Regenerative Farming in West Texas

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, guys. Welcome to another episode of youf're the cure. I'm Dr. Ben Edwards. We've got a great show today. A couple different family farms in the local area here in West Texas. We've got Jeremy Brown, Broadview Farm, and then we're gonna have Charlene and her youngest son, Colton Ballou from down near Midland, Garden City, Texas. The Balloos are growing farm fresh eggs and chicken. So we'll hear from them in the second half of the show. Jeremy Brown's a regenerative farmer here, cotton farmer, doing some other things, some cool stuff with regenerative ag. He's been on the show before. And guys, we've interviewed a lot of farmers, some nationally recognized and internationally recognized consultant farmers and then some local guys. It's all under our agriculture subject line on the podcast page on our website under the resource tab. So you can go there and check that out. Lots of cool interviews. You know, our human health is so intricately related obviously to our food, but directly that's from the soil. So you can't separate out the soil health, the plant health and human health. We're all, you know, inner interwoven, the microbiome of the soil. So important for the health of that plant and the nutrient density of that produce coming off that plant, feeding our microbiome in our soil and our gut. And all disease begins in the gut is what Hippocrates said. And in a big way he was right. So much happens when the gut is not nourished properly. So I love agriculture, love these farmers out here in West Texas. Sometimes it gets a little rough when the drought comes and when the aquifer's down and the wind's blowing and the hell's coming, and it can be hard. And so part of the show today is also just to encourage you local farmers, there are some things you can start to incorporate in your farm that kind of expands your mind and your, your operation and kind of stack some different enterprises and give you some diversity. But I hope what you'll see in both these families is joy. The way they're farming brings joy and farming should be joyful. So hope you enjoy the show today. And we'll get started with Jeremy Brown, Broadview Farm. Hey, everybody, got Jeremy Brown here. I'm so excited to have him back. He's been on the show before. One of my buddies and a Veritas community member and he's such, he and his family, just great, great people. And Jeremy will tell his own story, but he's a farmer, but not he's not just any farmer. He's one of these outside the box farmers. Jeremy is into regenerative agriculture. And this month we've been talking with regen guys. We've had a couple different shows. We're probably gonna have two more. But today I wanted to highlight some local. And Jeremy's one of these local farmers that are starting to do a little bit different. And, you know, it's not the either or thing. Jeremy will tell you. He does some, you know, conventional, some organic, some regenerative. He's in a process, but he's seeking the truth. He's trying to, you know, seek the kingdom first and how do we steward this creation? So nobody's got it all figured out. And the reason I love agriculture is because we. We can physically just see so well because of the soil. When you steward that and you bring that life back, the microbiome of the soil back and the what happens? I mean, you can see it in the plant, you can see it in the produce. You can measure it. You can see it in the ladybugs that come into that field. I was just. My family and I were invited by the browns to come pick some black eyed peas a couple of weekends ago. And ladybugs out the wazoo. It was awesome. And then the dung beetles that were dealing with the cow patties on the rotational grazing and all that. So I just thought it'd be a good time to bring Jeremy on and his farm, Broadview Farms, provides wheat here at the Merc locally. So if you're here local, you need some fresh wheat. They've got it, so. And we sell it here. So. Jeremy Brown, welcome to the show. So excited to have you back. [00:04:01] Speaker B: Well, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure and honor, that's for sure. I love Dr. Ben and his family, and Veritas been such a blessing to my family. [00:04:10] Speaker A: Well, likewise, Jeremy. Especially those black eyed peas. We were shelling peas for two days. It was awesome. Can't wait to eat them. So maybe just bring people up to speed. You've been on the show before. Guys, y' all can go listen to the whole story on that previous episode on our website, veritas wellnessmember.com/resources, under podcast. Then you can hit agriculture topic. And Jeremy and then a bunch of other guys are on there too, but kind of give that brief summary, Jeremy, how you got from where you were to where you are. And then I really want to talk about the regenerative stuff you're. You've incorporated over the last Couple years. [00:04:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I think your, your past guest, Dr. Alan Williams, who's a person I follow and study and read and listen to a lot, I think he said it, that it's a journey, you know, you don't. Every year I feel like I, I learn something and then I, I grow more. You know, God continues to open my eyes and show me things. And so I most definitely been on a journey. Um, you know, I grew up farming with my dad, my granddad and my uncle, family farm, fourth generation farm. But because of the, the volatility and the struggles that agriculture faces, my dad quit farming when I was in, in college. And so the reason why I say that is I was away from it for about 10 years until God answered a prayer through the help of my father in law and I was able to start back farming in 2008 part time and then full time 2010. And you know, when we started this, we wanted to make sure that one, we did it for God's glory and that it was his. And I just wanted to, I wanted to, you know, do it to the best of my ability. And I really didn't, I mean, I really didn't know anything. All I knew is agriculture had really changed from the time my dad got out to the time I got back into it. Because that was right when my dad quit farming is when genetically modified cotton plants came on the scene. You can now spray Roundup and kill all your problems. And we had all this fertilizer and we thought we'd never see a poor day. And I thought farming was easy. And anyway, so that's, I went to my, you know, that's all, that's all anybody would teach me how to do is when I got back into it was, well, you plant this seed and you spray this chemical and then the rest takes care of itself. Oh, you need to put out some fertilizer too. So, and that's where we started in 2010. But in 2013, I tell people, and I probably shared it when we visited before, but for me, the awakening or whatever you want to call it, that I began to go a different direction was one day just read my Bible. And it was the parable of the seed and the sower that Jesus talks about. And I've read that story many times. But Jesus makes it very clear. He says in that, and some seed fell on good soil and it reaped a harvest a hundredfold. And I just really felt at that moment then that the Holy Spirit just asked me like, what does it mean to have Good soil. And unfortunately, the only answer I could come up with was what I learned in college and what my salesman, what my fertilizer salesman was telling me. And it was kind of a. I really don't have an answer for this. And so that was the first step. And since 2013, I've been on a journey. I started, when I started digging deeper into that, I bought. I really bought into this no till movement of zero tillage. And I thought that was the answer because that's what I was being told. And. But the struggle I had with that is it seemed like the more I went to no till, the more herbicide I had to use for weeds. It seemed like we started getting resistance to weeds. You know, glyphosate or roundup was no longer killing