The Soil Network: Episode 2 - Alex Barrie, Larry Dyck, Bill Tenhove

In this episode of "The Soil Network," Ian Virtue pulls up a chair with a trio of folks who are as deep into the soil and gears of farming as you can get. First up, we've got Alex Barrie, a fella who's part soil management guru with the Ministry of Agriculture and part hobbyist extraordinaire. Alex kicks us off with tales of tinkering and trial by fire—lessons learned not in the classroom, but out in the field and under the hood, with a side of childhood memories of building alongside his dad.

Then there's Bill Tenhove, a man who not only farms but also throws himself into the world of building and fabricating. Bill's story is all about the spark of creation and the thrill of solving puzzles that the land and machinery throw at him. He's the kind of guy who sees a problem and can't rest until he's crafted a solution from scratch, a testament to the ingenuity that pulses through the veins of those who work the land.

Larry Dyck from Niagara brings a bit of a different flavor to the mix, pouring out gratitude for the kind of security and stability that comes with farming in Ontario—a luxury, he points out, that's not afforded to everyone in this game. Larry's reflections add a layer of depth to the conversation, nudging us to think about the bigger picture and the responsibility that comes with the privilege of tilling such fertile ground.

As the coffee cools and the episode winds down, the chatter turns towards the heartbeat of farming: community and knowledge-sharing. It's a gentle reminder of the old-school notion that we're all in this together, passing down wisdom, failures, and triumphs like heirlooms. This part of the discussion is a hat-tip to the essence of what "Coffees and Combines" is all about—connecting dots, farmers, and stories in a way that's real and raw.

By the time Ian signs off, you've been taken on a journey through the fields of Ontario, side by side with folks who live and breathe the land. It's an episode that doesn't just talk farming; it feels like farming—mud on the boots, sun on the back, and all. 

Thanks for tuning in to the Soil Network Podcast!

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a fellow farmer or agri-curious friend. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a conversation about farming smarter, growing better, and building stronger communities.

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Let’s keep growing—together. See you next time!

Transcript

00:00:00:000 - 00:00:34:017
Unknown
All right. To those tuning in at home. My name is Ian Rich and this is the Coffees and Combined podcast. Today, I have three amazing gentlemen with me. I had Bill, Larry and Alex all doing amazing things across Ontario. I don't need to tell you I'm going to have them do it themselves. Bill So with you built on whole internals, custom farming, and I do custom farming and fabricating built stuff, this amazing Larry Dick Camden Green I'm a green farmer in the Niagara area.

00:00:34:027 - 00:00:59:110
Unknown
I'm Alex Berry, work for the Ministry of Agriculture as a soil management engineer. But I have too many hobbies to count, and they all sort of apply to agriculture in one way or another. So amazing. These gentlemen are at the IPO conference. The innovative Farming Association of Ontario. We got an amazing collection of speakers today and we're going to stand next 30 to 45 minutes chatting or are going to be talking shop or they're going to be talking shop and I'm going to attempt to facilitate it.

00:01:00:000 - 00:01:22:094
Unknown
And yeah, we're going to have a great time. I'd just like to start with you, Alex. I noticed in your presentation today that year, your journey seems to be this testament to the power of learning through trial and error, turning each mistake into a valuable lesson. Could you share a particular memorable challenge or mistake that you've encountered in your work and how you went about navigating that?

00:01:23:084 - 00:01:45:031
Unknown
I'll go a little bit before that. Maybe the first thing. So, Father always built stuff. So I grew up kind of in that luxury that he was always building stuff anyways, So I remember being a young boy and we went out to the scrap heap that grandfather had piled up somewhere and found an old washtub and an old steel wheel.

00:01:45:041 - 00:02:15:062
Unknown
And I said to Dad, I want to make a wheelbarrow. And he said, Okay. So we learned how to weld together all the stuff to make a wheelbarrow. It was a terrible wheelbarrow. You couldn't dump it out, but it had handles and wheels and Dad and I well together. And that was kind of the start of that. And then turning wrenches, growing up on stuff at the knee, just every every day you learn something and you add that to the collection of skills and then you build them, that and etc. and so forth.

00:02:15:064 - 00:02:47:039
Unknown
So and then I'm very much a person who will get bored of a hobby and then replace that boredom with another hobby. So I like to collect unfinished skills as that makes sense. Got to get something. Joan, Are there anything you'd like to add in that sense? Are there any memorable challenges that you've encountered or mistakes you made that you know you really learned maybe how you learned or how to troubleshoot?

