Speaker 1: Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife,
Speaker 1: wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to
Speaker 1: conserving both. Big shout out to Onyx Hunt for their
Speaker 1: support of this podcast. I'm your host, Lake Pickle, and
Speaker 1: on this episode, we're going back to the state of Florida.
Speaker 1: We're going back to the water crisis. However, this time
Speaker 1: we're gonna hear about it from a different perspective. Okay,
Speaker 1: so allow me to explain kind of the odd setting
Speaker 1: that you're seeing me in right now. I'll start with
Speaker 1: the setting first, and then why explain why this episode's
Speaker 1: going to be a little bit different. First, the setting,
Speaker 1: I am on the Mississippi River with Clay and Josh
Speaker 1: Bilmaker right now, and we are turkey hunting. And at
Speaker 1: this camp where I'm recording this episode, we have electricity
Speaker 1: and starlink and all that stuff. However, we just lost
Speaker 1: power and the generator quit working, so I had to
Speaker 1: drive out of the river bottoms to the highest hill
Speaker 1: I could find and connect to my phone hot spot
Speaker 1: so I could conduct this interview and record this podcast.
Speaker 1: And so that's why you're seeing all this and why
Speaker 1: it just why it's a little bit different. Now moving
Speaker 1: on to why this episode is going to be different
Speaker 1: than probably a lot of other regular Backwoods University episodes.
Speaker 1: So in the last episode, we focused on the water crisis,
Speaker 1: some of the water issues happening in Florida, and we
Speaker 1: heard from Captain Mike and Captain Cody, who both work
Speaker 1: with Captains for Clean Water. What we're doing this week,
Speaker 1: and returning to that subject again, is we're going to
Speaker 1: hear about that same subject, but we're going to hear
Speaker 1: about it from a very different perspective. And I'm not
Speaker 1: going to speak for them. I'm not going to give
Speaker 1: anything else away. I want to let them speak for
Speaker 1: themselves because I believe they've earned the right to do so.
Speaker 1: And like we've said in this show before, I believe
Speaker 1: in not telling you how to think. I believe in
Speaker 1: sharing facts, and I believe in never being afraid to
Speaker 1: share every possible perspective, every possible side of the story.
Speaker 1: So I hope you enjoyed this episode. And yeah, good
Speaker 1: lie there. If you're hunting turkeys, that's what me and
Speaker 1: Clay and Josh are doing. Let's get into it.
Speaker 2: Lake. My name is Pat Durden. I'm a past president
Speaker 2: of the Florida Cattleman's Association. I currently serve on the
Speaker 2: Farm Bureau State Board of Directors, and I'm a seventh
Speaker 2: generation agriculturist, is what I would call it, because we
Speaker 2: haven't always just been in cattle. We have timber and
Speaker 2: I've grown produce and my granddad was a road cropper
Speaker 2: and grew shade tobacco in North Florida. So a pretty
Speaker 2: long history of being an integral part of agriculture. My
Speaker 2: dad was actually a county extension agent for thirty five
Speaker 2: years for the University of Florida at IPUs. And so
Speaker 2: I think, you know, ag is a great part of Florida,
Speaker 2: and we have a good story to tell of how
Speaker 2: agriculture has always been a part of Florida before Florida
Speaker 2: was Florida.
Speaker 1: Actually, yeah, so so Florida Cattlemans. And I'm trying to
Speaker 1: just set the stage here, so like, what what is
Speaker 1: the Florida Cattleman's What is what who do they represent?
Speaker 1: And what is the what is their function within the state?
Speaker 2: All Right, So the Florida Cattleman's is a grassroots organization,
Speaker 2: uh that you join as a member. We have county affiliates.
Speaker 2: Is what I'll call them. So we have county chapters
Speaker 2: across the state. Not every single county has a chapter.
Speaker 2: Sometimes two or three counties joined together and have a
Speaker 2: chapter together. And the purpose really was, you know, just
Speaker 2: to bring our issues to Tallahassee. I think it dates
Speaker 2: back to our inception is maybe nineteen thirty six. So
Speaker 2: the founders thought it was important for us to always
Speaker 2: being involved in how the state progressed and move forward
Speaker 2: with with legislation or regulation. And we've always thought it
Speaker 2: was important to be a part of that as an organization.
Speaker 2: And collectively we meet quarterly our state boarder directors and
Speaker 2: and go over issues that may be you know, popping
Speaker 2: up around the state or things that we feel are
Speaker 2: important to be heard on and kind of you know,
Speaker 2: collectively work together to to come to you know, positive
Speaker 2: resolutions on those things. On behalf of Florida Cattleman's.
Speaker 1: Right and another question, And just to kind of explain
Speaker 1: what I'm doing here, Like we're eventually we'll get to
Speaker 1: like the meat of this conversation, but I'm trying to
Speaker 1: like make sure everyone fully understands the angle we're coming
Speaker 1: from here. So a lot of people are some people
Speaker 1: may think they're like man Florida cattleman's. We're talking about farmers, ranchers,
Speaker 1: row croppers, people that are you know, growing a crop
Speaker 1: or you know, raising livestock, Like how some of them
Speaker 1: may be wondering like why does that, what does that
Speaker 1: even have to do with wildlife? You know, what does
Speaker 1: that have to do with wildlife conservation? And so I
Speaker 1: kind of paint that picture for me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so absolutely so. I don't really know a single
Speaker 2: farmer rancher that doesn't love to hunt and fish. And
Speaker 2: that's basically an integral part of being a Floridian. I mean,
Speaker 2: when you can hunt and fish year around in our state,
Speaker 2: and you know, ranch's encompass about nineteen percent of the
Speaker 2: private property in Florida, the state, And I guess I'll
Speaker 2: say that, you know, this is kind of a little
Speaker 2: corny thing that I've all always heard, and certainly I
Speaker 2: heard it directly from my grandfather and father. But you know,
Speaker 2: we live off the land, and we have to be
Speaker 2: stewards of the land, and it's always been important, certainly
Speaker 2: in our family to leave it better than the generation before.
Speaker 2: And that's a story that's told all across not even
Speaker 2: just Florida. But you know farmers and ranches around the
Speaker 2: nation that's just almost ingrained in their DNA that they're
Speaker 2: they're responsible for the wildlife that reside on their property,
Speaker 2: They're responsible for the water, and I guess most people
Speaker 2: don't realize that whether it's a farm or a ranch,
Speaker 2: there's I mean a pretty large portion of the property,
Speaker 2: even if it's farmed intensively, that is generally just open
Speaker 2: to wildlife, I mean, and for water recharge areas, and
Speaker 2: and just the habit tat that they thrive in. And
Speaker 2: I think every farmer and rancher I know it's it's
Speaker 2: really important to them to be good stewards. I think
Speaker 2: we all hope to make a profit every year. That's
Speaker 2: really something that you have to try and do to
Speaker 2: stay in business. But when you go to a farmer
Speaker 2: or rancher's place and what they really want to show
Speaker 2: you is is their wildlife. You know, they want to
Speaker 2: show you those things because that's really just who they are.
