Ep. 4 Part 2 Benefits of eating food from a Sustainable Farm with Drew from SYNERGOS

Part 2 of a great conversation about starting a regenerative farm,

Carli sits down with Farmer Drew of SYNERGOS Farm in Alvin Texas to talk all things sustainable farming.  If you live in Texas and want to understand why sourcing from specific farms makes such a difference in your health, this is a must listen!

In this episode we discuss soil health, minerals, CLEAN pork, avoiding pesticides, eating seasonal, supporting local farms to prevent disease and much more!

Carli's Website: wellnessbycarli.com
IG: @wellnessbycarli

Drew IG: @synergosfarms
Farm: https://linktr.ee/synergosfarms

FARM CAMP + FARM TOURS: https://www.synergosfarms.com/events

Carli's Info:

Website: www.wellnessbycarli.com

IG: @wellnessbycarli

Transcript

Carli (00:01.374)
Welcome back to the Wellness Frequency. I am here for round two with Farmer Drew. Drew, good to see you. How are you today?

Synergos Farms (00:10.971)
Doing well.

Carli (00:12.194)
Good, I'm so glad we're back. Our first conversation was amazing. We talked about how you got your farm started and really why you started it for your family, for the purpose of healing your daughter, which is such an incredible story. And then we kind of got into some parasite talk and raw milk and wheat berries and really just trusting your path and...

Synergos Farms (00:17.103)
It was amazing.

Synergos Farms (00:29.082)
and then we kind of got into some parasite talk.

Synergos Farms (00:36.8)
and really just trust in your...

Carli (00:39.786)
having a lot of faith. And so for all of those good gems, please listen to part one. But today I want to get into a little bit more nitty gritty with your farm. I want to have people, because I've been there, I got to feel it, I got to see it. I want to paint a bit of a picture of the effort and the quality that you put into your products. Because at the end of the day, that's what I really want to share is this message of, why is it better to eat farm to table? Why is it better to eat from a regenerative farm?

Synergos Farms (00:41.363)
And so for all of those good gems, please listen to part one. But today I want to get into a little bit more knitting.

Synergos Farms (00:59.654)
at the end of the day. That's what I really want to share is this message of, why is it better to eat fruit? Why is it better to eat fruit?

Carli (01:09.846)
Who cares if the cow was fed grass versus wheat, right? There's a huge difference here and I want to paint that. So my first question for you today is I want to hear about the soil. When I was on the farm, you mentioned remineralizing it with eggshells, which first of all, how wonderful to really have this no waste policy and use natural things and who's going to be harmed from eggshells.

Synergos Farms (01:10.998)
the cow was fed grass versus wheat, right? There's a huge difference here and I want to paint that. So my first question for you today is I want to hear about the student when I was in the farm you mentioned refineralizing it with angels which first of all how wonderful to

Carli (01:37.418)
I know there's lots of calcium and minerals in there. So I mean, you can take this wherever you want, but I would love for you to paint a picture of how you care for the land.

Carli (01:50.786)
Hehehe

Synergos Farms (01:56.826)
There's no way to promise anything. It's not something that's been said to be true.

There's also a great guy on social media called The Soil Doctor. He's literally all he spends his time doing. So yeah, I always share with people that, I mean, I don't really find myself to be much of, people ask us why we don't consider ourselves a ranch and said we are farms. And that is because I feel like I'm more of a farmer than I am a rancher.

Growing meat Raising meat is a benefactor of what we're doing with soil And so we do a few things. So one Rotating animals properly is not just about their health, but it's also about the health of the soil So yes, we want to get them off their manure. Yes. We want to give them more things to forage and more to eat

but we also want to give that soil opportunity to recover. And one of the things you mentioned, we also do, which is we do our best to put minerals back into the soil. One of those is through livestock. And another one of those is through mineral feeders for the livestock. So for instance, we have mineral feeders for our cattle and they get free access to that anytime they want. It's not...

reserve for a certain amount of time, it's when they think they need it. And believe it or not, cattle are smart enough to know what they need when they need it. And so they will go over and they will get the minerals that they need when they need it and then they will move on grazing. And we make that available to them just to a very mobile system. It's a sled system. They walk over, eat what they want, and then we move them to a different pasture. We move it with them.

