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Episode Transcript

Tim Strathman (00:00:00):
Hey, everybody. Welcome to the next episode of Humble Ground. Uh, we're just continuing telling stories, uh, and fortunately the guy to my left, uh, I've known for years and we've had a lot of conversations and covered thousands and thousands of miles over the years. Uh, Joel's story's pretty incredible to me, and I'm excited to tell it. Uh, Joel took a different path back to the family farm that that most, uh, but I think it gives a really unique perspective on, on why he did that. Um, if you wanna help us out, the biggest thing you can do is share this with people, tell your friends about it. Uh, subscribe on the website to stay up to date with everything. Uh, but without further ado, Joel, thanks for coming on, man. This is, this is gonna be a fun one

Joel Naaf (00:00:38):
Tim. I'm really excited to, to get on the podcast here. And, and do they call these podcasts or they vi I don't

Tim Strathman (00:00:45):
Know. I don't really know, man. For, for us, it was a way to just tell stories easily. Uh, you and I have talked about in the past documentaries, um, and documentaries obviously take a ton of work and a ton of time. And, um, so this is a way for us to, we get to meet people all the time. And so it's like, Hey, let's just set up a couple microphones. I don't know if podcast technically is the right term for it, but I guess that's what we're going with. So, um, give me a little bit of backstory. Did you grow up around farming? What, what was high school and, and early life like for you, I guess?

Joel Naaf (00:01:17):
Well, I'm happy to jump into that, Tim is one thing, you know, from, from hanging out with me over the years is I'm not particularly shy. And, and I don't mind telling a story here, but I think, uh, you know, my story begins growing up. Like anybody, um, on a family farm in the eighties, you know, um, we, we grew up on a family farm. It's multi-generational. My grandpa, grandpa before that, great grandpa, you know, all the way down the line. Uh, my family immigrated to this area of Marshall County, Kansas in the late 1860s. And they came, came from Germany to farm, and we're in pursuit of, um, of a life that, that, that they didn't see being possible for 'em in Europe, uh, with a lot of population density in Germany. The, the younger sons in any family didn't have a lot of options.

Joel Naaf (00:02:04):
The older son was probably gonna take over the family businesses or, or land, and the younger sons had to go find their way. And so that led to, to a huge influx of immigration into the, the United States. And in that time, uh, post civil war, and, and our family was no different, came from Germany, set up shop in Marshall County, Kansas, bought some property from the railroad, which the government had given to the railroad to fund a transcontinental railroad project. So, so these farmers purchased these lands, showed up, and, and they, you know, essentially had, had nothing but, but hopes and dreams in their, in their pocket and, and forged their, their way From there, the family came, uh, through New York, like a lot of them do when they immigrated by ship and, and hitched a train to Frankfurt, Kansas hired a oxcart and a guy to bring him to their area in Marshall County, Kansas.

Joel Naaf (00:02:56):
And they dropped him off. And they were quite a story. They were home forever. You know, this still here, this was it Still here. Yeah. And so when, when I think back to that, and I'm a guy that loves history. I, I, I'm really rooted in the tradition of agriculture or family agriculture especially. And, and I just can't imagine what it was like for, for that group to just step off this wagon and say, this is it. This is, this is our path forward. This is our biggest liability, this is our biggest adventure ahead of us. We have to make it from here. And they did. Um, they jumped out and, and started building a life out of the, the rough Kansas prairie to, to do their thing. And, and luckily as time went on, they were dedicated to their tasks. They were efficient, and they made things work through a lot of adversity.

Joel Naaf (00:03:42):
And, and that brings me to, to my childhood where my dad, uh, and mom were, were a farm family, uh, uh, had five kids and, and we, we all participated in, in trying to run the family farm, you know, from a really young age. We started out with, with tasks that seemed age appropriate. Now, now that I have kids, I look back at some of the things that my, my mom and dad let me do on the farm, and I'm like, there's no way I would turn my kids at least to, to do this stuff. Sure. Um, but at that time it was just, it was part of it. We all did our thing and, and jumped in. And I will say, like, like any kid growing up on a, on a family farm, I think one of my first goals probably was to escape it.

Joel Naaf (00:04:21):
You know? That's fair. Um, yeah. It's, it's, it's hard to, to really put in context, but when you're young and you, you know, you, you see your life maybe being different than your parents and, and you've got goals outside of that. And one of the things that, that gravitated, uh, that I gravitated towards was, was music. And, and I had some opportunities with that. And, and I, I can sit back to, you know, being 12, 13 years old and a tractor doing tillage out on the farm and, and thinking, you know, gosh, in 10 years I want to be on a stage someplace, you know, under the lights and, and leave this behind. And I wasn't mature enough really at the time to, to be able to figure my life path out. And, and I will say that I've got some friends that as we went through high school, that were very, very clear and focused on what they wanted to do.

Joel Naaf (00:05:13):
And they left high school, went directly to, uh, to college to get, uh, ag business degrees or, or degrees in agronomy or, or just generally learn about the practice of farming. Went directly into the farming industry, have built great businesses, successful businesses, families that are, that are doing well. I mean, they're killing it. And, and I'm so proud of them for having the maturity and vision at that early age to, to be ready to go directly to that. And it, that wasn't me. I wasn't there. I was kinda kind of like a bottle rocket without a stick for a while there, where, where I knew kind of where I wanted to go, but I wasn't absolutely convinced on how to get there. So I was ready to, to try some stuff. So, so I will say that that like a lot of kids I that grow up around a business, agriculture or even a family business, there was that time period where it was just like, I'm, I'm kind of racing to, to get outta here and, and do my own thing. Make my own mark. Yeah. Just mainly because I, I probably wasn't mature enough to understand at that time, years down the road where I would see increased value in, in what was going on.

Tim Strathman (00:06:16):
Yeah, no, that's neat. It's a, it's a different perspective, the history thing's. Awesome. Uh, a quick note on that. So Kev and I travel the country, um, I feel like every week. Uh, and we were out, you know, we go around the Rockies and we go around all these places and every time, you know, Kevs like, man, I can't imagine what it was like getting on a, on a buggy and a horse and an ox and all this kind of stuff, and trying to like cross this and thinking like, what are we doing? You know, so, so you guys show up to Kansas and it's, yeah. It's like, man, where do we even start? You know? And it's like, I, thinking back to that, it's like, it's crazy to think about like just what that would've been like, you know, back then I,

Joel Naaf (00:06:55):
They took a huge risk. And, and again, I thank goodness for them being brave enough to, to jump at that, right. 'cause because I'll, I'll be honest with you, I don't know if that would've been for me. You know, um, they, they came up here, they, they, they, you know, mortgaged themselves deeply to, to buy some land to make it work. And, and from the story I've, I've been told the first year, they, they didn't, you know, they broke the prairie out, did their thing, didn't raise a good crop. Um, from what I understand, they went to the bank and they're like, man, we didn't make it, like, take it back. And they're like, nobody made it. So like, what, what good is it gonna be to take it back from it? There's nobody to sell it to try again. And, uh, from that point forward, they had some, some really good success, but, uh, it was such a, such a hard start for anything.

Joel Naaf (00:07:37):
And anybody that's ever tried to start a business probably can relate to that. It, it's a huge leap of faith. It's a huge, uh, investment of resources, and you're putting it all on the line and, and sometimes not making it is, is essential to making it in the end too. And so that's, you know, another life lesson to take away. But for them to be, to, to have the vision that this is it, and, and, and, you know, sometimes you say, maybe it's just the fact that the other alternative was so negative that this was, this was better. Um, but, you know, thank goodness they did it because it was a, it was a important, in establishing a long tradition, um, here. And, and I, I'm super tied up in the history. I love just to hear the stories about the, the farmers of past generations and the way they did things, and to, to gain perspective on where we are now with the agriculture programs that we run, the way that we farm, the specific techniques that we use, some of which are old, kinda reinvented the wheel again, and we do stuff that was old.