00:02:47:049 - 00:03:08:104
Unknown
When we decided to build Durable bar, we thought it'd be easy to make them better airflow and a neighboring floor. It started with a 12 inch pipe. Every four feet we put a helmet out and divided it in before. And then we went to our pond and tested it. We had about 20 feet of pipe, five outlets, and let's get all this is going to work.

00:03:08:104 - 00:03:30:028
Unknown
Good. Filled the 12 inch pipe is going to fit level two to another foot, a pipe above it. Where do you think the water from the water come out? The last two, it went hit the wall. Some of them pipes. First one. First second one. my gosh. We're sitting there scratching Our head is like, all that didn't work.

00:03:30:050 - 00:03:51:101
Unknown
But thousands of dollars, 12 inch pipe, weight schedule, 40 pipe, all the air was all this. And it's like her saying we should have spent a little more time in school. The now was a hard one to take, and I still struggle with the dribble bar to get it spreading. That is a big problem and I haven't seen one that spreads.

00:03:52:010 - 00:04:20:093
Unknown
Something tells you that is spreading in your life, right? That's another design. In the back of my head. We drilled on the soapstone in the welding table. We have a beam from there and that's going to be normal valves to control the pressure in the boat. Interesting. So that's a stroke. It is a struggle. We want to stay away from the distributor because distributors program cars with the hydraulic motors.

00:04:20:095 - 00:04:44:107
Unknown
All we were trying to get away from them, but yet we don't want too much pressure on the pipe because we want to let the limit break. Without Adam on is close. But there was a struggle. I built a maneuver well not be able bar maneuver boat self-propelled remote control, throw it in the pit, worked the bar or work up a simple piece of product and the tourist had to make a quick question about the maneuver boat.

00:04:45:016 - 00:05:07:071
Unknown
I was speaking to one of my colleagues about it, and I'm I'm very new to AG. What is the purpose of the maneuver boat and wouldn't moving the manure release more methane and nitrogen that you're wanting to store within the manure? The purpose of the boat is to sand burning, dairy manure, the sands on the bottom of the pit.

00:05:07:080 - 00:05:30:071
Unknown
You want to agitate that up, putting in suspension. The reason our nozzles are below the surface are for that exact reason. Clearly, gas and smell. I think we only have one lolls along top to break a crust. The others are all below the surface. Interesting and very close to the problem. Now, was that a custom solution that you put together?

00:05:30:100 - 00:05:54:048
Unknown
Like to. There is a renewable. So we just. We actually went to a different man crusher to build this what would be laughed at us shall be built drill was like from the field and so on so we would then we made it simple. It doesn't have to be that it we put ours against the wall. Yeah they can go around that pit all day long and just put the way unattended.

00:05:54:058 - 00:06:36:072
Unknown
It's amazing to be, Larry. Lots of memorable mistakes, but but probably in relation to our journey with Plant, Green was the first year I just we had a number of things go wrong. One was a massive drought. We made some mistakes in planting and for a couple of weeks struggling through just everyone, waking up at three or 4 a.m. with my brain in turmoil and and once I realized that that a this was very survivable and that be that this was an engineering problem and we just needed to work our way through it.

00:06:36:081 - 00:06:56:078
Unknown
And that was it kind of like you with your dribble bar. It's an engineering problem and you'll figure it out, I'm sure. But you know, just that was that was a huge thing. And then to back up and and to take a look a friend of mine in greenhouse how they had a seeding system and they broke it into 17 steps.

00:06:56:087 - 00:07:14:071
Unknown
So to take a look at my corn planter and break it down into individual steps and then see what we needed to change on every step to make this work. And that was that. That was the kind of thing that because otherwise you looked at our field and said, this is a complete disaster. There is no way this will ever work.

00:07:14:071 - 00:07:34:103
Unknown
This is just stupid. And to realize that that most of the problem was engineering, not agronomic. Now, like breaking it down step by step sounds like an amazing approach to solving that. That's what it was. Because we had problem at the back and we also had a problem at the front. Don't look at them as to individual problems.

00:07:34:113 - 00:08:00:098
Unknown
Don't see the whole thing's a problem. How do you guys approach problem solving these very technical and almost I don't say larger than life, but truly large engineering problems the way like what the problem is and what the solution is that sometimes can be so unclear. As gentleman who seem to really take on that challenge, how do you go about it?

