Celebrating cooperative power and potential: Rural advocacy on behalf of small business

In this episode, we delve into the power and value of the cooperative model and how it benefits members and rural communities. We discuss why a certain tax policy that helps farmers and rural cooperatives operate is at risk. Hear from a family farmer, Walt Moore whose farm has been in his family for 112 years. And, Carl Dickinson, the CEO of Central Valley Ag Cooperative in rural Nebraska.

Check out Rootedintomorrow.com for more stories of incredible farmers!

Follow Land O'Lakes Inc at:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LandOLakesInc
Instagram: @LandOLakesInc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/landolakesinc/

Follow along with our other businesses.
Dairy: www.landolakes.com
Animal Nutrition: www.purinamills.com
Crop Protection: www.winfieldunited.com
Sustainability: www.truterraag.com

authenci.com

Transcript

 I have several mayors that work for Central Valley Ag. I have several city councilmen. I, I can't tell you how many volunteer firemen, but I can't tell you how many EMTs and, and the people are the heartbeat of any rural community, right? It's all about the people. I would tell you in probably 60 of those 77 communities we serve, we are the largest business in the community and sometimes we're the only standing business left in the community is your local cooperative.

What most people don't understand is, is agricultural co-ops tend to invest in things others won't.

Tomorrow. It's never a guarantee unless we take care of today. We are a cooperative, grounded in 100 years of forward thinking ever since our beginning in 1921. It's the pursuit of a reliable food supply, a sustainable future, and vibrant communities for all of us. Rooted in the promise of a brighter future.

This is Rooted in Tomorrow, the podcast by Land O'Lakes Inc. I'm your host, Kim Olson. Join us for stories of innovators, change makers, and the modern entrepreneurs who work the land.

At Land O'Lakes, our cooperative structure doesn't just describe our business model. It's our identity, our strength, and the heartbeat of everything we do. It's a model that has proven its value time, and again, particularly in the agricultural sector, where the collective strength of farmers working together can overcome the challenges of fluctuating markets, changing regulations, and the increasing demands of modern agriculture.

The power of the cooperative is evident in its ability to uplift not just the individual farmer, but entire rural economies, making it an indispensable part of the agricultural landscape in America. On today's episode of Rooted In Tomorrow, I'm joined by cooperative member owners. Walt Moore, president and general manager of Wal Moore, Holsteins in Cochrane, bill, Pennsylvania, and Carl Dickinson, CEO of Central Valley Ag in Nebraska.

All right. Thank you and welcome to the podcast, Wal and Carl. So good to see you both. Great to be here. Yeah, thanks for having us. It's great to be here. Well, I tell you, we've, um, we've been, uh, talking a lot about weather as it's, uh, fall here and, um, we know how important that is for, for ag. Um, we're gonna hear a little bit more about where you guys grew up and where you're sitting.

I'm sitting here in lovely Minnesota where it is getting. Cold. I think it was 35 degrees when I woke up this morning. No, thank you. October is way too early for that, in my view. Um, let's, let's start with you Walt. Uh, I, I know you are, um, a Pennsylvania guy and, um. I heard stories about 6-year-old Walt Moore, uh, having a pretty clear vision of life, um, which just stuns me.

I'm a little older than six and I'm not sure my vision of life is quite there yet. Tell me about yours. Yeah, thank you, Kim. I'm, yeah. I'm from, uh, Southeast Pennsylvania, close to the Maryland, Delaware border, and I'm the fourth generation, uh, dairy farmer. Uh, I've been in our family farm's, been in, been in.

Uh, family since 1909. So, uh, my father's still living at 89 and still enjoys being around the farm every day, so that's, that's a blessing. Um, yeah, six years old. I did, that's truth be told. I told my parents that six years old I was gonna, uh, go off to Penn State, get my degree in ag and come home and take over the farm.