the weeds. And so, oh, you need to put out this other chemical and you need to put out this pre chemical and then you need to put out a post chemical. And I just, man, I just didn't feel like that's the direction the Lord was leading me. And so probably around 2018, 19 is when I found Gabe Brown and Dr. Alan Williams and Ray Archuleta and this whole regenerative agriculture movement. And also I, I had a little bit of organic land at that time, but that's when really in 2019, I was like, you know, I'm going all organic and, and we're going to try to do as regenerative as possible. And you know, I'm not. We're not completely there Today. We farm about 5,000 acres today, 4,000 of that certified organic. We're also certified regenefied, which is, you know, Dr. Allen Williams talked about that last week. We were one of the first cotton farmers to be. Be certified regenefied. I don't really care about the certifications. That's not really why I do it. But really today, as, as we've evolved, we focus. Everything that we do on our farm is about the soil, soil health, but really at the end of the day, it's about stewardship. And it's kind of like what you talked about, Dr. Ben, a lot about stewarding our bodies. I read just this week in my personal Bible reading in Psalms, that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and this is not mine. I am placed here to steward it. And at times I don't do a well, good job. I continually learn and grow. But at the leading of his wisdom, his spirit and others, hopefully we're stewarding it better than we were last year. And hopefully we continue to get better. We are challenged where we farm just because of, we farm in a desert and you know, with 15 inches of average rainfall. So it presents different challenges that maybe some other areas don't have, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. And so yeah, today we, we mostly grow organic cotton, but we also grow organic grain, sorghum, and then we grow organic regenerative wheat that we sell to people that are milling it for to make their own breads. And then we also have a small cow calf operation, grass fed, holistically graze like you mentioned, and just, you know, trying to continue to grow and get better at it and, and learn. But it's, it's been a journey. [00:10:31] Speaker A: So kind of moving out, you know, moving on from no till getting into organic and then regenerative. What would you say is the biggest challenge? Like if, if a farmer's interested in learning more? Just out here in West Texas, in particular cotton farmers, what are, what are the biggest challenges and how are you overcoming? I know it's a process, but kind of what's the practical expectations a farmer could be looking at? [00:10:58] Speaker B: Yeah, probably the first biggest challenge I've had is just between my ears, my brain. [00:11:05] Speaker A: You know, Jeremy takes a humble guy to admit that. [00:11:09] Speaker B: Yeah, when you've been so programmed and, I don't know, so molded and we had this idea of what a farm is supposed to look like and there never should be a weed and, and that's not how nature is. I mean, and, and so it's just constantly trying to grow and be willing to adapt. So I would say the first challenge is my, you know, in between my ears and just allowing myself to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and allowing, you know, new ideas and new ways of doing it. The second one is, is our dry climate is, is quite a challenge. You know, we've had some decent rains this year, but the previous three years have been extremely dry. And when you're trying to do a lot of regenerative practices and you need a living root and you use a lot of COVID cropping and then it goes, you know, months without raining, sometimes it can be quite discouraging, but you have to stay true to the principles and you have to believe in the process and understand that it's not a quick fix. Just like you teach with our bodies. It's not like we're just going to take a pill and tomorrow we're going to be all better. It's a process. And, and a lot of the guys in the soul Health, regenerative world. Talk about it's a five year process before you might even see some significant results. And I'm not sure in our dry climate if it's even longer than that. Now in my journey, one of the things that I've began to learn and realize is that this area that I farm in was really a prairie grass when God created it. And there was a reason why. For that reason is because of our, our seasonal rains and the way that the, the environment is out here. And so I continue, the more I go down this journey, the more I realize a lot of that what we're trying to do in West Texas is probably going against the way it was created to be managed. And so my heart and desire is to continue to grow and go back to more of a grass livestock operation because it works. Um, I've been experimenting, growing, learning more about adaptive grazing or holistic grazing, whatever. And it's, I'm amazed at how our context fits that. Now it's hard to do that on every land. You got landowners and different things. But yeah, that, that's just been a challenge is just, you know, and if you study the six soil health principles, that's one of the things they always talk about. You got to know your context. And just because it's a good principle doesn't mean it might work in West Texas. I mean, I would love to grow some of these other crops, but when you look at how much water they, the water demand of those crops and you realize, you know, I'm mostly dry land and then I have a little bit of irrigation, but I don't like to pump it. I mean that's a, that's a limited resource also. I want to steward that well. And so, you know, just trying to figure out what fits and, and you know, make it work and, and, and, and be a good steward of it. And cotton, cotton grows well out here. I mean, it does. I mean it's a very drought tolerant plant. And you know, like last week I, I, I have a hard time finding a good rotation system. It's been hard just because there's not many crops I can grow and there's not a whole lot of markets for some of these other crops, especially in the organic world. And so it's, you know, that's, that's been a challenge also for me is I would love to have a really good rotational plan. But when you say, you know, if you plant a crop and there's no crop insurance program to, you know, just in case, worst case scenario happens, And I lose that crop because of lack of rainfall, boy, I could be in a financial mess pretty fast. And so it, it, you have to be, you know, work and be smart about it. I don't like to use those as a decision factor, but it is in our dry climate. That's just, that's just how it is. I mean you got to be really careful because you know, I, I, you know, for the last three years I had a lot of land that we did not make a crop on for three years in a row. So that's, that's a challenge for sure. [00:15:23] Speaker A: Well talk a little bit more about those cows. And I know you, you probably wouldn't define yourself as a cowman at all. I mean you've been growing cotton all these years. You're a generational cotton farmer incorporating some of these practices. And no Gabe Brown, Allen Williams talk about the importance of bringing livestock in. So maybe talk a little bit about that principle with, with the hoof action and the defecation, urination, all that stuff. But then just how did you get into it? What have you seen the little bit you've seen and, and how you are. Because you explained it to me when we were out there where those black eyed peas and okra rows are is where I think in the winter maybe those cows had been. And you know how, what just a little bit of that explain how the principle and then how that practically has been working out for you. [00:16:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So first off, I love, I love livestock. It's, it's a lot more, you know, they'll eat anything, they'll eat a weed, you know. And then I look across the rows and I see that weed out there and I'm like, man, I need to go get that weed. But that, that cow will take care of that weed for me or that. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Sheep or eating those tumbleweeds is what I call them. [00:16:29] Speaker C: Wow. [00:16:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:30] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:16:31] Speaker A: He just ate the heck out of that like it was ice cream. He was licking that thing, chewing on that tumble when it was growing it. One actual dried up tumbleweed blowing. But the plant, at growing plant, that cow was eating it. But sorry, go ahead. [00:16:43] Speaker B: No, yeah. Because they have medicinal purposes. I mean they know what they need. [00:16:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:47] Speaker B: It's amazing. God's creation system is works if we just get out of the way. But yeah, it's a couple things. We have a small grass fed cow cab opera. It's real small. I didn't want to go in and, and buy a bunch and have to learn the hard way. I wanted to grow it slowly. And so of course I've read Alan Savory's book, Holistic Management. I've, I've studied a lot of guys like Gabe Brown and Dr. Alan Williams, all these guys. And so I had a good understanding. But you have to figure out what fits on your system that works within, you know. And so we've been, we've had him for over two years now, or just almost two years. And, and so yeah, of course this one specific farm you're talking about, they, there is some grass that they can grow in the summer and then what we do is in the winter we have a cover crop mix that they graze and we move them every day. And so every day they, the way this herd is designed, they're grazing about a half acre every 24 hours. And I'm amazed at how many people think that's a lot of work. It's really not as much work as you think. Once you have the system down, they learn how to do it. It's just a matter of, you know, it takes me about 30 minutes to move a poly wire and then they, they move on. There's some challenges. You know, you gotta make sure they have water and some things like that. But that's been fun. And I tell people, you know, cover cropping is a huge deal. And a lot of people talk about how that doesn't work in West Texas. And one of the aha moments that I had was, you know, we used to always plant our cover crops after we harvested cotton. So if we're harvesting cotton in November, December, we plant a cover crop say around then. And then it takes 30, 40 days to come up because it's already cold, it's already dry. And so cover crops, that's the reason why most people like, they don't, they don't really work. Well, one day I was sitting in a meeting and KCB, the news here in LIC gave us a 30 year average of rainfall by month. And it's like one of those aha moments, like, oh my gosh. And most people don't realize that September in West Texas is the third wettest month on average. And so it's just like, well, why am I trying to get my cover crops planted when it's the driest and the coldest? I need to plant my cover crops in August and September. And so now that's unique for me as an organic farmer because I don't defoliate my cotton with a herbicide. So, you know, there's some, some things that are unique about my operation. But we've spent the last two weeks been planting cover crops into our cotton. So I mean, like right now, I mean, we just finished this morning. My, my employees are finishing that right now. And so we do that because, you know, and we had 2,000 acres done last week and we had a 2 inch rain on what, Friday night. And and so my cover crops are already, already sprouted, they're already starting to grow. And so the reason why I'm getting all this is when we get done harvesting our cotton, the COVID is already this big. And so we can bring in livestock right away and that way they have more time on the land. And what we do there is we try to use stalker cattle so those cattle won't be mine. I don't have, I mean cattle prices are extremely high right now, so I couldn't afford to go buy enough cattle across my limbo. We try to partner with a lot of people that run cattle, bring them in, they graze for about 120 days. You know, we move them not as, not as often as I move my personal herd, but we'll move them about every two weeks or so across a track of land. You know, we'll split it all up. But it's all to feed the biology. And so if you think about it, we're pumping carbon, the COVID crops, capturing carbon through photosynthesis, feeding the microbes to root exudates, the animals doing what they need to do. And so we're constantly feeding the system. And, and so I don't, I don't use any for, that's my fertility program is cover cropping and livestock. And like I said, it's not, it's not a. Across the board. Every year is different. You know, some years we had more rain, some years we had less rain. Some years, you know, like 20, 22, we had a lot of, we had about a thousand head of cattle. Last year we had 200 head of cattle. So it, it really varies. But just trying to always feed the system, always try to keep something growing and living and, and you know, alive in your soil. And so yeah, we use livestock in all different ways. I love, I love the holistic management. I love moving them every day. It's, it's so fun to watch. And like you said, the dung beetles, when you're not feeding those, when you're not giving those animals all these vaccines and dewormers and all this stuff and just do what they need to do and let them move, the dung beetles will show up naturally and they, and they just destroy Everything as fast as we're moving them and so they're fertilizing the soil. And where you saw, it's where we grow organic wheat. And so the idea is we're, we're feeding the biology and over time making a more nutrient dense wheat berry, you know, that's the goal. And so yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot, it's a lot of fun and I absolutely love it. And doesn't mean it's not hard and doesn't mean have to have to work hard, but it, it's most definitely fun to try to bring life than constantly trying to kill something. And that's kind of a common thing in the regenerative world, you know. You know, a lot of farmers think, well, I got to kill this pest, I got to kill this weed, I got to kill this. Instead, we're trying to figure out how can we continue to bring life to the, to God's creation. [00:22:15] Speaker A: So, and just side note, I'll say personally, when I was watching Jeremy out on the farm the other day around those cows, that's what I saw in his, in him life. I mean, his countenance, his inflection of his voice, talking about those cows, watching them eat that tumbleweed, those dung beetles, just joy you, it was exuding out of you. And in contrast to a lot of farmers just in. Alan Williams talked about last week, the depression, the heaviness, the suicide rate, all that. I mean, there's such a correlation there of what you just said. Kill, kill, kill versus life, life, life. And guys, I want to summarize it because you might have missed what Jeremy was just saying. When just that cover crop, when those roots are in the ground, when something's growing above the ground, taking the carbon out of the atmosphere, that plants growing, those roots are growing too below ground. But those roots, they're, they're feeding the bacteria in the soil. And like Dr. Williams said last week, there's a mineral bank in that soil. The minerals are there, but you got to have the bacteria. That's the key link between those minerals in the soil and that wheat berry getting mineralized for our health is those bacteria on the root. So those root growing in the ground is key, that feeds those bacteria. The bacteria just diversify, multiply, grow like crazy. So they're getting the minerals working better and that plants getting healthier, bringing those minerals into that plant, into that wheat