The Peanut Podcast
The Peanut Podcast, created by the National Peanut Board, delves into issues that are important to peanut growers and the industry. Join NPB staff hosts Lauren Highfill Williams and Ashton Pellom as they explore hot topics and future trends impacting the industry, including agriculture, sustainability, nutrition, allergies, culture, consumers and more.
The Peanut Podcast
How I Got Here: Stories from the Farm 2
As unique as each crop year, every peanut grower has a noteworthy story to tell about their journey to farming and agriculture. Back by popular demand, we’re sharing a second round of our How I Got Here series. In this episode, we hear from Florida peanut farmer Mikaela Massey about her family’s support of her involvement and learning on the farm; Executive Director of the Virginia Peanut Growers Association Caitlin Joyner on navigating to agricultural leadership through Future Farmers of America; and National Peanut Board member from Oklahoma Mark DeLeon on his remarkable journey as a first-generation farmer and youngest of 14.
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| Lindsay Stevens | Hi! Welcome back to the Peanut Podcast! I’m Lindsay Stevens.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | And I’m Lauren Highfill Williams. Welcome to the February episode of our podcast. At the time of recording, I have just gotten back from the National Peanut Buying Points Association Conference.
| Lindsay Stevens | Yes. And in addition to that, we’ve had team members all over the peanut region presenting at grower meetings in South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Virginia and Georgia.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | All of these grower meetings work as a great lead into today’s topic, which is about Stories from the Farm.
| Lindsay Stevens | Yes, we had such a great time talking to farmers and listening to how they got involved in farming for our August 2023 episode, that we wanted to make this a yearly episode.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Getting to know other growers from different areas is one of things farmers who serve on the National Peanut Board often appreciate about their time on the board. We’re bringing a small piece of that experience to you with this episode, sharing the stories of three peanut trailblazers, all with different paths that led them to agriculture. We speak with Virginia Peanut Growers Association Executive Director Caitlin Joyner, National Peanut Board Member from Oklahoma Mark Deleon, and Florida Farmer Mikaela Massey.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | First up, we spoke with Mikaela Massey from Florida. Here’s Mikaela with a little about herself.
| Mikaela Massey | My name is Mikaela Massey and I'm married to my husband Ashby. We've been married for five years. And I'm a stay-at-home mom to our three year old daughter, Abby Lynn and our seven month old son Hilton. And I manage all of the book work and the business side of the farm. I make sure that all of our expenses are paid throughout the year that everything looks right on paper, and in our systems, and I keep everything recorded and organized throughout the year. And I also work really closely with our accountant, especially during tax time.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Here’s the role that peanuts play in Mikaela’s operation.
| Mikaela Massey | So, peanuts factor into our operation like we have always grown like two years cotton one year peanut you know, on a three year rotation and so that offers diversity each year and they work together really well and it's good for the soil. So, that's just kind of always been what we've done and it works out really well the peanuts and cotton you know work together well alternating them so that's that's what we've been doing for as long as I can remember.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Like many people who grow up on the farm, Mikaela’s first memories are of helping out and riding on the tractor. Here’s Mikaela with more:
| Mikaela Massey | So, my earliest memories of farming have to go back to my dad, Michael Davis. My parents are Michael and Lisa Davis. And ever since I was a baby, he always took me with him to the field if he could. I remember riding in the tractor, I learned how to drive in the field way before I ever turned 15/16 years old and running errands around, you know, to see people in the peanut industry going to meetings, going to drop things off and pick things up. I especially love going to the peanut mill during harvest season and hauling wagons with my dad and getting to know people in the industry was a really big part of me growing up. Going to work with my dad. And I felt like that really kind of helped me kind of set a foundation in farming.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Mikaela’s father, Michael Davis, served on the National Peanut Board for Florida for many years and I have fond memories of Mikaela coming along on trips with her dad and her mom Lisa to meet people and learn about the industry. Later she would attend and graduate from the Peanut Leadership Academy, but before that Mikaela says the first pivotal moment in her farming career was when she started renting land from her father.