Speaker 2: I mean, when you know you're not going to generally
Speaker 2: make a lot of money, or you're you're kind of
Speaker 2: risking a lot for a very small return sometimes on investment.
Speaker 2: The return that I think a lot of us get
Speaker 2: is that we get to live out there on the
Speaker 2: land and see it and live it, and be a
Speaker 2: part of the wildlife and be good stewards. And you know,
Speaker 2: even if we just break even or something a year like,
Speaker 2: that's so rewarding, I mean, and I think that's just
Speaker 2: a I mean, that's just part of who we are,
Speaker 2: caring about the land and the wildlife. And you know,
Speaker 2: I've always said if we could, if we could do
Speaker 2: one thing in Florida that I would love to do
Speaker 2: that we can't is I'd love to take all twenty
Speaker 2: four million Floridians and take them on a two or
Speaker 2: three day farming ranch tour so they could just so
Speaker 2: they could see that and feel it. And I think
Speaker 2: they would really see what drives farmers and ranchers and
Speaker 2: what they're really passionate about. Certainly we're passionate about growing
Speaker 2: food and fiber for the nation and for our fellow Floridians.
Speaker 2: But you know, the real reward a lot of times
Speaker 2: is just being allowed to be out there in God's
Speaker 2: country and with the wildlife and the land and just
Speaker 2: know that you did a good job of protecting that
Speaker 2: for another year or for the next generation or whatever
Speaker 2: whatever it may be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, man, And I've had the privilege and just
Speaker 1: for the folks listening, uh, Pat and I talked a
Speaker 1: little bit before this recording and realized we had some
Speaker 1: mutual friends and so like a mutual friend of both
Speaker 1: yours en mind, Jim Strickland, who owns a place that
Speaker 1: is that is very dear to me. And I've actually
Speaker 1: referenced it in this podcast before and I even said
Speaker 1: it was. It was on the we did an episode
Speaker 1: on pollinators and I said something along the lines of
Speaker 1: I wish you could take people out there to Blackbeard's
Speaker 1: and walk them through those prairies and let them see
Speaker 1: the wetlands, let them see the wild turkeys, let them
Speaker 1: see all these crazy shore birds he has flying around there.
Speaker 1: Just and it just like this, just this incredible place.
Speaker 1: And like I do think sometimes when people hear the
Speaker 1: word farm or ranch, they I'm not saying. I mean,
Speaker 1: obviously the commodity the crop is is part of it,
Speaker 1: but the the wildlife side of it is is overlooked,
Speaker 1: not by the farmer, but I think by people that
Speaker 1: are on the outside looking in sometimes. And you did
Speaker 1: a really you did a fantastic job explaining that, and
Speaker 1: and it was a perfect segue as well, because you
Speaker 1: made mentioned stewarding the wildlife and the water. And the
Speaker 1: main point of us having this conversation today is so
Speaker 1: the last episode, we we talked about this water issue
Speaker 1: that's going on in Florida, and man, I don't I
Speaker 1: don't want to. I don't want to try to steer
Speaker 1: you any certain direction. I don't want to. I don't
Speaker 1: want to lead the question or anything like that. I
Speaker 1: just I want to give you the opportunity. I'm I'm
Speaker 1: a big believer in in sharing all perspectives of the story.
Speaker 1: And so from what was talked about last time and
Speaker 1: just just a gloss over, we talked about the water
Speaker 1: in Okachobee, the canals that were built to go to
Speaker 1: that go to the Saint Lucie and Clusahatchie rivers, and
Speaker 1: these discharges and all these water quality issues, and that
Speaker 1: was all discussed in last episode. I just I want
Speaker 1: to open the floor up to you and give you
Speaker 1: the chance to share your thoughts on it and your
Speaker 1: perspective from the farmer rancher, from from from that point
Speaker 1: of view.
Speaker 2: Okay, So I appreciate it. We were. I appreciate the
Speaker 2: opportunity to talk about this, and so what I really
Speaker 2: love for everybody to understand is the Everglades Restoration Project
Speaker 2: is the largest ecological restoration project in the world. So
Speaker 2: in the world, we're talking about something that has never
Speaker 2: been done on the scale that we're that we're talking about.
Speaker 2: So it's a pretty pretty intensive project. I think there's, uh,
Speaker 2: if you drill down into it, there's some thing like
Speaker 2: thirty federal and state agencies that are involved. If you
Speaker 2: drill a little deeper into the impact, there's like over
Speaker 2: two hundred and fifty if you get down to the
Speaker 2: municipalities and cities and counties that are involves tremendous, so tremendous.
Speaker 2: This is a herculean effort to try and restore, to
Speaker 2: restore this. But part of the project really is that
Speaker 2: gets left out a lot of times is it is
Speaker 2: for flood control, and it is for the ecological restoration,
Speaker 2: and it is also for the supply of water to
Speaker 2: the population of Florida, which obviously that includes agriculture because
Speaker 2: we all have to eat and sometimes crops have to
Speaker 2: be irrigated, and the flood control is a part of that.
Speaker 2: In this region as well, So I guess I really
Speaker 2: just want to reiterate how, like I said earlier, how
Speaker 2: important it is for farmers and ranchers to leave the
Speaker 2: land in a better place than they've had it. And
Speaker 2: this is a complicated, complicated issue, but I will since
Speaker 2: we're going to go back to that episode, I just
Speaker 2: want to lay a little bit more groundwork. One of
Speaker 2: your guests mentioned that they had come to Florida in
Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight, and that kind of alluded to the
Speaker 2: fishing was great and all that everything was good. Then, well,
Speaker 2: a few things have happened in Florida since nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 2: The population used to be nine million people. It is
Speaker 2: now twenty four million people. Tourism used to be around
Speaker 2: twenty million people annually. Now it's almost to one hundred
Speaker 2: and fifty million people. We have over two million less
Speaker 2: acres of farmland, and farmers have adopted precision fertilization and
Speaker 2: best management practices that have drastically reduced any negative impact
Speaker 2: that we may have on the environment and water quality.
Speaker 2: And to go back to best management practices, i'd like
Speaker 2: to say that that is a voluntary program that farmers
Speaker 2: and ranters enter into that. It's administered by the Department
Speaker 2: of Agwater Policy, so it's a pretty rigorous program. They
Speaker 2: have to follow it, it's checked up on, and all
Speaker 2: of our practices are approved through the department. So I
Speaker 2: think when we talk about all those things that have
Speaker 2: happened in that time span, just a sheer number of
Speaker 2: people in Florida that I mean, I guess if we
Speaker 2: could go back to seventy eight, we probably if we
Speaker 2: were going to realize that our population was going to
Speaker 2: far more than double and that everybody was going to
Speaker 2: want to come to Florida, that you know, we probably
Speaker 2: should have done some things differently, not just in agriculture certainly,
Speaker 2: but you know, just across the entire state. Because one
Speaker 2: part that's left out of just that sheer population is
Speaker 2: most of those people are South Florida, so Orlando south,
Speaker 2: and they're along the coast and waterways. So there's there's
Speaker 2: a lot of what I call people problems here that
Speaker 2: are a real hurdle to the restoration and water quality.
