
00:33:26,210 --> 00:33:27,589
results. But you can literally

1132
00:33:27,589 --> 00:33:29,529
see these circles exactly the

1133
00:33:29,529 --> 00:33:31,529
size of the round bales all the

1134
00:33:31,529 --> 00:33:33,170
way across my field where the

1135
00:33:33,170 --> 00:33:34,109
hay is so tall.

1136
00:33:34,390 --> 00:33:35,269
And so I

1137
00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:36,740
don't know, but

1138
00:33:37,049 --> 00:33:38,509
I think it's the same kind of

1139
00:33:38,509 --> 00:33:39,390
thing that's happening with the

1140
00:33:39,390 --> 00:33:40,490
oak trees. And I want to figure

1141
00:33:40,490 --> 00:33:43,029
out how can I get enough hay or

1142
00:33:43,029 --> 00:33:45,650
wood chips to cover the whole

1143
00:33:45,650 --> 00:33:46,450
field.

1144
00:33:46,430 --> 00:33:47,789
I also had this dead spot we

1145
00:33:47,789 --> 00:33:49,589
couldn't heal where water was

1146
00:33:49,589 --> 00:33:50,410
just sitting.

1147
00:33:51,039 --> 00:33:53,539
And I put six inches of mulch

1148
00:33:53,539 --> 00:33:54,339
there.

1149
00:33:54,349 --> 00:33:56,289
It was like dead pan water would

1150
00:33:56,289 --> 00:33:58,650
not go down into it and there

1151
00:33:58,650 --> 00:34:00,269
would not nothing was happening

1152
00:34:00,269 --> 00:34:01,789
and and nothing was growing

1153
00:34:01,789 --> 00:34:02,589
because it was just like

1154
00:34:02,529 --> 00:34:04,049
concrete. Basically, it was

1155
00:34:04,049 --> 00:34:06,529
like. Mud puddle that would last

1156
00:34:06,529 --> 00:34:08,630
very long time and then concrete

1157
00:34:08,630 --> 00:34:11,170
once it was dried and I put wood

1158
00:34:11,170 --> 00:34:13,030
chips there and Bermuda grass

1159
00:34:13,030 --> 00:34:14,070
filled in over it.

1160
00:34:15,119 --> 00:34:16,940
In a matter of 5 weeks, even

1161
00:34:16,940 --> 00:34:17,800
though there's barely any

1162
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:19,000
burrito grass in that field.

1163
00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:21,300
And so I think there's plenty of

1164
00:34:21,300 --> 00:34:22,400
nitrogen in my soil.

1165
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:24,780
There's just no fungal load to

1166
00:34:24,780 --> 00:34:25,580
make it available.

1167
00:34:25,699 --> 00:34:27,239
And that's my observation, not

1168
00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:28,739
like a fact or whatever, but

1169
00:34:28,739 --> 00:34:30,400
that's what I'm noticing is that

1170
00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:32,440
what we need here in this soil

1171
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,039
is is any kind of organic

1172
00:34:35,039 --> 00:34:35,840
fertilizer.

1173
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:36,760
that's just desperate for

1174
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:37,599
organic matter.

1175
00:34:38,559 --> 00:34:39,639
Well, I want to ask you about

1176
00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:41,960
the bale grazing, just so that I

1177
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:42,800
understand it clearly.

1178
00:34:43,829 --> 00:34:44,989
You're saying right where the

1179
00:34:44,989 --> 00:34:45,789
circle,

1180
00:34:45,769 --> 00:34:47,510
where the hay bale is, you're

1181
00:34:47,510 --> 00:34:48,809
having this response.

1182
00:34:49,539 --> 00:34:50,900
Is it in that immediate, like,

1183
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:52,159
is it a five foot diameter

1184
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:53,940
circle or is it all of the area

1185
00:34:53,940 --> 00:34:54,900
surrounding that where the

1186
00:34:54,900 --> 00:34:55,820
livestock were trampling?

1187
00:34:56,139 --> 00:34:59,159
Just like the five or six foot

1188
00:34:59,159 --> 00:34:59,960
circle.

1189
00:35:00,780 --> 00:35:01,580
Really,

1190
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:02,200
that is intriguing.

1191
00:35:02,619 --> 00:35:04,320
I'll take a picture for you and

1192
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:05,120
text it to you.

1193
00:35:05,420 --> 00:35:07,699
What is interesting in your

1194
00:35:07,699 --> 00:35:08,579
caliche soils,

1195
00:35:10,469 --> 00:35:11,269
it was just

1196
00:35:11,429 --> 00:35:12,530
an interesting conversation,

1197
00:35:12,750 --> 00:35:13,570
serendipitous conversation,

1198
00:35:13,630 --> 00:35:14,849
because I was just writing an

1199
00:35:14,849 --> 00:35:16,030
article about this in response

1200
00:35:16,030 --> 00:35:17,289
to a number of different

1201
00:35:17,289 --> 00:35:18,150
questions that I received.

1202
00:35:18,349 --> 00:35:19,150
But

1203
00:35:19,139 --> 00:35:21,300
anytime we have soils that have

1204
00:35:21,300 --> 00:35:22,980
high levels of carbonates or

1205
00:35:22,980 --> 00:35:24,280
bicarbonates and so forth, there

1206
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:25,080
is

1207
00:35:25,030 --> 00:35:26,929
this idea that in order to

1208
00:35:26,929 --> 00:35:28,570
regulate pH, we have to acidify

1209
00:35:28,570 --> 00:35:29,370
the soil.

1210
00:35:29,940 --> 00:35:30,740
And

1211
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,300
Of course, acidifying the soil

1212
00:35:32,300 --> 00:35:33,800
with a chemistry approach

1213
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,199
requires a very expensive

1214
00:35:36,199 --> 00:35:38,210
sledgehammer and a very big one

1215
00:35:38,210 --> 00:35:39,750
as well with elemental sulfur

1216
00:35:39,750 --> 00:35:41,070
applications or what have you.

1217
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:44,380
And the approach that you're

1218
00:35:44,380 --> 00:35:45,599
describing underneath the oak

1219
00:35:45,599 --> 00:35:46,400
trees

1220
00:35:46,550 --> 00:35:48,389
and possibly also with the hay

1221
00:35:48,389 --> 00:35:50,070
mulch residue is when you have

1222
00:35:50,070 --> 00:35:50,870
an

1223
00:35:51,909 --> 00:35:53,809
availability of food source

1224
00:35:53,809 --> 00:35:54,610
carbon

1225
00:35:54,679 --> 00:35:56,579
that fungal populations can

1226
00:35:56,579 --> 00:35:57,400
begin to thrive.

1227
00:35:58,289 --> 00:36:00,050
Fungal populations produce

1228
00:36:00,050 --> 00:36:02,230
substantial quantities of acids.

1229
00:36:05,150 --> 00:36:07,369
They convert high carbon residue

1230
00:36:07,369 --> 00:36:08,170
into,

1231
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:10,300
you could almost think of them

1232
00:36:10,300 --> 00:36:11,420
as being an acid generator,

1233
00:36:11,949 --> 00:36:13,289
if that is what the environment

1234
00:36:13,289 --> 00:36:14,590
requires for them to thrive.

