Kent Boucher (00:00.748) Cancer or something. Nicolas Lirio (00:07.148) Hey, Nicolas Lirio (00:13.71) Good as could be. Gooders. Gooders, gooders. All right, Kent. Here's the deal. Kent Boucher (00:24.546) Yep. Two of us doing coffee time. We haven't had a two person coffee time yet. Nicolas Lirio (00:29.558) This used to be the regular. This used for like a year, more than a year, this was the norm. That's so weird. That is so Kent Boucher (00:33.942) Yeah, that's true. Can you imagine having Carol do a coffee time with us? Nicolas Lirio (00:39.003) I'd pay a lot of money to have him come back do one coffee time with it. Kent Boucher (00:42.786) Yeah. Well I guess Fred was around too. Nicolas Lirio (00:46.786) Yeah, and then about probably one out of five coffee times, maybe a little less than once a month, we'd have some guest. That would do. Yeah, crazy. and the originally Peyton joined us back before there was video or any of this all the exciting nonsense that we do these days. All right, Memorial Day yesterday, and I asked all my friends this question. If every sport had a leaderboard and every single Kent Boucher (01:14.614) This is gonna be related to Memorial Day. Nicolas Lirio (01:16.566) Nope, nothing. And every human was on each one of those sports leaderboard. You're somewhere on there. What you're gonna have to brag about yourself a little bit. What leaderboard do you think you could get the highest on? Kent Boucher (01:30.21) For an actual recognized sport. Nicolas Lirio (01:32.746) recognize sport as an in the Olympics, but can be weird. Kent Boucher (01:36.522) In the Olympics, okay. Well that limits me. Nicolas Lirio (01:40.28) Well and I I mean baseball's not in the Olympics, right? So you can do other major you can do major sports if they're not in the Olympics, but like you can't do like underwater basket weaving, you know. Sure. Kent Boucher (01:43.896) But I don't know if it is any Kent Boucher (01:51.862) I'd ha what's the cutoff for the leaderboard? How many positions? Nicolas Lirio (01:56.268) No, the the whole world is on What sport do you think you could become the best at compared to everyone else in the world? Kent Boucher (01:58.089) I know but how Kent Boucher (02:05.378) Like so top fifty percent compared to the rest of the world. Nicolas Lirio (02:08.514) Yeah. Well like like for me, I played soccer. So I'd be like, okay, the thing I'm best at is soccer. But the problem is there's about a billion twelve year old Brazilians and, you know, Southeastern Asians that are way better like there's so many people playing that it wouldn't work. Kent Boucher (02:23.884) Yeah. football was the sport I played the most and played the longest. And I played offensive and defensive line, which are skills that stick around a lot longer than punting, passing and kicking. You know what I mean? Like like it's leverage. Yeah. You you your brain is a big part of what you're you're c you're using while you're playing, you know. And and you're just putting yourself into the right position. So I think if you like went specifically as far as like blocking or shedding blocks or something like that within football, I think that would probably be for for Nicolas Lirio (03:09.922) Yeah. Well and to be fair, only in the United States really Kent Boucher (03:13.186) place and that's the other handy but I mean you figure all the colleges, all of the like varsity high school programs Nicolas Lirio (03:16.822) That's not too bad. Nicolas Lirio (03:25.095) In the world you're pretty high, but of the people that play football. Kent Boucher (03:28.815) A lot above me, yeah. A lot, a lot above me. Nicolas Lirio (03:31.628) Okay, hundred and fifty thousand this is what the other question I ask them. Hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. You get put into a sport, a professional sport, like a major sport, soccer, baseball, football. You're playing at your current level, but that baby is aired. It's aired everywhere. You know, so you're you're known as the guy who can't play, getting paid you wouldn't take it? Kent Boucher (03:56.366) No. The the physical dominance and that that was something I played one year of college football and and there was maybe a couple times, this was only division three, but there were maybe two teams that we played where whoever it was that again, being on the line, it's almost like basketball where You're guarding the same person a lot of the time, right? Or you're blocking the same person or or you're beating the block of the same person. And so, there were a specifically the l the last game I played in, I was a sophomore in college and this guy was a all American senior. And I just I couldn't I could barely do anything to him or or direct him in any way or or and I just remember thinking it's like this guy's division three. Yeah. Like if you take on an all American, you know, tackle from Michigan or something. Yeah. And it you wouldn't even know which side is up. You would just be so and then think of the NFL. Yeah. yeah. You know, like the And there's we're in the era now where everyone everyone goes to get jacked at the gym, right? And and everyone's got Instagram muscles now. And some of those guys get real big and it's like until you get physically dominated by somebody who never had to go to the gym. They were just their DNA coded for it. The the amount of the the amount of leverage they have, like Zero creatine has ever been consumed by this person and they will they will pack you up in a suitcase and Nicolas Lirio (05:54.146) Born with more muscle fibers than you out of your peak you know it Kent Boucher (05:57.386) Right. Work e work out