berry. Jeremy harvests that wheat berry, goes through the, whatever it's got to go through to get into a big old Bucket at the Merc. You take that bucket home and those minerals are now into your body because of the way he stewarded that soil. So there's a difference between a wheat berry from over here and a wheat berry from a regenerative farm because of what Jeremy was just explaining. And that's not even talking about the animals getting on that crop and eating that. And when they eat that, well, that stimulates that plant to grow more. That's going to stimulate the root exudate more, plus the animal dung and urine and the hoof action, that whole thing fertilizing like Jeremy just said. So that's a double combo of you got the animal bringing the fertility part, you got the blant, the plant feeding, that biology. And it's just this beautiful symbiotic relationship that not only brings life to Jeremy, as I just said, but helps bring life to that wheat berry and therefore your gut bacteria in your cells and you're. We need the minerals in our body. It's incredible. It's awesome. So. [00:24:39] Speaker B: Grow all these other crops. You know, I wish we had the rain to, you know, to do so many other things. And, and we're trying, you know, we're trying like a little garden, like picking black eyed peas. Just a little things that we can do. [00:24:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:52] Speaker B: But it's been fun being like there's. I've got another farm that it's not an organic farm. We're hoping to get it there one day, but we do all these regenerative practices. I basically treat it like an organic farm. It's just not certified. But when I first started farming, it had a soul born disease, the cereum wilt and, and if you want, if you didn't watch it, you know about this time of the year that cotton just started dying. I mean it's just. And I've had all these people, all these signs just come out. And then I mean, even one time a guy from tech is like, I've never seen it so bad. And we've been doing these regenerative practices, cover cropping, rotational grazing, and I don't see any effects of that disease anymore on that farm. I was over there just yesterday and I even thought about it then I was like, you know, I don't see. Everything looks vibrant and healthy and it's irrigated, you know, I mean it's got some irrigation, so that helps. But even just little changes like that, you know, it's been fun. You know, I tell people just start small and learn and an experiment, you know, for me, that was kind of an aha moment was I told you all that story in 2013 and I. The first article I read was the benefits of hairy vetch as a cover crop mix. And Harry, vetch is a legume that you can plant in the fall and it. And it captures nitrogen, which, you know, 70 of our air is nitrogen. And so it's free. God created a system that's free, yet we always want to go buy it instead of it's in the air. But so anyways, I, I just took 30 acres. This is my first into this journey. I took 30 acres. It was a 60 acre track, so it's a 60 acres. I cut it in half. I planted 30 and hairy vetch and rye. And then the other half I just planted in wheat cover, which is what almost every farmer in West Texas does. Just wheat cover just to keep it from blowing is. That's, you know, they don't want the sand to blow. And. And then that next spring we terminated it and then planted cotton into the. And I just went straight across the field. And that was one that. It was like, oh my gosh. It was like it was so different from where the hairy vetch in the rye grew to where the wheat grew. And it's the only thing I did different. I mean, it was just like. I mean, you could just visually see it. I mean, like, this cotton's healthier, this cotton's not. And, and so that was like, okay, there's something to all this, you know, and so for me, little moments of that, like that or like when you were out there yesterday and we saw that beautiful cotton next to it and that has no fertility. I mean, it looks amazing. And to know it's not. I didn't have to go buy anything. It's everything God created. Just making it work, you know, it's so fun. I mean, it's. And I wish I, I wish it was fast. I wish it was a fast process because farming can be financially tough sometimes, but it does work. You just have to be patient. And they want. [00:27:50] Speaker A: Well, that was. I mean, I'm no cotton expert, but obviously we live out here. I'm driving around all the time. Everybody sees cotton fields. And that cotton I saw in your place was. I mean, that was the best cotton I'd ever seen anywhere. This, this year for sure. I mean, it was amazing. And just to have God's natural fertilizing system doing what it's supposed to do, it's awesome. Well, we, we got about five minutes or so. Maybe Talk a little bit about if you want to, whatever, but I was thinking on the wheat and I know maybe you're doing some vineyard stuff experiment a little bit, you're catching some rainwater, which I do want to mention you meant on the rain cycle. That's another benefit on getting that root in the ground. And I don't know a whole lot about this, so you might correct me, but something with those bacteria on the root and that root takes up stuff from the soil and something comes out the leaf and goes up in the air and I think maybe little bacterial particles, but it had. It helps stimulate the cloud rain cycle thing. Just having that root in the ground has an impact on rain cycle. Of course, the absorption rate of the soil, it's more like a sponge and can hold water, retain water instead of all the runoff. So there is that part long term, of course, corporately enough farmers doing this. I think we can see that average rainfall in West Texas because of this rain cycle impact of having a root in the ground. But maybe you talk about, about that too. But I do want to promote the products and what you're doing anyway to support you. I know your main crop is cotton, but anything as far as getting your, your product from the farm that you sell here at the Mercur and otherwise. [00:29:24] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, no, we, yeah, we, we're. We planted an organic vineyard, regenerative vineyard when I built. We have a barn and we, we put a rain capturing system on it. So we have a 65,000 gallon rainwater tank. So for every inch of rainfall, this is something, I think sometimes this is another stewardship. We're always complaining about water out here in West Texas and I think if we just looked at how much is runoff, we'd be ashamed of that. And so for every inch of rain I get on my barn, it's 8,000 gallons. And so we have a 65,000 gallon rain water tank. We planted the vineyard, watering it with the rain water, it's yet to be determined. So we planted in May and, and it, I don't know, it got some pretty bad weather early on and so we'll see. But that's the goal. Our goal is hopefully to have a organic regenerative wine that's not, you know, full of sulfates and things that, you know, I mean, I believe wine's another tool that we could use that could be healthy if, you know, done right. And, and then, yeah, the, the wheat's a lot of fun. I, I don't probably explain it enough, but we grow the organic Wheat on pasture. It's called pasture cropping. And that's a system that I studied out of a guy out of Australia. Now their, their weather pattern is a little different, so I don't know if you could do it on a dryland system. I do have irrigation that we utilize just to kind of keep it going. I don't, I don't, I'm not shooting for big yields. That's not the goal here. The goal is to feed our local community with something that I feel like was growing well. And so what we're doing is right now those cows are grazing that pasture, okay, Mob grazing every half acre. And they'll be done in the next 30, 40 days grazing. As soon as they're done, we go in there and plant wheat and, and so the grass goes dormant because it's a, it's a warm season grass, it