1235
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:16,080
And in this environment,

1236
00:36:16,460 --> 00:36:17,360
that is what the environment

1237
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:18,460
requires for them to thrive.

1238
00:36:18,619 --> 00:36:19,840
So they generate a lot of acid

1239
00:36:20,539 --> 00:36:22,610
and create a lot of acidity,

1240
00:36:22,670 --> 00:36:25,079
which creates a pathway for lots

1241
00:36:25,079 --> 00:36:26,280
of nitrogen fixation and other

1242
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:27,260
types of microbial activity.

1243
00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:30,039
So you can generate nitrogen by

1244
00:36:30,039 --> 00:36:30,840
producing acid.

1245
00:36:30,739 --> 00:36:32,239
levels of carbon in the type of

1246
00:36:32,239 --> 00:36:33,039
environment that you're

1247
00:36:32,780 --> 00:36:33,820
describing and in many other

1248
00:36:33,820 --> 00:36:34,719
environments for that matter.

1249
00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:37,099
And you can see it in the people

1250
00:36:37,099 --> 00:36:38,000
that clear cut.

1251
00:36:38,619 --> 00:36:39,599
You'll be like, wow, why does

1252
00:36:39,599 --> 00:36:40,739
their grass look so good?

1253
00:36:40,780 --> 00:36:42,989
And you realize they clear cut a

1254
00:36:42,989 --> 00:36:44,590
cedar forest and

1255
00:36:45,210 --> 00:36:47,849
just had it all shredded down.

1256
00:36:48,329 --> 00:36:49,469
And so the reason that their

1257
00:36:49,469 --> 00:36:51,050
grass looks so thick compared

1258
00:36:51,050 --> 00:36:53,750
to, say, my grass is that it has

1259
00:36:53,750 --> 00:36:55,690
all that carbon.

1260
00:36:55,949 --> 00:36:57,949
And so I totally agree with it.

1261
00:36:58,150 --> 00:36:59,710
And in California, it totally

1262
00:36:59,710 --> 00:37:01,010
was different. If I had put the

1263
00:37:01,010 --> 00:37:02,969
amount of mulch that I can put

1264
00:37:02,969 --> 00:37:05,250
here, like wood chips on

1265
00:37:05,250 --> 00:37:06,969
anything, it would steal from

1266
00:37:06,969 --> 00:37:08,010
the plants and the plants would

1267
00:37:08,010 --> 00:37:08,810
turn yellow.

1268
00:37:09,050 --> 00:37:10,170
But in this environment,

1269
00:37:10,670 --> 00:37:12,789
it seems that the soil just, the

1270
00:37:12,789 --> 00:37:13,590
more

1271
00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:16,500
carbon I can put on top of the

1272
00:37:16,500 --> 00:37:17,300
soil,

1273
00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:18,599
the better the plants are doing,

1274
00:37:18,940 --> 00:37:20,380
which is a totally different

1275
00:37:20,380 --> 00:37:21,679
thing to what would be happening

1276
00:37:21,679 --> 00:37:23,119
in California if I'd put that

1277
00:37:23,119 --> 00:37:23,920
much

1278
00:37:23,969 --> 00:37:25,489
wood chip mulch, it would steal

1279
00:37:25,489 --> 00:37:26,750
carbon, it would steal nitrogen

1280
00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:28,349
from the plants, and it would be

1281
00:37:28,349 --> 00:37:29,949
a totally different thing.

1282
00:37:30,030 --> 00:37:31,030
And that's why I think it does

1283
00:37:31,030 --> 00:37:31,949
have to do with what you're

1284
00:37:31,949 --> 00:37:33,909
saying is the acidity and that.

1285
00:37:34,309 --> 00:37:35,809
And everybody here told me when

1286
00:37:35,809 --> 00:37:37,269
I moved here, don't put cedar

1287
00:37:37,269 --> 00:37:38,789
chips, don't put juniper chips.

1288
00:37:38,949 --> 00:37:40,369
It's going to kill everything.

1289
00:37:40,630 --> 00:37:42,150
And I was like, so weird.

1290
00:37:42,250 --> 00:37:43,690
Why would God make this thing

1291
00:37:43,690 --> 00:37:44,750
that comes into this arid

1292
00:37:44,750 --> 00:37:46,309
environment and grows

1293
00:37:46,309 --> 00:37:48,530
everywhere? If it drops its

1294
00:37:48,530 --> 00:37:50,190
needles, I look underneath the

1295
00:37:50,190 --> 00:37:51,150
juniper trees and there's

1296
00:37:51,590 --> 00:37:54,010
like this much black soil on top

1297
00:37:54,010 --> 00:37:54,810
of rock.

1298
00:37:56,500 --> 00:37:58,480
Can't imagine God would design

1299
00:37:58,480 --> 00:37:59,579
this thing that would kill my

1300
00:37:59,579 --> 00:38:01,639
planes. Just chip it up and see

1301
00:38:01,639 --> 00:38:02,679
what happens.

1302
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,860
But there's a lot of folklore

1303
00:38:05,860 --> 00:38:06,860
about the cedar,

1304
00:38:07,199 --> 00:38:08,739
like, oh, if you cook pizza with

1305
00:38:08,739 --> 00:38:09,539
it, you're going to die.

1306
00:38:09,579 --> 00:38:10,719
It's poison you or whatever,

1307
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:11,960
like all these things.

1308
00:38:12,059 --> 00:38:12,860
And

1309
00:38:12,579 --> 00:38:13,559
we were ignorant.

1310
00:38:13,579 --> 00:38:14,619
And we had already been cooking,

1311
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:16,480
making pizza and bread in our

1312
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,519
bread oven with the juniper ash

1313
00:38:18,519 --> 00:38:20,139
when we were told it was that

1314
00:38:20,139 --> 00:38:21,099
you couldn't do it.

1315
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:23,780
And as it turns out, it's

1316
00:38:23,780 --> 00:38:25,280
totally fine. You can totally do

1317
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:26,080
it.

1318
00:38:26,039 --> 00:38:27,300
It's not ideal because it burns

1319
00:38:27,300 --> 00:38:28,679
fast. It's very good wood

1320
00:38:28,679 --> 00:38:29,480
starter.

1321
00:38:29,639 --> 00:38:30,820
It's very good oven starter.

1322
00:38:31,059 --> 00:38:32,719
It's not very good like coals,

1323
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:34,420
long lasting coals.

1324
00:38:35,849 --> 00:38:37,130
But yeah, it's interesting

1325
00:38:37,130 --> 00:38:37,930
because

1326
00:38:37,940 --> 00:38:39,619
it's that kind of ideas where

1327
00:38:39,619 --> 00:38:40,739
we're so disconnected from

1328
00:38:40,739 --> 00:38:41,920
nature where you're looking at

1329
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:43,619
these white cliffs and the only

1330
00:38:43,619 --> 00:38:45,300
thing that's growing on them is

1331
00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:46,920
these juniper ash and then

1332
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:48,139
you're looking right below and

1333
00:38:48,139 --> 00:38:50,199
the mulch that's being dropped

1334
00:38:50,199 --> 00:38:52,739
from those cedar needles and

1335
00:38:52,739 --> 00:38:54,449
you're saying and it's this

1336
00:38:54,449 --> 00:38:56,989
beautiful black mulch soil

1337
00:38:56,989 --> 00:38:58,710
decomposing under those trees

1338
00:38:58,710 --> 00:39:00,030
and then people are saying oh

1339
00:39:00,030 --> 00:39:01,530
it's very bad for your garden.