Joel Naaf (00:08:33):
Some of the stuff that we do now is, is so counter to what they would've done in the past. You know, I, I think is some of the, that we do now that my grandpa, he had roll over and his grave, if he knew that we, we did things like, you know, planting into green cover crop, that just was not what they did. And, uh, we've learned some things, uh, through the years that guide us towards that. And we, again, sometimes fall back on things that we've done in the past, and we're like, this was a really great idea. I have no idea why we abandoned it. So there's, there's always, there's always that history component. When I worked in the public school setting and I told kids, learn history, because it's, it's not only important to not repeat past problems, but, but there is the opportunity to, to take some really great information from it. So no different in agriculture than it is anywhere else. So the history components, yeah.

Tim Strathman (00:09:19):
Important. So speaking of the school system, so again, you have a quite a unique path back to the farm. So you went away from the farm for, for quite some time. Um, what, how'd you get into school? Like, tell us a little bit about your history, uh, what you went to college for and, and kind of that, that path a little bit.

Joel Naaf (00:09:38):
So we'll kind of jump back into the, to the story of me being a kid and, and looking for, you know, something outside of agriculture. I was really interested in music. I got the opportunity to start playing music at an early age. My, my brother was a really great rock and roll drummer, and, uh, lost his arm in a car wreck in 1987, I believe. So I would've been like seven years old. And, um, he, he had a huge passion for music and, and he started kind of grooming me to, to be into music from an early age. He'd bring me little listening assignments. I, I called it, it was like my listening homework. He'd bring over some music for me to listen to, and I'd sit in my room and I'd listen to it. And, and it was diverse stuff. I mean, ac CDC to John Prine, um, everything. And, and I, I was attracted to music initially, and he waited till the time was right. And he's like, okay, you do you wanna play the drums? And, and I was like, what kid doesn't, you know, I'm, I'm, let's be

Tim Strathman (00:10:33):
Serious here. Yeah, 12,

Joel Naaf (00:10:33):
15 years old. I'm like, yes. And so I was like, okay, he's going to, he's going to teach me to play the drums and it's gonna be great. And so he brings me some drums, and then that's it. He is, and I'm like, man, I don't know what you do with these things. Like, um, I don't know how to play them. I don't, you know, pre-internet, you know? So it's like 1993. I can't just like get on my phone and like, look at a picture of a drums. I don't even know how to set this stuff up. And so I kind of look at some album covers, you know, I get a Skinner record out and look looking at it, I'm like, okay, it looks like that thing goes there. So I just, I kind of put it together and I start messing around and I, I find my way to, to learning how to play the drums.

Joel Naaf (00:11:12):
And, and in that time I was like, gosh, like a little more guidance here probably wouldn't hurt, you know? But I, I didn't, you know, I didn't know how to ask for it. And, and, and I don't know if, if he really knew how to give it to me at that time, but I, I think he held the concept that you're gonna develop this and be your own player. You're, you're gonna figure it out kind of the way he did too, from, from nothing. And, and you'll, you'll decide how it's gonna work out. And he, and he supported me through that. So when I, when I got older, now that I'm, you know, 30 years away from that time, I can look back and be like, that was a brilliant approach to it because it allowed me to develop my own specific style. He nurtured it in the right places, but never showed me how to do it or, or guided me to it.

Joel Naaf (00:11:54):
So music was a big thing. I was really into music. I loved cars and hot rods and motorcycles like any farm kid did. And so, you know, I, I grew up thinking that like, those were gonna be my past. I'd be a musician. I played my first show at the age of 13. We did, uh, uh, girls' like 13th birthday party, and I was, we were way in over our head for this. Um, but it paid pretty good. And we played, like, all the girls liked us, and I was like, note to self, like, you're not a particularly attractive dude. You're not, uh, particularly gifted in sports. Like, this might be the way, uh, everybody's gonna have their own path, man. Yeah. So I was like, you know, note to self music might be, might be the way to get there. So that was always there.

Joel Naaf (00:12:35):
And then, um, fortunately I got to do some auto racing later in high school, which we had a lot of success with and was really fun. And so, you know, late in high school, I'm like, you know, gosh, I want to find a way into the music industry. I wanna find a way into the motor sports industry. How's this work? And then like, all of a sudden, college is looming. And, and that's, we grew up, you and I both grew up in that era where public schools really pushed kids to college. Oh, a hundred percent. That was, yeah, that was what was expected. You know, if, if you're gonna be a successful adult, you're gonna go to college, you have to go to college. Yeah. And I was like, man, that's, I don't know about this. You know? Um, I hadn't put a lot of foresight into this, and I wasn't a particularly good student either.

Joel Naaf (00:13:13):
And that was problematic moving forward to college. And, and I, and I have to tell this story because later in life, I, I learned how important this was. I didn't, I didn't get it at the time, but we were sitting in ag class when I was probably a junior, and we were talking about Mustangs with, uh, with, with my best friend in high school and some other guys. And something was brought up about the 69 Mustang that had the three 90 engine. There was a little bit of overlap in the 69 model year where they, where they still used the three 90 and, and stuff. And I, I rattled off some production figures for that car. And he's like, why in the hell do you know that stuff? But you're, you don't do good in school. Like, and I, and at first I was like a little offended.

Joel Naaf (00:13:54):
I was like, what do you, what do you mean? And then, then it, it occurred to me that like, I probably do have some acuity for academics, right? I've just been misapplying them horribly. And so that resonated with me. And I, I've gotta thank him endlessly for that. 'cause it was the first time the light bulb went off, it was like, you know what? Maybe I could be good at school. And so I jumped on that and, and started actually applying myself a little bit in school. Who, who would've thought, you know, weird concept. Yeah. So, so I started applying myself at school and I'm like, this isn't really that hard. And it's, it's actually pretty easy and it's actually pretty interesting. And so it, now I can look back at that time in life and, and, and realize that he told me like, why aren't you being intentional with the things that you do in your life?

Joel Naaf (00:14:43):
Because I was just, I was just bouncing off the walls, going, going down the path. I kind of had an idea where I wanted to go, but I was just waiting for something to take me there, there. And, and in that childish conversation as 16, 17-year-old sitting in a classroom for the first time, it resonated in my life. They're like, why? Why don't you get intentional about life? Why don't you get pointed towards something and figure out your path? Yeah, absolutely. So I was like, man, I probably should think of this college thing, you know? And, and I hate to admit that my college decision was kind of, my girlfriend at the time was going to Emporia State's College. That seemed like a reasonable idea. I mean, it was, it was really about all I had really contemplated. And I was like, I could do that.

Joel Naaf (00:15:25):
I suppose I could go to Emporia, and why don't I be a teacher? You know, it was like, why not? I had a really great history teacher about that time. It seems like that 16, 17 years old was a really formative time for me. I had a really great, uh, high school history teacher that was really passionate about the Civil War. And we all really got into that. And really, I mean, we, we spent like 90% of the school year talking about the Civil War. And uh, and we loved it. And I was like, apparently I'm into history. Like that's, why don't I be a history teacher? You know? And, and around that time my grandfather died, who I respected a great deal. And, and my takeaways from, from my discussions with him late in his life and watching the way that he lived his life was again, more about being intentional.

Joel Naaf (00:16:10):
Why aren't you intentional about the things you do? Uh, can you, can you imagine doing anything halfway and not applying yourself fully? And that's, those are the lessons I took from him was about, you know, if anything's worth doing, you might as well go all out and go all the way in on it. And so, so coupled with this kind of new, new concept of being intentional about life, really applying myself, I was like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go to college and be a teacher. I wanna be a history teacher. And so I, I take off for Emporia State and, uh, don't really know how to do college. You know, like, like everybody that shows up as a freshman, definitely. And so I like study pretty hard. I keep to myself in my room and I, and I wanna perform well 'cause I wanna make my parents happy.