00:08:00:107 - 00:08:21:083
Unknown
Throw money at it? You can Google it. Yeah, and you spend a lot of time thinking like your brain. Your brain works at night when you're asleep. You know, you're sitting there first think a book watching a movie, driving, and it just keeps coming back and and worrying at this thing till and they say, throw money at it.

00:08:21:083 - 00:08:52:011
Unknown
It's the first one you're going to build Snake belt not going to work trouble buyer that sunflower mine that I made for no reason other than I want to. I was most of the way through that when I decided this is designed purely for all of the reasons why I no combines are designed poorly. So at some point building that I knew it was an inferior product and I just needed to move on to Mark to.

00:08:52:021 - 00:09:14:060
Unknown
I finish that one because for I was not three quarters way through it. You might as well finish wearing what you can on the rest of the steps. And now you can take that to the next one. I found a guy on Instagram and makes nice little steel equipment and and I think he will build a lot of them that are not up to his standard.

00:09:14:085 - 00:10:02:081
Unknown
And the thing you do with them is you learn from it and you throw it in the garbage. So when you see when you see a finished product, there's usually four or five or several prototypes before you saw it, because that didn't just happen. And then with and then a lot of it you can book design a lot of stuff, but it's the to the pitfalls and the whatever the hang ups that you don't see coming the well, eventually you just either adapt to have or start over with the new information that's amazing person And then to add that is very it does cost a lot of money.

00:10:02:090 - 00:10:31:014
Unknown
So it's plus all time the moment in the middle of the me that's been that's happened and then you think how could I be so stupid that I didn't know that I didn't think of that? Also, I've read a number of plays the last number of years that the large corporate business spends a fairly significant percentage of gross revenue on ideas and they don't have to pan out wall it.

00:10:31:023 - 00:10:54:094
Unknown
Yeah. And so okay, if they don't know either, you know you can beat yourself up why won't this dribble bar work? But the reality is every engineering book is filled with people. Why didn't this work? Spray or nozzles at all who I start where I heard it from or they they there's theory behind atomizing chemical and then there's practice.

00:10:54:094 - 00:11:23:103
Unknown
So what they did was they built ten that were all different designs. They tried them all and then started paring down the ones that had did the thing that they wanted to do. So it was all just guessing, trial and error and trial and error, but money they would have spent making each one of those things. Yeah, I And then eventually you end up with a nozzle that's going to work, do exactly what you want that you would not have been able to predict on paper.

00:11:23:113 - 00:12:15:037
Unknown
So there's if you're in that sort of development or, you know, that kind of investigation, you have to waste time on what will eventually fail. So I didn't I don't know what how many quotes there are the WD 40 or whatever. It's 40 because 39 and so but if but if it's pretty standard stuff, pretty low risk the and you learn from previous stuff so and if one that's a long story to tell I won't get into it but the magic I say is building the thing a couple of weeks ago and I measured that I don't know how many times part of it was most my paranoia that I was going to mix the

00:12:15:037 - 00:12:36:049
Unknown
numbers up. And so I wanted to build it on a weekend. I wanted to take it back to London, where I'm 11 and use it. And I checked and I checked and I checked and I and the relief when it fit on and the pins went and everything worked or that was that or it made me didn't need to measure it that many times.

00:12:36:049 - 00:13:08:085
Unknown
But the, the it's because I've, I've done it wrong several times. I've just learned behavior this time I learned so yeah that's the you got to screw it up at least twice to get it three times. And that's still too short to. I'd actually like to talk about those customer solutions a little bit. I feel like especially Bill and Alex, you guys really have this track record creating custom solutions to agricultural challenges.

00:13:08:085 - 00:13:40:038
Unknown
Simply are you you as well. How do you go about identifying the need for a custom solution and like, what is the process for developing that? But while in my case we started very close, I were when there was a very, very young wasn't you couldn't go to John Deere and buy a vehicle system, so you kind of had to pick four pieces and and you kind of had to revamp some of the stuff we only did we bought because the first stragglers we might we had a Cadman system.

00:13:40:047 - 00:13:59:049
Unknown
The boom was more than 14 feet, two nozzles just set outside the doors. It was a perfect rig. We started popping the higher galleys. We had an overlap with six feet in the mantle. You can't pull a crane. So we took that boom and we cut it right up and split it. We made it hydraulically adjusted out so we could control our.