1340
00:39:03,110 --> 00:39:03,910
Okay,

1341
00:39:04,090 --> 00:39:05,429
seems very good.

1342
00:39:05,510 --> 00:39:06,869
It's making soil on top of a

1343
00:39:06,869 --> 00:39:09,369
white rock shelf that nothing

1344
00:39:09,369 --> 00:39:10,210
else is on.

1345
00:39:10,900 --> 00:39:11,960
Well, the key to what you're

1346
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,440
describing is actually observing

1347
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:15,820
and paying attention to what it

1348
00:39:15,820 --> 00:39:16,639
is that you're looking at,

1349
00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:18,880
seeing what you look at.

1350
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:20,720
It is.

1351
00:39:21,059 --> 00:39:22,559
And we don't. We don't.

1352
00:39:22,659 --> 00:39:24,360
And I've made those mistakes

1353
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:25,160
too. I've

1354
00:39:25,690 --> 00:39:27,610
I've made an assumption, like, I

1355
00:39:27,610 --> 00:39:29,769
planted 40 ,000 dollars worth of

1356
00:39:29,769 --> 00:39:31,590
pecans in a field because there

1357
00:39:31,590 --> 00:39:32,769
was pecans growing around the

1358
00:39:32,769 --> 00:39:34,150
edges, wild pecans that seem

1359
00:39:34,150 --> 00:39:34,950
prolific.

1360
00:39:34,989 --> 00:39:36,269
Great. I'm going to plant pecans

1361
00:39:36,269 --> 00:39:37,070
here.

1362
00:39:38,059 --> 00:39:39,440
The truth is the way that that

1363
00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:40,420
field slopes.

1364
00:39:42,199 --> 00:39:44,079
Those pecans in the gullies

1365
00:39:44,079 --> 00:39:45,780
around the edges are totally

1366
00:39:45,780 --> 00:39:47,000
fine on the field.

1367
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:48,260
There's just not enough rain

1368
00:39:48,260 --> 00:39:50,820
here. And so I lost 40 ,000

1369
00:39:50,820 --> 00:39:51,900
dollars worth of pecans and we

1370
00:39:51,900 --> 00:39:54,019
had 100 days, over 100, even

1371
00:39:54,019 --> 00:39:54,820
with irrigation,

1372
00:39:55,159 --> 00:39:56,940
those young pecans couldn't

1373
00:39:56,940 --> 00:39:57,740
survive.

1374
00:39:58,019 --> 00:39:58,820
And people are like, oh, well,

1375
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,239
it was just an anomaly.

1376
00:40:00,889 --> 00:40:01,989
Well, no, I wasn't actually

1377
00:40:01,989 --> 00:40:03,909
being that observant and seeing

1378
00:40:03,909 --> 00:40:04,710
that.

1379
00:40:04,789 --> 00:40:07,550
The field is was pretty arid and

1380
00:40:07,550 --> 00:40:10,250
not that much grass growing on

1381
00:40:10,250 --> 00:40:11,550
the whole high side of that

1382
00:40:11,550 --> 00:40:13,329
orchard. And on the whole low

1383
00:40:13,329 --> 00:40:15,010
side, there's Bermuda grass and

1384
00:40:15,010 --> 00:40:16,110
there's a lot of

1385
00:40:16,420 --> 00:40:18,300
pecans growing, but it's all in

1386
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:19,300
this area. That's collecting

1387
00:40:19,300 --> 00:40:21,179
water and. off of a greater

1388
00:40:21,179 --> 00:40:21,980
watershed.

1389
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:25,179
And so I didn't then replant all

1390
00:40:25,179 --> 00:40:27,739
those pecans. I put in Asian

1391
00:40:27,739 --> 00:40:29,539
pears and peaches and things

1392
00:40:29,539 --> 00:40:31,320
that are doing better in this

1393
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,199
environment with less water.

1394
00:40:34,159 --> 00:40:35,380
But even I've been,

1395
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:38,139
yeah, made mistakes,

1396
00:40:38,900 --> 00:40:41,079
ego -driven mistakes where I'm

1397
00:40:41,079 --> 00:40:43,099
just like, looks like not really

1398
00:40:43,099 --> 00:40:44,820
observing kind of

1399
00:40:47,119 --> 00:40:48,400
I don't know, like observing on

1400
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:49,739
the outside, but not looking

1401
00:40:49,739 --> 00:40:50,619
deeper than,

1402
00:40:51,190 --> 00:40:52,789
oh, I see pecans, plant pecans.

1403
00:40:52,989 --> 00:40:53,789
Like, well,

1404
00:40:53,510 --> 00:40:54,949
actually the environment from,

1405
00:40:55,429 --> 00:40:56,590
at least on my property here in

1406
00:40:56,590 --> 00:40:57,869
Texas, the environment in a

1407
00:40:57,869 --> 00:40:59,230
hundred feet from each other

1408
00:40:59,230 --> 00:41:00,570
could be a totally different

1409
00:41:00,889 --> 00:41:03,130
thing. And I have these big,

1410
00:41:03,210 --> 00:41:05,429
beautiful fields with black soil

1411
00:41:05,429 --> 00:41:07,949
that's all ran off the hills for

1412
00:41:07,949 --> 00:41:09,510
years, right? This big valley,

1413
00:41:09,630 --> 00:41:10,430
but

1414
00:41:10,829 --> 00:41:12,369
you go right across the farm

1415
00:41:12,369 --> 00:41:14,500
road and it's just white

1416
00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:15,300
caliche.

1417
00:41:15,260 --> 00:41:16,900
So I can't expect

1418
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:18,639
That whatever's happening on

1419
00:41:18,639 --> 00:41:20,199
this side of the road can also

1420
00:41:20,199 --> 00:41:21,599
happen on this side of the road.

1421
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:22,800
And

1422
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:24,199
that's just

1423
00:41:24,989 --> 00:41:26,329
how it is here.

1424
00:41:26,429 --> 00:41:27,789
It's not all the same.

1425
00:41:27,929 --> 00:41:29,369
And so we have, we can't just

1426
00:41:29,369 --> 00:41:31,190
say, like, in Arkansas, you can

1427
00:41:31,190 --> 00:41:32,530
grow this in Florida.

1428
00:41:32,730 --> 00:41:34,710
You can grow this in Texas,

1429
00:41:34,710 --> 00:41:37,550
because we have to look even I

1430
00:41:37,550 --> 00:41:38,989
have an orchard that has these.