Speaker 2: I really believe that, actually I know that farmers and
Speaker 2: ranchers are actually have to be and are a part
Speaker 2: of the solution to our water issues. In Florida. As
Speaker 2: we lose more green space farmland, it's going to become
Speaker 2: exponentially harder to accomplish the goals that we want for
Speaker 2: the Everglades restoration. So agriculture is we are at the table,
Speaker 2: We are a part of the solution. We actually invest
Speaker 2: our own money in solving issues, and I think a
Speaker 2: lot of times we just get painted with this broad
Speaker 2: brush that you know, it's pretty We're pretty easy to
Speaker 2: paint sometimes simply because the likelihood of a fellow Floridian, Noah,
Speaker 2: a farmer rancher is pretty low. So you know, if
Speaker 2: you want to if you want to pick a target
Speaker 2: that uh, that to to paint as a as as
Speaker 2: a as a problem to fundraise off of or something,
Speaker 2: you know, pick the pick the group with the smallest
Speaker 2: number of people. The only problem is that we are
Speaker 2: absolutely going to be a part of the solution and
Speaker 2: we have to stay viable and engaged and we want
Speaker 2: to and we've been a part of that and conservation,
Speaker 2: most of the conservation efforts, certainly on land conservation in Florida.
Speaker 2: I mean we have spent almost more political capital, if
Speaker 2: you want to call it that. In Tallahassee fighting for
Speaker 2: I mean, this is agriculture, the Florida Cattleman's or Farm Bureau,
Speaker 2: fighting for funding for conservation easement programs and where those
Speaker 2: lands will be protected in perpetuity forever. You know, catleb
Speaker 2: been in Florida since fifteen twenty one, and and we
Speaker 2: have a thousand people a day moving here. Now we're
Speaker 2: at twenty four million people. It's never been more important
Speaker 2: than it is today to protect agriculture and protect the
Speaker 2: part of the solution that we can provide to clean water.
Speaker 2: And I hate to ever I told you this earlier.
Speaker 2: It's kind of always been in our DNA to sit
Speaker 2: down and have conversations with people, whether we always agreed
Speaker 2: or not that we don't really like we don't see
Speaker 2: the benefit of having an enemy anywhere. But it really
Speaker 2: does baffle me sometimes when folks just don't understand how
Speaker 2: much agriculture we make our living off the land we
Speaker 2: have to have uh clean water. We we absolutely have
Speaker 2: no intention and never have UH done anything that would
Speaker 2: that would have been detrimental to to water quality or
Speaker 2: or wildlife. And certainly over time we have gotten extremely
Speaker 2: extremely good at doing things with utilizing less resources, precision,
Speaker 2: delivering of fertilizers to to crops is is absolutely paramount
Speaker 2: too to agriculture staying economically viable. I mean what we
Speaker 2: have going on right now, I mean with fuel prices
Speaker 2: and and most people don't realize, but fertilizer as well,
Speaker 2: with the with the conflict that's going on in Iran
Speaker 2: and and the implications of that that hits farmers directly
Speaker 2: and with with it certainly hits all of us directly
Speaker 2: with fuel prices, but with h with the commodities and
Speaker 2: things we need to grow the crops for for the nation.
Speaker 2: We are not wasteful with them. We we utilize as
Speaker 2: limited amount as possible, because every dollar that farmer or
Speaker 2: rancher spends on fertilizer is a dollar that they don't
Speaker 2: have in their pocket. It's it's not something that that
Speaker 2: uh is done in any way that would be uh,
Speaker 2: you know, wasteful. It's not. I mean, we don't just
Speaker 2: keep a pasture green like a golf course just for
Speaker 2: the heck of it, for for aesthetics.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: It has to make sense for us to do it.
Speaker 2: And I mean that's leads into kind of one of
Speaker 2: the problems we talked about with the sheer population of Florida.
Speaker 2: I mean there's there's there's probably a lot more fertilizer
Speaker 2: that's used in people's yards and golf courses. And they
Speaker 2: look great, but you know they're they're a part of
Speaker 2: the problem as well as just you know, our sheer
Speaker 2: numbers in Florida.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you about so talking about when we
Speaker 1: talked earlier, you you mentioned a little bit about you
Speaker 1: told me a little bit about your dad. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: I don't want to speak for you, but I just
Speaker 1: thought some of the things that you shared were fascinating
Speaker 1: from just what he has seen from his time farming
Speaker 1: and how it's changed until now, and how like the
Speaker 1: land ethic real the land ethic hasn't really changed, just
Speaker 1: there's been other circumstances that have changed. And I'd like
Speaker 1: to hear some of that.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, So you know, my dad graduated from the
Speaker 2: University of Florida in nineteen sixty with an animal science degree. Uh.
Speaker 2: You know, part of your job as an as an
Speaker 2: extension agent is to help advise farmers and ranchers on
Speaker 2: on the newest and latest UH practices that have been
Speaker 2: studied at the Land Grant University, University of Florida, trying
Speaker 2: to do the best thing for the land and the
Speaker 2: crop you're growing. Right, So, I mean the practices have
Speaker 2: drastically changed. I mean certainly there's there's stuff, you know,
Speaker 2: in his time that that we don't. We don't subscribe
Speaker 2: to anymore like that was. You know, it's just we don't,
Speaker 2: Like I said, I'll do the easy one. We don't.
Speaker 2: Nobody fertilizes like they used to. Uh it's an it's
Speaker 2: unnecessary uh two to do it that way when we
Speaker 2: have the technology to precisely put it right where we
Speaker 2: want it at at the root system, in the in
Speaker 2: the plant bed. You don't have to do that, and
Speaker 2: we don't. And that's why you've seen a lot of changes,
Speaker 2: even down where we're talking about south of the lake.
Speaker 2: You know, honestly, most people think this is a fallacy,
Speaker 2: but it's it's just absolute truth. The water leaves those
Speaker 2: farms cleaner than when they receive it. I mean, they're
Speaker 2: literally cleaning the water that is coming onto their farms
Speaker 2: and ranches, and it is leaving cleaner than they receive it.