And that was pretty much the path I did. So, and, uh, here I am, uh, a few years later, I'll leave it at that, but, uh, uh, but yeah, it's, uh, uh, not too many have that vision and, and I have no regrets. I, it's my. Truly my life's passion. And, uh, I always tell people, if I like it six days outta seven, what else am I gonna find better?

So that's, uh, that's, I think most people's would take that. Yeah. Yep. Yep. So is it, uh, so is it different than what you had, um, had you thought it would be, I, because you grew up seeing it, right? Sure, sure. Um, anything surprising. I, good question. I think that, you know, as a 6-year-old, right, it's, it's the, it's the novelty of being able to go out with your mom or dad and, and hang out with the cows or ride the tractor and all the, all the excitement that goes around with the farm.

You know, I just ate it all up, you know, what could I, what could I learn next? What could I do next? And they always, they always were good about trying to keep me safe. You know, well, you're gonna have to be this old, so we'll let you do that, or that kind of thing. So I think there was always that kind of anticipation, that little carrot at the end of the stick, uh, which, you know, was good.

Um, and, uh, um, so I, I, I certainly, the. At that point, I probably had the same, you know, envisioned it would be exactly how it was growing up. Uh, you know, it's once I got outta college and back here, it was, um, worked for my parents for a couple years and we, we incorporated. Mm-hmm. And I joined a ownership and, you know, that vision changed and, and, uh, we've grown significantly and, and the scope of what we manage today compared to my, what my parents did is dramatically different.

Uh, it's happens much faster. Um. You know, there's the complexity, the details, uh, to keep in business and to stay moving forward is, is remarkable, really. Um, it's, it, it's a really good challenge and it's a lot of fun. Oh, that's great to hear. And, and Penn State. Yeah. Yes. Yep. Good. Four year degree in ag science, uh, which really helped me.

Um. I feel pretty prepared to come back to the farm. At the time it was, I, I got a lot of key dairy classes I wanted to take, but also allowed me to get agronomy, uh, business classes, um, pretty, pretty broad, some ag me and things. So it was, mm-hmm. I felt like it really helped me get a good foundation to get started.

And help, you know, be a, been a place to be able to learn from my folks and take over the business over time. Yeah, that's wonderful. We, we did have a little pre uh, podcast conversation and Walt was bragging on his Penn State football team being, would you tell me number three now in the nation? Yeah. Yeah.

We'll, we'll, we'll, we'll be proud of it while we're there, so it's, uh, yeah. Yeah, why not? That's awesome. That's right. That's right. There's a lot of good, that's good schools out there and a lot of long season, but, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's exciting. Sure, for sure. I, I do, I do have season passes and try to get to three or four games a year.

So that's a lot of fun. Amazing. It it is, it's so fun. Um, now I have been to a, uh, Nebraska Corn Huskers game. So I'm gonna turn over to, to Carl here, where the, the state is, uh, is all about the Huskers at, at this time of year. Um, you wanna tell us, Carl, about, uh, your, uh, journey in agriculture and, and how you got to, um, be in this field?

It'd be my pleasure, Kim. It's, it's good to be with you and, and, uh, you know, I was thinking as Walt was talking, it's, it's pretty amazing, you know, guys like Walter, why I do what I do frankly, and, and, uh, getting the opportunity to work with our producer members. But, uh, you know, I grew up on a farm at a little town, Marquette in Nebraska, a population two 40, uh, 40 years ago.

So, uh, a class of 17 in my is what, uh, I was in. I'm very fortunate, frankly, that I live two and a half miles from that farm that I grew up on today. Uh, all by accident I've had the opportunity to manage co-ops in, uh, three states, uh, Missouri, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and, and ended up right back here at home.

And, and, uh, what we think is some of the best production. Uh, in the world. But, uh, yeah, started out in 1993 at Battle Creek Farmers co-op, so, uh, oh my goodness. We're over, over 30 years now. So I, I used to be the youngest guy in the room when I went to a meeting and something changed. I don't know what happened, but, uh, I'm not the youngest, youngest guy in the room, but, uh, I've had a, had a great career in, in this cooperative system serving farmers, uh, all through it.