1431
00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:43,400
almost like a river of red dirt

1432
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,219
that goes through the black dirt

1433
00:41:45,219 --> 00:41:47,139
or a river of white dirt that

1434
00:41:47,139 --> 00:41:49,059
where it's these veins of

1435
00:41:49,059 --> 00:41:50,860
totally other soil and

1436
00:41:51,489 --> 00:41:53,150
you'll see the trees planted in

1437
00:41:53,150 --> 00:41:54,289
a row and then there's this one

1438
00:41:54,289 --> 00:41:56,269
little tree that's in that clay

1439
00:41:56,269 --> 00:41:57,889
dirt or in that caliche dirt

1440
00:41:57,889 --> 00:42:00,070
that there's just you know it

1441
00:42:00,070 --> 00:42:01,690
just isn't growing it's a it's

1442
00:42:01,690 --> 00:42:04,210
surviving like but it's not

1443
00:42:04,210 --> 00:42:05,489
growing and so you have to

1444
00:42:05,489 --> 00:42:07,969
observe all those things um and

1445
00:42:07,969 --> 00:42:09,349
not just try to like you said

1446
00:42:09,349 --> 00:42:10,590
sludge hammer it out

1447
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:13,559
This is one of the things

1448
00:42:13,559 --> 00:42:15,650
that... learning

1449
00:42:17,429 --> 00:42:18,809
from others and learning what

1450
00:42:18,809 --> 00:42:20,670
other people are working on and

1451
00:42:20,670 --> 00:42:22,130
what they're observing is

1452
00:42:22,730 --> 00:42:25,070
so valuable to train our own

1453
00:42:25,070 --> 00:42:25,870
observations.

1454
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:27,719
But also,

1455
00:42:28,849 --> 00:42:31,710
we have to really understand

1456
00:42:31,710 --> 00:42:33,389
their context and how their

1457
00:42:33,389 --> 00:42:34,909
context differs from our own.

1458
00:42:35,030 --> 00:42:35,830
You know, there's

1459
00:42:36,269 --> 00:42:38,090
in earlier in our conversation,

1460
00:42:38,090 --> 00:42:40,920
you were talking about how you

1461
00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:41,720
one

1462
00:42:41,980 --> 00:42:43,679
of your desired outcomes is for,

1463
00:42:44,389 --> 00:42:45,360
you know, It returned to more

1464
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:46,920
resilient communities where you

1465
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:48,099
have this strength within

1466
00:42:48,099 --> 00:42:48,900
communities.

1467
00:42:49,570 --> 00:42:50,769
And one of the things that

1468
00:42:51,309 --> 00:42:53,710
I'm challenged by is that there

1469
00:42:53,710 --> 00:42:54,510
are many

1470
00:42:54,590 --> 00:42:56,369
people who have a deep and

1471
00:42:56,369 --> 00:42:57,630
authentic desire to be

1472
00:42:57,630 --> 00:42:59,150
successful homesteaders or

1473
00:42:59,150 --> 00:43:00,110
smaller scale producers.

1474
00:43:00,289 --> 00:43:01,369
Perhaps they want to put out a

1475
00:43:01,369 --> 00:43:02,510
couple acres of orchard or

1476
00:43:02,510 --> 00:43:03,630
whatever the case might be.

1477
00:43:05,010 --> 00:43:05,810
And

1478
00:43:05,820 --> 00:43:06,780
they

1479
00:43:07,699 --> 00:43:09,280
there

1480
00:43:09,659 --> 00:43:10,659
is this I

1481
00:43:13,110 --> 00:43:14,409
don't know quite how to frame

1482
00:43:14,409 --> 00:43:15,710
it, but there's this geographic

1483
00:43:15,710 --> 00:43:17,090
experience bias

1484
00:43:17,570 --> 00:43:18,710
where

1485
00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:20,159
so well,

1486
00:43:21,389 --> 00:43:23,090
There's this experienced grower

1487
00:43:23,090 --> 00:43:24,210
five miles down the road

1488
00:43:24,550 --> 00:43:25,350
who

1489
00:43:25,639 --> 00:43:27,800
has a lot of experience with

1490
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:29,280
this peach variety or that

1491
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:30,579
walnut variety or whatever the

1492
00:43:30,579 --> 00:43:32,059
case might be. And therefore,

1493
00:43:32,179 --> 00:43:33,360
that's what I'm going to try.

1494
00:43:34,090 --> 00:43:35,750
Or I'm taking a certain approach

1495
00:43:35,750 --> 00:43:36,889
to fertility management or

1496
00:43:36,889 --> 00:43:37,750
irrigation management.

1497
00:43:38,539 --> 00:43:40,480
And I really appreciated your

1498
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:42,119
anecdote about the differences

1499
00:43:42,119 --> 00:43:44,900
within 100 feet, because those

1500
00:43:44,900 --> 00:43:47,039
differences do exist.

1501
00:43:47,579 --> 00:43:48,719
And in fact, they exist in the

1502
00:43:48,719 --> 00:43:49,840
majority of ecosystems.

1503
00:43:50,179 --> 00:43:51,300
There are some exceptions, but

1504
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:52,199
the majority of ecosystems,

1505
00:43:52,380 --> 00:43:53,180
there is a significant

1506
00:43:53,059 --> 00:43:53,860
variation.

1507
00:43:55,150 --> 00:43:55,950
And

1508
00:43:55,949 --> 00:43:58,829
the experience of someone a

1509
00:43:59,559 --> 00:44:00,760
few miles away who has had

1510
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:01,619
experience with an awesome

1511
00:44:01,619 --> 00:44:04,440
variety might transfer to your

1512
00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:05,240
situation,

1513
00:44:05,590 --> 00:44:06,590
or it might not.

1514
00:44:08,090 --> 00:44:08,890
And

1515
00:44:09,099 --> 00:44:10,159
the

1516
00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:11,300
that I'm

1517
00:44:11,710 --> 00:44:13,230
particularly frustrated by,

1518
00:44:14,300 --> 00:44:15,119
frustrated might be a strong

1519
00:44:15,119 --> 00:44:15,920
word, but

1520
00:44:16,380 --> 00:44:18,119
the piece that I'm particularly

1521
00:44:18,119 --> 00:44:20,400
disturbed by is that people then

1522
00:44:20,679 --> 00:44:22,019
try a

1523
00:44:22,559 --> 00:44:24,179
local recommendation or an

1524
00:44:24,179 --> 00:44:25,940
expert recommendation and

1525
00:44:26,670 --> 00:44:28,190
they don't have success with it.

1526
00:44:28,789 --> 00:44:30,030
And their first conclusion is

1527
00:44:30,030 --> 00:44:31,659
this variety doesn't work here.

1528
00:44:32,210 --> 00:44:33,449
This variety didn't work for me.

1529
00:44:34,369 --> 00:44:35,170
Well,

1530
00:44:35,369 --> 00:44:36,849
it might be worthwhile asking

1531
00:44:36,849 --> 00:44:38,070
the question of why not?

1532
00:44:38,329 --> 00:44:39,389
Was it planted in the shade?

1533
00:44:39,449 --> 00:44:40,309
Was it a different environment?