here. Just it just like really reiterated to me like at any moment you think you're something big and bad, there is a way bigger a way better fish out there somewhere. Nicolas Lirio (06:11.988) It it is it is interesting. Like I find myself this is kinda vulnerable, like if I see someone really impressive on the internet, whether athletic or something, kind of subconsciously it go, Yeah, but can they do such and such that I can do? Like I feel myself do that. Kent Boucher (06:27.416) They do a math test and what Nicolas Lirio (06:30.05) You I used That's been a long time. I my little sisters are so much better at math than me. I'm thinking like, could they figure out how to grow something that needs to be stratified sixty days on, sixty days off Kent Boucher (06:42.126) Well yeah, everybody's got everybody's got their place. But when it comes to like the arms race that has created sports as to what it is today, it's just I mean, who the people that are at the top of the pile we can't even I I don't think we can even fathom. But I do think that we have in a lot of ways seen especially when it comes to like the NFL, and that don't get me wrong, there are Fantastic athletes in the NFL. But I kind of think the peak was like probably around two thousand tenish. Because at that time every high school in America had a full varsity football team, right? And a lot of schools had fifty, sixty kids on their varsity football team here in the Midwest, right? Yeah, and they only have four Right. And now it's like a lot of those schools are playing eight man football. So I mean that has to have yes, like all the personal training camps, all the you know, I'm going to quarterback camp or I'm going to punter camp. Like all that stuff has become an industry, right? And all the gear is better of course now and the what what you're doing in the weight room, not just going to the weight room or having a weight room, but what Nicolas Lirio (07:44.118) Or combining Kent Boucher (08:08.704) what you're actually doing in that weight room is better now, probably like the programs and the exercise science and stuff. But man, there was just something about like that that era when you know, watching the NFL when when guys like Brian Erlacher who's six five and two hundred and seventy pounds and he's playing sideline to sideline middle linebacker football. You know, it's like those guys don't exist in the NFL anymore. The the you know The Warren Saps, you know, the defensive tackle. I think they're, you know, like some positions though, like quarterback play, I think is probably better today. Because of the individual skill. Right. Yeah. 'Cause like Michael Vick, you know, he was like the the original I mean, there was guys kinda like him before, like Randall Cunningham. the Bears had a long time ago had this guy called Bobby Douglas who did more running than throwing, but The Michael Vick was kind of the one of one first one of one guys. But now you look at like Lamar Jackson, you know, and he's probably gonna finish with better career stats, not just because Michael Vick was somewhere for a few years. Nicolas Lirio (09:23.722) Yeah. Yeah, other things going on at home. Kent Boucher (09:25.964) But but you know like I so I I I don't think it's every position like you can say that, but man, there were just some some real monster You know what I Nicolas Lirio (09:35.64) I think I think you've got declinism going on. Kent Boucher (09:38.132) I I'm sure I'm sure I do, but Nicolas Lirio (09:40.544) I actually I don't know. I've I haven't I've paid attention to the sport enough to know like generally which teams are good. Kent Boucher (09:46.902) Is there really a guy like Peak Adrian Peterson anymore? I mean, I just don't think there is. And there there's not really a guy like Peak Barry Sanders even, you know. Yeah. and I don't even think that era of football that you know eighties and nineties was near as impressive as late nineties through probably mid two thousands. Nicolas Lirio (10:05.858) And then some CTE studies came out and some parents well, I don't know if you remember LeBron, you know, one of the most famous athletes in the world, out loud, Yeah, my sons aren't gonna be allowed to play football. We're not I'm not on a thing, but all right. W you know, when Peyton was on the podcast, we used to have to say this all the time. We're not a sports partner. Kent Boucher (10:16.812) Remember him saying that's interesting. Kent Boucher (10:24.11) Yeah. We don't get to do it very often. No. Hey you know what? The bears are good now and so let's just end let's end on that. Nicolas Lirio (10:26.595) No Nicolas Lirio (10:30.934) It's not a it's not a painful memory. All right. Well, we should jump in. Welcome back to the Prairie Farm Podcast. Coffee Time Wednesday. I'm your favorite host, Nicholas Lero, with the the only for your favorite co-host, Kim Back. Kent Boucher (10:45.086) The only co host today. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (10:46.978) But also the only Kent Boucher ish. Kent Boucher (10:50.006) There's lots of them out there. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (10:52.098) D there there's very there are no Nicholas Lirios that I could find in the United States. There's some in the Philippines. Really? That was all I could find. I mean according to faith. Kent Boucher (10:59.67) So if you guys are looking for someone to hack, you know, pretty easy target. Nicolas Lirio (11:03.49) My passwords are fantastic. Fantastic. I don't even know That's how fantastic they are. Yeah. Twice capitalized F. we're gonna talk about nuts today. We're gonna talk about the global nut industry. and we are including peanuts. Technically not a tree nut, but we call peanuts. And so here are the ones we're gonna go through a little bit. Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans. Kent Boucher (11:08.022) Wait, it's just the word fantastic. Kent Boucher (11:22.562) Right. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (11:31.886) Cashews and then of course peanuts. We're gonna go over a few things with them. How much the world grows, where it is grown, how they actually set the price for these bad boys so you can get them, and what are the major ecological impacts of those specific industries? Because it's different for each and every tree nut and peanuts. They're totally different. we'll start with Ammons, our good friend the almond. I used to live very close to almond farms and they are wild looking. I mean they're they're are Kent Boucher (12:00.28) Pretty and like when they're all in bloom, all the trees. Nicolas Lirio (12:03.05) yeah. yeah, yeah. They're they're they're they're like Hallmark Pretty where it's like that is perfect and everything about it is perfect. It's not like prairie pretty. Kent Boucher (12:10.894) Is it a do they have a pretty good size agri tourism side to Like people go there for wedding pictures and that kind of thing, or are they Nicolas Lirio (12:17.786) Great question. I don't know. So between so Reading had three mountains. They had a mountain on the north side, the east side, and the west side. But if you drive south to Sacramento or San Francisco, it's actually pretty flat in that area. Tons of agriculture. But specifically in that hour and a half stretch, there was a lot of almonds along the interstate. And twice I pulled off to be like, what are these farms? Like these are and they were big. I mean, they're they're like I mean, they were definitely hundreds of acres, but most of them it looked like they were thousands of acres of like a single farm. You know, and they go in and they shake the tre the heck out of those trees. And i it it's a cool process. That's where a lot of the bees get shipped from the Midwest during the winter. so they can do that. Any you might have Kent Boucher (13:00.15) I always find that arrangement so interesting because the bee the the beekeepers I assume charge the almond farmers a pollination fee. But like if if the almond farmers were like really just like no we're not gonna pay a pollination fee. And yes, they would take on damages, but it would be mutually assured distress. Because we need our bees in California, okay? We can't stay here in the over the winter. I mean bees do h winter winter and hibernate in in the Midwest. Bees, I believe, they have to be kept over there. I it Well, you know what though, I think don't they kinda like le don't because I mean I'm there's plenty of backyard what's the r how do you say the word apiurists? Nicolas Lirio (13:39.271) Well but honey bees are native. Nicolas Lirio (13:44.713) It's interesting. We should have filled back. Nicolas Lirio (13:54.806) A pierced? yeah. Kent Boucher (13:56.258) There's there's tons of those people. What do they do with theirs? Do they do the bees just hibernate in the hive over the winter for them and they kinda like wrap it up with like some kind of thermal covering so it doesn't get too cold? That's the question. Or do they like migrate down into the warmer state, maybe not as like yeah, they're going to Mexico with the monarchs, but but maybe they just go to like southern Missouri from Iowa or something. Nicolas Lirio (14:08.034) Fantastic. Nicolas Lirio (14:24.8) Well, so three times in dad's career he did bees for like a period of and he did not ship him out. But I don't know what he did with him. well no one of the times Ebert came and got him and shipped him out with his. I don't even think any money was exchanged. I think he was just like, ship out and then we'll bring you back a a hive but Kent Boucher (14:30.689) Yeah Kent Boucher (14:44.459) Okay. Kent Boucher (14:51.662) Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (14:54.466) I don't know. I d the the actual like viability of them living through the winter is not large. and I don't really understand Kent Boucher (15:05.646) Yeah, you should go back and listen to the our interview with Phil Ebert because he talks about why like it's not just the climate that makes it hard on honey bees. It's there's a lot of other things going on. It's hard to keep a hive alive. Nicolas Lirio (15:19.886) I think he was episode like fourteen. So way back there. Yeah, he was a legend. Kent Boucher (15:25.723) Somebody just went back and listened to all the all of our old episodes and they said they loved them all. So Yeah. They did. Nicolas Lirio (15:31.788) Yeah, they did. Which I man, I feel really insecure when people tell me they listen to some of the earlier episodes and I also feel really insecure when I meet people in person that like really like the podcast. I don't know, I just feel like I'm never gonna live up to people imagine me as Kent Boucher (15:48.064) yeah. Nicolas Lirio (15:52.334) We get a prep for like a while before we say things on the podcast. Yeah, you're doing a great job. You always find something to do, you know. Sometimes you just say things. personality is saying outrageous things. Well, that doesn't work so well when you're behind the counter and you just say it to customers, just say outrageous things. Anyway, it works well in a podcast. Kent Boucher (16:31.584) So for that reason we are not just firing you, but we're calling the police. Nicolas Lirio (16:41.198) man, that's funny. Okay, so almonds. Three point seven billion pounds are grown every single year. Two point six of it is grown in the United States, almost exclusively in California. Wow. Yep. So the vast majority of the almonds in the world are grown in California. It's about ten billion dollars worth of What if I actually brought out almonds? Man almonds are great. Kent Boucher (17:01.442) Getting sleepy. Price this up real quick here. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (17:10.499) so what's interesting with almonds and we've heard this a bunch. Kent Boucher (17:14.762) If if that many are grown it you said they're mostly grown in in California. What other state grows them? Like no. Nicolas Lirio (17:21.089) Basically states that just states that touch California. Like the well no Oregon and Nevada has like some farms, but it's well over ninety percent of the almonds and what really caught my Kent Boucher (17:26.859) Washington maybe or no. Kent Boucher (17:34.898) Yeah. Kinda like when you see corn growing in Colorado. Nicolas Lirio (17:39.63) Yeah or like Georgia and Kent Boucher (17:42.104) You're like, What are you doing, man? That is something you could do. Nicolas Lirio (17:45.1) Yeah. It's like, well, we could lose three hundred dollars an acre on cotton or we could lose fifty two dollars an acre on corn this year. It's like, man. All right. So what's interesting is how they price it. So corn and beans is set, you can buy and trade futures of corn and beans because it is such a commodity, like a true there's tons of it out there, right? Like metal or cardboard. and but this is actually done With giant cooperatives. So there is kind of an oligarchy with almonds. and it's not the same oligarchy that runs all the other tree nuts. There's like different oligarchies kind of Kent Boucher (18:22.158) For each starting. Nicolas Lirio (18:24.246) A little bit, but each one kind of runs their own thing. The big ones, Blue Diamond, I'm sure you've heard of that. Yeah. they use what's a math equation called a carrion equation, which is basically like what's left over is brought into the next sector. But it's whatever they have left over from last year plus what the USDA is predicting for this year, and they start setting the prices and guessing. And there's not that many cooperatives that are buying up all the almonds. So I thought that was fascinating. I and I do think that the farming is more consolidated with almonds. Like anyway. But the ecological, big ecological thing, water. 1.1 gallons of water for one almond. Wow. The almond trees absolutely zap the ground. And so a huge chunk of California's allotted agricultural water that they set aside and they allow is used by almond farms. In fact, the vast majority of. Kent Boucher (19:09.022) One. Kent Boucher (19:22.508) So Yeah, that is something I don't fully understand. I know about it, but I haven't lived it enough. or really at all for that matter. I mean there's parts of like part of Colorado that I hunted a few years ago. I'm sure that I'm sure water is a a hot topic there. But like in Nebraska, they have the Ogallala aquifer there. Which I think is like the third biggest freshwater It's huge. not water body, but biggest aquifer on on the planet, I believe. Yeah. And and so To to imagine like having such a huge industry like the almond industry and needing that level of demand, what that doesn't allow for other industries to use in water because it all has to be be given to that is yeah, that's a gotta be a tense thing. And Nicolas Lirio (20:29.09) I mean it's interesting, like the whole world is so dependent on almonds. California probably doesn't wanna give that up. You know what I mean? So they're gonna like treasure Kent Boucher (20:36.615) Almond dominance. Nicolas Lirio (20:39.884) Yeah, but do they have almond dominance like we do? why have oil when you can have almonds? All right. Number two, pistachios. World produces I'm a big fan. here's what I could not find. The world produces 3.2 billion pounds, and the United States produces 1.58 billion pounds. As these are 2025 numbers, by the way. I couldn't find if that was with the shell or without the shell, and I was really hoping to figure out. Kent Boucher (20:49.812) My favorite nut, by the way. Kent Boucher (21:09.004) The weight. It's gotta be with the shell because because only a fraction of get deep holed. You know what I mean? Dude. Nicolas Lirio (21:09.656) Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (21:18.158) I remember being at Walmart, this was just a couple months ago, and we were going through the grocery aisle and I saw this big bag, like two-pound bag, of pistachios with no shells on them. And I remember thinking, We are screwed. We are so wealthy that we get other people to deshell our pistachio. We're just screwed. Like we're soft. There's no way out of it. Kent Boucher (21:39.982) Well but we do that with a lot of things. I mean you can get, you know cracked peanuts and Nicolas Lirio (21:45.944) Yeah, but there's a big difference in crack and pistachio. That is true. There's a reason they come with shells because they Kent Boucher (21:52.462) Don't you think they're probably machine cracked though? Well probably. Nicolas Lirio (21:54.936) Yeah, probably, but still someone had to figure I just think that Well and and and here's why it's such a big deal is we we haven't had it for decades. So the fact that we finally figured out, like, you know, I love that we get these these rare and hard to grow, but you know, I really hate just cracking them. I just Kent Boucher (22:07.714) Dutch that are really Kent Boucher (22:13.194) what is super frustrating when you're eating pistachios is when you get one that doesn't have