And, and yes, our. Our Huskers, we do, we, we do have a little bit of a rivalry with, uh, with that Penn State Group. So we'll look forward for when that game came. So now I'll have somebody I can call and yell at that's going on. So, you know, now that the Big 10 is, uh, redefined, we're just all I, and I'm a, I'm a University of Minnesota Gophers, so we're just all going out there and we're kicking some California butt now and again, and I'm, I'm, I'm here for it.

That's right, that's right. Well, I think, Cheryl, tell me about. Go ahead. Go ahead. I think when Nebraska joined, everybody in the Big 10 was focused on kicking Nebraska's butt. So it's nicer that there's some focus on some other folks here for a little while. Building. Spreading the low building. Yeah.

Spreading the, spreading the low. Yes. Um, tell me about Central Valley Ag I and kind of your footprint. Yeah, we, you know, we're. We're a little bit unique, not as unique as we used to be because we see consolidation continue to go on in agriculture. And, uh, so we're, we're a fairly large local co-op. We're owned directly by the farmer members who do business with us, and we have, uh, some locations in northwest Iowa.

Uh, and then we kind of cover in, uh, the, the east central part of Nebraska down into Kansas. Have about 30 locations in Kansas today. So we operate in 77 communities today in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. So, uh, kinda your traditional full service co-op, you know, feed. Yeah. Energy, agronomy, grain. Uh, but once again, uh, I started out in the co-op system with, what was that, that time a large co-op, uh, had $52 million in top line sales in 1993 at Battle Creek Farmers co-op.

And, uh, we've exceeded 3 billion in top line sales at, uh. At Central Valley Ag in the last few years. Wow. So it, it's certainly, once again, one of those things we love to hate in agriculture right? Is, is, is continued consolidation. And, and as you have fewer farmer members, you probably need fewer retailers or frankly fewer co-ops to serve 'em well.

And so we've just kind of led in, in helping with that consolidation, frankly. Well, I'll tell you two, um, two very, uh, successful operations and, and congratulations to you both on, on that success. Um, that's a good baseline I think for, for our folks, uh, that are listening. Um, you both have. Kind of a long history in the cooperative system, albeit from different perspectives, you know, while you're a dairy farmer and Carl, you run the ag co-op.

So, um, tell us about, uh, your history in the co-op system and kind of why you've stuck with that, um, for, for all these years. Who wants to go first? Well, I'll go look at, see they both better choices said they go first than I do. Alright, Walt, let's start with you. You go first, next time, Carl. There we go. Uh, honestly, my grandfather, uh, was part of interstate co-op, which was.

Mainly in Pennsylvania, uh, dairy co-op and formed an early, I think it was late teens or early twenties and 19 hundreds, and uh, and then that merged with Lehigh Valley Dairies and became Atlantic Dairy Co-Op, which Land O'Lakes I. Bought slash merged with over 20 years ago. And ironically, interstate was older than Land O'Lakes, so we were awarded our a hundred year, uh, certificate of being a Land O'Lakes member before they were a hundred years old.

So Oh gosh. So we've been, so we've been with it. Whoops. For, whoop, for, you know, for which was Yeah. Uh, which was, there was a few farms in the room from Pennsylvania, which was really neat to be Oh, cool. Honored in that, in that realm. So my, my family and we, not only on the dairy side, but farm credit system and, and some of the breeding co-ops and things.

So we've been a very, very strong advocate and, and, and, uh, family farm that's worked with co-ops and continued to, and, um, you know, my, my dad talks about, of course I was way too wasn't even around when all this was happening, but, uh, you know, he did this because they, they were looking for, to get. Equal value or better value out of the marketplace.