Synergos Farms (04:00.318)
And then same thing with our egg laying flock. There is always referred to it on our tours as the miniature Noah's Ark but it slides around with the with the egg laying flock and that has not just the mineral salt that we feed our cattle, but it also has kelp eggshell and then Something called salt conditioner. It just helps keep the

the things that the chickens are eating, it keeps them able to hold onto it a little bit better, to put it simply. So we rotate that with our egg layers. We do the same thing with our meat chickens, however, we don't necessarily move it around with them like that. Our breeds for meat are not as quick to find things like that.

They are a little bit slower. So we actually just add it to their feed and we've seen a high benefit of that So when you're when we're feeding this to animals They are not only Taking it in their body and it's not just providing for their bodies, but whatever their body doesn't use gets Gets pooped out and so that's going into the soil. So We haven't done this yet on this property that we're on because we've only been here for

going on seven months. So, but around the year mark, we will test it and just see what the difference is in our soil after a year or two years or three years, just to make sure we're doing what we want to do. And that's what we currently do to help mineralize the soil. And then in our garden, we, you know, we use as much as we are able to

that comes out of our livestock operation to help feed the garden. So our compost that we use comes out of a system that we actually use for pigs during the winter, which is a deep mulch method. They are all hanging out on a big bed of deep mulch, anywhere from 8 to 12 inches deep when we're done. And we just put new mulch in there about every week. We feed them in there and they poop, urinate, sleep in there.

Synergos Farms (06:18.63)
It's so interesting because pigs actually poop and urinate in a completely different space than they sleep and they eat. So when you walk into the pen, you'll see where they sleep and they don't eat over there unless you feed them there, which we don't. And then they have their space where they eat and they root and all that. And then you'll walk over and it's a minefield where they have pooped and peed and it's a little bit more heavy in that area. And so...

Carli (06:45.122)
So they're actually cleaner animals than we give them credit for.

Synergos Farms (06:48.994)
Way cleaner. Yeah, I actually, you know, talk to people and they're like, oh, I don't eat pork I'm just always curious why and they say well, you know, they're just so gross. I'm like in Some contexts I would 100% agree with you about that But in this context, I don't I actually watch cattle poop on other cattle all the time I've never seen another pig poop on another pig They they get their space and they poop in their own space. It's just

Carli (07:14.498)
This is so interesting.

Synergos Farms (07:19.518)
I imagine that would happen if they didn't have enough room, but I mean we've had cattle and pasture and they're just grazing Next to each other and they turn and they poop on the other one It's it's not you know, it's not that hasn't been uncommon for me. Same thing with chickens, you know chickens are Not as clean as pigs are but anyways, I'm passionate about debunking the method and the facts around clean pork

Carli (07:40.842)
Interesting.

Well, on that note, I know it's good to know. And from my perspective, I've heard people say that pigs are kind of like goats where they'll just eat anything. So I think you're coming from the seat of, well, you see how clean they are and you know what you're feeding them. And from the outside world, not being a farmer, that's what you hear. You hear, and I grew up in Maryland. Have you ever heard of Scrapple?

Synergos Farms (08:08.822)
Mm-mm.

Carli (08:10.974)
So, Scrapple is, I believe, all the scraps of the pig where they're doing, yes. So anyway, that's kind of colored my context of where they'll grind up different body parts and eyes and you just, you kind of just get this ooh factor. But first of all, you are, this is definitely the first time I've heard that they're clean. And what are they eating on your farm, the pigs?

Synergos Farms (08:18.119)
Oh, different name, but yes.

Synergos Farms (08:37.694)
Yeah, so we are feeding a corn and soy-free diet, which is peanut mill, sorghum, and a multivitamin in most cases, but recently, and I share this with somebody yesterday, currently we are feeding corn because our most recent reach out to our feed supplier said, hey, sorry, we don't have one of the components for feed, so we can't make it for a certain number of weeks. We're like, okay, so we found a solution. It just doesn't have soy in it.

And that's one that we stay away from most simply because there's a decent amount of research It says that it affects their body a lot when consumed in high quantities and most feeds that have soy in them are It is there for the protein factor, which means there's got to be a decent amount of it So yeah, it's a corn and soy free diet. I would to be completely honest majority of the time But when that's not possible, it is a soy free diet. So these pigs are

Yeah.

Carli (09:39.22)
I think it's good to be transparent because we are living in a time where supply is just difficult to be consistent. And so to know what the substitutes are in the in-between times and if you have an intolerance to corn, it's just good to know, but it doesn't sound like it happens often. And I just wanted to say quickly before you continue is that feeding the animals kelp and the salts for the minerals.