| Mikaela Massey | So, the first pivotal moment for me has to be whenever I was a senior in high school, when I got accepted to Troy University, which was about an hour and a half from us. My dad was trying to come up I guess with a way of easing me into the financial side of for me because he knew that after I graduated from college that my plan was to come back home and work on the farm. Still be in the farm industry. So, I actually rented 40 acres of farmland from my dad, half peanuts, half cotton, and that paid for me to go to college, you know, for four years. I just I rented the the land from him and then paid all of my expenses with the money and then paid for my tuition. Of course, I had a few scholarships, I didn't have a full ride. But I was able to get out of college, you know, debt-free because of the farmland that I rented from my dad. So, that was a key moment for me growing up and I learned how to manage money. I was you know, filing my own separate like farm taxes and all of that whenever I was 19/20 years old. So, I learned how to keep everything organized and how important it is to keep track of the cash flow. That was a big learning curve since I never had to do the financial side before growing up.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | According to the latest Ag Census, female farmers account for 36% of all producers in the U.S. That number is poised to grow as more families and communities consider the possibilities of women in agriculture. For Mikaela, her family’s investment in her experience with the farm gave her and her future husband the opportunity to achieve the life and livelihood they both wanted.
| Mikaela Massey | I'd say the second pivotal moment was when I'm married my husband Ashby at 22. When we first met ashby had not came from a farming background. But once we started dating and he visited the farm and spent more time around my parents he kind of fell in love with farming. And when we decided to kind of base our life around like getting back to the farm and like him working with my dad and us having our own land but also working with my dad. Getting all of that worked out to where we could grow like mine and Ashby's farm alongside my dad's. That was another pivotal moment because that is what has made it possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom now with our two children and I can raise them taking them to the farm throughout the day and drop what I'm doing and help however I can on the farm and be able to attend things in the peanut industry like I always have.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Like many farmers, Mikaela continues to farm for the next generation.
| Mikaela Massey | My why for continuing to farm is it's for the next generation, which I'm sure you know, any multi generation farm family can say that. You want to see the next generation take it and run with it and it'd be as instilled in them as it was in me I want to see Abby Lynn and Hilton grow up on the farm and then it'd be a part of their life to where that's what they want to come back to. And if they decide to you know, go to college off somewhere pursue a different path like I really want them to still want to be at home on the farm in at least keep it going you know so that their children can have the same experience because I mean farming is really hard to get into if you're not already kind of born into it with just the challenges and expenses and everything that goes into that so I think that you know just trying to keep going just for the next generation is definitely worth it.
| Lindsay Stevens | Next, we spoke with Caitlin Joyner. While Caitlin doesn’t have the typical farm story, she discovered her love for agriculture while in high school and has worked in the ag industry ever since. Here’s Caitlin with a little about herself.
| Caitlin Joyner | My name is Caitlin Joyner, and I'm the new executive director of the Virginia peanut Growers Association. I started back in September, my family, my husband, and I have one son who's about two and a half years old. We live in Suffolk, Virginia. And we've lived here about the past five years. I'm really excited to be in this position. I have really enjoyed it so far. I really enjoy being in the peanut industry. I'm glad that this is kind of where I've landed. So, I've worked in many different sectors of the agriculture industry I've worked in, in grain marketing and accounting, in soil and water conservation, in teaching and now I've landed in the peanut industry. And I'm really excited. I like everyone that I've met. And the peanut industry has been very welcoming to me, very willing to answer my questions or teach me things and you don't get that everywhere. So that's been really great and I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
| Lindsay Stevens | Like we mentioned, Caitlin did not grow up on a farm but she grew up in a rural area with a Future Farmers of America program that sparked her interest. Here’s Caitlin with more.
| Caitlin Joyner | So, I got into agriculture kind of randomly, to be honest. I did not grow up on a farm, but I did grow up in a rural area. So, it was kind of it was commonplace to be or I was around agriculture. But I just wasn't my family's livelihood wasn't directly derived from agriculture. So, my high school had a large agriculture and FFA program. And I had a lot of friends who did that. And my sophomore year, I kind of just randomly decided that it looked fun, they got to do cool shop projects, they got cookies at their meetings. So, I thought that was really cool. So, I decided to just join and from there, I just loved it. Um, I can remember my ag teacher telling my mom once that when she was teaching, she could look at me and tell that I was really engaged and really thinking about what she was talking about. And she was right. Like, I just fell in love with it. From that very first, from those very first classes. And so I've been involved in it ever since. And so high school, ag education and FFA was a really big part of my journey and how I got into that, but it was really kind of random, like I said, but then from there, I've just love learning about it, love being involved in it and still continue to love that from this to this day.