1534
00:44:41,090 --> 00:44:43,929
So there's, I'm using a variety

1535
00:44:43,929 --> 00:44:45,389
of framework to describe this

1536
00:44:45,389 --> 00:44:46,550
particular question, but

1537
00:44:47,090 --> 00:44:49,250
I think it's

1538
00:44:49,590 --> 00:44:50,390
so easy,

1539
00:44:50,630 --> 00:44:52,090
without a

1540
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:54,039
lot of experience, it's so easy

1541
00:44:54,039 --> 00:44:56,099
to fall into a ditch on both

1542
00:44:56,099 --> 00:44:56,900
sides of the road.

1543
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:57,800
One

1544
00:44:57,849 --> 00:45:00,409
is venerating local experience

1545
00:45:00,659 --> 00:45:03,500
excessively, and the other is

1546
00:45:03,679 --> 00:45:05,860
being too dismissive of whatever

1547
00:45:05,860 --> 00:45:07,099
didn't work for you without

1548
00:45:07,099 --> 00:45:08,639
really trying to understand why.

1549
00:45:09,219 --> 00:45:11,119
And I'm using the variety

1550
00:45:11,119 --> 00:45:12,980
framework for this conversation

1551
00:45:12,980 --> 00:45:14,139
deliberately because

1552
00:45:14,579 --> 00:45:18,039
I see so many varieties

1553
00:45:18,289 --> 00:45:20,630
that are clearly superior.

1554
00:45:20,710 --> 00:45:22,769
The superior varieties of apples

1555
00:45:22,769 --> 00:45:24,489
and tree fruit and just there

1556
00:45:24,489 --> 00:45:26,110
are very superior varieties who

1557
00:45:26,110 --> 00:45:27,329
are not in commercial production

1558
00:45:27,610 --> 00:45:30,710
because they have a flaw of some

1559
00:45:30,710 --> 00:45:31,849
type. Perhaps they don't store

1560
00:45:31,849 --> 00:45:32,650
particularly well,

1561
00:45:33,289 --> 00:45:34,769
or they're not as sweet.

1562
00:45:34,869 --> 00:45:36,090
They have a remarkable flavor,

1563
00:45:36,170 --> 00:45:37,030
but they're not as sweet as

1564
00:45:37,030 --> 00:45:37,830
people are used to.

1565
00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:39,980
But you can compensate for those

1566
00:45:39,980 --> 00:45:40,780
things

1567
00:45:40,929 --> 00:45:42,489
with nutrition management

1568
00:45:42,489 --> 00:45:44,570
locally in your context.

1569
00:45:45,010 --> 00:45:47,090
And so I see people working with

1570
00:45:47,090 --> 00:45:49,030
these varieties that are just

1571
00:45:49,030 --> 00:45:50,769
having incredible, amazing

1572
00:45:50,769 --> 00:45:52,269
experiences, and it's because

1573
00:45:52,269 --> 00:45:54,539
they have learned how to manage

1574
00:45:54,539 --> 00:45:55,840
them in their context.

1575
00:45:56,079 --> 00:45:57,260
And that knowledge can be

1576
00:45:57,260 --> 00:45:58,060
transferred,

1577
00:45:58,219 --> 00:46:00,159
but in far too many cases,

1578
00:46:00,340 --> 00:46:03,610
people try to transplant the

1579
00:46:03,789 --> 00:46:05,010
genetics and the varieties

1580
00:46:05,199 --> 00:46:06,579
without transplanting the

1581
00:46:06,579 --> 00:46:07,719
associative management that is

1582
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:08,840
required to make it to thrive.

1583
00:46:09,429 --> 00:46:10,570
So anyway, I'm going on a rant

1584
00:46:10,570 --> 00:46:11,469
here. It's time for me to shut

1585
00:46:11,469 --> 00:46:13,190
up. No, I think that that, you

1586
00:46:13,190 --> 00:46:14,530
know, my husband grew up in

1587
00:46:14,530 --> 00:46:16,969
Mexico, which in some ways has a

1588
00:46:16,969 --> 00:46:18,869
similar environment to where we

1589
00:46:18,869 --> 00:46:20,230
are in Texas, but in other ways,

1590
00:46:20,309 --> 00:46:21,469
not at all. It's much colder

1591
00:46:21,469 --> 00:46:23,230
here in the winter time and

1592
00:46:23,230 --> 00:46:24,030
stuff like that.

1593
00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:26,920
And he got very frustrated with

1594
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:27,720
corn,

1595
00:46:28,539 --> 00:46:30,380
squash and sesame seeds, which

1596
00:46:30,380 --> 00:46:31,880
are what he's accustomed to be

1597
00:46:31,880 --> 00:46:33,760
able to grow very, very easily.

1598
00:46:34,699 --> 00:46:37,369
And this last year, so twice he

1599
00:46:37,369 --> 00:46:39,510
planted sesame seeds and either

1600
00:46:39,510 --> 00:46:41,730
not enough rain and you don't

1601
00:46:41,730 --> 00:46:42,929
need very much rain for sesame

1602
00:46:42,929 --> 00:46:44,610
seeds, but we had a hundred

1603
00:46:44,610 --> 00:46:45,789
days, like I said, over a

1604
00:46:45,789 --> 00:46:47,510
hundred and other situations.

1605
00:46:47,750 --> 00:46:48,610
And then there was a

1606
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:51,059
grasshopper year that was just

1607
00:46:51,059 --> 00:46:53,260
so crazy that the entire field

1608
00:46:53,260 --> 00:46:54,800
was left with only three stalks

1609
00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:57,230
of sesame because, uh,

1610
00:46:58,139 --> 00:46:59,519
the grasshoppers were just so

1611
00:46:59,519 --> 00:47:00,320
crazy.

1612
00:47:00,260 --> 00:47:01,599
Well, because the rain has been

1613
00:47:01,599 --> 00:47:03,039
so erratic and all this stuff,

1614
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:04,480
instead of giving up, what my

1615
00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:07,570
husband did this year is in one

1616
00:47:07,570 --> 00:47:08,769
of our orchards that has pretty

1617
00:47:08,769 --> 00:47:10,929
wide rows, 25 feet, he decided

1618
00:47:10,929 --> 00:47:12,329
to take the no -till seed drail

1619
00:47:12,329 --> 00:47:14,889
out every two weeks and plant a

1620
00:47:14,889 --> 00:47:16,110
couple rows of sesame.

1621
00:47:16,889 --> 00:47:17,690
And then he was like,

1622
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:19,579
so he was

1623
00:47:20,019 --> 00:47:22,000
basically hedging against the

1624
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,420
rain and hedging against the

1625
00:47:26,829 --> 00:47:27,630
grasshoppers.

1626
00:47:27,550 --> 00:47:28,650
So did we lose some to

1627
00:47:28,650 --> 00:47:29,450
grasshoppers? Yes.

1628
00:47:29,469 --> 00:47:30,670
We lost a few rows to that.