Joel Naaf (00:16:52):
And so I, uh, get done with my first semester and I got a 4.0 and I was like, man, this is great. I got straight A's. And, and then I was so excited for my parents to see that grade card because again, I was not that student at all. And yeah, I turned over this new leaf of being intentional. And, um, I get home and they get the grade card over, you know, Christmas break or whatever. It seems like colleges know how to send your grade card right before Christmas, <laugh> to really either make things and, and they were happy with it. And then this, this other light bulb went off and I was like, oh my God. Like I topped out. Like, I got straight A's, like, how do I follow this up? You got a lot more semesters left. I'm in trouble. Yeah. And so it's like, man, I've gotta go for this.

Joel Naaf (00:17:36):
The other thing that happened is they started giving me money through the college for these things that I wasn't familiar with called scholarships. And I was like, this is cool 'cause I don't wanna pay for this. So, um, so they hooked me. And so I was like, okay, I gotta, I gotta become good at academic pursuits. So college really blew by with me playing a lot of music, really being focused on my education and, uh, driving some race cars, which was really fun too. And we had a lot of success with the race programs. And so I, I've got these, these pushing the pull between, uh, you know, music industry, auto, auto racing is something that's going well for us. And then I've got this academic pursuit of college, and I'm like, am I getting this figured? Do I have options now? Like are there, are there some paths forward for me here?

Joel Naaf (00:18:21):
And, uh, graduate from college with a degree to, to be a, a history government teacher? And they start looking at the job market and the reality starts to set in that I'm 22 years old, I'm a young single guy, and I'm like, am I mature enough to go do this? Like, you know, to teach 17 year olds. Yeah. Yeah. That, that, that, right now we've all been partying with, my friends are partying with, you know, small town America. If, if you go to a Saturday night party, there'll be people that are 15, there'll be people that are 55. I mean, that's, and I was like, oh man, I don't, I don't know. This is a thing. And so I've got this new shiny degree graduate with honors, you know, astute student. And I'm like, I think I'm gonna do the most responsible thing I can.

Joel Naaf (00:19:06):
So I moved to Lawrence and joined a rock and roll band. Perfect. Yeah. It, uh, I, I'm sure my parents are like, what? You know, I'm, I'm sure they, they were baffled and, uh, but they, I, I'll give them an enormous amount of credit throughout my entire childhood. They've, they've let me, they've let me go experience things and have countered on me to make the right decision. So I'm sure they, they were like, this is such a waste of his efforts, but we're gonna let him go see. And, and, and having that safety net of, if, if I did have to come back with my tail tucked between my legs and been like, man, this is a failure. They weren't gonna be, you know, I told you so get out. They were gonna help me. So, so yeah, I, I took off on this journey.

Joel Naaf (00:19:47):
I joined a rock and roll band in Lawrence, and that was, I, I had spent so much effort in college being so focused on academic things that, that was really, that was really my college all of a sudden where I, you know, started to really socialize and figure things out. So it was a really important time for me. Um, and it was really cool to be in rock and roll band. They got to tour around and play, you know, college towns and have songs on college rock radio stations. And so we got to tour and do that and learned a lot about the music industry at that time. And honestly learned a lot about how over the four years that I'd committed to that, I learned a lot about how possibly unsustainable this route was for me. As much as I loved it is what I really think I wanted to do.

Joel Naaf (00:20:34):
Was there a future in being a musician? Because it was, it was hand to mouth through all that time. You know, even though we were having some success and playing nice venues and doing things, it was, it was sketchy at best, you know. And so during that time, I, I had this super college degree, so I'm like, I might as well do something with this. So I'd started substitute teaching during that time because it was a way to earn income when we weren't traveling, you know? And I signed up through Lawrence Public Schools to do substitute teaching. And when, when we were available, I'd be like, yeah, I can take this call and, and do this. You know, I go in there and I'm an algebra teacher one day and I'm a shop teacher one day. And during that time, I, they started to kind of pigeonhole me towards kids with problematic behaviors that they, they learned that I was a farm kid and I was into rowdy stuff.

Joel Naaf (00:21:22):
And so, like the auto shop class that nobody wants to be the substitute teacher in, that's where they sent me the, the ag classes that nobody wanted to be the substitute teacher in. Um, so they started to point me towards that, and it started to click with me that like, I think this is my area of education that makes the most sense to me. These kids that are maybe a little off the beaten path are, are me previously. Sure. So it started to resonate with me a bit. And then after, at about the, at about four years of touring and playing music there, the reality started to set in that maybe this wasn't, it wasn't a lifetime thing. And the school had offered me a job working as a, as a group home coordinator through, uh, through Lawrence Public Schools. It was a government funded, uh, position to help kids transition in the school setting from, from group homes, foster care kids, kids that were moving in and outta protective custody or whatever.

Joel Naaf (00:22:15):
They, they were falling through the cracks in the school system. So my job was to, to be very aware of those students through the group home setting, and then coordinate their success at school. And I was like, yeah, this is a really cool job. Yeah. It what an opportunity. Yeah. And, and so I show up. The first day they assigned me to Central Junior High School in Lawrence, which is right across from Mastery Music. So every day I could look out my window and look at with, see Martin guitars over there. And, uh, I was like, this is a great office. And I showed up to talk to the principal and he is like, what do you do here? And I'm like, I'm the screw home coordinator. He is like, I don't know what that is. And so he's like, where do you plan to work at?

Joel Naaf (00:22:51):
And I'm like, oh my God. Like, this isn't a really well thought out <laugh>. Apparently the district hasn't communicated well. 'cause this guy they sent me to work for has no idea what I do or where I do it at. And honestly, I don't either. So they're like, I think one of those kids is out in the behavior classroom. And they had a little mobile unit, which was popular at those times when schools were, uh, were expanding this mobile classroom that they had all these behavior kids warehoused in. And I was like, okay. So I go out there with my little briefcase, I knock on the door and this lady answers. And I said, yeah, I told her my story. And she's like, there's an empty desk over there, <laugh>. So I, she didn't know how to utilize me. I didn't know how to utilize me. So I just took a little time to observe.

Joel Naaf (00:23:33):
And watching those teachers and paras work with kids that had behavioral challenges became really interesting to me. And it was essential to my job that I learned those skills. 'cause a lot of those kids in that group home setting for part of the reason they were in these group home settings were probably based on behavioral things. Uh, family dynamics, maybe not necessarily their behaviors, but behavior, right. The situation around that they're in. Yeah. And so, so the behavioral thing started to resonate with me. I was like, man, this is, this is it. And I had a really good friend in high school that had a lot of behavioral problems. And, uh, we watched, we all grew up together and watched him be really unsuccessful. And it, and that was in the back of my mind, and I was starting to get more mature. And I was like, you know what, maybe maybe I'm the guy that can go in and make some change for, for these programs and students that, that we don't have to fail these kids anymore.

Joel Naaf (00:24:19):
And so I started to, I started to get amped up about education all of a sudden again. That's awesome. And so, and so, again, I'm kind of bouncing off the walls, but I, I feel like I had pretty good focus, um, about that time. The band thing was starting to look less likely. I was 26 years old and I'm like, man, I think everybody's expecting me to be a grownup now. It's about time for like a real paycheck and regular life. I met my future wife around that time, and it just all started to come into focus that like, maybe it's time to, to leave the city, do the family thing, get a real job, be a grownup. You know, just, I think that's what people are supposed to aspire to do. And I'll come back to that later. Um, I don't regret any of those decisions.

Joel Naaf (00:24:56):
And being a grownup is, is awesome, but I've been able to avoid it still yet to this day in some capacity. So, um, we moved back to Marysville, another intentional decision. I, I grew up on the family farm. Now I'm starting to get mature enough to realize that like, that was important to me. My dad's aging, my brother and him were running the family farm at that time. And I was like, this is a perfect opportunity for me to move back into the area that I grew up and assist them on the nights and weekends when, when I'm not engaged in, in, you know, school stuff. And, uh, kind of get my feet back to something I love. I I, I started to miss it after that time. You know, you go through that time as a kid where you kind of resent having to do the things and then you're like, that was really great.