| Lindsay Stevens | According to Caitlin, going to that first FFA meeting was a pivotal point in her ag career. Here’s Caitlin:
| Caitlin Joyner | Well, I think definitely just getting started in ag altogether, like I was just telling that story. Because like I said, that wasn't really something that anybody in my family had been directly involved in at all. So, definitely just getting started in ag altogether. And then I had the opportunity actually after my freshman year in college, to serve as a state officer in Virginia with FFA. And that's here in Virginia. So, it can be a little bit different from state to state. But here in Virginia, that's a year-long commitment. And that really, really opened my eyes to a lot of different parts of agriculture. I learned a lot. We received just first-class training and development during that. And that really, really helped me as I went on more than anything else I've ever done more than any other internship or anything. It helped me in my relationships, it helped me see and actually choose what path in agriculture I wanted to choose. Prior to that I was like, I know I want to be an ag, but I don't know what. There's so many different things. But after that is when I decided to come and go into the crop and agronomy side of things. And it also helps me with public speaking and all of those things. So I would say that was a really really big shift for me and I just learned so much within that year.
| Lindsay Stevens | Caitlin said that the FFA or Ag Teachers are great resources for farmers to reach out to if they want to help inspire other people to farm. Here’s Caitlin with ways farmers can get involved:
| Caitlin Joyner | Yes, so, most first you have to see that your county or locality wherever you live has an FFA program and most of them do. Some of them are a little bit bigger than others. Some of them are a little bit more well established than others, but they definitely just reaching out to that ag teacher or that program and saying, you know, I'm kind of here if you want to run any ideas past me kind of just being a collaborator. So, um, when I was involved in even when I was an ag teacher before, just being able to have someone that says, you know, hey, I'd love to have your kids come for a field trip, that's a great resource to have. And it doesn't necessarily have to be, you know, this day and this time, but whenever you want to do it, or yes, I would be willing to come and talk about XYZ, you know, whatever, whatever you farm, whatever you're involved in, just kind of being a resource like that, it doesn't have to take up too much of your time. But that's a great resource to have. And it's a great way for kids to see firsthand what is involved in agriculture or farming, it doesn't just have to be growers, but they do love to see that kind of stuff. And so I think just kind of reaching out and being sort of an available resource. And you can kind of say what you're willing to do, you know, I'm willing to do a field trip, I'm willing to come and talk, whatever, whatever it is, it's a great resource to have, especially for those beginning and new teachers who are trying to build a program trying to figure out what they're going to teach, and they're trying to meet people too. They're not always from that area, where they're at. So that was a big challenge for me, because I'm not from this area. Originally, I'm from Virginia, but I'm from the western part of Virginia. So, when I moved here, I didn't know a whole lot of people, my husband's family did because he's from Suffolk. So, but just kind of establishing those connections in the beginning is a huge resource to the teacher as well as the students.
| Lindsay Stevens | One of the things about agriculture that is particularly special to Caitlin is how it touches every single person on this planet.
| Caitlin Joyner | Well, obviously, one thing that has has fascinated me about agriculture, from the beginning, and a big reason why I love being involved in it is that agriculture touches everyone. So everyone is impacted by agriculture in some way. And that's not the case in all other industries, even even industries where we think it's very widespread, there's still parts of the world that are untouched by technology, and things like that. But there's no one and no part of the world that's not untouched by agriculture. So that's one thing I think is really, really cool about this industry. So, obviously, I hope that we continue to be able to reach more people, and feed more people and keep up with that demand.
| Lindsay Stevens | As for the future of farming, Caitlin is hopeful about the next generation of farmers coming into agriculture that may not be from your typical farm background.