1629
00:47:30,969 --> 00:47:32,030
Did we lose some to not enough

1630
00:47:32,030 --> 00:47:33,389
rain? Yes. But does he have

1631
00:47:33,389 --> 00:47:34,849
several rows right now that are

1632
00:47:34,849 --> 00:47:35,650
going to be able to be

1633
00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:36,310
harvested?

1634
00:47:36,349 --> 00:47:37,150
Yes.

1635
00:47:37,070 --> 00:47:38,869
And so I think that that was a

1636
00:47:38,869 --> 00:47:40,389
unique way to look at it instead

1637
00:47:40,389 --> 00:47:41,190
of saying like,

1638
00:47:41,690 --> 00:47:42,490
okay, I'm just going to keep

1639
00:47:42,469 --> 00:47:43,809
planting a whole field and then

1640
00:47:43,809 --> 00:47:44,809
something bad is going to

1641
00:47:44,809 --> 00:47:45,610
happen.

1642
00:47:45,510 --> 00:47:46,909
Now he marked this down and I

1643
00:47:46,909 --> 00:47:47,710
said, well, are you going to

1644
00:47:47,469 --> 00:47:48,869
plant this exactly the same next

1645
00:47:48,869 --> 00:47:49,670
year? He goes, no, I'm probably

1646
00:47:49,610 --> 00:47:51,250
going to do the same thing until

1647
00:47:51,250 --> 00:47:53,769
I have more knowledge because it

1648
00:47:53,769 --> 00:47:55,710
doesn't make any sense when

1649
00:47:56,150 --> 00:47:56,950
we don't

1650
00:47:57,010 --> 00:47:58,489
because the rain can be sporadic

1651
00:47:58,489 --> 00:47:59,889
and how the rain comes is going

1652
00:47:59,889 --> 00:48:00,780
to impact. impact how the

1653
00:48:00,780 --> 00:48:01,659
grasshoppers come.

1654
00:48:01,980 --> 00:48:03,840
And we need it to be coming up

1655
00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:05,440
in rain after the major

1656
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:07,119
grasshoppers have already been

1657
00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:08,659
eaten by some of the predators.

1658
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,119
So I don't know how to exactly

1659
00:48:11,119 --> 00:48:11,920
measure that.

1660
00:48:12,300 --> 00:48:14,280
And so that's what he's been

1661
00:48:14,280 --> 00:48:17,440
doing. And then this year he's

1662
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:18,940
planted, we've had not very

1663
00:48:18,940 --> 00:48:20,300
great success with corn and he

1664
00:48:20,300 --> 00:48:22,000
just had this idea, I'm going to

1665
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:23,920
plant corn really late in the

1666
00:48:23,920 --> 00:48:24,720
year.

1667
00:48:24,650 --> 00:48:27,570
And so he planted corn a month

1668
00:48:27,570 --> 00:48:28,370
ago,

1669
00:48:28,510 --> 00:48:30,659
and it's actually looking really

1670
00:48:30,659 --> 00:48:32,099
great. And we're going to be

1671
00:48:32,099 --> 00:48:33,239
able to have it as decoration

1672
00:48:33,239 --> 00:48:34,239
for the pumpkin patch.

1673
00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:35,820
We're going to make a maze

1674
00:48:35,820 --> 00:48:36,620
through it.

1675
00:48:36,619 --> 00:48:39,539
And then we believe it'll be a

1676
00:48:40,039 --> 00:48:41,460
harvestable crop of corn.

1677
00:48:41,679 --> 00:48:42,480
I don't have any

1678
00:48:43,159 --> 00:48:44,699
can't say for sure, but right

1679
00:48:44,699 --> 00:48:46,400
now it's as tall as I am and

1680
00:48:46,400 --> 00:48:48,280
starting to look like it's going

1681
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:50,219
to head out. This is very late

1682
00:48:50,219 --> 00:48:51,559
in any way that I have ever

1683
00:48:51,559 --> 00:48:52,559
thought of growing corn.

1684
00:48:52,659 --> 00:48:54,360
I've never thought of planting

1685
00:48:54,360 --> 00:48:55,780
it in the end of August.

1686
00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:57,800
It's not something I ever would

1687
00:48:57,800 --> 00:48:59,019
have thought, but he was like,

1688
00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:01,039
it's not working in the spring.

1689
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:03,300
We're having all these issues.

1690
00:49:03,739 --> 00:49:05,239
I'm going to try

1691
00:49:05,559 --> 00:49:06,599
to

1692
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:08,340
do it in the fall.

1693
00:49:08,699 --> 00:49:09,500
And so,

1694
00:49:09,619 --> 00:49:11,179
Anyways, it's just an interest.

1695
00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:12,160
He's,

1696
00:49:11,940 --> 00:49:13,579
I think when there's nobody else

1697
00:49:13,579 --> 00:49:14,599
doing a lot of agriculture

1698
00:49:14,599 --> 00:49:16,500
around us, except for cows, this

1699
00:49:16,500 --> 00:49:17,719
is like cows, cows, cows, cows,

1700
00:49:17,820 --> 00:49:20,420
cows, because the terrain, not

1701
00:49:20,420 --> 00:49:22,239
many people have these valley

1702
00:49:22,239 --> 00:49:23,500
fields that we have.

1703
00:49:23,679 --> 00:49:25,599
So, because it's mostly all

1704
00:49:25,599 --> 00:49:27,059
hills, the majority of

1705
00:49:27,059 --> 00:49:28,199
everybody's land is hills.

1706
00:49:28,380 --> 00:49:30,239
And so, because of that, when we

1707
00:49:30,239 --> 00:49:32,019
went to the Texas A &M Ag

1708
00:49:32,019 --> 00:49:32,820
extension,

1709
00:49:32,780 --> 00:49:33,699
nobody had, they were like,

1710
00:49:33,719 --> 00:49:35,000
Bermuda grass and cows, just

1711
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:36,280
Bermuda grass and cows, just

1712
00:49:36,280 --> 00:49:37,080
stick to that.

1713
00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:38,080
And so,

1714
00:49:38,380 --> 00:49:40,039
In some ways, it's been a little

1715
00:49:40,039 --> 00:49:41,880
bit freeing because my

1716
00:49:41,880 --> 00:49:43,559
experiences in upstate New York

1717
00:49:43,559 --> 00:49:44,980
and in California and his is in

1718
00:49:44,980 --> 00:49:46,659
Mexico. And then nobody had a

1719
00:49:46,659 --> 00:49:48,059
lot. There wasn't a lot of local

1720
00:49:48,059 --> 00:49:49,500
experts to tell us anything.

1721
00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:50,920
So, it's been a little bit

1722
00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:52,679
freeing for us to just have to

1723
00:49:52,679 --> 00:49:54,679
try things. And, of course,

1724
00:49:54,719 --> 00:49:55,519
there's been so much.

1725
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:56,280
losses,

1726
00:49:56,340 --> 00:49:57,360
but I do think that we're

1727
00:49:57,739 --> 00:49:59,500
gaining valuable knowledge that

1728
00:49:59,500 --> 00:50:01,079
can help other people in the

1729
00:50:01,079 --> 00:50:01,880
area.