Joel Naaf (00:25:38):
You know, so my goal is I'm gonna move back to Marshall County, Kansas. And, um, the mental health agency had offered me a job to be a case manager. And I was like, I don't know anything about mental health, but like, sign me up. So I jump in that. And again, right into working with students with behavioral challenges, the school sees that that is kind of an area of success for me. They hire me away from that. They offer me this job to run a behavioral program. And, um, in typical not being adult fashion, they brought me in in, I think it was late June of the, of the summer and said, Hey, we wanna offer you this job during this behavioral program. And I was like, you know what? I'm just getting ready to record a record with some friends. Like, I need about 10 days and I'll get back with you <laugh>.

Joel Naaf (00:26:20):
Perfect answer. Yeah. And I look back at that as an adult and I'm like, they should have checked that, that should have been it. They should have checked that box right there. But apparently they were more desperate than I thought. Um, so they waited and I got done with that thing and with the recording process, which you could, we could have a whole nother podcast about that. It was an awesome adventure. But I'm like, okay, I think I've got that. My, my, my stuff's recorded. I feel like my, my legacy in music may be cemented with that. I can leave that behind. Um, I can go fully focus on that in that interview. The, the superintendent, he's like, what, what do you see? Like your approach to behavior being? And I was young and cocky. I was like, I don't know. I'm somewhere between like George Patton and Burt Reynolds probably on this, which leaves a lot of room for another perfect answer.

Joel Naaf (00:27:04):
Yeah. So, so I, I come back from my 10 days of recording and I'm like, I'm ready to be grown up. This is, this is it. I'm gonna fully invest in being a great educator. We're gonna build a great behavioral program for these kids. And, and we did over the next four years, the administrative team worked closely with me. They gave me a lot of flexibility and, and we created an incredible program of supports for kids. Awesome. And, and this was my new passion. Um, and, and I loved it. I really, I really liked it to look at the kids that were in front of me and then look back at the kids that, that I was, or, or that were surrounded by that, that maybe the school system didn't, you know, maybe give the best shot at and be like, this isn't gonna be them.

Joel Naaf (00:27:51):
Not that, not that we weren't successful. A lot of, a lot of, again, my peers did very well, but it wasn't because the school system set 'em up to do well. Right. It's because they persevered on their own. And I'm like, we're gonna figure this out for these kids. And started doing a lot of speaking at behavioral conferences, national behavior conferences and stuff. 'cause we built a, a system that schools wanted. And like anything, the, the better it goes, the, the more you get promoted, the more responsibilities you get. And after about 10 years of of that, I don't work with kids hardly anymore. I'm, I'm trained. You you lost the ability to do what you love to do. Well, just, just through having success, we were, we were moved to situations where now I was training staff, I was overseeing meetings. Um, I still had a small caseload of kids, but most of my time was spent with, with adults.

Joel Naaf (00:28:37):
And, and again, a very important job, but it, it wasn't probably where I needed to be. And at that time, the, the family farm is, is still going. My dad and my brother are still, you know, working their tails off again. They're still aging and I'm still still engaged with them. And a really pivotal moment was, we were sitting in the teacher's lounge one day and the lottery got really high. The Powerball was, you know, several hundred million dollars. And everybody was kind of daydreaming as adults, do you know, what are, what are you gonna do if you win the lottery? And everybody's like, you know, I'm going on a cruise and I'm gonna pay my house off. And it came around to me and, uh, I was like, I, I think I'd probably, you know, buy some farm ground and play music full time.

Joel Naaf (00:29:19):
And, and I, that kind of came out without a lot of thought. Yeah. It, it was just the thing. It was like, you know, when you're daydreaming about things and uh, and I was back at my desk later that day and I was like, if you're really gonna be intentional about the way you live life. And my goal is to, if, if I had no nothing holding me back, I'd play music and farm. I think I can do it. And I'm an idiot for not pursuing it. 'cause it's right there. My dad had already said, you know, hey, if, if, if you get to thinking you wanna do this, there's room for you at the family farm. You know, I want, I want to, I want you to work with us and learn, you know, before, before he just dies. And, and I just started at zero and I'm like, man, it is out there in front of me again.

Joel Naaf (00:30:04):
You know, if I'm gonna be intentional and if I'm gonna be focused, I'm gonna give my effort fully towards something. If that's what I want to do, it's out there. So, you know, that led to some sleepless nights, Hey, I think I might wanna leave my, my really successful educational job that is, well maybe, you know, doesn't pay a ton, is, is secure and consistent. And I think I want to just go do the family farm thing, <laugh>. And so, uh, and I'll give my wife a lot of credit. She, she really helped me process through that and, and, you know, help me focus on how, how are you going to capture your joy? And it, it wasn't in doing staff trainings and, and writing behavioral plans for adults to try to implement it wasn't there anymore. And so I'm like, oh man, this is, this is it.

Joel Naaf (00:30:51):
You know, I I type up my letter of resignation. Um, 'cause 'cause when the term's over I'm going to the farm and, and I remember meeting with my building administrator and he's like, Joel, you're, you're not really the farming type. Like, have you really thought this through <laugh>? And, and I I was like, first of all, like, you're not really the school administrator type <laugh>. I didn't, that's what I wanted to say. So if he watches this, sorry dude, <laugh>. Um, but, um, it's true. And, um, and how, how dare you think you know, what the farming type is. And, and that's part of, part of what is interesting to me about this podcast with you is what is, what is a farmer? Sure. Do I look like a farmer? I don't know. Probably

Tim Strathman (00:31:37):
Not. And I think that's part of the reason to do this, is we get to meet so many people that Yeah. Uh, whether they are first generation farmers who jumped in. Kevin and I met one, uh, that was a first generation. We've met numerous first generation ones. They probably never thought they'd be a farmer, but you know what opportunities arise, right? Yours. Yeah. You, you get out of farming for what, 20 plus years? Well,

Joel Naaf (00:32:00):
I, I was, I was really away from farming for yeah. 10 to 10 to 15 years being away from the day-to-day operations of it. And I, and I'm like, how, how, how dare you think you know what a farmer is? Right? And, and so I, that kind of even made me more steadfast and like, I think this is the right decision. And, and again, when I was, you know, looking at the pros and cons, my dad's a a brilliant farmer. He is been very successful. Uh, he's, he's got an incredible knowledge base. My older brother who's farming with him, same, same story. And I'm like, you know, if, if I just wait till there's an opening up there, say, say my, my dad dies. And I was like, okay, we gotta do something here. I need to leave. What, what service would I be doing to the long longevity of the corporation, of the farming operation?

Tim Strathman (00:32:44):
Well, in what, in what waiting, what opportunities would you have missed along the way? Yeah. Like I think a lot of people, you know, you, your dad's been doing it forever. Um, and so to be able to learn alongside him and, and to get, to make, in my opinion, make those memories. Yeah. Rather than, oh crap, like now we have to do something and you're just jumping in it. Um, now you've got at least the years of experience to, to where it's not this huge jump. You know, you've, you've worked into

Joel Naaf (00:33:09):
It. Absolutely. And, and I count myself really fortunate to, again, you know, there are some people that want to get in agriculture that have no, no background in it. And, and the barriers to entry are enormous. I mean, everyone that's around agriculture knows how impossible it would be for somebody to decide, Hey, I wanna farm today. I think I'm gonna do this. I mean, that's, that's a one in a million chance that somebody's going to gonna figure that out. And you've talked to some guys that have, and that's a great story. But it, this cards are stacked against them every time.