There was a lot of ca uh, price gouging on milk sales and things like that in the time. And, um, you know, it served well over the years and, um, you know, so that's, that's basically our nut, you know, history in a nutshell. Yeah, that's that's terrific. I, um, I'm gonna stay with you for just a minute while, because you talk about, um, the benefits.

Um, could you explain the structure a little bit? For our listeners, for the co of a co-op structure. Yeah, so, so specifically on the dairy side of Land O'Lakes, um, we, we are, um. You know, a, a member, um, we have to, you know, I'm, uh, obviously I became a member of Land O'Lakes when we, when they merged with the co-op I was with previously.

Mm-hmm. But, um, each month, each pay each milk check. They take a, take a, uh, little, uh, fee out of our milk check and that, and that goes into the pool to help manage and run it and basically be our marketing arm and mm-hmm. Um, you know, 'cause, uh, you know, we're way too small to, to. To, to market directly to the Walmarts of the world or to Kroger's or whoever.

Sure. And that, that's what, that's what Land O'Lakes is about. And, and they have those resources and, and that, that money gets put into a, into a. Pot for us with our name on it. And if we would ever, uh, quit farming or, or, uh, wanna sell out, we, we get, we get that patronage back that, that, uh, you know, will, will revolve out over time.

So it's, it's really putting money into a bank account basically that sits there and kind of allows them to capital to, to run the business and, and, and work, work for the farmers. Helpful. Thank you. And now Carl, I'm gonna swing over to you. Can you, um, talk a little bit about the, uh. Cooperative system and structure and, and, and benefits that, uh, that you see on your side.

I always say it pretty simply, you know, farmers formed co-ops and, and I don't know of a ag co-op or a dairy co-op, whether it be input or outputs that wasn't formed directly by farmers at some point. And they, and they, and they formed it to do what they couldn't do alone. They joined together. Obviously we had to have volted and, and have antitrust exemption to do that.

But frankly, it's, you know, we, we say it over and over here at Central Valley Ag is, we're here to do what the farmer can't, and in some cases won't, but in most cases can't. Whether it be a capital issue, whether it be a talent issue, uh, regardless of what it is we're here to do, what they can't do. And we're here to, we're here to use the power of the group or the pool, frankly.

Uh, so that, so that they have a voice in the marketplace, both in, on a consistent supply of inputs. Right? You know, most people don't, don't realize that, that the day that, that the horse left the farm. The farmer became interdependent. And we talk about independent producers, but he's truly interdependent.

'cause I don't know of any farmers that have a refinery on their farm. And so just to run the tractor, he has to depend on others. And so, you know, that that started the process and then we started using, you know, ag chemicals and, and fertilizers and, and, you know, and we became moved into a global market.

Well. We're here to represent the, the whole of our producers each and every day. And, and the greatest thing about this system in my mind is, is that the farmer has all this at his access and he controls it because in our case, our board of directors all made up directly of farmer producers. You have to be a farmer producer to set on our board, and if the business is successful, we share the profits back.

And so, you know, it, I can't think of a better system in, as I talk about this continued consolidation in, in the world or in, in, in the ag, ag space, that that allows the farmer to participate at a much higher level than they would be able to participate otherwise. And specifically at CVA, I mean, we even, you know, frankly, import fertilizer.

You know, uh, and obviously we know that a lot of the active ingredients in the chemistries that we use today are coming from China and other, you know, other places around the world in the feed. Most of the vitamins that we use are made somewhere else in the world. We don't, you know, there's a lot of that that, that we would not have access to.

At competitive prices without this cooperative system. So huge benefit. And then once again, the, the sugar on top of the cake, right? Is that And sharing the profits. And sharing the profits. I always think that's an end. I mean, we're service first, right? Service first, and then profit second. I appreciate that.

It's, you know, as I hear you both talk about it, um, one of the things we talk about at Land O'Lakes a lot is how we, uh, how the co-ops and the farmers and, uh, growers are, um. Essential to the community and how we wanna make sure that, um, we are showing up, uh, for families and, um, communities in which our members, uh, live and work.