goes dormant. And as it's dormant, the wheat is a cool season grass. It's growing. And so of course I, you know, I'll irrigate it a little bit in the winter just to, but we're talking maybe three or four inches of irrigation. Nothing. Nothing. Just crazy. But normally when I'm combining that wheat, you already see the green grass underneath the wheat ready to, ready to come alive. And so it, it is completely no till. I mean, I don't know how much more regenerative I could do it besides, you know, maybe a little bit more of a rotation. But really is we're trying to, to do it the best that we can. So that way the only challenge I have is when I'm combining it, there's some flowers out there already and I've had a hard time getting those flowers out of the seed that we're selling. So if people open a bucket of grain from us, they'll probably find a, a dried up flower in there that was from a forb that was growing. And I'm like, man, it just mill it all together, it's not going to hurt you. But that's been a challenge. But yeah, it's, it's a lot of fun. [00:32:13] Speaker A: But those flowers are medicinal. They're doing something good to that wheat. [00:32:17] Speaker B: I don't, the cows eat them like crazy, so I'm assuming there's. It's nothing, Anything. But yeah, it's, it's fun. I mean, like I said, it's just a small part of the operation. But there is nothing more that brings me joy than when I drop off a bucket at a family's house. Knowing that I played a small part and in maybe bringing something healthy and nutritious to their family. I probably enjoy that more than the mass commodity. You know, when you are picking black eyed peas, that brings me joy as a farmer, knowing that, you know, it might just be a few meals, but I, you know, and I knew how I grew it. I. I find, I find a lot of joy and pride in that because that's what God's called me to do. And so, yeah, that, that part's fun. Absolutely. [00:33:05] Speaker A: Well, and you do it well, you and your whole family. Sweet Sarah Brown, Jeremy's wife. Sweetest girl I know. I mean, Jamie is too. [00:33:13] Speaker B: Both of us out of Jamie. All right. [00:33:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Super sweet. And boy, talk about a chef, a cook, a mama, a seamstress, a design. Just amazing. Amazing mama. And I know it takes a whole team. The kids pitch in. So y' all just a great example of being led by the Holy Spirit and doing things the kingdom way. Again, not that you're perfect. You set yourself, you're still learning. We're all on our journey, but look at what the fruit that's coming out of this. Seeking the kingdom and being obedient, even when fear tries to come in. And the world's telling you this thing over here. And so how can people get the wheat besides at the Merc, how can they contact you, follow you? Learn more. If a farmer wants to learn more, just what's the best way to kind of get in touch or get your products? [00:34:01] Speaker B: Yeah, we have a website. It's www.broadviewagriculture.com. you can, you can buy wheat off there. You can kind of see a little bit more about us. We do use social media. Not nothing. I'm not that great at it. But Broadview, it's all under Broadview Agriculture. We even have some YouTube videos that I'll just show things that we're doing on the farm to kind of help. And, you know, I just like to tell people I feel honored that God, you know, when he created man, he put him in a garden to tend. And I still feel that that's our calling today. And I said I've made a lot of mistakes and. But I'm trying to continue to learn and grow and figure out, you know, how. How we continue to get better. But I feel very honored and humble that God allows me to do that. And so, yeah, check us out. I mean, we, you know, if we can help in any way or if there's any farmers have any questions, you know, that's my whole goal. Kind of like, you Dr. Ben, I just want to educate and help people, you know, realize that there might be a different way of doing things. And you don't have to buy into industrial ag. You don't have to buy into all these things that we're told that you got to do. I mean, I'm just shocked at how many people think that they cannot live without glyphosate. It's just crazy to me. I mean, we've done it for thousands of years, but here we are. But yeah. So, you know, if we can help in any way, we'd love to. [00:35:28] Speaker A: Jeremy, for being who God made you to be, thank you for coming on the show. I know you're a super busy guy and thanks again for those black eyed peas. Can't wait to come pick some okra. [00:35:37] Speaker B: Yes, anytime. [00:35:39] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:35:40] Speaker A: All right, guys, that's Jeremy Brown, Broadview Farm. And we'll keep going with the show. We've got some more local producers we'll talk to here next. Stick with us. [00:35:50] Speaker E: Are you ready to take control of your health together? You're not alone. Dr. Ben, as well as a mission driven team here at Veritas created this online wellness membership. Because so many are suffering. We want to help more people by sharing the truth that we believe will change lives. Veritas wellness membership is more than just a wellness program. It's a movement designed to empower you with truth, practical tools and a support community at a price that's accessible for everyone. One membership covering your entire household a of part. Upon signing up, you gain access to life changing educational resources, expert led webinars, live movement classes and exercise series, community groups and wellness initiatives, interactive classes as well as exclusive discounts on supplements and advanced lab testing. We also offer complimentary peace consults, a space for you to go deeper discussion, discover who you were created to be and explore how stress contributes to disease. We believe in getting to the root cause and understanding why what we believe truly matters. Our team of wellness navigators are here to guide you every step of the way. So whether you're just starting your wellness journey or ready to go deeper, there's something here for you. So jump in today. We can't wait to watch walk this journey with you. Visit veritas wellness member.com to get started. [00:37:29] Speaker A: I've got Colton and Charlene Baloo from Garden City, Texas. The website is nourishing farmsteadtx.com and I've asked the blues to come on here. Charlene's the mama and Colton is the youngest of three sons and I'm sure daddy's out working hard right now. But the Blues are a local family, a multi generational and multi generations of cotton farmer. And I'll let them tell their story. But I've asked them to come on today because they're producing some awesome products and we like to support these local farmers who are producing high quality products. And there's eggs and there's chickens right downstairs from this studio in the Mercury for sale and there's other places that their products are for sale too. And we'll get into that. But just wanted to highlight what they're doing and encourage them and spread the message and let them just share their story. We'd like to highlight these kind of stories. So thank you, Charlene and thank you, Colton for coming on the show today and for what you're doing. And I just really want to start with sharing your story. You know, we live out in West Texas. Agriculture is everything out here. Agriculture and oil, a little bit of windmills, I guess. But so there's everyone knows a farmer, everyone's related to a farmer. Mostly that'd be cotton farms around here. And we love our farmers. I mean, obviously agriculture is just a part of who we are out here. And it's also a tough, tough situation. I talk to farmers every day that are friends and patients and neighbors and they're stressed out and they're anxious. We had Dr. Alan Williams on a couple weeks ago, talked about that very thing. So it's tough when the drought comes and the hail comes and the wind comes and all the things