Tim Strathman (00:33:35):
And I think right now it's probably worse than ever, um, on the farming perspective, you know, where we're at, land prices and things. So Yeah. To be able to come into something that's already been around for generations, and you have, you have the land and you've got the practices and you've got, you know, things figured out. Yeah. I can't imagine, you know? Yeah. Some of the people we've talked to that start out from scratch, it's like, man, you wanna talk about taking a risk? Like

Joel Naaf (00:33:58):
They're the brave people that, that my family was in 1869. Right, exactly. And so, um, you know, I think there was a lot less barriers to entry in 1860. And maybe that's through my own ignorance. Maybe I, you know, I don't have a perspective on what 1869 looked like. Right. But I, you know, I think these people that are trying to do startups today probably face more barriers. But, so yeah, the cards are laid out and it's like, gosh, I, I think I'm gonna be a farmer. Like again. And, and again, the maturity level had showed up. I, I couldn't have left high school, I wouldn't have been successful if I would've left high school and said, I'm gonna work on the family farm. I would've screwed it up just through my own ignorance, through my own youthful exuberance. I, I would've, I would've crashed it.

Joel Naaf (00:34:39):
I would've probably damaged my relationship with my dad and my brother. I would've resented being, I, it, it would've been a mess. And luckily I had the foresight at that time, even to know I wasn't ready to do this. But now that I look back years ago, I didn't know how unready I was to do that. And again, I talk about my friends that went directly there, amazing for them to have been able to do that because they had the focus, they had the discipline, they had the goal out front of them to do that. I wasn't that kid at the time. So, you know, now I'm, oh, so this is like, like 10 years ago. So I'm in my, you know, I'm 34 years old or whatever. I've got the discipline, uh, to do this now. And I'm excited about it. And having my dad and my brother guide me through the process and, and show me the things that they've learned and be able to work side by side with him again.

Joel Naaf (00:35:26):
Yeah. The memories that, that we've made just in, in this 10 years is incredible. The camaraderie. And, uh, and, and I'm so fortunate to have that 'cause figuring this stuff out from scratch would've been plenty difficult. And so, so yeah, we jump in with both feet here, we're gonna do this thing. Um, I'm gonna learn the business side of it because that's part of agriculture. I think as far as being grain farmers that a lot of people overlook is, is how complex this is. It's not, you know, I need to go out and learn how to till soil and plant crops and whatever. That's, that's a small percentage of it. I need to know how to run this business. I need to know how to market grain. I need to know how to file state reports for our DOT numbers on our trucks. I need to learn how to work with the, you know, the FSA office on, you know, getting our paperwork turned in on time.

Joel Naaf (00:36:18):
It, it's an enormously complex thing, and I've been given the luxury to learn that alongside with my dad and my brother. And, um, as, as time has gone on, we've, we've grown together now too. Now that I've been there for a while. We're, we're, you know, rethinking our practices. We're innovating in, in some areas we're, we're trying new things. And it, it's the greatest adventure ever. And, and again, I'm so lucky that I was able to, to go away from it for a while and then have the opportunity to return because it's the, it's this new perspective, this more adult perspective that is making it work. Where, again, if I think, I think it would've sunk the ship if I would've went there directly. So we're in a, we're in a really great spot. My dad's, uh, 80, 82 years old right now. Still really active farming.

Joel Naaf (00:37:14):
I mean, he, he runs as harder, harder than any of us. He had his appendix out, or sorry, he had his gallbladder removed right at the beginning of harvest. Well, we ran one day in harvest, and then he was off to the hospital to get this, and, uh, he's just itching to get back and go. And so there was a little recovery time from that. But man, he was, you know, right in the game is feeling better than he is felt in a long time. My nephew now, uh, my, my brother that I farm with, not his son, but my other brother who's an engineer, um, in the Manhattan area. His son works for the family farm. So it's kind of the four of us on day-to-Day operations. Uh, so we cover, we cover a lot of age. Uh, my nephew's in his early twenties.

Joel Naaf (00:37:56):
My dad's 82 and everywhere in between. And then, you know, my wife, uh, and my kids help out with things. Uh, my nephew's wife and kids are, are engaged in it. And it's, it's this really big family operation now. And it's just like, this is, this is as good as it could be. Who, who would want anything else But 16-year-old me could never, never see this eventuality. It wasn't, it wasn't in the cards, you know. And now 44-year-old me is like, I'm the luckiest guy on earth that I get to do this. I've, I still got to play some music. Um, during that time when I worked for the school district, I, I traveled a lot and played music, but then when I left that school district, being that we're grain farmers and we have more seasonal oriented work, I could really set aside some time, uh, to go out on the road and play some shows.

Joel Naaf (00:38:44):
And I was able to link up with some, some great musicians and play some huge venues and do some really cool tours and play with great players. And I'm like, I'm killing it. Like, this is it, this is, this is the things that, when I was sitting at that table 10 years ago, what would you do if you won the lottery I'm doing, and I didn't win the lottery. I mean, you know, I, I wish, that'd be really cool to not have those financial concerns behind me, but everything else I wanted to do is right out here in front of me. And it's all because of being intentional and, and going at it. Same, same with you with, uh, coming up with a concept for this podcast. We can talk about things forever and we can hope and dream, but if you're not willing to step towards it, it's just gonna be out there in front of you.

Joel Naaf (00:39:27):
And there's a lot of people to get hung up in that, where they're waiting for joy to find them, or they're waiting for something to work out for them. And that's a terrible place to be at. You really gotta go grab with both hands and make it happen. And if you're gonna be successful in this, that's the mentality I think that, that a guy's gotta take. It's, it's really hard to accidentally have this work out for you. So definitely things have, things have been good, but it's been a long road, you know, that the, the story you asked me to tell now, we burned up a lot of time telling it, but it's critical I think, in the development of, you know, how do you, no. Your

Tim Strathman (00:40:01):
Story's, yeah, your story's great, man. Uh, you know, there's a lot of people that, that are right, you know, that are 16 and say, I'm going to work for the family farm and we're, I'm gonna be the next generation and my kids are gonna work there. And it's, and that's their plan. Um, but it's also good to show people that don't have that plan, that don't have it figured out that that got to the farm in a, in a kind of a roundabout way. And now, yeah, I think you're, you're living the dream, man. You get to farm, you get to play music, uh, you get to be around your family and make memories. Like I, I think people don't get to see that. Um, like I think there's that huge misconception again, that farming is so corporate, uh, when realistically there's so many family farms that, again, you guys farm a decent amount of acres.

Tim Strathman (00:40:41):
Um, you guys get to do it. You get to, you get to make the money you need to make. Yeah, there's good years, there's bad years. I mean, that's, that's farming. Um, but, but you're right. The, what is a farmer? I think you, you said that earlier. Um, I've seen people that, that grow watermelons to pecans, to, you name it, everybody's a farmer. Every, everything that comes to your plate is by a farmer or rancher in somewhere, right? Everything's grown. Um, and, and so it's so cool to see the stories and, and how you got there. Um, you know, I've got a few questions, I guess related to farming, and I'm sure we'll, we'll bring up some music memories, um, as we have a lot of those. But what's, what's the most difficult part about farming for somebody that, that doesn't know anything about farming? Um, what would you say is your most difficult part of farming or the, the, the hardest thing that maybe you didn't think? Uh, now being an adult and, and being on the farm,

Joel Naaf (00:41:35):
I, I would say maybe that it's, it's the thing that makes being a farmer or being involved in agriculture the greatest and the thing that makes it be the worst, all at the same time. It's just the, the diversity in what you need to be able to do. Uh, it's not, again, it's not, I just need to grow crops. It's, I need to market these crops successfully. You know, I need to be an accountant, I need to be a banker, I need to be a machinist. I need to be, uh, an agronomist. I need to be that. And so, so when you ask me what's the hardest thing I really kind of gravitate towards that is how, how do I get good at so many things or, or how do I at least have a good working knowledge of so many things? We're fortunate in our farming operation that, you know, we've got the four of us, uh, that are there in daily operations.