That's basically what we need, right? It's the minerals and the salt we are usually deficient in and the iodine in the kelp and the selenium, which is really important for thyroid health. So when you're eating these animals that you're producing, this is in turn a bit of a multivitamin because they're getting the nutrients that they need so then the meat then has the nutrients that we need, which is often why the grocery stores food is so...

Synergos Farms (10:22.966)
they're getting.

Carli (10:34.478)
not nutrient dense basically because they're not taking care of the animals that way so then we're getting less nutrients. So anyway, that's just so wild to learn. What I wanted to know and you can keep answering but the other thing I wanted, I think a lot of people are curious about is when you say you're regenerative and chemical free, how do you deal with pesticides?

I'm sorry, you know, pests, sorry, if you're not using chemicals or do you have to use some? That's another big question while we're talking about land health that I would love some clarity on.

Synergos Farms (11:07.654)
Yeah, so what we are looking to build, I know this is gonna feel like an indirect response, but it's not. So pesticides are not necessary, just to be super frank and short, but there's really no but to it. This is how we look at it. We are not, I was talking to a landowner the other day and shared this with him. He said, you know, like, how do I grow better grasses and all of that? And he wanted to bring more doves to his property because eventually he wanted to hunt doves.

On his property in a different space and he's like but this one here I mean, there's just dove everywhere and I said it's because there is a good ecosystem there He said everybody thinks about I said everybody thinks about food for the animals, but animals want more than just food Just like us human beings. We need a good environment. We want a good place to live. We want good quality water and

We want to feel good in our space. And I'm not equating us necessarily exactly to animals, but animals think very similarly in that regard. Maybe remove without the dynamic of emotional response to it all. I haven't done enough research in that regard, but we are trying to build ecosystem in our pastures, not like one type of grass to feed our cattle. And so,

when you are wanting to build, let's just say in this area, a coastal Bermuda pasture. Well, guess what? When you are building a coastal Bermuda pasture, you're getting one type of nutrients for that soil. You're getting one type of grass. You're allowing one type of species to be developed on your property, which means that all these other seed beds that are in that soil that you're now allowing, you're not wanting to awaken, but you're allowing it to be dormant.

are not feeding your soil. So you're gonna need outside fertilizers, you're gonna need outside pesticides, you're gonna need outside those types of things in order to grow pasture that you want to be this type. And so that is when those things are needed when we're wanting to single out one specific thing to grow in this one specific area.

Carli (13:27.274)
like a monocrop, right? That's what it's referred to as.

Synergos Farms (13:28.79)
Correct. Yep, so there's monoculture and there's permaculture and permaculture just meaning many. So a great way to think about this in terms of gardening, which is we have a market garden on property. We just planted tomatoes about three weeks ago. We transplanted them. We planted them back in January, but we transplanted them into the garden. And when we did that, we added compost, microbiology. We planted the tomatoes in, but we also planted a...

plant called nasturtium, which is a plant that pests don't necessarily love. Um, and so it will keep them from wanting to be around those tomato plants as easy. Now we have had our tomatoes in the ground since they've grown, I don't know, three feet tall, we have had zero pests and we're dead a spring, which means we should have some, but we don't. And it's not because we're spraying anything significant. It's because we're wanting to create an equity.

Carli (14:16.654)
Hmm.

Synergos Farms (14:27.154)
a system there where the plants are working for each other. And it's the same way in our pastures. We want to develop or more or not develop makes it sound like I have a big hand in it. I want to allow our pastures to awaken the seed beds that have necessarily been dormant for one reason or another, overgrazing a pasture to the point where it can't produce or trying to monocrop a pasture to get one type of hay or one type of anything.

And so when you rotate animals, this is kind of this kind of goes back to the health of the animal But also the health of the soil and something we say often is healthy soil healthier healthy animals healthier you It's not gonna make you healthy, but it's gonna make a healthier you because it's a journey to become healthy Just like this soil that we're working on and the animals we're working with it's all a part of that journey. So

I expect our soil and our animals five years from now to be even better than they were than they are going to be this year. So nutrient dense is not a location that you arrive at. It is a journey to continue to build. So if you've ever met anyone that's like, I've got it figured out, we've arrived here, start to think why that might bother you. It bothers me. But

But that's what we do. And so when these animals, I'll just share from cattle specifically, when they're grazing in nature, they're ruminant animals. And ruminant animals naturally will graze. And then let's say a type of environment, whether that's the weather, inclement weather, or that they don't like, or a predator comes along, whatever it might be, those animals now move.