Um, is, I, I, I'm curious, as you talk about the co-op, it makes me think of, uh, community for sure, because it seems like the, uh, tenants are very, very much the same.

Development, giving back business solutions. Do you guys have examples of that happening in your community? Um, Walt, maybe we'll start with you. Oh, this was, this was Carl's turn, so that's okay. Carl, let's start with you. Yeah, there's, there's, I mean. We can't, you know, we can't kid ourselves in that, that a lot of our rural communities are in difficult times, right?

Yeah. And have been, we continue to lose population. Um, it, it's tough. And, and I would tell you the number one thing that that generally gets us, I mean, we give a lot of money. Uh, land O'Lakes Foundation gives a lot of money at the local co-op. Uh, gives a lot of money. Frankly, our producer members give a lot of money to their communities, whether it be schools, community events, whatever that be.

But I would tell you the number one contributor is our people. Um, I have several mayors that work for Central Valley Ag. I have several city councilmen. I, I can't tell you how many volunteer firemen I have. I can't tell you how many EMTs we have our own in-house rope rescue teams that can, can go into these large green bins and, and rescue producers who've gotten engulfed in green.

But it's really the people and, and, and the people are the heartbeat of any rural community, right? It's all about the people. And, and, and so once again, there's, there's lots of capital or money that, uh, is, is out here to help support these rural communities, but that we stay in these rural communities and that we employ people in these rural, we would be the largest business entity.

And, and I'm, you know, I'll take a little license here. I would tell you in probably 60 of those 77 communities we serve, we are the largest business in the community. And sometimes we're the only standing business left in the community is your local cooperative. That elevator still standing there. The fertilizer plant's still there.

People come to work there. Um, so, you know, you can, we can talk to the financial side, but I, I think more importantly is the human resource side. Uh, the employment opportunities. And then those people believe in their communities is they support 'em through their volunteerism and those types of things. Big deal.

Real big deal. You know, as long as we're on, um. Economic development and, um, and community support. I, I have, uh, a desire to talk to both of you about, uh, um, section 1 99 A. So, um, you know, listeners, you've heard from Carlin Walt about the unique benefits of the co-op structure. The leaders, um, cooperative leaders and members of Con Congress are preparing to negotiate on a tax package, uh, that will impact every American, including an incredibly important tax provision for agricultural cooperatives that's set to expire at the end of 2025.

And, um, I think, uh, both Carl and. And, uh, Wald have a unique perspective from their seats on this. Um, section 1 99 A is not just another corporate tax break. It's this critical tool for cooperatives and the farmers they serve. So the provision recognizes the unique structure and challenges of agricultural cooperatives and ensures that they receive equitable tax benefits on the corporations that received a permanent tax rate reduction in 2017.

So, um, you know, I can, I can start with either one of you, Wal and Carl, and the, the question from my perspective is why is the tax provision so important for your business? Um, and if you are comfortable, if you wouldn't mind sharing how you utilize Section 1 99 a Walt, shall we start with you or you wanna start with Carl?

Sure. Okay, sure. Thank you. Um, so yeah. So 1 99 A is, um, has been a real benefit, uh, of an, uh, for us, specifically our farm. Uh, as a member of Land O'Lakes and my accountant every year tells me how great it is 'cause he, he serves a lot of farmers and not all of 'em are Land O'Lakes members. And, and don't all, a lot of 'em don't have this, um.

Opportunity to to, to utilize the benefits of 1 99 A. So basically, um, it allows, it allows Land O'Lakes to pass through tax savings, potential tax savings on the production of that we, that we produce, uh, of milk, and able to utilize that to pay down, pay down taxes, or to write off against our taxes. Uh.