Speaker 2: It's I mean a lot of that is part of it,
Speaker 2: just changing practices, using utilizing best management practices, the technology
Speaker 2: that we have the advantage of today. I mean, and
Speaker 2: that's why I say the farms and ranches are absolutely
Speaker 2: we have we have absolutely stepped up with the technology
Speaker 2: that's available today and and transformed the way that farming
Speaker 2: and ranching is done. And we've in doing that. We're
Speaker 2: always improving. The university is always researching. We we advocate
Speaker 2: for those funds that the legislature and make sure that
Speaker 2: they're able to do the research so we can continue
Speaker 2: to improve, so we can continue to back to be
Speaker 2: the stewards of the land that you know, like I
Speaker 2: said earlier, that's ingrained in our DNA, like we want
Speaker 2: to do those things. We expend the time and energy
Speaker 2: to learn from from the research, We expend the time
Speaker 2: and energy to advocate for the funds for the research,
Speaker 2: and and we invest in that. And uh, you know,
Speaker 2: we talked about this. You know that we all live
Speaker 2: in little bubbles. Sometimes agricultures over here in their bubble
Speaker 2: and and maybe the uh you know, the uh, the
Speaker 2: charter boat guys on the coast, or they live in
Speaker 2: their bubble of being the charter boat guy and uh
Speaker 2: and and a lot of times that's part of the
Speaker 2: problem is not not kind of crossing over and and
Speaker 2: and talking to each other and really seeing uh what
Speaker 2: goes on and and what's really in their heart and
Speaker 2: what's in their mind and what they're really what they're
Speaker 2: really about. So I uh, you know, like I said,
Speaker 2: I'm not for making an enemy of anyone, but I
Speaker 2: certainly think if you're going to speak on the topics
Speaker 2: uh of clean water and and the everyblad's restoration, that
Speaker 2: that you have to be willing to sit down with
Speaker 2: agriculture and have really relevant conversations and and not just
Speaker 2: point fingers because you know, with with a thousand people
Speaker 2: of day moving here, you know it's it's not going
Speaker 2: to get easier. We we have to work together. We
Speaker 2: have to uh see that we honestly want apparently the
Speaker 2: exact same things in a lot of ways. And it's
Speaker 2: almost like you laughed, it's actually when you're on my side,
Speaker 2: it can get maddening, but it is kind of comical
Speaker 2: at some point that that you know it. I mean,
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie. Some of our people get really
Speaker 2: really been out of shape when they hear stuff from people.
Speaker 2: When when they're like, man, I grew up here I'm
Speaker 2: seven generations. We love hunting and fishing. That's literally, if
Speaker 2: we could just go do that twenty four to seven,
Speaker 2: we would do that, But you know, we got to
Speaker 2: pay some bills in the meantime. Yeah, you know, let
Speaker 2: me make sure.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure I want to I understand you, but
Speaker 1: let me make sure I can hear you correctly. What
Speaker 1: are the points you're trying to make is is basically
Speaker 1: because of the level of urban growth I'll call it,
Speaker 1: that Florida is experiencing. You're saying that the farmer, the rancher,
Speaker 1: the ad guy that has these areas of green space
Speaker 1: need to be held of value because you know, if
Speaker 1: it's not for them, that's probably going to get turned
Speaker 1: into an apartment complex or housing or something like that.
Speaker 1: Am I understanding you correctly?
Speaker 2: Absolutely? I mean for every there's I have never seen
Speaker 2: a farmer ranch that doesn't turn into a golf course,
Speaker 2: an apartment complex, a neighborhood, or a Walmart. I mean
Speaker 2: that's literally, I mean, and it is devastatingly sad as
Speaker 2: we see that happen. Another thing that I would like
Speaker 2: for the audience to really understand is, you know a
Speaker 2: lot of people in agriculture are what we call land
Speaker 2: rich and cash poor. Well what that means is it's
Speaker 2: taken generations, generations for that family to maybe have that
Speaker 2: farmer ranch paid for, probably still not paid for, probably
Speaker 2: borrowing money on it just to continue what they're doing.
Speaker 2: And and the reality is with the with the population
Speaker 2: boom in Florida, that has just I mean it is
Speaker 2: unheard of. It is it has continued for decades. This
Speaker 2: is not a recent problem. It is just continuing to
Speaker 2: be exacerbated that that when a farmer rancher chooses to
Speaker 2: stay on that land and farm it and ranch it,
Speaker 2: that they should be applauded. I mean they really should
Speaker 2: be applauded because the easier path financially would absolutely be
Speaker 2: to sell out. I mean it absolutely would be. But
Speaker 2: but that's where the big problem comes because it's in
Speaker 2: their DNA. They can't most of the time bear to
Speaker 2: do that. I mean, you know when you're the when
Speaker 2: you're the generation that that decides to do that instead
Speaker 2: of doing what your grandfather and your great grandfather did
Speaker 2: before you, which was take care of that land and
Speaker 2: keep it in the family and and have that lifestyle.
Speaker 2: Like I said, like we we we do have a
Speaker 2: great lifestyle. We get to hangout in uh the woods,
Speaker 2: in the cabbage woods, or or or in the in
Speaker 2: the swamps or wherever, and and make a living doing
Speaker 2: those things, you know. And so that is really what
Speaker 2: I think keeps a lot of people in agriculture in Florida,
Speaker 2: certainly on the ranching side, is just that heritage and
Speaker 2: and that just I mean, I can't get away from
Speaker 2: just in your in our DNA that that we are
Speaker 2: here to protect the land for the next generation and
Speaker 2: take care of the resources and make sure we leave
Speaker 2: it better than we find it. And I think if
Speaker 2: you sit down with almost any farm or rancher, that's
Speaker 2: going to be paramount to the way they make decisions
Speaker 2: and the way they think about generational transitions that happen
Speaker 2: in families, and how they just really stress about trying
Speaker 2: to make sure that they can do that, that they
Speaker 2: can pass it on to the next generation and keep
Speaker 2: that green space for awful Gridians are going to benefit
Speaker 2: from that, certainly, and it's really hard. It's really hard
Speaker 2: for somebody that doesn't that just sees it as a
Speaker 2: as a as an acre of land and a value
Speaker 2: to comprehend that sometimes sure. I mean, I think what
Speaker 2: I'd say is take your most cherished item, and it
Speaker 2: could be as simple as like my granddad gave me
Speaker 2: a pocket watch that I always thought was really cool,
Speaker 2: and there's you can't buy it from me. It's that
Speaker 2: it's those kinds of things. That's how farmers and ranchers
Speaker 2: look at the land. I mean, in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: Sure do you mind? And I'm not asking you to
Speaker 1: go through all of them, because I'm sure it's it's complicated.
Speaker 1: And but like as far as like Pratt, you know,
Speaker 1: you mentioned there's some areas where you know, if the
Speaker 1: water comes through this farm, the waters and better quality
Speaker 1: than when it got there. Like are there certain practices
Speaker 1: or certain things that those farms or ranches are are
Speaker 1: putting into place to to to do something about the
Speaker 1: water water quality or they're like specific, uh specific specific
Speaker 1: programs or what are they what are they doing to
Speaker 1: aid in water quality directly?