to a completely different space than they were, right? Bison is something that's talked about a lot, but I'm talking about cattle in particular. But you graze them, and as they graze, they're munching on the tops of these tender grasses, and then they move on, and they may not touch that same pasture for months, right? And in the bison scenario, it's like a year. And so when they do that,

Synergos Farms (16:48.578)
What happens is they eat that grass and they move on. That grass now communicates, anytime you trim something, that plant communicates to its roots. We need to repair ourself. And there is this beautiful thing that happens under the soil. Humus is released, which is like, if I remember and communicate it effectively, it is this invisible cloud under the soil that is

communicating to the soil, the microbiology, all of these things that plant needs. And so when you have just one plant doing that on a regular basis, it's having to work a lot harder. But when you have, you know, Blue Stem and Coastal Bermuda and Curly Dock and Regular Dock and Clover and all these different varieties that grow in this area, all together, they're all communicating different things.

to the soil and they're all bringing up different things in the soil nutrient wise, so they're all able to grow. The second aspect of that is healthy soil does not, the grass does not necessarily go completely dormant in every, in certain seasons. In certain seasons, maybe bluestem and coastal are huge. And then in other seasons, like for us late winter, our clover is massive. Things like

hairy fetch and fetch are more predominant in the early, early spring times of the year, along with clover. Well, those things are all great for cattle to eat. Clover and smaller batches, it can cause them bloat. But bottom line is that diversity not only helps on the grazing aspect and having to feed less hay year over year, but it also helps with the soil and each one of those things. This is kind of a side note.

each one of those plants actually provide information for me as the farmer what that soil currently has. And I'll end with this as an example. We currently have tons of thistle that are growing in our in our the back 33 that we currently manage and I was just doing some research. I'm like, why is there so much thistle back here? I don't.

Synergos Farms (19:11.334)
I don't necessarily want to mow it down. I just want to learn what is that communicating to me about the soil, what we have. And I looked it up and as doing some research about what this plant needs and how it thrives in all of that, it thrives in high iron soil. So that's telling me that our back pasture is very high in iron. But I don't see clover anywhere, which means we're probably very low in nitrogen, which a lot of the grasses that grow here in this area need nitrogen. A lot of things.

need nitrogen. So as we're rotating our chickens, I'm throwing down radish and turnips and clover, like all of the things that I see as a soil is communicating to us what our soil needs. Is it all crazy beneficial for our animals to graze? Not necessarily. Are they all things that our animals are going to eat? Not completely. But is it beneficial long term?

for us to plant those things, the answer is yes. So if this type of farming in the early stages, your input is going to be very high. Your dollar is gonna need to be invested more and more, but as you walk along this journey, it should be less and less in the seed category and the input into your soil and more on the labor and on the labor side of things. But again, I say this not to say

anything other than I'm limited in my knowledge because I've been doing this for a short amount of time. So people like Will Harris or Joel Salton that have been doing this for a couple of decades have a lot more experience and knowledge on this regard. So if you want to know more or you desire to know more than even what I'm saying or dive into more topics, I would check one of those individuals out because they have, they are a wealth of knowledge and I'm learning from them as much as I possibly can while they're here.

So. Well, give yourself credit.

Carli (21:10.334)
Well, give yourself credit because that was super impressive. And coming, knowing from your story from part one, how you just started from such simple means, it's wild to me. And I had thoughts when you were speaking. One is that underground communication of the plants and the grass reminded me of mushrooms, how there's just kind of like this invisible communication system. And there's, it's, nature is just so brilliant.

Synergos Farms (21:38.362)
is just so brilliant. And that needs to be explained next. So thank you.

Carli (21:39.83)
And that leads me to my next comment, which is, this is exactly why I think as consumers, we need to support your farm and farms like this, like yours, because we need to learn to eat what nature's providing. And you're supporting nature so that we are able to get.

products, animal products and vegetables and produce, that is grown naturally. So if we want the highest quality product, we need to leave it to the experts to provide us things that are seasonal and not just go to the grocery store in December and expect strawberries because we're so spoiled with this convenience. And that's, we're just getting further, further away.

Synergos Farms (22:11.185)
That is my...

Synergos Farms (22:20.866)
and not just going to the grocery store to separate and get some strawberries because we're so spoiled by this convenience. And that's why we're getting further and further away from supporting student agriculture because then there's this expectation and some kind of demand that we want strawberries all year so then we've got...

Carli (22:33.698)
from supporting this type of agriculture because then there's this expectation, it's supply and demand. Now we want strawberries all year, so then we've got that monoculture that you were talking about and it's killing the soil. And it just kind of hit me when you were talking, like this mastery, that's why we have different skills. And we need to support this and be more adaptable and eat more seasonally because we don't even understand half of what's happening.