Burden and, um, what that's done for us, you know, year in and year out when, when we've had that is, okay, now we've got X amount more dollars. How can we reinvest in our people? How can we reinvest in our farm? Back to what Carl was just talking about, how can we reinvest in our community and keep building that economic driver and that engine and just keep this thing, keep this thing going and, and have, have a vibrant business within the community.

And, and I think that that is, that is just huge for these rural communities and be able to. Keep, keep the farmer's profitable, give 'em another tool in their toolbox to help keep dollars in those local communities and, and keep, keep the whole, you know, that, that thriving. Um, you know, we're, we're not near the scope of Carl's business, but you know, we have upwards of 30 people working for us in our different businesses and, and the impact of them going out in the communities and, and not only.

Um, just on a dollar basis. But what they're doing is human resources. Giving back in different community organizations and things like that is just, it's, it's huge. It seems hard to, um, measure the human impact of, uh, of the provision as you're talking about it.

The urgency of its importance is underscored by the USDA's recent net farm income forecast. It projects a nearly 26% decline year over year, highlighting the financial pressures producers face. As a cooperative land O'Lakes knows the solution to our challenges is found in working together. We think Section 1 99 A is a pivotal tool to allow them to continue to be successful as they feed and fuel the world.

Um, I love talking about 1 99 a and I'm actually a little astounded that, that, that we have to fight for it. I, I, the first point I, I like to make about 1 99 a for listeners or anybody that's hearing about it, is, this is not a fat cat bill. This isn't going to some big court. This, this tax provision doesn't go to some big corporation.

I don't get to put it in my pocket. It, this, this directly affects. Local co-ops are all co-ops, frankly, uh, co-ops and the farmers who own them, and it affects their cash flow directly. And it allows us in a big way to reinvest in, in rural America. And that's a missed piece. And, and what most people don't understand is, is agricultural co-ops.

Tend to invest in things others won't. You know, whether it was electric co-ops or whether it was electric telephone, whether, or, I'm sorry, telephone cooperatives or ag cooperatives. We make huge bets on real long-term assets, you know? Mm-hmm. That cost a lot of money. We're building a site in, in Kansas right now, it's a $55 million spend just for the grain and the agronomy facilities and the circle track.

Mm-hmm. Just to serve farmers, so Wow. Once again. And, and the second piece that's probably missed a little bit about 1 99 A, the number one limiting factor for that deduction for our co-op is W2 wages. And so we talk about we want to put people to work. We want to, we want to, to, to increase our employment here in the United States.

Well, if the deduction is limited by W2 wages, it induces us then to wanna employ more people and increase W2 wages so that we can get the tax deduction so we can once again reallocate that capital. And third, and I think one of the most exciting things is depending on the profitability situation of the earning entity, meaning the local co-op in our case, or Land O'Lakes in their case.

Yeah, you can either keep that deduction or pass it through. So wherever the greatest use is for that capital, for that cash flow. That's where it gets utilized. And so it's perfect between a co-op and, and the farmers. And once again, it, the dramatic effects at our co-op. So we've, we've had a large reinvestment in the last several years to the tune of about 80 million a year on average for the last five years.

I can absolutely guarantee you without 1 9 1 99 a g. That would be half of that, it would be half. And once again, those investments provide jobs, they provide safety, they provide, you know, speed, they provide access to global markets. And it's, it's really, when it's all said and done, it's all about the farmer, right?

Yeah. And it's about getting either the, the products or the services or the facilities in a farmer's hands. And if we don't do a good job of that, then we pass him the tax deduction and he uses it directly. So. Absolutely perfect for farmers. Well, I'll tell you, you're painting a picture. My next question is what, uh, what would it mean if it expired?

And you got into a little bit of that. Um, Walt, I have. What would that mean to you if it expired? Yeah. I'd like to add to, to Carl. One point of Carl's is this, please. This thing was actually set up and it's, it's, um. C corporations are not eligible. It's, it's LLCs, it's subs, corporations, it's sole proprietor.