00:13:59:058 - 00:14:25:094
Unknown
But there wasn't one on the market at that time. So we just outgrew our boom because we were popping more downs and we had to do something. And if you go down a cornfield and ground and the guy cultivator twice after that, you'll never see one of the hayfield or wheat field. It shows just like because we spend a lot of money or on alfalfa and on spring and we week them America's role.

00:14:25:103 - 00:14:56:055
Unknown
What's why we went to the drill bar and we made it 64 feet so you can actually get rid of some of this overlap and prevented it. But that is what we found. We just we we yeah, that wasn't available, but because you want to buy a coal mine. Well John Deere has a they didn't have a drink or system so we had we had to learn how to figure this overnight and the fire was still there looking at you know they see the problem for in the business of doing their service book and doing a good job trying to.

00:14:56:055 - 00:15:21:074
Unknown
Yeah. So yeah, let's weigh the as far as the manure both goes that was bought out that we just seem to market it for a smaller one industrial perhaps. So we just pulled up against the wall and you were saying and how would you go to testing these custom solution. Well in the in my business I have pawned at home so I can sleep with water there.

00:15:21:083 - 00:15:57:073
Unknown
But yeah, they do. And cut a bird food or we actually put the boat in the pond the first time we used that and we had never more control. We sat on. There were a little should put a little dashboard. We had switches right. And who was riding on out. And my friend that's here, James Beaumont, figures in his manure if it was first manure, if it would put on a so the first name was Earl in the pit and I'm sitting out there running the controls, but we didn't know where and also elsewhere because it's all under the age of the surface.

00:15:57:083 - 00:16:16:001
Unknown
So we didn't know which way we were. The boat was moving, so we so we put indicators on top. Now, sooner or later you will know the indicator had the bolts going to in the fight turns left. And we didn't know that when first started. That was a hard lesson because I'm out there playing them all so they're going the wrong way.

00:16:16:011 - 00:16:40:088
Unknown
I hit the wrong switch once in the pontoons. Hold it up. That's a good choice for it. But so my sleeve card flip the switch stuck into the focus. But the other that was nerve racking because I said can't swim. But actually I don't know if you want to. Yeah, not something you wanted, so I don't think it would have sunk.

00:16:40:098 - 00:17:00:044
Unknown
They just come up a little. It was will be over, but that's about it. So the first thing we did after that was we took it out and we built indicate was on it and we took that all board apart, rebuilt it, painted back because I wasn't painted on for skilled because we didn't know what we had change right.

00:17:00:053 - 00:17:24:019
Unknown
So we just the it said my on after a year and stuff because I don't like paint we sandblasting paint anywhere also that is we sold and popular three. Yeah yeah but then we would paint we would complete the wheeled up and that's what I get kind of fit now with the actually paint. So for dinner it took us a year to figure that whole thing out.

00:17:24:029 - 00:17:54:047
Unknown
And then we finally tore apart big government, fixed our problems and sandblasted paint. So saw for me that's the that's just necessity, the stuff. So you can't race out by everything. The suit, exactly what you want it to do. So I don't know. One out of thousands of examples, we needed a gate the Turner Drake. I was out, but it couldn't be in the way all the time.

00:17:54:047 - 00:18:07:038
Unknown
Had to swing out. And then I had to disappear somewhere because we had to get to an idea behind that one. We weren't turning the cows out, so that turned into a folding gate.

00:18:07:048 - 00:18:26:091
Unknown
So we spent a lot of time figuring that out and that was too heavy. So then the garage door springs come out and then this mat. Now it's the most overengineered gate. And the only purpose is so that when you don't need it, it goes away. So stuff like that or piece of equipment just not doing it for you.

00:18:26:095 - 00:19:02:072
Unknown
It's a little bit cumbersome to use or just doesn't quite reach something near the US. So we've modified the tons of stuff for adding hydraulics. Cylinders to stuff is like a game for us. You could make a game show out of it, so just to make life easier, that's quality of life improvements, a lot of it. And then the rest is, well, you can't get it anywhere else or you can get it anywhere else, but you have to change it for something specific anyways.