Synergos Farms (22:43.866)
and it's killing the soil and it's just, it just kind of hit me when you were talking like this mastery, that's why we have different skills and we need to support this and be more adaptable and be more seasonally because we don't even understand how full foot's happening on the farm. So I'm glad we've created adventures that we can play and it was just really perfect.

Carli (23:03.21)
on the farm. So I'm glad you painted that picture so beautifully. And it was just a really perfect reminder of, as consumers, what our expectations should be. And even last episode, you mentioned it takes nine months to grow a heritage turkey. Well, people want to go the day they want turkey and they want to get turkey. And it's just, I think we need to start shifting how we look at food supply.

Synergos Farms (23:10.75)
first what our expectations should be. Last episode you mentioned it took nine months to grow a heritage tree.

Synergos Farms (23:24.434)
they want to be, they want to get to be, and it's just, I think we need to start shifting to help people with that.

Carli (23:32.598)
So thank you for that. And what I wanna do is kind of just get a little bit more information about what animals that you're growing. Shut the window.

Synergos Farms (23:35.662)
It's kind of just to get a little bit more information about what animals that you're growing. Yeah.

Yeah, you bet.

Carli (23:45.186)
Okay, if my neighbor turns on his truck, we're in trouble. So when I was on the farm, I saw pigs and cows and sweet puppies and I remember goats and that hilarious goose. Is that what it was? Was that the one that? Yes, that was very funny. What all animals do you take care of and what products do they produce that you get to sell as a farmer?

Synergos Farms (24:00.749)
Mm-hmm. Bet Casey held.

Synergos Farms (24:09.77)
take care of and what products do they produce then.

Okay, so I'm going to be very brief on the product side because I could go on for a while because we really try to be a no waste farm and a guy that I'm, or a farm that I'm learning so much from is White Oak Pastures and they do, I think they do a fantastic job of that. Just learning what they do. Again, I probably know a small amount of what they do, but they do a fantastic job of that.

And, you know, I'm not worried about competing with somebody like that, not because they don't live in Texas, but because he straight up says, I'm just trying to feed my community. And that's what we're doing as well. And so I think if there's more farmers that are focused on feeding their community around them, then shipping out of the US and shipping around the US is not as important. The most important thing is getting farmers like us.

that are like-minded around the US rather than shipping around the US. Because the more you, the smaller the circumference of where your food comes from, the healthier you're going to be. You mentioned something like seasonal, which eating seasonally, there is not a better thing for you to do when it comes to your diet. You can go keto, you can go this, you can go that. The best thing for you to do is eat seasonally.

wherever you live. And so we grow some seasonal meats here. One of them is goose, another one is turkey. We do not grow turkeys year-round because it is not necessarily sustainable for us to grow turkeys year-round. We absolutely could grow turkeys almost 12 months a year, but it's just not a sustainable practice for us right now. So we grow turkeys nine months out of the year and it takes a

Synergos Farms (26:13.302)
to a slaughter size. And we produce a product of 12 to 16, sometimes 18 pound turkeys. Not these 25 to 37 pound birds you can find in the store. But when you buy one, you can tell the difference. I could try to explain the difference, but just like a good experience, the best thing to do is join in on that experience. So goose is another one of those things.

um and duck is also another one of those things. We started growing duck um not because someone asked us to but because as a farm we need to be able to have an income like throughout the year um and so we found out that growing chickens between the months of like mid-october through january is just it's a it's a fight i'm not willing to try to try to win.

while compromising conviction. We just, we, because our land is a little lower than most, probably in Texas, our soil, even with regenerative practices, does hold water away. I mean, when you get 20 inches of rain in a week, your soil has a hard time keeping up. And so we've water and cold temperatures in those months or cooler temperatures with chicken feet result in dead

Synergos Farms (27:42.442)
They make the most of it. They're splashing around and enjoying the wet, cold weather. That's just what they enjoy. And so we realized we can grow ducks and ducks are so incredibly impactful for the soil. They eat some of the things that chickens don't eat and they also don't scratch like chickens scratch. They just walk. And so their padded feet just smoosh stuff instead of scratch through things.

However, they make a very large mess and they can turn a pasture that is wet into a sloppy mess pretty quick, if in too small of an area. So we just give them a big space and they kind of spread their wonderfulness all over that space. But what we grow year round is we do grow beef year round. However, we are a very small producer with beef, like six to eight beef a year, cattle a year.