enough of a opening in the hole to get it all going. Well, even then you're like it it just will not open and you're like it's so good. Nicolas Lirio (22:21.208) Your teeth? Nicolas Lirio (22:25.966) It's right there and I can't have I don't like those 'cause they don't have as much salt on usually. Kent Boucher (22:31.758) You wanna hear a weird story about me cracking pistachios? I was grilling out at my last house and we had tons and tons of spiders at that house, which I hear is a good it shows that like you your house is a healthy like there's not a like some kind of terrible, noxious, radar. Chemical issue. Yeah, yeah. And and so anyways, out on my we had these like big wooden like they're supposed to look like shutters. Right. not functional shutters, but just decorative shutters around our windows. And spiders love getting in behind there and building these webs and everywhere. Well, there's like some really big spiders, and really big spiders make really big, heavy duty webs. So I was grilling and eating pistachios and cracking pistachios, and I had this giant web hanging down. I was like, I wonder if I threw enough pistachio shells in that web. Like I could create enough weight that it would just pull the No, not even close. But really? Then I had like a month where I had all these pistachio Which my wife hated. Then finally I took it down. Nicolas Lirio (23:38.99) No silent mind. That's funny, dude. okay, big deal with the pistachios. in terms of how they are priced, very similar to almonds. They have a few co ops that basically kind of run it and and set prices based on supply demand, what they have from last year, how much was bought at the stores last year, how much they had to wholesale versus how much they could retail in stores. So there's now there The nice thing about monopolies is that they usually can be more accurate on what the market actually wants. So if a farmer says, Hey, I want to sell you pistachios, they could be like, Hey, we actually we have a surplus, we don't need that. But if if that that's a pro. The cons of monopolies is so long that it's hard to describe, but that's one of the few pros is that they can't actually they have the ability to price accurately, but they also have the ability to price whatever the freak they want. 'Cause Monopoly or oligarchy. their their big thing with supply chain issue is they have a like a twelve hour window from when they harvest them to get the peel off of the shell. Otherwise they have a I wrote it down. a kind of mold. aflatoxin. so anyway, it's that's kind of their big issue. They are not they don't zap water nearly. Kent Boucher (24:43.841) Right. Kent Boucher (25:04.61) Nicolas Lirio (25:11.532) As much as almonds do. And they are mostly in California. and then outside of the United States would be Iran and Turkey. Do you know? Kent Boucher (25:18.72) Really? Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (25:21.411) walnuts. Walnuts is six billion global and the United States only does about one and a half billion pounds, and that's about eight billion dollars of Kent Boucher (25:30.124) That half billion is grown in my yard. I have walnut trees like crazy. Nicolas Lirio (25:37.358) Walnut trees are awesome and they take forever to grow. There's the reason people want I I wonder No, it's gotta be the nuts, right? I wonder what's had more money. Like what's been a bigger economic impact, the wood or the the nuts from walnuts? Kent Boucher (25:40.206) Yeah. Kent Boucher (25:54.178) Yeah, that is a interesting question. I it's gotta be the nuts just bec from the simple fact that a tree can only be sold once every what, probably thirty years. Mm-hmm. Whereas that over the course of that time that tree produced thirty years worth of nuts. Nicolas Lirio (26:11.106) Yeah, hundreds thousands of pounds of nuts. Yeah. Yeah, but I mean, let's say l I mean if it was three thousand pounds of nuts and they Kent Boucher (26:19.202) Wood is worth way more than the nut. Nicolas Lirio (26:21.282) Thousands of dollars. Yeah. Yeah. On on one tree. same old co-op, same old oligarchy, different companies, but China actually does by far the most in walnuts, which is kind of interesting. moving on to pecans. What was interesting from walnuts pecans is that walnuts had like everything else has billions of pounds, and the pecans drops dramatically to six hundred million pounds in the world and two hundred and eighty million pounds. And the US, which is two billion dollars, but basically the United States and Mexico go back and forth on who produces more. And I think on this list it's the only native to the United States. Really? Yeah. That was my understanding. Kent Boucher (27:07.026) I heard once from a guy who planted a pecan tree that it takes thirty years for that tree to produce its first nut. I don't know if that's true of all pecan trees or just one specific breed. Nicolas Lirio (27:24.268) What does their contract look like with the company? I would never make a thirty year contract. I don't know if we're gonna be around in thirty years. And so or maybe it's more leases. I don't know. Yeah. Kent Boucher (27:30.2) Years you know, yeah. Kent Boucher (27:37.196) Yeah, when I heard that, I was like, man, that is the ultimate waiting game there. But if you really liked pecans, you're like, you what, I think we could use a pecan tree. Well, hopefully you're still alive. One shows up. Even then the guy said it was only like one or two that he had show up in his tree in that first year that he was supposed to get some. Now I imagine now, you know, that was ten years ago. I bet it that tree's just heavy with pecans. Nicolas Lirio (27:47.05) Yeah, sir, you're seventy four It's like that late. Nicolas Lirio (28:03.992) The the like tree nut game, I feel so like wealthy with it. And now we put on like cheap pumpkin pies that we get at Walmart. Yeah. It's it's kinda interesting. But Kent Boucher (28:14.24) Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (28:18.84) Yeah. Then we put some cool whip on it to make sure it tasted good. Kent Boucher (28:23.854) Man, those candy nuts you get at like the trade shows and stuff. Like candied pecans. yeah. That is Nicolas Lirio (28:33.07) You know, I I judge people and their companies pretty harshly based on what they give out at trade shows. And I'm just like so two faced about it 'cause we don't they don't give out anything. What should we give out guys? Like on the next trade show when you're hanging out with us at Pheasant Fest or something. What should Kent Boucher (28:43.244) Yeah. Kent Boucher (28:48.398) Mature Picantries. It's twenty-nine years old. You know who would show up would show up for that? Paul had him up. Paul I'm here for the free twenty nine year old Picantri. Nicolas Lirio (28:57.226) Next year this baby's gonna give four pecans you've ever had. Nicolas Lirio (29:10.67) Did I ever tell you about Disney World? How they got their trees? No. They well obviously mature trees take decades to grow. Kent Boucher (29:17.034) They just cleared the the swamp around a few of Nicolas Lirio (29:20.078) Honestly. Well, Walt was an impatient and very let's get it done guy. And so he sent his people around to buy trees out of people's yards for quote unquote free and said, Hey, you probably want to take this tree down, it's a hazard to your house. We'll dig it up for free and fill it back in and put sod on top of it. And that's how it got all for for opening day. They had all these real trees. Now something kind of funny, a bunch of them died, but it took You know, a while, an opening day and all the photographers were already been through there, so Nicolas Lirio (29:56.91) And I guess they like painted some of the like dirt lawns green so it looked like grass because they couldn't get some of the grass to grow. You know, you don't know, you don't know. Kent Boucher (30:07.182) I don't think it'd more appropriate for the situation. The carousel of progress. That's an actual famous ride there, the carousel of progress. It's either Disney World or Epcot, I can't remember where. I went there a bunch of times when I was a kid. Disney World? Yeah. I've I've been to Disney World four times in the last twice. yeah, yeah, real big on that. Even if even if I was, I couldn't afford it. Nicolas Lirio (30:13.795) my goodness. Nicolas Lirio (30:19.352) Really? Nicolas Lirio (30:28.088) We're a big Disney adult. Nicolas Lirio (30:35.05) Yeah. Kent Boucher (30:37.666) I bet it's I bet for a family my size to go to Disney World for a week, I bet it's over five grand for that one week. Nicolas Lirio (30:45.474) Well it depends on how much you you Kent Boucher (30:47.31) Like if you went to all the if you went to all the the parks and ate two meals that in the park every day. The passes are expensive. Nicolas Lirio (30:55.158) I bet you no Well, but you can get the like ultimate VIP pass for a family for like six thousand. I bet you're at well, getting there and back, yeah. You're five. Kent Boucher (31:05.422) I bet it's a five thousand dollar. Nicolas Lirio (31:07.822) Five thousand dollar trip. Yeah. And one dude Yeah, dude, one of these days we're gonna start paying ya and you're gonna be able to go to Disney World again. The Kent Boucher (31:10.318) That's a tractor. Kent Boucher (31:17.496) All my folding money just goes to old old farm equipment these days. Nicolas Lirio (31:22.092) You dude you love it. You love it. The Disney World is just so low on the list of places I wanna go. Some people love it, but Kent Boucher (31:30.188) Yeah. I'm glad I had the experience, so it was a lot of fun when I was a kid, you know. I I would like to take I have three daughters who love like frozen and all that stuff and that dress up like princesses. For them it would be magical to go there. So I I would like to take them. Yeah. But yeah, for me personally there's Nicolas Lirio (31:35.021) I believe. Nicolas Lirio (31:50.466) You need a different set of cards. That's not the cards right now. Kent Boucher (31:52.864) That's my eighty sixth favorite thing to do. Nicolas Lirio (31:55.31) I think I think why I don't know. My thing with Disney World is I I probably wouldn't mind it. Probably wouldn't mind it. But I'm so tired that when it finally is time for vacation, if you say like, hey, here's the list of things we're gonna do. I mean that's why Riley's not with us. Kent Boucher (32:11.766) Stand in line. Listen to spoiled kids scream. Nicolas Lirio (32:18.114) Man, dude, I I wouldn't dude. Kent Boucher (32:20.194) Couldn't handle it. Plus plus we've from doing this podcast we've focused so hard on on a on cross examining the human condition That's where it takes you. Nicolas Lirio (32:32.524) I'd cry. This is too much. It's too much. All right. Here's the bougiest cashews. In my opinion, it's the bougiest cashews, twelve billion pounds. and the United States does none of it. The vast majority is West Africa and then some in India. Kent Boucher (32:49.728) I knew there was a tree nut that was grown in Africa 'cause I I know these people that spent a lot of time in Africa and they were working at a school and part of the ways that they funded the school was they got some some nut trees. Nicolas Lirio (33:03.096) Have you seen a cashew like flower nut thing? It's like a weird bulb thing that has a cashew