00:19:02:072 - 00:19:30:047
Unknown
And if you enjoy doing that, yeah, you can just do stuff because you like to do it. So that's I think 10% of my projects would be just take a shot at it. Let's see with you what happens. So Larry and it thought necessity like I talked about our our horseshoe drill. We wanted a liquid fertilizer system. We wanted a certain capacity.

00:19:30:057 - 00:19:49:040
Unknown
And I knew what tanks I was putting in. But then we had to extend the platform where the tank was right up against the wheel. We couldn't get into calibrate. And so, okay, so we got to figure out how to extend the platform. Same thing with the fill system. I could buy the auger. Nobody built me out and so you could dig in.

00:19:49:050 - 00:20:17:056
Unknown
I don't have your level of skill or expertise. I went to the junk pile to see what we could re man. And that's where I fell in. B the arms and, and then we started adding hydraulic cylinders and then figuring out pivots and, and that's a challenge. Yeah, we made our bolt fold up and then some that wasn't when we had them out of that system now, but we did buy them and we had cylinders up to the crane fold and put them down, fold door, move the cylinder, move.

00:20:17:056 - 00:20:39:039
Unknown
The linchpin of two inches here makes an awful difference. We want to square a four road trouble and then you got to figure out where to run the hoses so they'd only pick one. So it's a not as easy as it blocks it. Some people like sitting down with puzzles at the tables. That doesn't intrigued me. that's my wife.

00:20:39:049 - 00:21:07:020
Unknown
But. But to sit down with where are we going to run these hoses, it did three 3000 piece puzzles last month will be why in a week I'm going to prove that by what to do. And they were done partly because they come down with the the rona. So I was stuck at home. But what do you do puzzles get them and then they're deeply unsatisfying and they finish it and then you immediately tear it up.

00:21:07:030 - 00:21:28:081
Unknown
I like an exercise in 10 minutes. Well, that was nice. What do they really gain there? So they're a new respect for patients, the new discovery of it, it's the looking for the pieces that he chose. That's the interest. And I don't maybe the there is a corollary there, I guess, for looking around the scrap pile for the piece that will fit kind of thing.

00:21:28:081 - 00:21:59:044
Unknown
But so it's the same thing. Just you don't have to tear it up, throw it away unless it's prototype. Yeah, unless one, two or unless it never worked. A dribble bar. Every now today, all three of you in one way or another. It really touched on the importance of efficiency throughout this process. So whether it's through cuts of tooling or flight to green or managing manure, how did you guys balance to drive for efficiency with the goal of also sustainability?

00:21:59:044 - 00:22:22:014
Unknown
Do you find there sometimes come to a head? What do you think? Yeah, that welding card I made to have all the tools that I need to build stuff. It's the it's the pilot tools. You need to build the hypothetical project where you don't know what you need. Then you can. I had it all laid out the way I thought it would work.

00:22:22:032 - 00:22:51:092
Unknown
Well, then you start to use it and then you realize I haven't ever picked this tool up. Why is it out? So the that kind of efficiency is one thing, but then there's the actual production of it, I guess. So if everything's neat and tidy and put away people that do this in their house boggle my mind because it's there, you put everything in a glass jar and then you put the glass jar and the door in the cupboard, and then you close the door.

00:22:51:101 - 00:23:11:075
Unknown
Well, if you use that every day at breakfast, that should be on the table, because now I have to open a door and get this as middleman. So there's six extra steps there that don't need to happen. And the only reason it's in the cutter cupboard is because you don't like clutter. So you have to kind of argue with that.

00:23:11:075 - 00:23:37:005
Unknown
There's a peek into the curtain there. But yeah, so it's you find that in your own shop and you're always fighting with space everywhere you are. So you kind of have to the the taking that all those bolts that can or there was tools everywhere and finally it was okay we just had this cart got the cart out, scraped off all the tools and shoved them on it.

00:23:37:005 - 00:23:54:022
Unknown
And then that was and then that's like not well, that's the obvious fix for that because you realized you were spending a lot of time looking for the socket that you swear you left on that tire in there 5 minutes ago. Yeah. Hands on the other tire. Yeah. So you can drive yourself, not serve and everything laid out just perfect.

00:23:54:022 - 00:24:19:076
Unknown
But then how you use it sort of evolves that process and then you regress to the mean. It's implied. Interesting lyric thinking of your current tools. I wind up looking for tools all the time that I know I use 30 seconds. Now that I was on the to volunteer fire department for 20 years. And and when we got a call, the first thing I got set up, if it was a working coal was a staging area.