Joel Naaf (00:42:18):
I think we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and so we compliment each other really well in those areas. Um, so, so what's the hardest thing in farming? I'd say just I think people don't understand how much goes into it and how diverse, uh, things that farmers have on their plate could be day to day. Um, you know, obviously things that we can't control, whether, um, you know, price of inputs, farming's a weird operation. The fact that we can't control the price of our inputs or our outputs. There's not a lot of businesses like that. You know, typically if you work in production, you can set the price on what you're gonna sell. We're, we're out there, you know, dealing with the market. So I can't control the price of things that go in. I can't control the price that goes out. And I also can't control how much is something we make.

Joel Naaf (00:43:05):
That's quite a challenge. Um, you know, we're weather dependent. We're dry land farmers, so without rain in the right growing conditions, we were feast or famine. So those three factors are pretty difficult, but I think they pale in comparison to just how much stuff to run a successful agricultural business in any capacity. How many things that you have to address. It isn't, it isn't putting on a pair of be overalls and working the soil, um, or planting seeds that makes a farm go round in today's environment. It's making good marketing decisions, being aware of market trends, working with, with a lot of partners, being smart with the things you're doing. There's a lot to it. So the diversity, I would say of, of the tasks at hand is the most challenging thing for farming. It's the thing that makes it the greatest, and it's the thing that's probably the hardest. So, no, that's,

Tim Strathman (00:43:58):
And that's great. I, people don't understand that, um, which is fine, but I think every farmer you talk to, you know, you, you get to talking to 'em and you're, you start swapping stories and you start talking things and they're like, oh yeah, I fixed that the other day and I did this and I did this. And it's like, man, the amount of knowledge you have to have, or at least the amount of broad knowledge you have to have, you don't have to be an expert, um, just to make it work. Right. You know, harvest time comes around. Yeah. It's nice if something breaks to call, you know, the nearest dealership, but that might be three days from now and then, and it's gonna rain in three days. And so you gotta figure out a plan to make it work. And, and it's, so I think that's a powerful skill that, yeah, it's, it's probably one of those things you take for granted, I guess knowing as, as much as you know, and, and your brother and your dad and your nephew. But you, you definitely have to be diverse.

Joel Naaf (00:44:47):
And the most important thing about gaining those skills is just mainly not being afraid to tackle them and put yourself out there. And that's, if I had to send any message away would be that, you know, life is, life is a continual experience. If you think you've got it figured out, you don't. And so you gotta have your eyes open and you gotta be looking around and you gotta look for those next opportunities. And, and I was on a conference call with a, with a company. I do some consulting for the other day, and I, I, we were talking about some sort of concept. This, I do some consulting. They, I seriously like sit there and smoke a corn cob pipe and tell them like, farming stories. And I answer a question. It's, it's the, it's a job that I never thought I would come across.

Joel Naaf (00:45:27):
It's coolest job, um, that, that a guy could think of. But I, I was telling a story, I was out mowing some brush the other day with our skid loader, and we got a big mower and, uh, I made a pass and, uh, cut down some, some scrub brush and stuff, and a rabbit ran out. You know, all the things that happened when you're doing that. And immediately a Redtail hawk flies over and lands on the tree and sits there and, and you're like, you know, where are you going with this story? But the answer is that that Redtail Hawk saw an environmental change all of a sudden that happened, something shifted in their area that they were used to operating and an opportunity showed up and he was right there to, to grab onto it. And, and I took that away. 'cause you got time while you're out there driving, the best place to think is in the cab of a machine or while you're out working,

Tim Strathman (00:46:14):
I bet spend a lot of hours

Joel Naaf (00:46:14):
There. And I'm like, I'm like that nature knows this. Like, they know when something happens. If you're not there to capitalize on it, you're gonna miss out. And that Redtail hawk, you know, whatever brain power and capacity that a Redtail hawk has, I don't know much about birds. I kind of think they're dinosaurs almost. But, uh, uh, it had the foresight and knowledge to know an opportunity's been presented, I gotta go check this out. And humans sometimes protect themselves from those things. And, and you know, like, oh, that might be a good opportunity, but what if that red tail hawk didn't ask? What if, you know, you went for it. Just, I'm there. I'm gonna check this out and have an opportunity. That's a great perspective. And I was like, dude, this is, and and that's the cool thing about farming, I think, is I get to see that type of stuff happen every day, everywhere.

Joel Naaf (00:46:56):
And it's, it's because I've changed the lens that I look through things now I'm observing. I could have saw Redtail Hawk and been like, there's a Redtail Hawk and just went to mowing, but I'm, I'm getting better at reflecting about things now. And I'm like, what does this tell me? You know? And it tells me that, have your eyes open, man. The world's out there in front of you and you can learn anything. You can capitalize on anything. But if you just sit on the sidelines and wait for something to, you know, rabbit was not gonna fly over and climb the tree and get in that red tail hawks claw so he could eat it, that wasn't gonna happen. He had to go make it go. And so I'm like, he or she. Um, so I'm like, this is a pretty good life lesson. So, you know, it's, it's, there's a lot to be learned from just looking around.

Joel Naaf (00:47:37):
And I think as, as technology's increased and, you know, we, we got our phones and there's so much information there and, you know, there's so much going on around us that's distracting sometimes we forget to just look around and say this, this is age old. That the, the human experience, the animal experience of being curious about things. And so don't limit yourself. You know, if, if there's a, a piece of machinery that needs addressed and you don't feel like you have the skills, go ask somebody about it. Learn about it, figure it out. Can, can, will you do a great job at it? Probably not. You'll probably have more, more learning opportunities than successes. But if you never go for it, there's no learning opportunity ever to be had.

Tim Strathman (00:48:16):
No, that's a great point. Um, couple more things about, about farming in general. And, and again, appreciate you even even taking the time to discuss with me, man. Uh, I knew you're on my list and I, and I wanted to make it happen. 'cause uh, obviously we have a million great conversations over the years. Um, so I think a lot of people don't realize, or a lot of people see that you live in rural America, that must really suck. You know?

Joel Naaf (00:48:40):
Yeah. They're, they're really wrong and

Tim Strathman (00:48:41):
They're really wrong. Like, we get to see the most incredible sunrises. I don't dunno if you caught the one this morning. Gorgeous. Um, you know, Kevin and I, we get, we get to drive and Kevin always makes the comment. He's like, I don't know why people wouldn't wanna live out here. Like, we were driving, I don't know if we were in Montana. I don't know where we're, um, and he's like, man, imagine just buying 30 acres out here and living out here. Like, it's the most beautiful thing in the world. I, I think farming's that way, right? People in the city probably don't care. Um, but I wish more people would come out and actually see what you do. Like, I, I think it, and that's some things we're gonna try to do. Uh, we, I just had a partnership call with somebody that's like, Hey, what do you think about this?

Tim Strathman (00:49:20):
Right? What do you think about bringing a group of farmers in and a group of people from the city? And just allowing them to have conversations about like, real life stuff. Like, let's not take what the media says about farmers, uh, and all the negative, let's just, let's just put 'em in a, in a room. Let's just bring some food from, you know, their farm or, or, or local farms and allow people to actually have engagement and positive conversations about it. Um, I don't know. When we have that day, I would like you to come and, and I think it would be good, but do you feel like you're super fortunate to live out here and to be able to walk out your backyard and see crops and, and know that you don't have to deal with the hustle in the bustle of the city? Like, do you live, you obviously lived in the city too. Um, and so what's your perspective on rural America and, and raising a life here? I guess

Joel Naaf (00:50:05):
It's, it was a, it was absolutely the goal for raising my kids was for us to leave the city and, and get here. And it isn't, it isn't just the crops. It isn't the fact that I can walk out my back door and there's nothing but grass in a corn field out there. And I, you know, I can sit down and watch the sunset, the most beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, it's gonna be in like four hours. Um, <laugh>

Tim Strathman (00:50:25):
This time of year is a horrible time for sunset.