| Caitlin Joyner | I have two ideas for that. And one thing is definitely like we were talking about getting involved with a younger audience. So, if there's any way that you can get involved with 4H or FFA or any of those students and kind of showing them that being a farmer is definitely a big part of it. And we need more people who want to do that. But there's so many other career paths and other ways that you can get involved and that you don't just have to be a farmer, but like I said, that's great. We need more people to do that as well. But there's so many different ways to get involved. So I I think being able to get involved with those younger age groups, and just kind of showing them what the options are, is one great way, another great way. And this could be more of a regional issue that I see. But we are losing a lot of farmland to development. That's a very controversial issue. But I do see a lot of growers that don't have a next generation. And that's can also be for a variety of reasons, that's of no fault to anyone. But I think if we can have a little bit more of an open mind, and saying, okay, you know, if, as far as the next generation, if I don't have someone in my family who's willing to carry this on, maybe there's someone who wants to get into agriculture and wants to do this, that might not be in my family, but they really need that start. And if we can kind of make those connections and be more open minded to the next generation, and maybe, if it's not someone within your family still being there to support that, I think that can be a great way to bring more people into agriculture. Because I've I've seen that there are plenty of people my age or a younger generation that do want to they want to farm, they want to be a grower. But as we all know, there's a lot of barriers to entry within farming and within agriculture in that particular in production agriculture. So I think if we can make those connections and be a little bit more open minded, there isn't a next generation there. We just kind of have to bring those two together.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Finally, we spoke with NPB’s Oklahoma member, Mark Deleon. Here’s Mark with a little about himself.
| Mark Deleon | My name is Mark DeLeon. I'm a first-generation farmer and rancher in western Oklahoma in a little town called Eric. It's right as far west as you can go in Oklahoma on I-40. I live here with my, my beautiful wife, Amy, and we have two wonderful children. Our daughter, Bridget, she is just recently last year got married, and she's a speech and language pathologist and her husband, Zachary. He's in law school right now finishing up his law school. He'll finish up in May and graduate and then take his bar this summer. And then we have our son, Addison. He's a junior at Oklahoma State, and then he's majoring in agribusiness right now.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Mark has been growing peanuts since 2002. Here’s Mark with a little more about how peanuts factor into his operation.
| Mark Deleon | In 2002, I was able to plant my first peanut crop, which was my first-row crop ever. And I just fell in love with them, you know, once you plant them, and they come up and, and they, they've got this green foliage, it's just beautiful. And then to top that off, you see this beautiful plant and then all of a sudden you see these pretty little yellow blooms when they're pegging and. And you're just thinking, Oh my word, how could God make something so beautiful? And then when you get done and it’s harvest time, and you start digging them and then you see the fruits of your labor and and you roll those peanuts out, and then you first try your first green peanut and you fall in love with it too. And so basically, that's my staple I during harvest, because that's what I eat. No, Amy will say, well, do I need to pack your snack? And I say no, I got all the snacks I need out here. I just need something to drink. So, I have that's one thing that I fell in love with. It was peanuts as at time they're not only a fun crop to grow and harvest, but they're they're wonderful to eat. And the other thing is, is over the years we've we've had our other rotations in there tried other ones, but cotton and peanut seemed to be a really good fit for our area as far as a rotation. And so,we really liked those.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | While Mark is the first generation in his family to have his own farm, he isn’t the first in his family to work on a farm. Here’s Mark:
| Mark Deleon | Well, I'll make the story a little more interesting. I'm the youngest of 14. So, we had a very large family. My dad was always a farm laborer. And my earliest memories were when we'd get up early in the morning and go hoe cotton and chop cotton for people. And that was something we did, and dad did and mom did and all of us kids, you know. It's basically a family affair, when you have 14 kids, you got to feed them all so everybody's got to pitch in and work. And so, it was—To me, I didn't know any different. We were poor as dirt, but I didn't know any different. And I really, you know, was just having fun. So that was probably my earliest memories. And then later, when I became a teenager, I started showing cattle and fell in love with that and did that and graduated high school. And then I, in my early 20s, I came home and started working for a local farmer, rancher, him and his wife, his name was AA Robertson, and her name was Annie. And they were just wonderful people. And then about that time, my brother and I started a custom hay business. So, we, we were working day and night, cutting hay and baling hay, and then I would go work for the Robertsons when they needed me and then it happened about that time that within a couple of years, AA had a fire on one of his ranches and burned all the grass so he sold all his cattle so he was getting in his 80s. So, he decided that it would be a good time just to quit and retire. And I was there and working for him and they asked me if I wanted to lease all their ground and I said well sure I mean it was just became a dream of mine to do something like this. So, I said well sure I'll take on the task and was able to do that and they were really good people, treated me and my wife Amy and our kids of course our kids weren't born at that time but later on after AA passed away we had our children and they were just like grandparents to us and we just loved them dearly. So that was pretty much when I really started farming.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | According to Mark, two of the biggest moments in his career were his first peanut harvest and when he got the call from Ron Schoeler at the Oklahoma Peanut Commission about nomination for the National Peanut Board.