sticking out the bottom. It is a weird looking. It's very weird. Yeah. Highly recommend. and I should say about pecans, part of the reason their price is so high is because they really like humid areas, which comes with all sorts of issues with trees, right? So it's just harder to they take more management. Yeah. Kent Boucher (33:06.798) What do you mean? Kent Boucher (33:12.216) Really? Kent Boucher (33:27.778) Tree, finally. Thirty years. How about a little blight? Nicolas Lirio (33:34.542) man. Could you imagine if ash trees gave off a fruit that we ate? Kent Boucher (33:40.142) Ash trees are used to make bats for major league baseball. Nicolas Lirio (33:45.772) Really? There's like a specific would they Kent Boucher (33:47.566) They ash was the primary I've I've been meaning to look up and see if the you know rampant emerald ash borer problem that's gone all over our country, if that has affected you know baseball bat manufacturing to where like, yeah, we used to make out of ash, now we make out of something else. You know we make them out of mulberry. Nicolas Lirio (34:01.41) Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (34:09.303) Palette wood. So cashews is actually of the nuts we've talked about the most the largest net of producers and brokers and buyers. It's the hardiest system in terms of the actual economics of it. apparently they're pretty fragile ecosystems and where they're at, but they have a lot of different brokers and there's a lot more. I would say options for the actual producers to be able to sell them. now, the big thing is because of that, they're getting shipped all over the place. And very rarely are actually cashews processed in the country they're harvested. That's kind of interesting. their big thing is they have a huge carbon footprint. Like the amount of fuel it takes to ship cashews around to get processed too. Yeah, not a small deal. All right, number six, our good friend, not a nut, but we love making here. The old peanut. Yep, yep, it's a legume. It's Legume. Kent Boucher (35:15.246) The legume, right? Kent Boucher (35:19.362) Legume Legume I never feel confident when I say that word. Legume legume. Nicolas Lirio (35:29.326) Legamy. What do you call Legame? Pretend like it's a Lore of the Rings character. Lejeune. You sound you sound like you want to be wealthy when you say legume. 110 billion pounds. and the United States, this is kind of interesting. The United States did about 10 billion of those pounds. China does a ton of peanuts, but use basically all of it. They don't export any. India, and then the United States is third. And these are nice because they're annuals. Kent Boucher (35:33.4) I like lejeune. Nicolas Lirio (35:58.88) Right? Pecans are thirty years, you know, and and peanuts are annuals. They are sold with contracts. and because Kent Boucher (36:09.646) I wonder what the majority of peanuts are used for. Oil peanut oil or just the raw nut or Nicolas Lirio (36:14.584) Motors. Nicolas Lirio (36:19.834) In China butter. In China, the vast majority goes to peanut oil. but I d so I would imagine that it is that skews it heavily. But in the United States, I have no idea. I would guess peanut butter. Because that if it's made in the US, they probably don't want to ship it from other places. So they ship it from somewhere close. And if they're gonna make it in the US, they're definitely gonna sell it in the US because you don't make stuff in the US and sell it outside the US because US Kent Boucher (36:35.084) That's what that'd be my guess. Nicolas Lirio (36:49.196) We're willing to spend more on stuff. And because of that, if they're gonna sell in the US, they gotta put a bunch of sugar in it. And that's why we've got the GIF with a bunch of sugar. Although man, dude, I have been hammering bananas with peanut butter recently. Kent Boucher (37:04.805) yeah. Jeff? Or do you do like the all natural organic peanut butter? Nicolas Lirio (37:09.44) I will do whatever is in the the cabinet, which right now is a small so my wife gets hankering peanut hammering peanut butter recently. It's just like tons and tons Kent Boucher (37:15.606) I know it's Reese's butter gas. I've been happy. It's really been helping my health. Nicolas Lirio (37:24.222) no, my wife gets a hankering for very specific Kent Boucher (37:27.086) No, I chew the chocolate off first and then I go ahead and just put the Nicolas Lirio (37:29.848) So I get just peanut butter. but she gets hankering for food and she's like, This is what I'm doing. Like I made and so she'll buy whatever specific ingredient. So a lot of times she like does these toast things with crunchy peanut butter. Man, I love crunchy peanut butter. Kent Boucher (37:44.898) Yeah. And I peanut butter. Yeah. Except for when it gets stuck in your molars, then you hate it. Everyone knows that feeling. so peanut butter is actually kind of a fighting point in my marriage. we've had much marital strife over peanut butter. Because while I appreciate my wife is a is a legend when it comes to Nicolas Lirio (37:51.096) Yeah. Kent Boucher (38:14.112) Ingredient choice, right? We w my health would be so much worse if the grocery shopping was left up to me. so she tries to get the cleanest ingredients for everything. I mean everything. Cheerios. Nicolas Lirio (38:30.434) She gets the peanut butter to taste like bark. Kent Boucher (38:32.574) no, it's the so all natural peanut butter. It tastes the same, more or less. I mean, yeah, less sugary, but basically tastes the same. However, it is way less spreadable, I guess you would say. It's more of a liquid. It's more of an oil. And when you get a fresh jar of that stuff, like