Joel Naaf (00:50:27):
So, so there's that. But, um, it's not just that. It's, it's the people in these communities that make things. And I'm very fortunate. I'm, I'm a a volunteer firefighter with the fire department. I'm a volunteer EMT with, uh, a neighboring, um, uh, medical agency. And then I, I work some shift work for Marysville Ambulance Service as well as an EMT. We, I wouldn't wanna live anywhere else. The people here make this place. The, the volunteers. We had a huge grass fire, um, a week ago Tuesday, uh, that was really dangerous and involved a lot of complex stuff. And, and to see, to see the response of the, you know, the guys in our volunteer fire department, neighboring agencies, the local farmers that came out with discs to do things. Uh, everybody's all in here. Do people agree on everything? Absolutely not. There's political differences, there's lifestyle differences, there's all kinds of things.

Joel Naaf (00:51:21):
It, it's no matter where we're at, people are diverse. But when it comes down to, at the end of the day, meeting a common goal, taking care of your neighbor, taking care of each other, making this a good place, this is it. You know, as far as I'm concerned, I've never been any place better. And it's, it's, it's the environment. It's the people. It's the people who have spent the time to study the environment we live in that have learned the lessons from growing these crops by watching, you know, a corn crop, 90% made. And the success is right at the cusp here. And then we have huge hailstorm and wipes it out and it's failure and pulling your bootstraps up and moving on from that, the lessons that agriculture have taught, the people that live in this community to have made this not only a good environment to live in, where you can see beautiful things and, and take in these things, but they've also gifted us with the people that make society great too. Those lessons that you learn, even if you're not involved directly in agriculture, maybe you work in a business, every business here is involved in agriculture in

Tim Strathman (00:52:20):
Some way, shape, or form. Yeah. Yep.

Joel Naaf (00:52:21):
Oh yeah. You, you could, you know, housing an insurance agency involved in agriculture, believe me, they, you know, we, we buy insurance for things. They are out adjusting. I mean, so it, everything from the medical field, from the fire standpoint that I'm involved in, we serve farmers. We're all farmers. We're, this is an ag community. And this ag community has, has not only, like I said, given us beautiful scenery to look at and beautiful opportunities to capture the splendor of what's out in front of us, but they've also given us the people that make life great right here as well.

Tim Strathman (00:52:54):
It's, it's such an incredible thing. And I wish, I really wish more people could see it. Like Kevin and I brag about it all the time to everybody we're, you know, unfortunately we go out to ag in different places, so like, we don't do much work in the city, but obviously if we fly there and we travel and we meet people, and you, you, you talk to people. Um, and that's what this is all about, is just telling stories of people in ag. Like we're, we're regular day people. Um, I consider 'em heroes and I consider 'em incredible people. 'cause I, I know where the food comes from and what it takes to grow food. Um, and so I think they're incredible people, and that's all we're trying to share is your farmers and ranchers aren't what people make 'em out to be. Um, because it just seems like they get such a bad rap because they're ruining the environment, they're ruining the whatever. They're just hardworking people that want to raise a crop, that want to raise their families and, and, and have good values and have good whatever and, and bring food to the table in whatever way that is. Obviously there's a million different ways to

Joel Naaf (00:53:51):
Do that. I agree. I mean, you know, there, there's good and bad people in, in any environment. I mean, a hundred percent. That's, that's, you know, without, there's people in, in these communities that make life tough on other people. Don't get me wrong. Having said that though, I, it's, it's an amazing place to, to raise kids and a family to build good values. I, you know, I'm fortunate, um, with my family, you know, I got a wife that cares a great deal about me, and I care a great deal about her. And, uh, we've been able to kind of grow this, this dream together. I've got the greatest kids that, I've got two wonderful daughters that are gonna be, you know, powerful women in their own way. They've chased their dreams and goals, and we've, we've set that environment up so they can, can go at that.

Joel Naaf (00:54:33):
And, and this is the, this is the launchpad for that for me. And, and again, because I can show them the things that we do in agriculture, I can show them the great things about our communities by being here. And and you mentioned earlier, you know how sometimes there's the, the media perception, you know, that farmers are, are just, you know, taking the earth hostage and, and, uh, having their way with it. And, and I, I always remind people that the, the most valuable asset, you know, aside from the people that we have here is, is probably, you know, the environment. And if, if we screw it up, that's our livelihood. So I, I think there is sometimes that that disconnect between, oh, we're out just hosing chemicals all over the place to, to control weeds or whatever, you know. And I always encourage people like, check into what chemicals cost.

Joel Naaf (00:55:19):
Like when, when I'm buying stuff that costs hundreds of dollars an ounce, I'm probably not just dumping it in the creek for fun. Sure. You know, I'm pretty targeted with, how can I say that? Agriculture's always been remarkably responsible to the environment. Probably not. We went through some times when, when, just because we didn't know any better. We, we screwed things up. And, and I don't think there's any industry or any human population that's ever existed that hasn't screwed things up. 'cause they didn't know better. Um, and so the real wrong would be if we just continued to do that and just been like, no, this, we're just gonna do that. We've learned a lot. You know, I, I think back to being a kid, um, I don't know that I ever saw a bald eagle until I was in my twenties here. And I see 'em all the time now.

Joel Naaf (00:56:02):
And, you know, that goes back to some, some herbicide chemical things from the, from the seventies. It took some time for things to rebound. We screwed it up. We absolutely did. Um, you know, were, were we misled by the people selling us stuff? Possibly, were we blinded by our own ignorance with what we were doing? Possibly, uh, did we correct that? Absolutely. And now things are coming back. I see bald eagles all the time and, and I, and I stop and just stare at 'em and wonder occasionally, uh, just one small, um, just one small example of how, yeah, we had some practices that didn't work out, but, uh, you know, today with the expensive as things are and as in tune with, with the, with the land as we've become, we're not trying to wreck it. We're not trying to screw it up, I promise you.

Joel Naaf (00:56:46):
And, you know, we've moved to, to doing a lot of cover crop programs and stuff. Uh, I, I think back to, we were talking about specific farming practices, cover crop's pretty new to us. We're like five years into our cover crop experience. And, and when I started up at the farm full-time, say 10 years ago, I'm like, I'm not a cattleman. This cover crop thing isn't that, that doesn't mean anything to the grain farmer. I don't want, you know, we're not gonna deal with that. Yeah. And we started to experiment with it, and we started to, we started to learn about, you know, the erosion protections we're getting from it, from the weed suppression we're getting from it, from the, from the benefits for, uh, you know, the microbial, uh, growth in the ground and this overall soil profile health. And, you know, now this is, this is gonna be, I think our fourth year where we're a hundred percent, uh, planting green, uh, into our, our plant or soybeans green into cover crop.

Joel Naaf (00:57:37):
Um, which like I said 10 years ago, I was like, that's, that's a cattleman thing. You know, they just needed to graze and, and stuff. And so our perspective changes we're, we're always looking for, you know, what can we do to become more efficient? And again, that specific process there, I'm not out. I, it saved me a herbicide pass. So if, if, if we were doing something that, uh, you know, wasn't, wasn't as good for the environment with the herbicide, we've eliminated that pass. We've eliminated, you know Sure. Some situations there. So, so we are, we're very cognizant and we're concerned about these things. 'cause again, it's our livelihood. If I screw up the, you know, what, however many inches of the top soil Paul Harvey said we had, um, here, and, uh, and goof it up by being dumb, this ends with me. Right. And this thing is, and that's

Tim Strathman (00:58:25):
A big deal.

Joel Naaf (00:58:26):
Yeah. You know, since 1869, I don't wanna be the guy to, to wreck the boat, you know? Um, so, so we're absolutely invested in doing it right. And, and I think there's becoming an increased focus in agriculture on that right now.

Tim Strathman (00:58:39):
Yeah. A couple more things and, and we'll get outta your hair. Uh, I know you got stuff going on. Well, speaking of hair, um, why grow the beard? What, uh, and, and, and I'm sure you've got a good story about, uh, working on a piece of machinery and getting oil in it or getting it caught in something, or ever since I've known you had a good, when I met you, uh, I'm gonna guess it was more of a goatee. And that obviously has evolved over the years. I, I feel like, uh, you probably never be able to cut that thing.