Speaker 2: So you broke up on some of it lake, but
Speaker 2: uh so best management practices that that program kind of
Speaker 2: dictates a lot of things. And there's there's best management
Speaker 2: practice for CALCAF operations. They're they're specific to side operations
Speaker 2: they're specific to produce and and and basically all the
Speaker 2: commodities have their own very specific, detailed guidelines that they follow,
Speaker 2: and that's what best management practices are. Solely the purpose
Speaker 2: of them is for water quality and to ensure water quality,
Speaker 2: you know. So I mean there there's there's a ton
Speaker 2: of different things that uh that ways that happens. I
Speaker 2: mean there's uh water recharge areas on ranches that store
Speaker 2: water just naturally. There's public private partnerships on farms and
Speaker 2: ranches where they're store in water. Uh, you know, working
Speaker 2: with uh their water management district.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: You know, we have five districts. Obviously, UH, the one
Speaker 2: we're talking about the most and generally has the most
Speaker 2: funding because it is important that it does because that's
Speaker 2: where a lot of the population is a South Florida
Speaker 2: water management district. So farmers and ranchers work directly with
Speaker 2: them in in specific programs that that the water management
Speaker 2: district administers specifically depending on which district you're in. Uh.
Speaker 2: There's cost share programs for for changing practices, you know,
Speaker 2: like as simple as no til drills, precision fertilizer applicator
Speaker 2: equipment and machines. There's i mean, I don't know that
Speaker 2: there's a single thing to point out exactly because it's
Speaker 2: it is not looked at in a single minded way
Speaker 2: as certainly a multi prong shot approach to to trying
Speaker 2: to improve in every facet that we do and looking
Speaker 2: at every practice that we do and ensuring that that's
Speaker 2: you know, ensuring water quality as it leaves the farmer ranch.
Speaker 2: So it's it's kind of it's kind of as complicated
Speaker 2: as the Everglades restoration, having you know, two hundred and
Speaker 2: fifty government regulatory entities involved in trying to make it
Speaker 2: all come together.
Speaker 1: Sure, Sure, and that makes sense. I was just trying
Speaker 1: to get you know, if somebody was like wondering, like, well,
Speaker 1: what are they doing to help with with water quality?
Speaker 1: Which brings you back to like what are the original
Speaker 1: points right where you're saying, I wish you could take
Speaker 1: every Floridian out to do a farm tour, because again,
Speaker 1: when when you're saying what you're saying, I can line
Speaker 1: up with it directly because I've spent so much time
Speaker 1: on places like Jim Strickland's place, where I mean, I
Speaker 1: remember because the conversations I've had with him about Florida
Speaker 1: Cattleman's and the Florida Conservation Group, and he always he
Speaker 1: would say these statements like showing that conservation and agriculture
Speaker 1: can can coincide with one another quite easily, especially when
Speaker 1: you're when you're carrying out actions like like they do
Speaker 1: at that place. Yeah, and there's so about like, yeah.
Speaker 2: There's federal programs. I just hit on some of the
Speaker 2: state NRCS has a lot of a lot of programs.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And and it really is kind of dependent on your
Speaker 2: region and area Florida of which ones apply where. But
Speaker 2: I mean there's, like I said, you know, there's the
Speaker 2: Water Management District has programs that that everybody is involved
Speaker 2: in depending on their district. Uh. You have the state
Speaker 2: b MPs, and then you have nr cs and and
Speaker 2: you know, it's like I said, it's a really it's
Speaker 2: really multi pronged approach to ensuring that that we are
Speaker 2: that we are providing uh not only food and fiber
Speaker 2: for the nation, but you know that we were certainly
Speaker 2: maintaining high water quality for all Floridians.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, let me ask you this, and it may
Speaker 1: like it may be going back a little bit. I
Speaker 1: just want to make sure we don't miss any details.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: Kind of like the crux of the last episode, the
Speaker 1: way it was framed up is that you know, Okachobee
Speaker 1: used to uh you know, used to not have this
Speaker 1: dam around it. Now it's dammed up and you have
Speaker 1: these canals and this fresh water gets dumped into these
Speaker 1: rivers and the water quality gets tanked. Uh, and it's
Speaker 1: it's it's really bad and something needs to be done
Speaker 1: about it. What is what is your take on that?
Speaker 1: Is that? Is that true? Is that is that as
Speaker 1: bad as it sounded?
Speaker 2: What?
Speaker 1: What's your take on that?
Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, there are issues that need to be addressed,
Speaker 2: and it would be nice, like I said, if we
Speaker 2: could snap our fingers and and solve those problems.
Speaker 1: But we're.
Speaker 2: This is where I have to go back to just
Speaker 2: the sheer, herculean effort that we're talking about here with
Speaker 2: the with the Everglades restoration project and how it you know,
Speaker 2: I mean we're talking about from you know, Orlando to
Speaker 2: the Keys. This is a massive area and just the
Speaker 2: the sheer amount of water that we're talking about. And
Speaker 2: it's not like Florida. We're not a dry air in state.
Speaker 2: You know, we get a pretty good pretty good bit
Speaker 2: of rainfall every year, and so I wish I could
Speaker 2: just say that, hey, just do X y Z. But again,
Speaker 2: when you have the population we have and you have
Speaker 2: to worry about flood control and you have to also
Speaker 2: try and provide clean water for everyone, and at the
Speaker 2: same time you're you're literally trying to figure out how
Speaker 2: we're going to engineer this. I mean, I don't think
Speaker 2: people understand that that the delay in completing a lot
Speaker 2: of this stuff is due to a lot of combinations.
Speaker 2: It's it's not just the funding, which is complex in itself.
Speaker 2: I think if you look at the state of Florida,
Speaker 2: in is actually above where the Everglades Restoration Act in
Speaker 2: funding like Florida is funding we are doing this a
Speaker 2: lot of times. The funding and projects get hamstrung by
Speaker 2: bureaucracy in Washington and the funding federally. But there's also
Speaker 2: engineering challenges that complicate this. Because again, this is the
Speaker 2: largest restoration project in the world. There's not really a
Speaker 2: model to go and say, hey, they did it over here,
Speaker 2: this is how we do it. This is extremely way
Speaker 2: above my pay grade and no offense to to the fishermen.
Speaker 2: It's above theirs too. This is complicated stuff to do
Speaker 2: and figure out how we're going to do this without
Speaker 2: flooding a town and ensuring that we actually are able
Speaker 2: to do the things that we want. I mean, sometimes
Speaker 2: you know, a place is d and then all of
Speaker 2: a sudden it's it's you know, waste deep in water
Speaker 2: and they didn't want that much water. And we're not
Speaker 2: talking about we're not talking about farmland. We're talking about
Speaker 2: in uh, you know, on tribal land, and we're talking
Speaker 2: about in in the National Park of the Everglades. There's
Speaker 2: it's complicated. And the reason that I keep saying that
Speaker 2: is obviously that we all have to be at the
Speaker 2: table and you kind of got to quit throwing rocks
Speaker 2: and be a part of the solution and figure out
Speaker 2: how we're going to do this and and and see
Speaker 2: that you know, hey, and I'm just going to speak
Speaker 2: for agriculture, like, hey, you you know, there was claims
Speaker 2: that you you want more storage south of the lake. Okay,
Speaker 2: well there's some there's some agriculture that's down there trying
Speaker 2: to provide more storage below the lake. But then some
Speaker 2: of the same people that wanted storage south of the
Speaker 2: lake come out against a project and and sometimes I
Speaker 2: can only go, well, did you come out against it?