| Mark Deleon | Well in 2002, the year we had our son. He was born at peanut harvest. We planted our bought our first peanut farm. We it was it was just a sandy land farm. We had to develop it and put a pivot on it and drill a well. We did all that stuff and and grew our first peanut crop. And about that time the quota system was going out. So, we were able to buy a little base too to supplement some of that income. And that was that was probably one of the biggest pivotal moments in my career is where my journey's at today where it's brought me to. And then the other would be I would have to say it happened a lot later in life here recently and I believe it was last year year before when I was selected to be on the National Peanut Board. It really was a big big moment for me. I was scared to death actually turned down Doctor Shoeler the first time and said no sir I don't believe I'm your guy. And then I was calling my wife on the way home and I told her I said, Honey, she asked me what they wanted. And I said, Well, Dr. Shoeler asked me if I would be willing to throw my name in the hat to be on National Peanut Board. And I said, No. And she said, You need to call him back and tell him Yes. And I said, Well, honey, I said, I don't know if I'm up for this task. And she said, you are and I think you need to call him back. So, I called called doctor Shoeler back and told him I said, Well, Dr. Shoeler my wife told me that I need to put my name in the hat. So put my name in the hat. It turned out later that year, we were on our way to ski trip us and our children and got a call from from Mr. Bob Parker, and said that he was looking forward to working with me and we were just waiting on the secretary of AG's decision to appoint me to the peanut board. And in that conversation, Bob told me he said now Mark, I just want you to know you'll be the first Hispanic ever to sit on the National Peanut Board. And that was a big moment for me. And I'm probably going to tear up a little bit on this one because my dad passed away in 21 and it was a blessing for him to pass away. He was struggling with COPD and stuff and had lived a long fruitful life but he Yeah, he would have been really proud to see that.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | A big reason why Mark continues to farm is it’s a way to honor his father.
| Mark Deleon | My dad, he was a, he was a farm laborer and loved farming. But he was never able to put together enough money or anything to where he could buy his own farm and farm on his own. So, to me, this is my drive that makes me work really hard. And even through those tough years, when we have a storm or drought or whatever it may be, financial challenges, it just keeps my drive going to, to see it through.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | One thing Mark wants other farmers to know is the importance of sharing your farm story and teaching those who don’t work in ag about where their food comes from. Mark hopes that by doing this, farmers can instill a love of agriculture in future generations.
| Mark Deleon | One way that one way that people can help instill this stuff in in younger people's hearts and minds it would be to invite them to your farm. Show them what you do let them drive a tractor. I remember one day my banker was driving by and his son was about 10 or 12. And we were talking I said Well Carson(?) do you want do you want to plant some peanuts? And he said, Sure. So he dropped him off and he got in a tractor with me. And I think he made about three or four rounds. And he picked I showed him how to do it and he picked the planter up turning around track, turned the tractor around and dropped the planter to the ground and start planting and of course, we have auto steer, thank goodness. So he would plant and he really, he really liked it and enjoyed it. And the other thing is, is I do sit on the conservation district board here, our local conservation district and for the past 10 years, and we have an outdoor classroom, that we invite all the local schools to the grade schools, and they come out for a day and we have presenters that present different forms of agriculture. And I believe that's a good way to to instill this in kids and that from from that live in town that don't know anything about agriculture. And the other thing is, is mentor somebody. I really believe that AA and Annie took me in and mentored me and formed me into the the man that I am today and my love for farming and ranching. And my hope is that I can do this for someone else.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | As for the future of his farm, Mark is hopeful that his family will continue to farm.