and the topsoil is gone and the wind's blowing and water wells are drying up and all the things. So when we see maybe a different way to go, not to condemn that old stuff, but just like in the medical world, you know, I don't condemn the conventional medical practices. I give them their due credit when it's, you know, we need medication sometimes, but we know long term medications are just treating a symptom and therefore you're still at risk for early death and a lot of suffering along the way. So let's use it targetedly when we need to, but let's go deeper and find that better way. And that's what more functional integrative medicine does. And I believe that's what regenerative agriculture does too. So we're not here to try to, you know, tell someone they're doing something all wrong. But I think it is also pretty obvious, look at our outcomes on organic matter in the soil, on nutrient value of the foods on the water levels, you know, all of it. So we know there's a big problem here, and if there's ways to move out of that and do something better, I'm all for it. So that's our heart here. I know that's Charlene and Colton's heart, too. But, guys, welcome again to the show. And really, let's just jump in and kind of share the story of how y' all started deciding to move out of a solo. I think it was just cotton, but, Charlene, why don't you jump in and start to maybe tell that story? [00:40:34] Speaker C: Okay, I will. And thank you again for having us on to tell our story. And hopefully, I mean, ultimately, I think our goal is to. To share what we're doing and give some hope to people out there. So a little bit of background about us, as you stated, Dr. Ben, is cotton farming is generational in our family. In fact, the farming community here in our county is called St. Lawrence. And my grandfather on my dad's side was one of the pioneer farmers that came in. A lot of the farmers that first started this farming community came from Alphan, Texas, which is close to San Angelo, and they came here and broke in the ground and started farming cotton. And so that has been a part of our family tradition. You know, before my grandfather, but especially in the community that we live in, it started with my grandfather, my father, then my husband. I think it's been now, what, seven years ago, he started taking over farming for my uncle and my father. And then after Colton got out of college and got into the workforce for a little bit, he came home and started helping my husband. And so it is generational. And what's amazing is about. About that is it. It leaves a legacy for your family. But it's okay if the legacy changes, you can keep that land in the family. You can keep the tradition of farming and what that means for building a family. But. And so that's. That's where we're. Where we're at as far as starting nourishing farmstead our chicken business. I'm a very honest person person. And I'll just state it wasn't what I thought my dream was at the beginning. I'll just, you know, I'm very honest. I'm like, okay, I'm supportive as a wife and a mom. Colton and Bart, it's your dream. Go get it. You know, and then. But, you know, and there's many whys or catalysts or things that spark you to do something, and I'll just. I'll Be honest. We had a grandchild, Hutton, that passed away 18 months ago. And he has changed my whole perspective on life. You know, I, I could have sat in grief and been sad, but I. Instead I'm trying to use it to help me live the, the next half of my life. And when you really look at a child, I think they're the closest thing to God that there is. And you know, Hutton lived life full blast, you know, chasing his dreams, looking at life in awe, you know, living life unconditionally. And that's. And through his passing, I have really gotten closer with, with God too. And it's taught me immensely how to trust because I think in the Bible it says to, you know, it's repeated over and over and over to trust in God and his plan and the blueprint he has for you. And so when they started, you know, all the background to this business, it finally hit me. Charlene, trust God and follow the plan. This is part of your family legacy. And so I have jumped on board and it has, it's been, it's been an amazing journey. Starting any small family run business is both exhilarating and a little scary at the same point. But you know, at this point in my life, I look at, I'm not producing a product to make money. If I'm gonna put my time and my energy and my heart and soul into something, I want it to be something number one, because of my health journey, I want it to be something that is healthy. And you know, at the beginning you think, oh, healthy for the people. But it's. When you're into the farming business, it's way more than that. You're looking at the health of the animals, you're looking at the health of the land. And so with our pasture raised chicken business, we, we're actually working towards those goals. And so, yeah, is it work? But it's also incredibly, incredibly fulfilling. [00:45:57] Speaker A: That's awesome. Well, maybe. And Colton can jump in on this part, I think. So historically, cotton farming, just conventional cotton farming, where did this thought come in to do anything different? [00:46:12] Speaker D: It was the first year that I came back and started helping at the farm. We still did it conventionally. Plowed the ground, planted the seed, then went out and rotary hoed everything and then cultivate and then spray and then just on and on. It's for every acre. And for me, not really farm, not really farming. All the way up until about five years ago, I was like, wow, there's got to be a better way of doing things. And after that year of or with all the many hours on the tractor and listening to hours and hours of podcasts like no Till Farmer and then the Regenerative Farmer podcast with John Kemp and everything, talking about no till and all kinds of different practices. We, we no tilled weed in after our cotton harvest that year and got a good rain on, on all the wheat and had wheat on all the acres growing nice and green. And then drought struck and we've been in a drought for the last three, four years now. [00:47:54] Speaker A: And. [00:47:57] Speaker D: But with all the no till practices and everything, I know it's helping. Whenever we do get those small or those hard and fast drains, the no till and the stubble and everything that we have on the ground, it's helping the water infiltrate faster into the ground and everything. And so we're keeping more of the moisture and not near as much of it is evaporating and everything. [00:48:34] Speaker A: Yeah. So, Colton, with you, was it just a matter of coming back to the farm and feeling like, you know, like you said, plant spray, do the regular thing. That just didn't sit well with your, your gut, with your spirit. Just. You felt like something was off on that. [00:48:50] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. And hit pretty, pretty fast, I would say, too. Then like I said, once I started diving deeper into no till and a bunch of these regenerative practices and everything, and everyone's kind of stacking enterprises on the same acres and they're being able to be more profitable on. On less acres, but they're stacking all those enterprises together and so their profitability is actually more. [00:49:31] Speaker A: What are you talking about? [00:49:34] Speaker D: It's like, well, if you're growing cotton, you have one crop, everything else that's coming up is a weed, and you only want that cotton to be the only living thing in the field. But with, like, with our chickens and everything, we've, we've probably since March, I believe, we've, with all the broilers and the laying hens, use maybe 5 acres total for, for all those chickens. And we've been able to stack the laying hens and the broilers on some of those same acres just. And you've gotta, gotta give the land the rest for it to recover and everything before you go and