179: How Eleusis Helps Feed Security and Builds Rancher Resilience During Droughts with Joaquin Gonzalez

[00:00:00] So Joaquin Gonzalez, chief Expansion Officer at Elise's Feed. Thank you so much for joining me on the Vertical Farming Podcast.

Yeah. Thank you Harry, from the invitation. Happy to

be here.

So remind me again how we got connected. I think you mentioned you had a conversation with my partner supper. Uh.

Yes, I did. Uh, I've been reading our, I Grow News for a long time. Um. And, uh, I got to know separate because of it. I read the author of, of these different articles with my father and I was like, yeah, let's, let's connect with this guy. And I sent an invitation on LinkedIn. We connect. Um, he was in Dubai, so we was, it was a little bit hard to, uh, synchronize our calendars, but, but very good guy.

Yeah, I like him a lot.

So, how far back can you trace your, uh, experience with being involved in, in some way or another? In, in, in like agriculture?

Well, so, um, my background is in [00:01:00] agriculture. I study agriculture engineer in Chile. Um, I, I always was, I was always related to, to farming livestock, like feed, like something that intrigued me a lot was feed systems.

How we feed the cattle, um, and of horses and different animals. Right. And, um, I, I studied that in Chile. Um, and I was always like looking for some innovations. Like I'm, I'm a, I'm an agriculture as a professional, but I'm a inter entrepreneur. Um, from, from the heart, you know.

What, what got you into agriculture to, why did you decide to study that?

So we as a family, we had a ranch, uh, close to

Santiago, uh, that I spent most of my life over

there. Like, uh, I was raised and born in Santiago, but in the ranch every, every, every other weekend. If it's not every weekend, where I spend a lot of time like riding horses, [00:02:00] like, um, being with, with cattle like racing. Uh, different type of animals over there. Um, yeah, it was like, it always like being related to it, like being attached to it. Yeah.

Was there an expectation growing up in families and based on conversations I've had with previous founders who grew up either on a farm or on a ranch, is there an expectation? That you'll carry on the legacy of the family. I don't know if it was a, it was a business or, or just a ranch. But do you, do you hear that a lot or is that, is that expected?

It was, um, no, I mean, I'm the third of seven

siblings. Um, most of 'em are engineers. Um, my dad is an engineer and this was like a, like a family ranch, um, for pleasure and for business as

well. Um, yeah, it was always like something that really motivate me, um, [00:03:00] since little was, was the horses. It was, uh, I, I, since I have a memory, it was over saddle, you know, riding around and, um. It was always fun to me to be around like, uh, break, break courses, um, you know, uh, like, uh, teach 'em how to ride and, and I love like show jumping. So I

got into the world. Um, I did some show jumping, I won a couple of championships over there. But, uh, at the end, uh, you have to have courses, you have to have a trainer and all this stuff.

And it was, um, something that from there I. I, I transitioned to another sport because it was too expensive being one of seven. Um, it wasn't something that, uh, I, I was the only one like obsessed with courses and stuff. So I pushed that dream again. Uh, I mean aside, and I focus on other sports, but, but then I, after college, actually, I pick it up [00:04:00] again, um, start writing again, and, uh, I won another championship.

And again, same story like it was. Everything about like having, having a horse and having a train with feed and all this stuff that gets, uh, complicated over time. So, but uh, that is something that I have in, in my heart. At some point I will do it for sure.

It's, it is everyone that I've spoken to and I've had conversations with people who have been around horses since they were little, who've raised horses, they all say the same thing. Like, you develop this bond with your horse, that's incredibly special. They're so smart, they're so intelligent, and when you get to know them, they get to know you and you, the symbiosis that happens between you and the horse.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I was like, as I said, like completely obsessed with them. At some point I was like making drawings with, of horses, um, and, and figure it out, like how they fit them on, how, uh, what is the best way to keep them taking care of

'em, [00:05:00] um, and all that stuff. And, uh, yeah, you really. I, I see why some people that have like boarding facilities and stuff like that, uh, and they can treat like mental health and

stuff. 'cause it, it really helps to be in touch with, with animals in general. But horses, it has something special.

And had, did you see, you know, having raised horses from, from such a long time, how much things have changed with advances and what horses are fed? You know, obviously we're gonna get into the fodder, but I imagine so much has changed since you were a boy.

Well, there's so many things for, for sure. I mean, the nutrition, of course, depending on the performance of the horse, what if, what type of athlete it is, you know, if it's a race horse, if you're a jumping horse, um, if you're a Polo or Enduro and stuff like that. It's, it's always different. And there's so many things out there to supplement these courses that. Um, I [00:06:00] mean, it's, it's kind of overwhelming sometimes because so many things, so many vitamins that you can put on the rations. Um, and yeah, fodder as, as you said, we're gonna go over that, uh, later on, but it's something that really helps the horses. I've been, um, I've like firsthand experienced like some colleague episodes in horses and with fodder.