Joel Naaf (00:59:10):
It, it has, it has become a thing, I guess. Um, I think I've had this particular beard for like 10 years now. Um, I would love to give you like a, a really macho story about why I grew up, but I don't have one. Um, what I actually came down to, I was actually working in the school system, um, around the hundred 50th anniversary of the Civil War, 2010. And I decided we were working on some civil war stuff. And all Civil war generals had great beards. It was a, it was a a time period where beards were in style in the 1860s, and then by, you know, being out, like fighting a war, you probably weren't super focused on shaving. So those guys threw great beards. And I'm like, I'm gonna grow a magnificent beard for the entire, you know, five years of the hundred 50th civil war anniversary.

Joel Naaf (00:59:55):
That's gonna be my thing. And, uh, this sounds pretty nerdy when I say I like that, but it's true. Um, so I started growing a beard. I got a pretty good beard going. And, um, I'm gonna say probably 11, 12. So a couple years growth. I was driving my Jeep one time. I kept blowing up over my eyes, you know, I, there's kinda that dead airspace in a Jeep. And, uh, I kept blowing up over my eyes. I drove in my driveway and I walked upstairs and I shaved it off. And, uh, I was like, yeah, that takes care of that problem. And I was laying in bed. Then, uh, that night I was like, I guess I could have tied it up. So I was like, well, it's kind of late now. So, um, so I, I think I went without it for another year or so, and I was like, I'm just gonna grow this beard.

Joel Naaf (01:00:36):
And, and it, there was never a, you know, I didn't know if I could grow a long beard or any, I was just, was out there. And so, uh, I, it took the most important first step. I just quit shaving and kind of let it work itself out. And it, yeah, I don't, I don't trim it. It just is the way, it's the way it is. And so, so I just left it alone and just took that outta my routine. 'cause I mean, shaving's not really all that fun anyway, you know, I, I, I have a distant memory, so you're being more efficient. You're saving time. Yeah, right. And so, um, so just let her go. And, uh, and then it, it started to become kind of a thing, I guess, you know, especially in the music scene. It was, uh, kind of an identifier, I guess, for me.

Joel Naaf (01:01:18):
And it was, it's something people love to talk about. I don't go anywhere that somebody, you know, how long you been growing that or how do you do that? And, um, it's just a thing. So, uh, it looks great, man. I grow up. That's great. And it's there. It's a terrible pain. It really is. It's always, I've seen it wants to get into everything. Yeah. I have to tie it up. You know, I work around things that spin. I work around things that are greasy. I work around things that are on fire. Um, it's really problematic. And I guess it, it may be that side of me that shows poor judgment on, on really proceeding, but it's just like, no, I'm gonna, I'm gonna figure this out. So, um, there's been a million times when I've come home. Uh, just this spring we were on a really massive wildfire and we were fighting that.

Joel Naaf (01:01:59):
And, uh, I came home from that. And my respirator obviously doesn't seal well, uh, because the facial hair. And I was like, this, this thing's dangerous. I'm gonna shave it off. And I'm like, eh, I need to go to bed and think about this first. Um, and, and I talked myself out of it again, my youngest daughter, she's 14, and I, I really feel like her memory of me not having a beard is it, it doesn't exist. And actually when she was really little, she would tell people that she actually grew in my beard. She kind of, we hadn't got to the birds and the bees at that point, <laugh>, she didn't understand the process. <laugh> and, and much of her mom's chagrin, they, you know, it was, um, you know, instead of, instead of her carrying the load for nine months doing all the, the terrible things that happen to your body when you're pregnant, uh, Josephine was pretty well convinced that she just like sprouted outta my beard. And, uh, so there's that. So I took a little heat for that for a while, but, uh,

Tim Strathman (01:02:50):
I bet no, Joel and I used to play

Tim Strathman (01:02:54):
For years. Uh, Joel's a phenomenal drummer, as we've heard. Uh, I'm a subpar, uh, acoustic player and singer. And Joel and I traveled the country, gosh, for the better part of what, five, six years? It's probably probably longer than that. Heck, I don't know. Uh, in our peak, probably were playing 80 shows a year. I don't know, working full time. Joel's was farming. And so we covered so many miles and we met so many people, and we've got a lot of memories. A lot of 'em we probably can't talk about. Um, but the cool part was we played in small towns across the Midwest, and every place you played there was always farmers. And there was like, and ag always came up. And so, yeah, we've been talking about documentaries and stories for ages and, and so it's fun to kind of see it come alive. So I knew that you had to be one of the people, uh, in these first episodes. So I appreciate that a lot, man. I wanna, I wanna ask one more question before we get outta here. And, um, that's just what's, what's the future look like? What's the, for the farm, what's the future look like for you?

Joel Naaf (01:03:53):
I, I would, I would love to say that I had a clear vision of that. And I'm also kind of, I'm kind of at ease that I don't have a clear vision of that. Uh, agriculture's tenuous, you know, commodity prices are low right now. Inputs are really high. There's, there's a lot, there's a lot of challenges ahead of us right now. And when, when I tell those stories, when I talk to people and say, gosh, you know, commodity prices are, are, I mean, seriously, they're, they're places where they were in the seventies in some cases. And our inputs are considerably different than that. I just, I look at our own family farm in operation and I just think about, you know, the amount of money that we spend on simple things like health insurance for our people, incredible dollars. Um, but they're necessities. And I look at those challenges and, and you can get bogged down in that and say, well, you know, oh, we're, we're facing insurmountable challenges that no one's ever seen.

Joel Naaf (01:04:47):
And then I back up to the perspective of, you know, what would, what would my forefather say when they got off the wagon and stood on a piece of grass in the middle of nowhere? And did they think, did they think their challenges were insurmountable? I'm pretty sure they did. And they probably would love to have the challenges that, that I'm faced with now. So it's about perspective. You know, there's a lot of challenges out there. Uh, environmental challenges, economic challenges, um, you know, shifting weather patterns, um, governmental regulation changes to the way we do practices. There's a million things that can get out in front of us, but I don't lose a lot of sleep about 'em because we've always figured 'em out. They figured 'em out. My, you know, my, my great-great-great, great grandparents figured 'em out. And everybody along the line has, we've had, we've, we've had missed missteps.

Joel Naaf (01:05:35):
We all have. I think everyone, if they're being honest about their life is, is definitely, you know, missed the boat a time or two. And it, and it is not about that. It's about how do you respond, how do you move forward, how do you adjust course from there? And so with those tools, I don't know, but bring 'em on. 'cause 'cause we're here for it. You know, my goal is to, to continue to have this operation viable for, for my kids and my, and their grandkids and whatever comes down. So my, my goal is to position us best to do that. And the way we get there is just gonna be by doing the same things we've always have done, being reflective, being responsible, looking at things through a lot of different lenses and making decisions moving forward that, that best suit us. So the big challenge is out there, there's, there's plenty. And anybody that runs a business, especially in the environment we've been in the last five, six years, maybe, uh, have been burdened by a lot. But at the end of the day, it's our job to figure it out. It's, it's, again, it's part of the great challenge I'm in for it. So, we'll, we'll figure it out. We'll make some missteps, we'll have some great successes and probably everything in between, we'll capitalize on those successes. We'll try to minimize our missteps and we'll move forward and tackle whatever it is.

Tim Strathman (01:06:55):
That's awesome, man. No, that's a, that's a great way to end. I just wanna say thank you so much for, for being on here and, and supporting me all over, you know, over the years. Uh, you've always been a big supporter of mine and, and appreciate you even answering the call on this one. So with that being said, uh, that's the end of the episode. Thank you so much for watching, listening. Please like, subscribe, do whatever, sign up for our newsletter, uh, so we can keep telling these stories and bring 'em to you. And again, thank you for, to all farmers and ranchers, uh, for everything that they do. I.