00:24:19:086 - 00:24:37:087
Unknown
Yeah. So that everything came back to their ale. Okay. So your cart is a staging area? Yep. And so, yeah. Is it efficiency or is it just. I'm getting so tired of looking for things. I'm going to create a staging area so that I know where I have to go and look for it. It's so much more organized when it's back where it should be.

00:24:37:105 - 00:24:57:008
Unknown
Yes, absolutely. Young guys working for me and never gets booked backwards because they haven't gotten mad at themselves enough. Yeah, I am not mad at them after some. So how do you go about like facilitating that, learning that clearly all three of you have come to the conclusion that putting things back where they belong is a great idea.

00:24:57:018 - 00:25:22:017
Unknown
That is a large experience. How do you go up for something that for people who aren't there yet, I'm going to figure it out. You tell me. I don't deal with employees, though. It's usually just you know, where I left it. And I have a process. The and the way my mind works is the what was it the other day that was a did you throw out this thing?

00:25:22:017 - 00:25:42:009
Unknown
Yeah, because it was underneath the table for six months. I said because that's where it lives. That's where and it was like a it'd be like a nickel or something. You pick up that nickel. It was on the floor. Yeah, that's where I knew where it was. So the it, a lot of it, it's just remembering at some point.

00:25:42:016 - 00:26:04:095
Unknown
I remember when we got a new kitchen in the house and we switched, which side to the sink the cutlery drawer was on. How many times did you open the door for the digital advertisement. And then we did the same thing in the shop. The the toolbox was in the worst end of the shop and you had to climb over stuff to get to it, which was not working for us.

00:26:04:095 - 00:26:26:053
Unknown
So we moved it. Well, how many times do you think we walked over to that corner workshops until we remembered that, we've moved that now. So I'm. I had a neighbor who apprenticed as a mechanic, then licensed as a mechanic, and I remember watching him and he said it had been drilled into him by an older mechanic, a mentor.

00:26:26:062 - 00:26:55:035
Unknown
But, you know, he says you clean up the last job on the last jobs clock before you start the next one. And that had been just drilled into him. So, yeah, but if you're not in the shop, they're to drill it into them up and get drilled. I worked with the guy for them as a mechanic and my toolbox was organized tools drill half inch 9/16 through, you know, hit his rock tape thread and he was on top.

00:26:55:035 - 00:27:22:096
Unknown
It was that. And I said, that's fine until someday you start an engine. And the main 16 skills are the rad because you change alternator did something one glance in my toolbox I know where it is, but if I pull that door open is not there, you bet it will find it because that red could cross 3000. And so, Bill, you mentioned earlier that you put together this pump school that free of charge, something you run out of your own farm.

00:27:22:096 - 00:27:50:043
Unknown
And I first of all, I think that's super cool. Really, really amazing. But I want to talk about community education a little bit and problem solving. So how important do you believe community engagement and knowledge sharing is in advancing sustainable agricultural practices and how do you go about facilitating that happen? Right. I know. And listen, this can be to everyone, but start with you.

00:27:50:052 - 00:28:18:106
Unknown
I guess the reason we do what we do, a popsicle, we give them a meal toll free. So I guess we're looking at sales. In the end, we can sell pumps. It's always about sales or it's always about premium or so. But if you can help a guy who's struggling to do what we do, it never starts until you start mocking the learning curve as straight up that it's, you know, when they drop all that equipment off and they say they're coming to help them out.

00:28:18:116 - 00:28:40:009
Unknown
So if we can help somebody avoid all the growing pains, we the why wouldn't you think they're just trying to wait a little bit to have especially of his own sometime because we can sell complete systems or even sell pumps, hoses, spies. Pretty sweet. We have access to all luck so we can sell you all complete. So why wouldn't we help you, Sunny?

00:28:40:019 - 00:29:03:087
Unknown
Why wouldn't we tell you the problems will be because you take with the holes. The is like with the pulp educated people bar or you blew them up. Here you have your pump here and you put ten hoses in between. Well, you've already failed because the hoses are dry and the first minute we're going on the pipe labor and come to a coupler stop.

00:29:03:096 - 00:29:22:069
Unknown
So with three hoses, you get up a little on the ground. We call it brought them hose, hook it up, and all the signals go to Mexico, screw it, get the system in truck's name, and then we go. But that was a hard one for us to work because we learned the hard way, right? It's just. So why wouldn't I see new the crease?