1730
00:50:02,039 --> 00:50:03,579
And we just started propagating

1731
00:50:03,579 --> 00:50:05,179
trees because people always come

1732
00:50:05,179 --> 00:50:06,300
and go, oh my gosh, your fig

1733
00:50:06,300 --> 00:50:07,420
trees are so beautiful.

1734
00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:09,400
Oh my God, this is so good.

1735
00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:11,300
So we've started ordering extra

1736
00:50:11,300 --> 00:50:12,920
trees and propagating trees and

1737
00:50:12,920 --> 00:50:14,239
we've made a little garden

1738
00:50:14,239 --> 00:50:15,480
center on the ranch.

1739
00:50:15,539 --> 00:50:16,360
So when people come to the

1740
00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:17,699
restaurant and they see these

1741
00:50:17,699 --> 00:50:19,530
beautiful figs, I can say, well,

1742
00:50:19,530 --> 00:50:20,889
yes, at least we know they grow

1743
00:50:20,889 --> 00:50:22,730
in this environment because I

1744
00:50:22,730 --> 00:50:24,329
noticed that the grocery stores

1745
00:50:24,329 --> 00:50:25,869
and the garden centers are

1746
00:50:25,869 --> 00:50:27,110
selling these varieties that are

1747
00:50:27,110 --> 00:50:28,929
actually not conducive to

1748
00:50:28,929 --> 00:50:29,909
growing in

1749
00:50:30,289 --> 00:50:31,150
this environment at all.

1750
00:50:31,190 --> 00:50:32,190
I don't think that there's.

1751
00:50:33,250 --> 00:50:35,610
Not enough chill hours, not, you

1752
00:50:35,610 --> 00:50:37,349
know, just like factually not

1753
00:50:37,349 --> 00:50:39,090
and I'm actually open to

1754
00:50:39,090 --> 00:50:40,809
experimenting things like in

1755
00:50:40,809 --> 00:50:41,610
different environments.

1756
00:50:41,710 --> 00:50:42,510
I'm super into that.

1757
00:50:42,469 --> 00:50:43,710
I did a coffee experiment in

1758
00:50:43,710 --> 00:50:45,429
California with the university

1759
00:50:45,429 --> 00:50:47,909
and I've done some longer chill

1760
00:50:47,909 --> 00:50:49,769
hour apples in California as an

1761
00:50:49,769 --> 00:50:51,849
experiment, but I'm just saying

1762
00:50:51,849 --> 00:50:52,670
when you're.

1763
00:50:53,260 --> 00:50:54,280
garden, you go to the garden

1764
00:50:54,280 --> 00:50:55,639
center, you expect that they are

1765
00:50:55,639 --> 00:50:57,000
picking stuff that is for your

1766
00:50:57,000 --> 00:50:58,199
environment, that it's not an

1767
00:50:58,199 --> 00:50:59,000
experiment.

1768
00:50:59,139 --> 00:51:00,800
And I've noticed that that's not

1769
00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:02,920
true. So I do think that we're

1770
00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:03,920
coming up with valuable

1771
00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:04,720
information,

1772
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:06,840
me and my husband in this

1773
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:08,420
experimenting time.

1774
00:51:08,699 --> 00:51:10,780
And of course, it's scary and

1775
00:51:10,780 --> 00:51:12,579
dangerous and financially,

1776
00:51:12,900 --> 00:51:14,320
but I do feel like valuable

1777
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:16,400
information is being collected

1778
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:17,200
out of it.

1779
00:51:20,820 --> 00:51:22,219
What you're describing is the

1780
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:24,219
the essence of a lot of what

1781
00:51:24,219 --> 00:51:26,139
needs to return to many

1782
00:51:26,139 --> 00:51:26,940
different communities.

1783
00:51:27,119 --> 00:51:28,280
There is a great deal of

1784
00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:30,000
knowledge that is still held by

1785
00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:31,400
people who've been on the land

1786
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:32,200
for a long time.

1787
00:51:33,019 --> 00:51:34,179
But there are also a lot of

1788
00:51:34,179 --> 00:51:34,980
things.

1789
00:51:35,110 --> 00:51:35,929
There's a lot of information

1790
00:51:35,929 --> 00:51:36,730
that we've lost.

1791
00:51:37,369 --> 00:51:38,909
And there are also many things

1792
00:51:38,909 --> 00:51:39,949
that we haven't discovered

1793
00:51:39,949 --> 00:51:40,949
because we've not been willing

1794
00:51:40,949 --> 00:51:41,750
to try.

1795
00:51:42,579 --> 00:51:44,059
So kudos, kudos to you for

1796
00:51:44,059 --> 00:51:45,699
experimenting. There is a little

1797
00:51:45,699 --> 00:51:47,280
bit of that happening in Central

1798
00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:49,039
Texas of like kind of a

1799
00:51:49,039 --> 00:51:51,320
rigidness and some information

1800
00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:53,880
being forgotten and some people

1801
00:51:53,880 --> 00:51:55,400
failing and then people get

1802
00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:56,340
scared and they don't want to

1803
00:51:56,340 --> 00:51:57,340
fail. But

1804
00:51:57,840 --> 00:51:59,860
I looked up a hundred years ago

1805
00:51:59,860 --> 00:52:00,960
before refrigeration,

1806
00:52:01,710 --> 00:52:03,429
the Central Texas area, because

1807
00:52:03,429 --> 00:52:05,050
of the mild winters, was growing

1808
00:52:05,050 --> 00:52:06,909
a lot of vegetables, was growing

1809
00:52:06,909 --> 00:52:09,670
a lot of food for this area.

1810
00:52:09,809 --> 00:52:11,269
But that's not the truth

1811
00:52:11,269 --> 00:52:12,070
anymore.

1812
00:52:12,599 --> 00:52:13,840
And we put in,

1813
00:52:15,159 --> 00:52:17,300
1500 fruit trees, 20 of each

1814
00:52:17,300 --> 00:52:18,100
variety.

1815
00:52:18,630 --> 00:52:20,010
And so I think that we will have

1816
00:52:20,010 --> 00:52:21,050
a lot of information.

1817
00:52:21,449 --> 00:52:22,710
They're only four years old

1818
00:52:22,710 --> 00:52:23,909
right now. So, but I think

1819
00:52:23,909 --> 00:52:25,289
moving forward, we will have a

1820
00:52:25,289 --> 00:52:27,130
lot of information that we can

1821
00:52:27,130 --> 00:52:29,469
share with other people.

1822
00:52:29,590 --> 00:52:30,690
And the other day, this older

1823
00:52:30,690 --> 00:52:32,710
gentleman drove up onto my ranch

1824
00:52:32,710 --> 00:52:34,469
and he said, what made you put

1825
00:52:34,469 --> 00:52:35,269
that orchard there?

1826
00:52:35,289 --> 00:52:36,449
And I said, oh, it was the best

1827
00:52:36,449 --> 00:52:37,250
piece of

1828
00:52:37,989 --> 00:52:39,429
Uh, place on the ranch for an

1829
00:52:39,429 --> 00:52:40,750
orchard has a slope.