the the peanut butter that settles down to the bottom is almost like crumbly. Yeah. And the top layer is is just a layer of oil, of peanut oil. So you have to mix that, churn it all together. And even still when you go to like pull the knife out, it's like dripping everywhere, right? It's a it's super messy. It's extremely messy. When you when you go to like put it on your toast or whatever, it's running everywhere. I know people are listening, like, you you just gotta take your time, do it the right look, when I'm making toast it's not because I got time on my hands. You know? Nicolas Lirio (39:30.734) 'Cause he was supposed to be at work ten minutes. Kent Boucher (39:32.515) Exactly. And so it's like it's so inconvenient with and Nicolas Lirio (39:39.71) You need the squeeze bottle. Just give just bite the bullet game. Kent Boucher (39:43.362) Yeah. No, so I appreciate that it is way healthier than than than your standard jar of peanut butter. but it is also way messier and way less convenient to deal with. Nicolas Lirio (39:59.384) There was a girl I worked with that I asked out once and she said no. Big sad. Kent Boucher (40:06.894) All right, we're just gonna end it there. Nicolas Lirio (40:09.822) Over the years we became pretty good friends. Yeah. and I asked her later, like, hey, why'd you say no? And apparently one time I was in the break room and I was hauling in on crustables at Olive Garden. I had like a box and I was like shoving like I was eating like four and going back to work. And she was like, just gave me the ick so bad. I like I couldn't get over it. She's like, otherwise you'd be great. Yeah, so I don't touch on crustables anymore. but Kent Boucher (40:37.932) Why did you share that on the phone? Nicolas Lirio (40:40.27) It's funny. I'm married. Yeah. No press left. man. Alright, so Peanuts are Kent Boucher (40:53.73) That's the second ick story I've heard about you. The first one was a chip police. I've got a bunch. I've got a bunch. Nicolas Lirio (40:58.104) Yeah, I have a bunch. I just have strong actions. Shark. Kent Boucher (41:04.846) Man of strong words is matter of fact you you do things. Nicolas Lirio (41:12.118) Exactly. We actually called an insane asylum where it's over the The So the peanuts are sold with pre planting contracts. Normally the contracts don't say, Hey, we'll take this many pounds. They usually say, Hey, we're gonna buy everything off of that acre. Depending on how it's worded for a farmer can be very safe. because they know they know their input. So they know their inputs are getting covered and then the risk is taken on by the but then all the booms are taken on by Kent Boucher (41:30.316) Which Nicolas Lirio (41:42.73) whoever bought their contract as well. but they're legumes. So Kent Boucher (41:47.65) motivated to do medium. Nicolas Lirio (41:49.806) Yeah motivated to do medium. They are a legume. So they actually rotate in well, I believe, with corn and with with wheat are able to be depending on if their regions actually overlap, not all of the peanut regions. Kent Boucher (42:07.214) That's what they that's what they rotate with. Yeah. And some of the places. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (42:12.226) So legumes I'm paying more and more attention to just in the native prairie world, like as 'cause I I do think personally I don't think we use legumes, native legumes to the power that they have to make sure that prairie establishments do what they should, whether with holding, putting in, having them after corn or after beans of prairie planting. I I I think there's some measuring and studying to be done there. But the reason I I had that Kent Boucher (42:38.766) Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (42:41.248) Epiphany at the grocery store when I saw those pistachios and I was like, my goodness, we're so screwed. And I was like, what does it actually take to get nuts? You know, we just eat them so frivolously, but they're like a delicacy. Yeah. Kent Boucher (42:52.054) If I were to be killed over a bait pile, you how people like hunt bears over bait Yeah. It'd be pistachios. Nicolas Lirio (42:56.404) Or whatever. Maybe. It might be ice cream sandwiches. Kent Boucher (43:01.16) Yeah, ice cream sandwiches too, yeah. But I just can't when when there's like a bowl or a bag of pistachio I cannot help myself. man. That Nicolas Lirio (43:11.394) All right. Well, everyone listening, thank you so much. Hey, been some action on the forum there. I I promised you guys that if you asked a question, I would go get an expert, and that's what I've been trying to do. And also for all the sponsors that you've been hearing on our podcast, if you have any interest in what they do or if you're needing seed from those companies or McKay insurance you need, reach out to them. It's a big deal to us. It actually helps. It continues on Kent Boucher (43:15.884) Thank you. Keep it up. Kent Boucher (43:35.726) I just caught a little clip of the Iowa cover crop podcast. Yeah. And it was really interesting. I I did a little research after I saw it was about prussic acid and how it's harmful to to cows. And turns turns out it's that it is found most commonly in like sorghum and soudan grass. Yeah. Nicolas Lirio (44:03.01) Well, Bill and James and Megan and Melissa and their teammates Josh and there's one more that I'm forgetting, I'm sorry. They are pushover like they know what they're talking about. They do a great job. So I I really enjoy Hey, thank you so much for listening. We'll talk to you again next time. Kent Boucher (44:18.658) Yeah, I got real sleepy at the beginning and got way better towards the end. Dude that's stor