| Mark Deleon | of course, being first generation farmers, it's been a struggle to financially get through a lot of hurdles there. But we, Amy and I have talked about it my wife, we talked about it a lot. Why we were doing this, you know, it's always been a why it's it, it is a wonderful life. At times, it's very rewarding financially. At times, it's not, but we've, we've decided that we would, we would put all this together to leave to our kids, because we wanted to leave them something that they loved and they could enjoy, and that would be sustainable for them. And even though our kids may not ever come back to farm, themselves, they've always told us that they want to keep the operation going, whether they need to hire somebody to run it full time for them. And their dream is to is to pass it on to their children. So, we can keep and start, you know, a family farm here that's going to be passed down for generations we hope.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Today we’ve heard three captivating stories of peanut leaders drawn to agriculture. To me, Mikaela, Caitlin and Mark are all trailblazers. Mikaela as a female grower getting the support and experience from her family to learn all about farming from a young age. Caitlin coming from a non-ag background and finding her own path to agriculture through FFA. And Mark whose first-generation farmer status and being the first person of Hispanic heritage to serve on the National Peanut Board are a reflection of his hardworking dad and mom. Each farmer has their own unique story that could inspire future agricultural leaders. If you have one to share, please let us know. So Lindsay, I know you and I have talked about enjoying talking to all of these farmers and folks working in agriculture not only for this episode, but for our last episode on the topic as well. I'm curious what you're thinking about what farmers can do to help pull additional people to agriculture for the future, especially when we've just gotten the latest Agricultural Census results that show that the numbers of farms are continuing to go down.
| Lindsay Stevens [12:28 – 12:44] | Well, Lauren, I think this episode really showcased how diverse people's backgrounds in agriculture can be. I think it's important to think outside the box for future generations and think well, just because I don't have a son or daughter that want to farm I can continue my farm in a different way, like how Mark was introduced to farming or how he was able to get his farm. So I think it's just important to you know, continue to help those younger farmers and those next generations that may not have you know, eight generations of farming in their family background. You know, Lauren, I was actually wondering what do you think is important for farmers to do in order to support the next generation?
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Yeah, I think that's really gonna be a critical component of the future for sure.
| Lindsay Stevens | You know, Lauren, I was actually wondering what do you think is important for farmers to do in order to support the next generation?
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Well, something that has really stuck out to me from the conversations in today's episode, as well as the ones back in the fall, was the importance of mentorship. And that really playing such a monumental role in a lot of these people's stories, having that person who oftentimes was outside of their family that was willing to give them a chance, or sort of grow their appreciation and interest in agriculture, and show them the ropes before you know, they they retired or moved on. So I think that's, that's really critical. And I love the examples that Caitlin gave, of how that could happen between farmers and schools, you know, connecting with those FFA groups, or Ag teachers and just sort of breaking down those barriers and making those connections I think would would help grow and develop future agricultural producers.
| Lindsay Stevens | Yeah, Lauren, I think that's, you know, such a great point about mentorship and all of that. And I think that, you know, reaching out to the local ag leaders in your community to see how you're able to spread that message is super important. So, transitioning to a different type of question today, it is my turn to ask the trivia question today. Lauren, I want to know what percentage of farms are family farms in the United States? And this is according to the last census not this newest one.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | Okay, 2017 Because I'm sure, my guess would really change between 2017 and 2022. Probably not. What percentage of farms are family farms? Well, just judging from our experience with peanut farms, knowing that the majority of those are family owned and family run, I think that's the case for most of agriculture. So, I would say, I'm going to guess 80% I'm going to guess on the higher side. So, 80% of farms in the U.S. or family farms
| Lindsay Stevens | So according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, it is 96% of U.S. farms
| Lauren Highfill Williams | wow. Oh, I love that. I'm so glad it was higher. I was a little afraid it was gonna be lower. Yeah, yeah.
| Lindsay Stevens | It be lower? Yeah! I know it's high. Yeah, no, I was I think that's great to kind of show that you know, 96% of farms are U.S. farm or family farm so.
| | Yeah, that's wonderful. And I hope that we can keep it that way in the future. It's such a an important part of the story and so compelling when we when we have these initial first generations, and then we're able to bring new people and kind of keep the farms in the family to and growing. So that's awesome. What a great statistic to share and a happy note to end on.
| Lindsay Stevens | That's a good way to end it. Thank you again for listening to the Peanut Podcast. Our show’s engineer and sound designer is Next Gen. We’d also like to note that our guest segments may be edited for length and clarity and to comply with USDA guidelines.
| Lauren Highfill Williams | And as always, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on the platform you’re listening on; and if you would like to find out more information about what we’ve talked about today, then go to www.nationalpeanutboard.org/podcast. We’ll see you for our next episode on March 26! Bye!
| Lindsay Stevens | Bye!