1830
00:52:40,769 --> 00:52:42,369
So the cold air will fall down

1831
00:52:42,369 --> 00:52:44,409
off of it and it's protected on

1832
00:52:44,409 --> 00:52:46,269
both sides by trees and the

1833
00:52:46,269 --> 00:52:47,429
angle for the sun.

1834
00:52:47,530 --> 00:52:49,190
And and he said, do you know

1835
00:52:49,190 --> 00:52:51,170
that my grandfather and great

1836
00:52:51,170 --> 00:52:52,670
grandfather grew their vegetable

1837
00:52:52,670 --> 00:52:54,690
gardens in that 5 acres?

1838
00:52:54,829 --> 00:52:55,789
They grew their corn.

1839
00:52:56,159 --> 00:52:57,519
And he said, it's interesting

1840
00:52:57,519 --> 00:52:58,739
that the first thing you guys

1841
00:52:58,739 --> 00:52:59,860
planted when you got here, I

1842
00:52:59,860 --> 00:53:01,699
noticed the first thing that you

1843
00:53:01,699 --> 00:53:03,320
guys planted was that area.

1844
00:53:03,699 --> 00:53:04,820
And I said, what was the best

1845
00:53:04,820 --> 00:53:07,099
area to plant anything on the

1846
00:53:07,099 --> 00:53:07,960
ranch? And he said, well,

1847
00:53:08,610 --> 00:53:09,849
but I just, how did you,

1848
00:53:10,190 --> 00:53:11,329
how, like, he just couldn't

1849
00:53:11,329 --> 00:53:13,800
imagine how I knew generations

1850
00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:15,260
later that his grandfather and

1851
00:53:15,260 --> 00:53:16,820
great grandfather had used that

1852
00:53:16,820 --> 00:53:17,620
area.

1853
00:53:18,210 --> 00:53:20,170
And it was very interesting to

1854
00:53:20,170 --> 00:53:21,349
him. And he said, the people

1855
00:53:21,349 --> 00:53:22,590
that bought it, they ignored

1856
00:53:22,590 --> 00:53:24,130
that area. They just used the

1857
00:53:24,130 --> 00:53:25,190
big fields because they're

1858
00:53:25,190 --> 00:53:26,289
flatter and easier.

1859
00:53:27,150 --> 00:53:28,650
Nobody ever planted anything

1860
00:53:28,650 --> 00:53:30,530
there since we sold the property

1861
00:53:30,530 --> 00:53:32,230
30 years before you bought it.

1862
00:53:33,119 --> 00:53:34,800
And I said, I saw it right away

1863
00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:37,059
that it was an excellent place

1864
00:53:37,059 --> 00:53:38,260
to plant.

1865
00:53:38,699 --> 00:53:40,860
And so I think that there is

1866
00:53:40,860 --> 00:53:42,960
information in our communities.

1867
00:53:43,159 --> 00:53:44,639
And I actually took to driving

1868
00:53:44,639 --> 00:53:46,739
around and looking in people's

1869
00:53:46,739 --> 00:53:49,000
yards at varieties of trees when

1870
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:51,500
I first moved here because and

1871
00:53:51,500 --> 00:53:52,539
asking people can I take a

1872
00:53:52,539 --> 00:53:55,239
cutting I've like snuck under

1873
00:53:55,239 --> 00:53:56,860
fences and taken cuttings of

1874
00:53:56,860 --> 00:53:57,660
like

1875
00:53:57,510 --> 00:53:59,730
a rogue pomegranate tree.

1876
00:54:00,119 --> 00:54:02,079
growing in no water out the side

1877
00:54:02,079 --> 00:54:03,699
of a hillside and like taking

1878
00:54:03,699 --> 00:54:05,480
some cuttings. But I've really

1879
00:54:05,480 --> 00:54:07,079
just taken to trying to observe

1880
00:54:07,079 --> 00:54:08,920
because there is very little

1881
00:54:08,920 --> 00:54:11,099
information specifically for my

1882
00:54:11,099 --> 00:54:12,840
region that's been preserved.

1883
00:54:13,929 --> 00:54:15,070
Well, Molly, I want to say thank

1884
00:54:15,070 --> 00:54:15,969
you for all the work that you're

1885
00:54:15,969 --> 00:54:17,230
doing. Thanks for the book.

1886
00:54:17,349 --> 00:54:18,510
I hope that it becomes very

1887
00:54:18,510 --> 00:54:19,690
popular and that lots of people

1888
00:54:19,690 --> 00:54:22,130
read it and it can contribute to

1889
00:54:22,130 --> 00:54:23,469
a shift in awareness.

1890
00:54:24,210 --> 00:54:25,929
I hope so too. Thank you so much

1891
00:54:25,929 --> 00:54:26,769
for having me on.

1892
00:54:26,969 --> 00:54:28,769
The team at AEA and I are

1893
00:54:28,769 --> 00:54:30,289
dedicated to bringing this show

1894
00:54:30,289 --> 00:54:31,869
to you because we believe that

1895
00:54:31,869 --> 00:54:33,590
knowledge and information is the

1896
00:54:33,590 --> 00:54:35,250
foundation of successful

1897
00:54:35,250 --> 00:54:36,570
regenerative systems.

1898
00:54:37,300 --> 00:54:39,260
At AEA, we believe that growing

1899
00:54:39,260 --> 00:54:41,000
better quality food and making

1900
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:42,539
more money from your crops is

1901
00:54:42,539 --> 00:54:43,340
possible.

1902
00:54:43,659 --> 00:54:44,599
And since 2006,

1903
00:54:44,900 --> 00:54:45,880
we've worked with leading

1904
00:54:45,880 --> 00:54:47,219
professional growers to help

1905
00:54:47,219 --> 00:54:48,199
them do just that.

1906
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:51,480
At AEA, we don't guess, we test,

1907
00:54:51,599 --> 00:54:52,400
we analyze.

1908
00:54:52,719 --> 00:54:54,000
and we provide recommendations

1909
00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:55,760
based on scientific data,

1910
00:54:56,199 --> 00:54:57,119
knowledge, and experience.

1911
00:54:57,900 --> 00:54:58,920
We've developed products that

1912
00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:00,219
are uniquely positioned to help

1913
00:55:00,219 --> 00:55:01,699
growers make more money with

1914
00:55:01,699 --> 00:55:02,699
regenerative agriculture.

1915
00:55:03,519 --> 00:55:04,820
If you are a professional grower

1916
00:55:04,820 --> 00:55:06,659
who believes in testing instead

1917
00:55:06,659 --> 00:55:07,460
of guessing,

1918
00:55:08,019 --> 00:55:09,099
someone who believes in a

1919
00:55:09,099 --> 00:55:10,519
better, more regenerative way to

1920
00:55:10,519 --> 00:55:11,320
grow,

1921
00:55:11,570 --> 00:55:13,989
visit advancingecoag .com and

1922
00:55:13,989 --> 00:55:15,550
contact us to see if AEA is

1923
00:55:15,550 --> 00:55:16,350
right for you.

1924
00:55:17,320 --> 00:55:18,480
Thank you for listening, and we

1925
00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:19,360
look forward to working with

1926
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:20,160
you.

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