We also have dairy cattle on site and we share that through a program called the herd share, which is great, but it does involve commitment and understanding the cycle of dairy cattle. We also, I mentioned we raise chickens. So we raise a cross between a Cornish hen and a Brise chicken, which is a French chicken, for 10 months out of the year, roughly, give or take. This summer we'll actually

experimenting not growing chicken for four months through the summer to not battle with the hot temperatures and giving our pasture more rest just to be able to prepare for fall and spring. And then we also grow pasture raised pigs and that is probably one of my favorite operations here. I just really enjoy them. It's a pretty big passion of mine. I think there's a lot of

Not necessarily full lies, but just some very gray truths about pigs. Um, and yeah, not that I necessarily single-handedly want to debunk those, but pastured pork is unlike any pork. Uh, my mother-in-law came over for a birthday dinner for my daughter a couple of weeks ago and we're sitting down and we're slicing through pork chops. And I put some on her plate cause that's just my role at the table. I like to cut meat the proper way. So it's nice and tender.

Synergos Farms (30:11.314)
And then I love to serve it to people to give it that time to rest. But she was eating it, she's like, oh my gosh, this beef is so good. I was like, it's not beef, it's pork. She's like, there's no way. Like, this is not white in the middle, this is kind of pink. And I was like, well, it's the quality of meat that you're eating. She's like, this does not taste like pork. And I was like, no, it doesn't taste like the pork you're used to eating. And so if anybody that's had our pork,

It's not just me communicating that anyone that's had our pork or pastured pork for the most part will communicate the same thing because it's It's just hands down a much more superior product than what you're used to getting From the charcuterie that can be made from it to all the way down to the sausages that are made from it And it is just fantastic. I'm trying to think if there's anything else Oh We are in a the starting process of raising

Carli (31:03.277)
Well.

Synergos Farms (31:10.35)
grass-fed finished lamb on the property but More details to come on that because we're still on a very large learning phase there And our goats are leaving today. I'm done with goats they They yeah, they're terrible Or at least the ones we have I think they've just learned they've had some learned behaviors through just

Carli (31:16.29)
That's it.

Carli (31:26.355)
I think so naughty.

Synergos Farms (31:36.746)
being curious. Goats are really curious. They are also very cute in stages, but these have learned the ins and outs of the feeding routine and how to get in and out of areas so that they can eat feed and they, yeah. So we're finding them a new home and today will be the last day.

Carli (31:55.474)
I don't know why that just, that just makes me laugh. They just sound like they're so bad. I've read just books about, this is random, but just books about telling stories about goats and they will just destroy, they're very destructive and they've got some attitude. Um, but I

Synergos Farms (32:08.982)
They absolutely can be. Yeah. They're extremely useful though. Extremely useful. We used them in our last property and they provided an opportunity to eat through like some very low forestry. Then we ran pigs through it, then we seeded it and we created some silvo pasture, which is just forest pasture. And it was beautiful. That symbiotic relationship with those goats and the forest and the pigs and all that. It was great.

but we just don't have infrastructure for them here or a purpose for them. So the best thing for them to do is go instead of stay because they're just creating chaos.

Carli (32:46.87)
Well, that sounds fair. And when you were talking about the pork, now I need to get some pork chops because I have to say, when you get your hands on meat from your kind of farm, you have to taste it to believe it. Because just like you said, that's the response in my family, is this does not taste real. This is euphoric. And there is burger meat my daughter will eat.

Synergos Farms (33:06.021)
This does not exist.

Carli (33:12.846)
only this kind of meat. And then when after we bought from a regenerative farm and had a half a cow, we started getting used to this kind of meat, we bought grocery store ground meat and did not have any idea how tasteless it was. We didn't know. It's all we knew. But I'm telling you, get your hands on some of this stuff. Pork's on my list. Next time I see you. You were very busy at the market this week, which I love to see. But I did have your bacon, which is another awesome example because you learn what it's supposed to look like.

Synergos Farms (33:28.306)
Hmm.

Synergos Farms (33:33.439)
Yeah.

Synergos Farms (33:37.028)
But I did have your face.

Carli (33:42.77)
and tastes like and we just only know what we know because of the convenience factor and it's no shame. It's how we were raised but do different and reach out and then you just can't go back when you've had high quality meat. The taste is insane.

Synergos Farms (33:54.52)
and just give me that. Yeah.