It's something that you can solve it right

away. Yeah. Adding fodder to their diet. It acts like a, as a lubricant of, of the just digestion track and the gut health. It's much better. So you avoid these colleagues in them

So

So was your experience with Eko is, was that the first experience with working directly with fodder?

that Yes. Uh, you did, you did well, your research. Uh, alright. Uh, yeah, so I. After I graduated from school i'd, um, I, there was a big drought in the [00:07:00] northern region of my

country. Big drought, like big mess, like a lot of animals were dying because of it. Um, like animals, were moving to the south, in the south of Chile, we have a lot of water, a lot of land, a lot of hay. Um, so, so it was up to the point that the government got involved. They were moving water around. They were. Uh, moving animals to one side, to another, to to, to make them survive. And a lot of ranchers were forced to call up their herds as well. And like being out of college, just graduated, I was like, how, how we can solve this issue?

You know, how can I put my grain of sand in this issue? How we can produce fodder or produce forage or grass? Or feed for animals in a sustainable way, in a way that you can control the inputs, you know, um, get in a way of, of the [00:08:00] climate itself. And that's how like hydroponic water show up and I start digging in, um, looking around which companies are, are the best around the, the world.

And see, because in Chile we didn't have any hydroponic fiber systems there. So I imported my first equipment, and that's how like ECO started and I partnered with, uh, with my ex partner and, um, this guy was the commercial side and was like the commer, the more technical side of it. Um, so we imported our first equipment from China.

Um, it was super hard to, to manage. I mean, it's super hard to assemble, put it together. It cost me like. Six months in order to have like actual real good father out of it. It's very, it's very hard to work with the Chinese. But on the flip side, I, um, I learned a lot. Like it's something that you, with that experience, give me [00:09:00] so many things, uh, so many, um, insights about how to produce this feed, you know?

And with that I designed and formulated my own designs into containers, inside containers. Um, this container, uh, at some point when I got my first commercial design, it was, um, it was a container that you open both sides of the container. And in Chile we don't have like these extreme temperatures like here, like everything outside.

Would freeze, you know? Yeah. We, so I had all the equipment to control the environment inside the container. I had it outside, same with the water tank, the different things. Um, and I opened one door. So you see it and you have one hole in the middle. And you see these racks, basically our like eight shelves.

And you see from one side and you push the trace to the other side and you harvest on the other side of the container. [00:10:00] And that container was able to boost about. S pounds is about 1600 pounds a day. Uh, which at the beginning was amazing. We were like, oh, like this is, this is a nice result. Like for the first uh, approach, it was amazing.

But then, you know, over time you figured out that you have a lot of issues with father, especially with mold. Like it's something very hard to, to, um, avoid because you have so many factors that happen. Uh, like control the humidity, the temperature, the airflow, the sea, what is the seed supply. Um, so you have to follow so many things.

And at the end, the mold was something that, um, that really affected our, our project there.

Is that something that you just had to figure out on your As? As it happened? There was no guidance. There was nothing probably you could read online at the time.

Yeah, there's a bunch of [00:11:00] stuff out there like how to avoid the. The mold. Uh, there, some people say that you have to put a lot of bleach on the water. Um, there's some strategies out there to use hydrogen peroxide and different things. You have very, you have to be very rigorous to, of the, the cleaning of everything.

But at some point, if you don't control the environment very well and very precisely is, um, it's something that that mold will happen and we will appear anyways. So. Um, we manufacture one and then we put together a manufacturer in Santiago. Uh, so I was close, uh, I was closer to my house and then I honestly, like, I signed a contract with a, with a group that has some horses over there.

Um, and we couldn't figure it out. The mold issue, we couldn't, so I, I was like, I don't want to sell something that at some point would generate, uh, mold and we'll, you know, [00:12:00] could kill a horse. And those courses are not like cheap. So it's like, no, I'm not gonna do it. So we decided with the group and with investors, um, to put that project on hold.

And then, um, I worked in, uh, I, uh, I was like, okay, this is, this is something I really dream about. Like, let's, let's do the potter somewhere else. And then I worked for two different companies. I, I, uh, made another company too with another partner. Nothing related to agriculture. But, um, then I had the opportunity to move to the us Um, and I was looking always like, in the back of my mind was like, this is something that I, I had to fix, you know?