graze that grass and those plants again. But being able to stack those enterprises helps you be more profitable. [00:50:46] Speaker C: Stacking, he sort of means also we rotate them so a new part of the land is being used and the old part is being able to regenerate itself. So it's beautiful how God designed things and how if you just let it work It'll do it. [00:51:05] Speaker A: Right. So you're using mobile chicken houses, I'm assuming? Yes, sir. What made you decide to go with chickens as the next thing after cotton? [00:51:18] Speaker D: After doing lots of research and everything, the profitability on such a small acreage, it really was interesting to me and that. And I was like, it's on very small acres that you can do this on. It's not something that you have to go and do hundreds or over a thousand acres just overnight. You can start small, and if you start seeing the results that you're expecting or wanting to see, then you can start to expand on even more acres. That's like with those stacking those enterprises here, or eventually we'd like to bring in some. Either some sheep or some cows. So then with some of these larger fields, we can just plant in the COVID crops and. And then graze those cover crops, boost the fertility, add those nutrients. And then if we want to go back in and either plant cotton or plant some hay or some other type of crop, or just plant another crop and. Or plant another cover crop and graze it again. [00:52:47] Speaker A: So that five acres the chickens are on, you said that's just since March of this year? [00:52:52] Speaker D: Yes, sir. [00:52:53] Speaker A: Okay. So pretty new new operation or on the actual piece of land, will that be something that's always just the chickens rotating, or will you eventually. Will you plant something else there, meaning that land getting fertilized and all that with chickens, or will that just be your chicken spot. [00:53:12] Speaker D: For now? I think that'll just kind of be our chicken spot for now, which we. We have an additional, probably 10 acres that, that we planted into a grass and a mixture of stuff for the chickens, but we just haven't been able to cover that much land yet. [00:53:37] Speaker A: Yeah. So roughly how many chickens are we talking about and how does that translate to how many eggs and how many pieces of meat can you. I mean, what are we. [00:53:48] Speaker D: Give us some numbers for the laying hens. We probably have about 280 laying hens right now. Probably gonna have to boost those numbers up pretty quick. And then we've. We're on our last batch of broiler for meat chickens for the year, and this will be our seventh batch. And in each of those batches, we've. We've had around 300 of them. [00:54:22] Speaker A: And are y' all butchering those on site or does that get processed somewhere else? [00:54:27] Speaker D: We've been going to a processor. [00:54:32] Speaker C: And I'll say our. You know, when you start a farming practice, you sort of have some guinea pig moments. Or some, you know, practices. Practice runs. And so our first hundred broilers that we had, we did process ourselves. So we've been through it, and. And I'll say, you know, it was. It brought back wonderful memories because growing up, we did raise pigs, and we processed them ourselves. And my grandparents had a. A butcher room where we did that as a family. And so doing that first batch of hundred chickens ourselves, I mean, it was. It was a wonderful family moment, and it helped us learn the process, because I think that's important. If you're gonna have a business, you need to know every aspect of it and how it works. And. And so, yeah, the first batch we did, but, I mean, to bring it to true life, there's only four of us running this business and trying to process around 300 chickens every seven to eight weeks. We just knew our limits. Plus, if we are bringing them to a processor, you know, there's a USDA inspector, and it's just easier to sell your product multiple. To multiple different locations and entities if you've got. If you're processing through a USDA inspected facility. So that was. That's our choice to do that. [00:56:14] Speaker A: Yep. And a good way to keep your marriages together. [00:56:17] Speaker C: Yes, definitely. [00:56:20] Speaker A: Yeah. Processing chickens, that's some work. [00:56:23] Speaker C: It is. [00:56:25] Speaker A: So, Colton or Charlene, but if someone was, you know, another farmer sounded kind of interested in what you're talking about here. What are some of the things that maybe you caution against, you know, or things you learn pitfalls, things you wish you would have known when you're starting? I know it's early on, so you're probably still learning a lot yourself, but kind of, what kind of advice or recommendations would you give to someone who might be looking to put five acres into chicken? [00:56:55] Speaker C: And I'll start, but Colton. Colton's the one that did the research on all of it at the beginning, so he probably has better insight. But one thing I can say from my end point, because I was the one doing a lot of things behind the scenes, like, you know, bookkeeping and website and, you know, all the things behind the scenes that it entailed, which is actually a lot. I. I really encourage people to don't bite off too much at the beginning. It's okay to start slow. And then as people start inquiring about the products that you're producing and start showing interest in wanting to purchase and. And there's that possibility for growth, then embrace it and grow and offer that product. But I really, you know, I really do encourage starting small and. And growing and Building from there? [00:58:06] Speaker A: Yeah. And did y' all do that yourself as far as your initial flock, just feeding the family, maybe neighbors, extended family? [00:58:15] Speaker C: We did. That's actually our initial goal was let's produce healthy, you know, healthy food for our family and any. Anything that was abundant from that, you know, then we can provide for family and friends and the people in our community. And. And just through that there was so much interest. And from, you know, like I said, all of Colton's research, we were like, this is. This is a very viable way to farm a small amount of land to do something that we are excited and happy about and that will provide, you know, not only nourishment, but provide. Because again, we don't, or I don't want to just make money and provide a service or a product. I want to provide a service and. And so that's. That's exciting. [00:59:28] Speaker A: Well, let's talk a little bit about the actual products. Um, you know, where can people get them? What are they? Is it a whole chicken or is it pieces and maybe any. I don't know if you know any yet about nutrient value or if you do testing like that. I just know in general, chickens out on pasture definitely regenerated soil. That grass is so nutrient dense, therefore the egg is too. But speak a little bit about maybe that part and then how, you know, what actually is for sale and how do people get it, that kind of thing. [00:59:57] Speaker C: Well, we haven't. Because we're so new right now, we haven't had any testing done on our meat and eggs. That's a future thing that is on our long list of things to do that, that we feel would be very beneficial. Because, you know, if you go to our website and look, we try to be very, very open about what we're doing, the processes, the practices and. But we also, you know, be very transparent. But we're also trying to be informational. We want people to know why they should choose this product and how it will impact them and their families and their nutrition. So definitely we want to do that. Do you want to talk about products and what we offer? [01:00:57] Speaker D: Yeah, for the products, we have eggs and then we have whole birds wings breast, chicken livers and hearts, leg quarters and tenders. All the, all the cuts that you can think of, we have available. [01:01:22] Speaker