Synergos Farms (33:59.058)
Yeah, I will say this one last thing. You were talking about being a consumer and I wrote this down because I feel like it's really important. I think we all know the quote, if you don't maybe you just don't, but I think it was Mahatma Gandhi said, be the change you wanna see in the world. And I would take it even a step further and just say, if you want to...

If you want to help the soil go from being dead to alive and help encourage people to see that and know that and all of that, then put your money where your mouth is. Stop buying from grocery stores for the most part. Buy the things you know, the farmers you trust. I'm not saying completely. There are some farmers that sell to grocery stores and you can trust them. But, and I don't know some of those anymore or most of those anymore because I don't buy meat and other things from the grocery store. I've.

eat most of it from here. But find those that you do know and you can trust and do that. And if not, invest. If you wanna be a part of the change, invest your money where you want to see change and be a part of growing that. Because if not, it is, then your money and your time are supporting what you want to see grow. Whether that be in your food system or yourself or your family or your world. Yeah.

I just wanted to share that because I feel like at times it feels like such a big responsibility. It's like I don't have time to be a homesteader. I don't have time to go to the farm. It's like if you don't have time to do either of those, be an investor of change and invest your time and your money where you want to see change. So.

Carli (35:41.322)
I'm so glad you said that because that's exactly what I wanted to start, spark a conversation here with this podcast is show, it's really providing the motivation because you do better when you know better. And if we can paint the education as to why the motivation will come naturally, because there's nothing more exciting than taking care of yourself if you're a wellness advocate and you care about your future.

Synergos Farms (35:51.45)
It's really providing motivation.

Carli (36:11.426)
And when you understand the difference in choosing your food quality, then the motivation comes. So I'm so, so happy you have shared so beautifully some of these thoughts. And one more thing that I wanted you to speak on, which I think fits perfectly into this conversation, is another project, just in case Drew wasn't busy enough that he has started, is farm school. On his farm, it is such a sweet concept. Can you please tell us about that?

Synergos Farms (36:25.43)
Thank you.

Synergos Farms (36:28.802)
Drew wasn't busy enough, he gets stoned.

Synergos Farms (36:35.878)
touch this week.

Sure. So it actually started off with something we're doing this summer called farm camp and farm camp came from my My time as a student pastor for a while Um always have just really had a passion to teach the next generation uh, because it was one of the hardest times of my life was Being a I think it was between the ages of like eight and 16 My parents divorced when I was four. So just

That whole gamut of being a child was really tough. Not specifically just because of my parents, but because it was tough. There's a lot of things that happen. And so we wanted to help inspire and educate. So we have three core values as a farm, and that is education, inspiration, and empowerment. We don't wanna just feed people food, because...

growing enough food to feed the entire community that we're around is impossible where we're at. Doesn't mean it's not gonna happen in the future, just it's impossible where we're at. And we need more people to join in on this journey. So if that's the case, that we need to inspire people with what we're doing, we need to educate them why we're doing it, and we need to empower them to do something themselves. And so we said, what better place to start than the next generation? So we started a farm camp for ages three to seven. That's where we started.

Because if you know anything about education, the mind is most formed between the ages of one and five. And so it was like, okay, let's do it. Let's help these kids at that age be a sponge to some of the most important things that they could potentially be a part of. And so anyways, we started Farm Camp and it was awesome. And I learned very quickly, I am not the person to teach three to five year old kids.

Synergos Farms (38:32.638)
And so we partnered with a local teacher that does something called Tinker Garden, which if you don't know what that is, look it up. But it's an outdoor concept for kindergarten and it's wonderful. So she joined in and she started teaching farm camp for us and it has just exploded. We just started this and we did farm camp in summer of 2022. Then we did farm camp in the summer of 23 and we had to double it.

Then at the end of farm camp, we were like, man, people just keep asking, are you gonna do farm camp in the fall, are you gonna do it in the spring? And we're like, ah, we have so much going on. Like how could we potentially do this in a sustainable way? It's not sustainable to take four days out in the middle of a fall or a spring week and planning it to where other people can join in and not just a few. And then we, I mean, within three or four days, it was like, why don't we make it a 12-term, what, 12-week term?

and we opened up one class and that class filled up in like three weeks and then we opened up another one because we realized it was a need and that one filled up before class started. And so we ended up, or no, sorry, that was this past term. Everything's moved so fast. Our first term, we opened it up to one class and we said 10 people at most. And then it was like, okay, 10 people with one teacher, that's sustainable.