00:29:22:078 - 00:29:49:026
Unknown
Like that's what I pump schools both we teach this and we do teach hoses and hose size of friction, loss of hoses. We we give you the chance if it's your first day of the school, never maneuver that's right over your head, like we will lose your right way and put it in control. A set of six. So at lunchtime when you're talking like we are here, that's really you learn as much as it's a now.

00:29:49:036 - 00:30:14:001
Unknown
So we tell them the trips and then the next scale. So hey, we did this way and you might think you might have that more piano sound a bit ahead. So they're pretty, I think a note like community education front when it comes to these more needs, problem solving every time like Bill if I can if I can help somebody avoid some of the mistakes I made.

00:30:14:005 - 00:30:32:062
Unknown
Action Thrill So what tools do you use to help? Not tools for how do you let other people know what you're doing or the mistakes that you've made? Is it just through like one on one conversation? In my case, it would be, yeah. I mean, I understand what Bill's position is, and I think what he's doing is really cool.

00:30:32:062 - 00:30:53:015
Unknown
But yeah, I'm if somebody is interested in what we're doing, they're going to they're going to come and start asking questions and and then it's, you know, do I push them off or do I take the time to even anticipate some of the questions that they haven't asked because they haven't messed that up yet? They don't know. They don't know.

00:30:53:015 - 00:31:19:003
Unknown
No. Yeah, that's interesting. It's interesting to problem solve with somebody who isn't there yet. They they're they're starting their their journey, whether it's going green or are painting green or working with manure. But there's such a knowledge gap there. I tend to work in math or I feel like knowledge transfer is maybe more part of your job that make my bread and butter.

00:31:19:007 - 00:31:51:019
Unknown
That's what I like about this job the most is the the summertime events where you can show a process or a method or something cool or whatever. But have I mean, there's you get these combined schools or spray smart or whatever in the air or how to set up how to set up before each harvester which you know you don't realize a lot of people, they haven't gone through the same school of hard knocks as it were.

00:31:51:019 - 00:32:18:051
Unknown
So the it would help them to to share a bit of your story. But I find it difficult to know whether or not they really want to list it or not. So you know what, to be the old guy. That comes a while back in my day. I love to add the onion on my belt, so that was cool what we did there, where if you wanted to hear me ramble on about stuff, you come to the room.

00:32:18:051 - 00:33:06:089
Unknown
So I didn't realize that anyone was going to enjoy that and lots of questions. And I think they think I'm a little bit more skilled than I might think I am. But then drill. Turns out they all really found that quite interesting. So maybe there is value in doing that more often or getting on the social media or something because somebody somewhere will find what you're doing interesting and they'll either talk to you about it and share that or or something and then whatever the greater good, sure, I cut I want to finish off here first off, but thank you guys so much for your time today, not only at the conference, but for, let

00:33:06:089 - 00:33:31:016
Unknown
me tell you in this room here for our podcasts, I, I think I really want to touch on that last point you brought up there of like somebody out there is going to find the knowledge that you're sharing useful. And I want to give each of you the opportunity to share with our audience what you guys have going on in your life right now, whether it's an initiative you're working on, some knowledge you'd really like to share, something you're passionate about.

00:33:31:016 - 00:33:50:118
Unknown
But I'd like to give each of you a quick comment. Speak to me or the camera. Let the world know what you guys have going on. Bill, So I'm going to start with you. Start over there. What I'm passionate about What? Take it whatever direction you want. You could be a final note, final thought based off our conversation.

00:33:51:008 - 00:34:12:038
Unknown
Whatever you wanna show tomorrow, I, I don't know. Don't. Don't put yourself down. But enough people do that. Bring it. I've been to shows with my board and people put you down and you've built this thing like, I'm pretty proud of my bull. We built it first try. We made a remote control, and I did that in the welding shop at home.

00:34:12:038 - 00:34:34:003
Unknown
I don't have any. And someone would come up to the booth and, we could do a better job. Well, then go ahead and do it. Yeah. Don't put yourself down. Don't listen to that either. Build yourself up always, because you should be proud of what, what, what we've accomplished. Like we started with Muffett Myanmar waste nothing. When we build up to multi-billion dollar operation.