So it's really what most of the, of this, the farms are structured in mo, you know, out there. So they're the ones that are actually, you know, the small businesses that are actually able to utilize this. So, um, you know, in my opinion. It, it's gonna really, if we did not receive this, it's gonna really reduce the amount of, of, of reinvestment that we're gonna be able to do in our business.

It's gonna slow down that growth. It's gonna, it's gonna slow down that next opportunity that that's out there. Um, because, you know, frankly, we're just, we're not gonna have as much capital in our pocket to help push us forward. Yeah, for sure. I, I, I joke, but it's not really a joke. Yeah. If we lose 1 99 Ag, I'm just gonna retire.

Because I'm not sure that I wanna run a co-op without it. It, it's that vital to us, uh, in our ability to invest in these assets, to serve our, our owner members. Um, but it, it just dramatically And, and then frankly, some of us who have been around a while, remember the days when we get to the end of the year.

And you have your profit and you're trying to allocate that profit. And you know, frankly, the cooperative system, we get a tax deduction if we pass the dividend on in the form of patronage to our owners, right? Yeah. And so a lot of co-ops for a lot of years did not have enough cash flow to do all the things they needed to do.

They would just allocate patronage, defer a lot of that patronage, and we built big deferred equity bases that were hard to, hard to handle. It's, it's, it's really hard. I don't think most of America understands that, that, you know, agriculture kind of runs on a 1% deal. You know, our co-op, if we hit a 1% of sales net profit, that's a good year.

That's how razor thin margins we live on out here. Um, yes, we use, we handle huge volumes. We'll handle 230 million bushels of grain this year, but the money just kinda comes out one side or comes in one side and goes right out to the other, and we're just trying to grab a little tiny piece in the middle, you know?

And, and once again, cash flow is, is key when you're dealing. In big investment assets, it might take 30, 40 years to pay off. We've asked, uh, farmers to be patient, uh, quite a lot over many, over many years. Um, well, Wal and Carl, what we like to do on the podcast is end with a question that we ask everyone.

So that question for us is give me one misconception or stereotype about farmers or rural America, and let me know how you've worked to kind of change that. I, I personally have been confronted with, I guess farmers aren't, consi, aren't looked at really as business people. Um, that they're just, you know, it's the old, the old suspenders.

Not nothing against if you wear suspenders as a farmer, but it's that the pitchfork and a suspenders kind of thing, you know, and yeah. And a little red barn. And, and, and we host a lot of tours. Um, try and have an open door policy because 1% of us. Are actively engaged in farming in the United States and, and feeds this country and, and beyond our borders.

And that's remarkable. And most people don't realize that. And I always state that in a tour. And when often when we give after we're done giving a tour, the people are just in awe of what it takes to get a gallon of milk to their shelf or, or a pound of cheese or butter or whatever. And, and, you know, and, and that goes, you know, all out into all the, all the aspects of farming too.

So. I just, I think it's changing that stereotype of how complex our businesses are. Yeah, that's, that's a great answer. We're, we're working in that area a lot here at Land O'Lakes too. It, it is just such a, um, there's so much, uh, misunderstanding about what actually, um, goes on in agriculture. Carl, how about you?

Yeah, most of America thinks farmers are, you know, slow to adapt, slow to slow to, to move, uh, stuck in their ways type thing. And, and, uh, that's a, you know, huge misconception. I mean, I run as hard as I can run every day, just trying to keep up. Our farmers, they, they adapt the technology. We have better producers today than we had and, and their adaptation to technology and science and, and businesses as Wal indicated.

It's incredible what they do. Yeah, and I couldn't agree more. The hardest working, smartest, uh, people I've ever met in my life. So I, I appreciate the conversation. I appreciate the time. Thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely. Great to be here. Thank you for inviting me. Certainly my pleasure. So if you like the content, give us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts.

Stories are important to us and we know they are to you. So head to land O'Lakes inc.com. If you're looking for more, you might be surprised to see what we're capable of.