Speaker 2: Because it was uh, some ad guys that came up
Speaker 2: with it. And I mean sometimes I'm baffled at at
Speaker 2: at how we move forward if we don't all sit
Speaker 2: down and understand that we're all apart of the process
Speaker 2: that has to that that we're working towards. We all
Speaker 2: have very similar goals when it comes to certain things.
Speaker 2: We all want clean water. There is no one that
Speaker 2: doesn't want clean water.
Speaker 1: That is.
Speaker 2: I mean, anybody that gets painted that they don't want
Speaker 2: clean water is that's just they show me who they are,
Speaker 2: because I guarantee you they're not going to agree that
Speaker 2: they that they don't want clean water. There's there. I
Speaker 2: don't know why anybody in Florida. You come to Florida
Speaker 2: because we have these natural resources. We have this great
Speaker 2: fishing ecosystem that you can go from fresh water to
Speaker 2: salt water. And I mean you can pick and choose
Speaker 2: whether you want to be fishing in fresh water or
Speaker 2: salt water, or go go hunt water fowl or or
Speaker 2: or if you're a bird watcher, you know, go see
Speaker 2: go see birds or or whatever you want to do
Speaker 2: in nature. Like that is what makes Florida very unique,
Speaker 2: and I understand everybody's passion for wanting to fight to
Speaker 2: save those things. But at the same time, you know,
Speaker 2: you have to understand that agriculture is absolutely just not
Speaker 2: the problem. We are absolutely part of the solution as
Speaker 2: far as ranching goes. Like A said fifteen twenty one,
Speaker 2: we've been ranching in Florida. You know, you know there
Speaker 2: used to be at one time there was a million
Speaker 2: people in Florida and there were no problems right with
Speaker 2: all this, you know, but you know, the just our
Speaker 2: sheer population and the growth, which I want to reiterate,
Speaker 2: I'm really we are private property rights, so we kind
Speaker 2: of want to protect if you on a place and
Speaker 2: you and everything, you've got rights, You bought it, you
Speaker 2: pay taxes on it, and you have rights. But at
Speaker 2: the same time, you know, I just sometimes get baffled
Speaker 2: at the blame of the blame game is really unproductive
Speaker 2: generally and really honestly a lot of times cost and
Speaker 2: I'm gonna say cost, and I'm not even worrying about
Speaker 2: the cost to agriculture. I'm not about the cost to
Speaker 2: state and federal funds. It cost tax, We spend more
Speaker 2: tax dollars sometimes just battling over legal maneuvering to get
Speaker 2: a project going or done or started. Then the project
Speaker 2: should even cost. I mean, and you know, at some
Speaker 2: point in time, everybody's got to sit down and say
Speaker 2: these are our goals and agree that we have to
Speaker 2: move forward and that agriculture is a part of that.
Speaker 2: I mean, certainly, you know, I'll say, which I really
Speaker 2: didn't want to go this way because it's kind of
Speaker 2: like what it is. You know, you don't find human
Speaker 2: fecal matter in the water coming from a farm that's
Speaker 2: from people. You don't find drug residue from drugs that
Speaker 2: are consumed I mean, medical necessary things that are consumed
Speaker 2: by humans in the water from a farmer ranch. I mean,
Speaker 2: we have a problem with growth and how we're going
Speaker 2: to deal with that and how we're going to manage
Speaker 2: to provide flood control and water quality. But I will
Speaker 2: I will again go back to the absolute agriculture wants
Speaker 2: to be absolutely is a part of the solution to that.
Speaker 2: We can be a part of that. Public private partnerships
Speaker 2: I think are a huge way to move forward with
Speaker 2: some of this stuff. And I just really believe that
Speaker 2: some people would like to make enemies and point to
Speaker 2: some evil doer somewhere. And I hate to break it
Speaker 2: to everybody, but it's all of us. So it's for
Speaker 2: all of us to move forward and sit down and
Speaker 2: try and navigate all this to make it better for
Speaker 2: the next generation. And the reason I take that mindset
Speaker 2: is because that's the same mindset that my grandfather gave
Speaker 2: me when it comes to our piece of Florida, right,
Speaker 2: And so I really see that as the only way
Speaker 2: to really move forward and solve these problems is for
Speaker 2: us to sit down, quit pointing fingers and you know,
Speaker 2: and find real solutions that are viable. And agriculture will
Speaker 2: absolutely be a key part of that, because every time
Speaker 2: we lose another acre the farmland it is, it is
Speaker 2: a detriment to the actual goal of of what we're
Speaker 2: talking about here.
Speaker 1: So just to sum it up, it's like this issue,
Speaker 1: like it's a real issue, but it's very, very, very complicated.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I mean extremely Yeah. I think we could
Speaker 2: get some we we could get a room full of
Speaker 2: environmental engineers, uh and and everybody else in here, and
Speaker 2: I think we could we could sit down and and
Speaker 2: and talk for months and and we would still be
Speaker 2: working on because that's what's been going on. But I mean, again,
Speaker 2: like I said, clean water depends on working with farmers,
Speaker 2: not against them, and and we want to be a
Speaker 2: part of that solution. We feel like we're an integral
Speaker 2: part of that solution, and and we we actually are
Speaker 2: working on that, and we have continued to work on that,
Speaker 2: and we will continue to work that in that method
Speaker 2: to be a part of the solution. But I think
Speaker 2: it's you know, there are groups out there that literally
Speaker 2: raise money, and you have to have an enemy sometimes
Speaker 2: to raise money, and you have to point the finger
Speaker 2: at somebody, and sometimes you know, that makes it really
Speaker 2: really difficult if you have to point the finger at
Speaker 2: everybody because you know, and so they're really everybody needs
Speaker 2: to come to the conclusion that we all can be
Speaker 2: a part of the solution. But agriculture is absolutely an
Speaker 2: integral part of how this moves forward and how it
Speaker 2: works because just just of the sheer fact that we
Speaker 2: have in private ownership a tremendous number of acres that
Speaker 2: are green space that are beneficial to this and and
Speaker 2: and they have to be protected in that manner or
Speaker 2: or we won't be able to do these things.