And then it was like, okay, we need more space because this is such a need. So we asked the teacher, teacher was like, okay, yeah, 12. And then we went to 14 and then 16. I was like, okay, 16 with some help. That is absolute, the most we wanna do because we want there to be a good ratio of leader to student ratio so they can really learn and ask questions and dive in and get hands on stuff. And come spring, we had to open up two more. So we went from.

from 8 to 16 pretty quick and then and then this spring we had 37 families a part of farm school so it's obviously a need in our community so we're branching out doing more we're investing money to start a 501c3 based on education a core value that we have here inspiring and educating the next generation and we are going to be I believe launching

Synergos Farms (40:56.822)
four classes in the fall, which will open registration up with that once farm camp is done. But if somebody wants to experience stuff here on the farm when it comes to education for their kiddo, I would hop on our website or on our farm store and register for farm camp as soon as possible. It's $400. And I will tell you, every bit of that dollar goes towards providing a good experience for your kiddo.

or pays for the food that they're taking home. So you're either providing for your child and education or providing for your table with food. Very little of it goes to us as a farm. I tell people all the time, they're like, you must make a killing on farm school. I'm like, no, we don't, we just don't. And that's not the point. The point is to educate and inspire people. And so that's why we're doing the 501C3. So yeah, and we expect it to grow and we expect it to just get.

bigger and bigger as we move forward, but we're going to keep doing that sustainably so that we can keep moving. Last thing we want to do is phase out and fizz out and make that not a need that we can meet in our community. So yeah, we teach quite a few things, but one of the biggest things that we even teach at the next level, which is ages 13 and up.

um as a stewardship program here on the farm and we teach four categories consistency commitment character and competency and it's like how do you teach that and it's like we teach that through farming and you commit to eight hours of work at minimum every week here on the farm and the first couple of times you're here we you're a shadow you're a fly on the wall and you just learn we don't expect you to do any work and so those are the two areas where

doing our best to educate, inspire, and empower people. And out of that avenue, actually, we are hoping to do even bigger things that I'll leave for a future conversation. But we also have hired people out of that program, the stewardship program, to work with us here on the farm. And it is such a blessing to us. And so we've watched people come out of that program and go on and do bigger, better things than what they were doing right there at that moment. And...

Synergos Farms (43:21.926)
Or they stick around and they work for a little while and then go do that. It just depends So those are the two things that we are doing right now and one of them is for the younger generation younger of the next generation and the next is for 13 and up and I say up because we have a woman here that is a steward and she comes here four days a week and She is just She's she got a servant's heart and she serves the farm and our family and all those things kind of combined

But, and she's in her 50s. And she can put in some work. So yeah, that's a cool avenue if somebody is in their later years and they wanna learn or not, or you're in your 20s, your 30s, and you wanna learn. You can do that too. So, and you don't have to pay for that.

Carli (44:12.355)
I love that. This is your, you know, you're totally your preacher ness is coming through because this is so poetic. It is it's poetic the inspire, educate and power. I'm just kind of like this is so magical. I know you work so hard, but you're putting so much thought behind this and intention. And the energy I mean, this is called the wellness frequency and not to be cheesy, but

There's a vibration. Every person has a different vibration, every word, every emotion. The frequency, the energy behind this whole concept is so pristine. It's really poetic. And I just wanted to say thank you for, I feel like you really showcased the power of this today. And I hope it lands with people that they need to, like you said, put their money where their math is. We're in a time where we have to

Synergos Farms (44:41.654)
Thanks for watching!

Synergos Farms (44:57.838)
showcased the power of this today.

Synergos Farms (45:05.878)
like you said.

Carli (45:10.534)
support and nourish and really just commit to the things we care about and cut the fat. That's where we are. Cut the fat.

Synergos Farms (45:21.238)
Cut the fat in your commitment, increase the fat in your diet. Yeah.

Carli (45:25.858)
Amen. We have to end on that note because it doesn't get much better than that. Thank you so much again for today. This was awesome. I'm going to link all of your stuff in the show notes, the farm camp, how you can subscribe and be a part of just tasting your wonderful products, how you can steward, all the different options I'm going to link.

Synergos Farms (45:47.894)
Thanks for watching!

Carli (45:53.502)
And any listeners, thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing your energy and your presence. And to get this podcast going and share these beautiful, important concepts, please subscribe, please share, please like. All those good free things are so supportive to this small business and promoting this message. So on that note, I will see you all next time on The Wellness Frequency.

Synergos Farms (46:02.486)
subscribe to the share, all those good free things are so supportive to the small business and promoting this message.