166: Cultivating a love for the land
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Wallace Wood has been an active member of the McCormick County, SC community for over 38 years. He served as the Executive Director of the Upper Savannah Land Trust for six years and has been on the board of directors several times since the organization began in 2000. In 2011, he was named South Carolina Tree Farmer of the Year
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165: You’re looking at a Tree Farmer’s dream
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Walt McPhail, Brother Bill, and Dr. George Kessler (from a previous episode!) join Tom and Emily to discuss Walt’s farm. Walt and his ancestors have managed to keep the property within the family tree for a long, long time. He shares how he always knew he wanted to be a forester, why he’s been “retired” for nearly his entire career, and so much more, in this week’s episode!
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164: I couldn't have done anything more rewarding
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Dr. George Kessler is a Certified Tree Farmer and a Registered Forester. Dr. George is a recognized treasure in South Carolina for his extensive work in the tree farm community. He has dedicated his most of his career to extension forestry and has created millions of acres of healthy forests. Find out about Dr. George and his journey into forestry, his impact on the South Carolina community, and so much more!
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163: We Don't Take Away without Rebuilding
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Skeet and Gayle Burris are proud owners of Cypress Bay Plantation, a 2500+ acre farm and is nationally recognized for exceptional forestry, wildlife management and conservation. Skeet and Gayle share what it was like working on the farm in the very early days when it was an undeveloped 95-acre property. Lean in as Skeet and Gayle talk about how their vision back in 1986 has come true, and how they plan to keep the family legacy alive.
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162: The Call of the Bobwhite Is Now a Normal Thing
The Leadership Nature Podcast
John Spearman is a retired Colonel for the US Army and the President of Deer Hill, an award winning tree farming operation. John has been part of this farm since 1977 and shares a little bit about its rich history, the family legacy he is building with his farm, and just his love for being outdoors. John and his family have been able to create alternative income sources on his property that go beyond timber and trees!
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161: Land is More than Finances; It’s Your Culture and Heritage
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Annie Ruth Jones is a three-generation landowner and has successfully used her land to plant and sell trees. Her grandparents bought the land she is currently standing on in 1935 and she is very proud that she has kept the family legacy alive all these years later. She also credits the Center of Heirs Property for helping guide her to find the right resources to make a living out of her land. Find out more about Annie and her property in this week’s episode!
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160: Tree Farming Is a Way of Life for Me
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Randell Ewing is a tree farmer with deep roots in Darlington County, South Carolina. He got into tree farming by accident when he purchased a small piece of land in his early 20s for hunting purposes. Since then, he’s grown his property by thousands of acres and it’s now turned into a family business with him and his son. Listen in as you hear Randell’s stories about his tree farm and the amount of pride he has for growing trees.
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159: 990 Acres That I Am Very Proud To Own
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Eddie and Linda Drayton are the owners of Cat Tail Tree Farm. Eddie is a retired forester and spends his retirement days as a tree farmer. As a man in his 80s, Eddie wakes up everyday excited for a new adventure on his farm and shares a little bit about his love for forestry as well as provides a bit of a background on how the surrounding area was discovered. Join Tom and Emily on this adventure as they talk with Eddie and Linda about the work they put into their beautiful property.
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158: Trees Are a 50-Plus-Year-Long Term Investment that Pays Off
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Tom and Emily meet with legacy tree farmer Pat Dorn, based in South Carolina, to learn more about his beautiful property and how he got into the business of planting trees! You’ll hear some background noise as Tom and Emily march through the wilderness with Pat as they uncover what makes Pat’s property so special.
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157: Heritage Property: Working on the Land in South Carolina
The Leadership Nature Podcast
Tom is on the road and interviewing Mike Meetze from South Carolina! Mike shares his heritage property with Tom and explains how the property has evolved over the years. Everything from growing Soybeans to cattle to now timber. Mike has been on the tractor since he was eight years old, but he is actually an engineer by trade. Take a journey with Mike as he walks you through his property on this week’s episode!
info_outlineChris Joe is an NRCS District Conservationist and a landowner in Alabama. He is a Fourth-Generation African American landowner and he raises cattle on his land. However, through tapping into the NRCS resources, he’s found out how to maximize his land by providing bird and nature tours! The NRCS has a wide range of resources that not many people are aware of and on today’s episode, Chris shares some of these amazing and fantastic resources today.
Key Takeaways:
[1:35] A message from Leadership Nature.
[2:20] A quick intro about Chris’s background.
[4:40] How did Chris get into cattle farming?
[6:35] Chris explains the definition of ‘black belt’ and how it relates to the soil.
[9:30] What kind of work ethic did Chris learn while working on the farm?
[12:15] Chris shares a bit of his family history.
[15:25] How has Chris been able to diversify his land?
[21:20] NRCS has SO many resources for landowners!
[24:05] Chris has people from all over the states coming to his land to watch birds. He never knew that would be possible without the help of forestry professionals.
[25:55] Chris keeps a journal for his farm. It’s helped him tremendously keep track of the history of the farm!
[30:25] What’s next for Chris and his farm?
[35:55] Chris shares a bit about his educational journey on how he got into farming and conservation.
[42:40] You don’t want to go on to somebody’s farm and tell them what they have to change. It will rub them the wrong way. You’ve gotta do a bit of pre-work first to build trust.
[52:15] The NRCS has a lot of available resources and programs for landowners who might not be able to afford it, too.
[59:15] Chris loves being able to partner with the community and teach them practical lessons on how to efficiently use the land.
[1:03:25] Another resource that the NRCS teaches is about game hunting on your property; what’s legal and what’s not legal to do.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Website for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities: Usendowment.org
More information on the SFLR Program: Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR)
More information on USDA NRCS: Nrcs.usda.gov