Speaker 1: Right. I'll man, I'll tell you something that I it's
Speaker 1: a statement that I heard from Jim Handley, who I know,
Speaker 1: you know, he's a dear friend and and I knew
Speaker 1: Jim as a turkey hunter before I knew him anything
Speaker 1: connected to Florida cattle.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: And I was asking him about this subject. And I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna say it's verbatim. I'm probably gonna butcher a
Speaker 1: little bit. But what he said to me was he said,
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of times people like to
Speaker 1: point the finger at the cowman, the you know, the cowman,
Speaker 1: the farmer, as the as the enemy, when all we've
Speaker 1: done over the years is to get better at our
Speaker 1: land practices.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and certainly, mister mister Jim Hanley is a gem
Speaker 2: of a human And and I'm sure he said it
Speaker 2: no offense to you, Lake, but I'm sure he said
Speaker 2: it in a in a in a very witty and
Speaker 2: uh one liner way, because he is the master of
Speaker 2: the one liners. But absolutely, I mean and very passionate, uh,
Speaker 2: very very passionate outdoorsman. Uh just absolutely loves it. But
Speaker 2: was uh, you know, he's retired now from uh from
Speaker 2: the Cattleman's Association. But for for twenty seven years. I
Speaker 2: would call him the range Boss, and you know, and
Speaker 2: he had he had a passion for for trying to
Speaker 2: tell that story that you're you know, we're trying to
Speaker 2: do a little part of today of of that. You
Speaker 2: know that we're that ranchers are absolutely you know, we
Speaker 2: care about out the environment. We we absolutely live it
Speaker 2: and breathe it every day. And and that he is
Speaker 2: he is absolutely uh correct. And in what he said
Speaker 2: another friend we mentioned earlier that I'm just going to
Speaker 2: throw him out there as Fred fanisi another I mean,
Speaker 2: you talk about somebody that lives and breathes the outdoors,
Speaker 2: but you know, cattleman.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know, he's a he is a
Speaker 1: dear friend. He's a He's a he is a dear
Speaker 1: dear friend. For folks that have listened to a lot
Speaker 1: of the show. Fred's been talked about on here before.
Speaker 1: But Fred is a the same deal. I knew Fred
Speaker 1: as an outdoorsman before I knew anything of his connection
Speaker 1: to agriculture.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I have to say this because I always tell
Speaker 2: Fred this. When I grow up, I want to be
Speaker 2: Fred fans because that guy gets to do some awesome
Speaker 2: stuff in the outdoors for sure. Hm hmmm.
Speaker 1: Uh. Man, just to kind of to kind of bring
Speaker 1: it home, so to speak, with the kind of question
Speaker 1: and unless you have if I'll ask this last question
Speaker 1: and you can answer it, and then if you have
Speaker 1: anything else you want to add, feel free. I'm on
Speaker 1: no one's schedule, but I'm on no one's schedule but yours.
Speaker 1: But my question is if I were to tell you
Speaker 1: to looking ahead optimistically, you know, if I said, manuse
Speaker 1: use all the optimism you got and and look forward
Speaker 1: into the future of Florida, looking at it from a lens,
Speaker 1: from water quality, from wildlife, from green space. What would
Speaker 1: you like to see as a path forward for the
Speaker 1: state of Florida. I know that's a broad question, but
Speaker 1: I feel like it's one that needs to be.
Speaker 2: Out Okay, So honestly, so, you know, we've kind of
Speaker 2: been a little doom and gloom on some of the
Speaker 2: realities that we have to face in Florida. But we
Speaker 2: have a program called Rule and Family Lands Protect Act
Speaker 2: in Florida that that it's ministered through the Department of Agriculture,
Speaker 2: the Florida Department of Agriculture, And what it does is
Speaker 2: that it kind of it buys the development rights from
Speaker 2: farms and ranches, so it stays in agriculture and green
Speaker 2: space in perpetuity. So programs like that and fully funding
Speaker 2: programs like that, I mean, we're talking about, you know,
Speaker 2: billions of dollars that need to be allocated for for this,
Speaker 2: and you know, obviously water projects to do this. But
Speaker 2: I am so optimistic with the progress that has been
Speaker 2: made over the last few years with with that program.
Speaker 2: There's others. There's Florida Forever that's administered through uh uh
Speaker 2: d EP in Florida, and they are just really great
Speaker 2: programs that that I think if the public understood fully
Speaker 2: that we would never have to go to tell Ahassie again.
Speaker 2: The public would demand it for us. And things like
Speaker 2: that are what I'm optimistic about Florida staying uh the
Speaker 2: Florida that that I've grown up in as much as
Speaker 2: it can as the population continues to grow. Uh. I mean,
Speaker 2: I certainly think there's a there's certainly a raging back
Speaker 2: and forth battle uh sometimes on on development and growth
Speaker 2: and and and I think we need to be very
Speaker 2: very responsible with those things, and and and we we
Speaker 2: need to really do a good job of trying to
Speaker 2: make sure that we're we're doing that in a way
Speaker 2: that's very responsible to the to the resources and the
Speaker 2: delicate environment that we do have here in Florida. I mean,
Speaker 2: because it really is very unique place. I mean that
Speaker 2: is why I think everybody is so passionate about it,
Speaker 2: no matter what side it seems like somebody's on. You know,
Speaker 2: I'm actually okay with passion. Like they're passionate about, you know,
Speaker 2: saving the outdoors and water and wildlife. Well guess what, man,
Speaker 2: so are we We've been doing We've been doing that
Speaker 2: for seven generations in my family here. I mean, welcome
Speaker 2: to the party. Uh. You know, I just think sometimes
Speaker 2: we come from such different places that we don't we
Speaker 2: don't realize that we're we're actually should be more on
Speaker 2: the same team, and we probably get a lot more
Speaker 2: done sometimes. Uh. And you know, I think, so I'm
Speaker 2: really optimist about things like that. I guess the the
Speaker 2: the one thing you kind of have to be in
Speaker 2: agriculture as a farmer ranchers, you you have to have
Speaker 2: a uh have to have optimism. You have to say, boy,
Speaker 2: you know what, it hadn't rained yet, but I hope
Speaker 2: it's going to rain. Tomorrow. Uh, you know, and we
Speaker 2: just keep on going. And and it's really because we
Speaker 2: love what we do and and I and that's the
Speaker 2: one thing that I really wanted to convey to to
Speaker 2: your audience is just a passion. I mean, our people
Speaker 2: are so passionate about about these things. I really think
Speaker 2: there's a few other things like that. We could do
Speaker 2: payment for environmental services. There's a lot of talk of
Speaker 2: things like that, and there are some programs out there.
Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of things like that that
Speaker 2: could be beneficial to to uh, to the future of
Speaker 2: wildlife and in things in Florida. I really believe that
Speaker 2: if everybody, if we could do pull off that tour
Speaker 2: for twenty four million people, uh and take them to
Speaker 2: a farmer ranch, I think uh, I think they would
Speaker 2: be They would be amazed. They would go, Wow, this
Speaker 2: is not I didn't realize I was going to walk
Speaker 2: into a place that is a that is a paradise
Speaker 2: for wildlife. I mean, like you said, you've been uh.