C: And we just purchased a freeze dryer and so we're also going to freeze dry eggs and offer those. And we're really excited about that. We do a lot of hunting. We hunt deer and elk. And so we're excited about the Opportunity of offering freeze dried eggs, not only because of the stable shelf life. I mean, if you take care of it properly and store it properly, I mean, you know, it can last up to 100 years. I mean, the shelf life is amazing. But being able to carry, you know, a product of dry eggs wherever you're going, whether it be a family vacation, camping, hunting. In our case, we'll be able to have fresh, nutritious eggs wherever we're going. And the cool thing about that, it's a tablespoon of dried eggs to a tablespoon of water. You stir that up and I promise it's just like you cracked a fresh egg. So we're excited about offering that soon. [01:02:32] Speaker A: It's awesome. And where can people buy these things? [01:02:37] Speaker C: They can. We've got everything on sale through our website site. [01:02:42] Speaker A: Okay. [01:02:42] Speaker C: And as you stated, we've already got location set up in various cities. We are selling at the Merc there at Veritas, also providing drop off locations in Garden City, which is where we are for our local people. We've got a drop off location in Midland, which is about 45 minutes from us. And we've got an additional drop off location in San Angelo, which is just about an hour away from us. But as you get, we're farmers, so we live out in the middle of nowhere. So in order to reach the people that have been reaching out to us, we were having to go, you know, spread our wings a little bit and do a little driving. But it's, it's way worth it when you get testimonials from people. [01:03:40] Speaker A: Yes, it is. And I can tell you guys, those eggs talk about that rich deep yellow orange, I mean, and delicious. Yeah, y' all are doing a great job. Colton, we've got a couple minutes left, but what are you dreaming up next, as you listen to podcasts and do your research, I know you got plenty on your hands and you'll just expand probably what you've got. But as far as down the road you already mentioned maybe cows or something, but kind of what's the future looking like for nourishing farmstead? [01:04:15] Speaker D: Yeah, I think either either sheep or cattle. Sheep are pretty intriguing to me right now because they can help with the weed pressure and everything. If, if you've got an got an area of your fields that are, that's you've had weed problems in, planted in a cover crop and then go hit those areas pretty hard and try to get those weeds under control. But yeah, and I mean last night at the Simply event, there was multiple People that were seeing if we're, that were asking if we had grass fed beef and everything and it's like, not yet, but hopefully, hopefully here soon. [01:05:04] Speaker C: Yeah, they lit it, they lit a fire under Colton yesterday about thinking big and expanding. But as far as nourishing farmstead and. [01:05:13] Speaker A: How. [01:05:15] Speaker C: How it's just grown from, you know, our initial start, we're also looking at maybe in the spring almost doubling, aren't we? I mean, yeah, it's, it's a beautiful thing how, how people are catching on to it and reaching out to us and, and wanting the product. So. [01:05:41] Speaker A: Yeah, there's a huge demand. People have opened up their eyes to the fact that these systems of the world have been corrupted. They're money driven, profit driven, driven. Nothing wrong with profit. But when that's the sole purpose and it's at the expense of our health, then something's got to give. And the people are waking up to that fact across the board. Not just agriculture, but medicine and everything else. So, yeah, there's a real hunger and a desire. People looking for folks like you who are doing the right thing. And I would say doing the kingdom thing, taking care of that land, stewarding that land and doing what's right for the land and therefore the animal and the people too. So thank y' all for stepping out. I know it's hard, can be really hard in a, you know, especially a family tradition of doing something a little bit different. But I'm sure the great, great grandparents would absolutely be applauding what y' all are doing because really, you're getting back to your roots. You're getting back to the way it used to be. Just like we try to preach with medicine here, let's get back to how we used to do it. There used to not be chronic disease. [01:06:43] Speaker C: Right? [01:06:43] Speaker A: We can get back to that. But it's so intricately related with, with, with the food and with the soil. It's all combined. You can't separate this stuff. So thank you all for being an example, the tip of the spear down there in Garden City, bringing in some new, new way of thinking and doing. So appreciate y' all coming on the show and sharing with the audience. And guys, one more time. It's nourishing Farmstead tx. You can see. Read more about their story, their practices, their products, contact them from the website if you want to, to learn more about what they're doing or if you're a farmer and want to learn more, Colton's got some wisdom to share and I'm sure back and forth but anyways, thanks guys for coming on the show. Any last word? [01:07:31] Speaker C: I guess I would just like to becoming from a farming family, I want to give the farmers out there that are having a hard time right now because it is difficult. You know, all the inputs are so expensive and as you said, we're, we're sort of a prisoner to the governmental system regarding being a farmer, you know, buying, like you said, buying insurance, buying, you know, having to do this, having to do that in order to, you know, if your crop doesn't make, to get, you know, subsidies or monies back from the government. So it is a hard system, it's a hard time for farmers right now. And like you said, the water too. I mean in the area that we live in, there's lots of oil field which is, they're fracking and using the water that the farmers typically would use for their crops. And so it, it's an important time to really step back, I think, step out of the box, be innovative, you know, prey and discern upon things and, and look at if there is a better way to do things. And like on our chip where we have the chickens, we are totally regenerative. Everything is being done as our ancestors did and like you said, in a God way and the rest of the farm, you know, it's hard, like you said, to just jump in and do change everything all at once. But it's, it's okay to go slow and just start making sustainable decisions and things that are sustainably, one step, step at a time going towards that goal of being regenerative. You don't have to do it all at once. But I think we are proof with that, you know, five plus acres of land that it can be done, that the, the dirt out there can come back to being live soil and that those five acres are green and lush and there are so many insects and just the bees and the, you know, the birds, just the whole, it's, it's actually fun to just go stand out there and watch it all and see that, oh, this is what God intended for our, you know, our land, our. [01:10:08] Speaker D: World to be like dung, be recycling the nutrients and everything. It's all a cool little ecosystem working all together. [01:10:24] Speaker A: Guys. It's encouraging. I know you're going to encourage a lot of farmers and just people in general to know that there are solutions out there, there's people that are doing it and it can be done even out here in West Texas, despite the drought. So thank you all for all you're doing. Stepping out, being brave and bold and working hard and. And producing such a great product. So, y', all, everybody, check it out. Nourishing farmsteadtx.com this is Charlene and Colton Blue. I'm Dr. Ben Edwards. Thanks for joining us today. We'll be back next week with another great show. Remember, you're the cure. Bye. Bye.