00:34:34:012 - 00:34:59:109
Unknown
Abby, you should be proud of it. Absolutely. I love that. I think what should put you now for certain and don't put yourself down. Yeah, they got enough people out there. Do I face? Right. Just go one. Let's have a look. I think you like passionate about passion. It's something you're working on, working towards something that you like to know about, I guess.

00:34:59:109 - 00:35:31:043
Unknown
What's one of the things that you that get that that grabs me is that I do a bunch of work with the some work with the Canadian Food Grains Bank and and to realize that, you know, the poorest hungriest people on much of the globe are farmers. And here we sit you know yeah we can talk about the financial struggles and all that, but we live and act and and function in a place of security and safety.

00:35:31:052 - 00:36:02:063
Unknown
We may not like the politics, but it doesn't matter. We like, you know, that we have so much to be grateful for. And so to be able to use our resources, whether it's to run a pump school, whether it's to talk to somebody about what we're trying to do, we're like, that's just the type that it it's it's gratifying and enjoyable to have those kinds of conversations with people because we sit in this place of incredible safety.

00:36:02:072 - 00:36:31:118
Unknown
It's wonderful. Thank you for sharing. I was a bit too profound to follow up on with you Got to you got it. Much less than I'm sorry, but, the I just, like, collect and stuff. You're only here once because you believe in that kind of stuff. But yeah, so, you know, the ability somebody said make cool stuff and put it on the internet because somebody will enjoy it.

00:36:32:008 - 00:37:06:028
Unknown
You never know. It will bring it. Just the human experience is quite interesting. So the yeah, if you can make a cool thing and make somebody happy or smile or the the epitome was the those little stamped sheep. I made a one hit die to, to stamp those out from flat plate and it totally unnecessary because you can you can bend it by hand and I am only going to ever make 50 a year but I made a one hit die.

00:37:06:028 - 00:37:31:021
Unknown
And the joy that it brings to me to watch that, you know, just the Why would you do that? Why would I not do that? So but then, you know, giving other people, I guess, a chance to. it's not difficult. okay. So you can just own stuff. I'm going to press a little further. I'm sorry to press you guys, but I want.

00:37:31:031 - 00:37:55:004
Unknown
So you talked about the human experience and feel like you glossed over it a little bit. Can you dive into a little bit further, like the joy of the human experience? What are you going to do? Like, I don't know. The active activity and it's not activity. It just you. I can't put it into what I like doing stuff and other people.

00:37:55:013 - 00:38:29:016
Unknown
I'm not special compared to other people. Other people can do stuff just the same as I can do stuff, finances, an opportunity to be a side. Great. But the and it's fun and everyone can find something that they find enjoyable. So again, rock climbing is your jam or climbing skyscrapers or whatever. I don't understand that I'm not into it, but I can see how it would appeal to people.

00:38:29:026 - 00:39:04:052
Unknown
And yeah, that just collecting hobbies is that's my hobby, is collecting hobbies and so I don't know, I can't really explain why I like doing it. I could easily stay home and read books, but because of the super duper value puzzle set, I have to say that for one, I'm a little less mobile. So I have, you know, taken up amateur strength sports because that was basically the hobbies evolved because a hobby starts feeling like a job to me to get something new, to distract you from the stuff that feels like a job.

00:39:04:052 - 00:39:24:105
Unknown
And then that really going to bring you joy. And then you start doing that too much and then that becomes a job to you. And now you have to find a hobby to interject straight from your hobby. Joy Yeah, So that's probably not the answer for the human experience you on it, but it's the that's still that's the way it is.

00:39:24:105 - 00:39:43:115
Unknown
I like that is the human experience. Right. That's not quite what we want to what we're going to get 42 minutes. So it's time to go to work. We have too many hobbies and there was a time when I was at home with too many hobbies and doing the actual work was that was a little bit hard to work on.

00:39:44:003 - 00:40:13:083
Unknown
Did a lot of meetings in the combine doing soybeans. One year was all job. And once again, thank you guys so much to everyone at home. This is just the first day of the IPO conference and lots of speakers, lots of amazing conversations, honestly, some incredible chats today. Oddly more profound. I, I expected but a wonderful direction. Once again, Alex, Larry Bell, thank you guys so much for being on the podcast.

00:40:13:083 - 00:40:22:020
Unknown
And yeah, those tuning out at home. We'll see you soon.