Speaker 2: I don't know if you've only been to Strickland's place
Speaker 2: or not. But again, you know, every ranch across the
Speaker 2: state is you know, I mean a little bit laid
Speaker 2: out different here or there, depending on uh, their their operation.
Speaker 2: But basically, you know, you can find that same mentality
Speaker 2: and that same passion for the land and wildlife, you know,
Speaker 2: all across the state with our with our people. And
Speaker 2: I think it's important, and you know, it's just like anything.
Speaker 2: You know, when you get twenty four million people, you're
Speaker 2: going to have difference of opinions on things. But I
Speaker 2: think if everybody was to really look and say, what
Speaker 2: group out there, what group of people out there have
Speaker 2: been stewards of the land and have cared for the
Speaker 2: land and have a proven track record. You can go
Speaker 2: there and you can see the wildlife. You can see
Speaker 2: that they work to protect it, to help mother nature
Speaker 2: do what she can do. You would look at agriculture
Speaker 2: and you would say, that's the guys right there, that's
Speaker 2: the men and women right there that have the bloods
Speaker 2: wet in tears behind caring for a piece of property
Speaker 2: for generations. And if we could ever convey that, uh
Speaker 2: and they could you know, see and see the hearts
Speaker 2: of people of agriculture, they'd give a man hold on.
Speaker 2: If I care about those things, then then I need
Speaker 2: to support those people and I need to see the Uh,
Speaker 2: you know how I can help be a part of
Speaker 2: making sure that they stay economically viable and able to
Speaker 2: continue to do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, that that all makes sense, man, and I
Speaker 1: and I do think it adds. It adds some needed
Speaker 1: perspective to the conversation. I really do. And it did help.
Speaker 1: Like I agree, we we we did get a little
Speaker 1: bit doom and gloom fe like we we had to
Speaker 1: go there just to address some just to address some
Speaker 1: certain things. But I always like pulling it together on
Speaker 1: an eye optimistic note. If that if that's real, you know,
Speaker 1: if you weren't, you know, if you were honestly, like, man,
Speaker 1: I'm not very optimistic, but talking to you before, I
Speaker 1: feel I mean I know and feel that you are
Speaker 1: and we need you know, Uh, you got to be optimistic,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think you'll have a lot of
Speaker 1: things going for you just through the several things that
Speaker 1: you listed off already. Is there is there anything that
Speaker 1: we didn't cover that you would like to touch on?
Speaker 2: No, I mean I guess I would say that that
Speaker 2: hopefully you know, I conveye you know, where where farmers
Speaker 2: and ranchers in Florida what's in their heart and what
Speaker 2: they're passionate about I'm not unique in any way, shape
Speaker 2: or form. That's literally, I mean it. I feel like
Speaker 2: I don't even know how much, you know. I kind
Speaker 2: of went back and forth about the podcast what I
Speaker 2: needed to do and oh or say. And it's really
Speaker 2: because I feel the weight of all the families that
Speaker 2: are a part of agriculture in Florida, and I wanted
Speaker 2: to make sure to convey that message that they are passionate.
Speaker 2: They care about the land, they care about water, they
Speaker 2: want and have always done what they thought was the
Speaker 2: right thing for those things. And and and all I
Speaker 2: know is, hey, if you hear that story and and
Speaker 2: you're and you still want to say we're the bad
Speaker 2: guy or I'm the bad guy, will you know? I
Speaker 2: don't I don't know how to have the conversation move
Speaker 2: forward to somebody like that. I think if they if
Speaker 2: they really, if they really listen, they'll they'll actually understand
Speaker 2: that if that's something they care about, that that they
Speaker 2: need to need to sit down with us, and they
Speaker 2: need to you know, kind of try and figure out
Speaker 2: a way that we can all move forward in a positive,
Speaker 2: uh way for Florida.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, man, this uh, this clearly means something to you,
Speaker 1: and it's clear that you're talking about a group of
Speaker 1: people that it means something too, and that and that's important.
Speaker 2: That's it.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's important for the for the for the
Speaker 1: sake of the story and the people listening. It's important
Speaker 1: that you hear that perspective. And I and I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: And I'm glad we I'm very glad we got that perspective.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, oh, I forgot. We did. We did hit
Speaker 2: on that one time. This is totally out of sequence.
Speaker 2: Just popped in my head what I had told you
Speaker 2: on the phone a couple of days ago about the
Speaker 2: changes like, uh, you know there were it was an
Speaker 2: open range when my dad was was was a kid, right,
Speaker 2: and you know I told you the story about uh,
Speaker 2: you know, when he was ten years old on his
Speaker 2: on his birth tenth birth birthday, testified in federal court
Speaker 2: in a cattle rustling case because he identified the the
Speaker 2: cattle rustlers or the cattle. He didn't know who stole them,
Speaker 2: He just identified the cattle. But either way, I mean
Speaker 2: that's one generation. I mean, we've had a lot of
Speaker 2: changes in Florida, and uh in that time, span. So
Speaker 2: I mean we certainly, we certainly have have some work
Speaker 2: to do and uh and everything, but it's a lot
Speaker 2: of the a lot of negative impacts are certainly just
Speaker 2: surely because of the changes and the and the growth.
Speaker 2: I mean it's I mean it's undeniable. We can't so
Speaker 2: so we have to be look at how we're going
Speaker 2: to responsibly move forward. Like I said, UH, there's there's
Speaker 2: a lot of people that care a lot about this issue.
Speaker 2: UH and uh I think, uh there's a tremendous number
Speaker 2: of experts. Like we didn't drill down into the technical
Speaker 2: technical issues of of of all this, but there's there's
Speaker 2: certainly you know, we we have people on staff at
Speaker 2: UH at Cattleman's that uh that we rely on for
Speaker 2: those expertise in uh on the environmental side UH and
Speaker 2: and certainly set US Farm Bureau and the other AG
Speaker 2: organizations and and those people are solely because this, I mean,
Speaker 2: this is a very technical issue when you when it
Speaker 2: comes down to it, and we're we're farmers and ranchers,
Speaker 2: we're not necessarily always UH engineers, so we rely on
Speaker 2: them UH environmental engineers and UH and stuff for for
Speaker 2: for advice as well. And we you know, and we
Speaker 2: try and do the right thing. And and so I
Speaker 2: guess my my thing to anybody out there in a group,
Speaker 2: that's kind of you know, you feel like you've been
Speaker 2: in the in the fight, if you if you will
Speaker 2: for for a lot of these things, you know, maybe
Speaker 2: maybe pull back a little bit and and and think about,
Speaker 2: uh what we all care about and uh and that
Speaker 2: it could be more beneficial uh for everyone if we
Speaker 2: gain some perspective and and and uh and maybe did
Speaker 2: a little more working together and and not worry about,
Speaker 2: uh who gets the credit for it.
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