Um, and then I studied in Colorado, uh, we moved to Boulder with my wife. Um, I study over there cu and then looking around like some, uh, um, organizations in, in the act. [00:13:00] Industry. I found farm box foods, which by then they had like two different, which is a containerized, well, you know, them, they, they are containerized, uh, a manufacturer where they had at that point, uh, vertical farming with like leaf greens and stuff.

And then they had a mushroom farm. And then they hired me to put together the fodder system, the hydroponic fodder farm. Um. And I had a very good experience with them. Um, they were like super open. And when I met the CEO went to the farms. I got into the, one of the farms and I saw all these like different technology of how to control the environment.

And so inside this containers, I was like, yes, I'm, I'm pretty sure that with this I can fix the

issue. Um, so I put it together. I assemble, I, I, I make like six different designs. I put it over the table and we [00:14:00] decided with the team to go with one. It took about like a knee a year, a year and a half to assemble it, like fabricate it.

And um, I put it to work and then mold again. It's like, oh, how this is happening. And then over time I fix it. I figure it out, the temperature, water irrigation, uh, water temperature, because sometimes you get super cold water, super hot water in Colorado and that. We fixed all that stuff. Iation, I did. So like the fine tuning and at the end, after I would say like a couple months, I was able to say that it's a mold free guarantee farm. Which, uh, which I'm very proud

now.

What was the biggest difference? When people think of Container farms, you know, we've had conversations before, people growing leafy greens. Obviously farm Box specializes in, in the mushroom containers. How different is the technology when you're thinking about a container farm for leafy greens versus a container farm for, um, mushrooms [00:15:00] versus a container farm for fodder?

What, what are the things you need to think about differently?

Um, that's a good question. Uh, the main difference, I would say it's more about. The layout, definitely the layout of how to, well, the mushrooms, let's, let's keep mushrooms aside because that, that is another animal. But in the, in the hydroponic, uh, world, the vertical farm, it's, um, it's, it's same vertical is, it's a totally different layout, so different design.

What I put together was like layers of trays, so hole in the middle and tray seven shelves. Where I figured it out that one of the best approaches to produce fodder is with a subrogation system. So the misting systems in general, they generate a lot of humidity. And humidity is something that you have to fight all the time in order to prevent the mold issues.

So the subrogation it's is, is [00:16:00] one. Um, so seven shelves, sub on six sections. So I could seed. And then sit one rack, and then the next day sit the, sit the other one and so on. So then you have a cycle. Then you're able to harvest every single day. Big difference with the other vertical farm, not only in in temperature, humidity, I would say that it's like the same, um, but irrigation schedule.

Um, the vertical farming with leafy greens, you need nutrients in fodder. You don't need any nutrients at all. That is something that I learned as well there. Because I was trying to put some nutrients, maybe you can like, uh, increase the protein on the FO or something like that. But it is not like, since the plant is so young in seven day cycle process, that they're not able to pick up any nutrients from the water at all.

So at the end, it's pot of the water, drinkable water, and then, uh, seeds. And you have to have a [00:17:00] good seed. That's the thing, that's the key of it. And I would say that the other 50% of the, of the problems of how like or why mold can appear, it's because it's, it's, it's the operator. How you treat the things, you know, how you clean everything.

Um, and that is very important to follow all the instructions of the SOPs inside the systems to make it work. Um.

curious, Joaquin, when you, when you try to tackle a problem like that, coming from an engineering background, I, I imagine as an. Engineer, you're always thinking of like solutions and how to fix problems, and it's just the way that your mind works. Where, where do you draw your inspiration from when it comes to like tackling problems like this?

Do you need to go for like long walks with no interruptions or like where, where do you, where do you get your inspiration from?

Um, well doing, doing some research. I mean, with, [00:18:00] in my career, there's a lot of research, uh, that you had to, you had to make. Um, there's a lot of like problem solving. I love that. Uh, trial error. That is one thing that you have to, in this industry, you have to try things and if it doesn't work, you try another thing and it doesn't work.

You try another. So that is. Uh, and you have to learn from all those errors in order to not repeat them, of course. But, um, but that is one thing I'm, I'm being like, disciplined in those, um, in those trial and error because if you lose something, you might repeat something else that you are, it's, it's making the problem.

So you have to do like trial and error, like very, um, with a good methodology and, and then you, you can solve all these issues.

Where did you learn that discipline from? Or who or who did you learn that discipline from?

Um, honestly, like self-motivated, I would say, uh, a lot. [00:19:00] Um, I'm, um, I would say that a lot comes from my

dad. Um, my, my dad is an engineer. He always like me inventing stuff, like trying to figure it out, like trying to fix stuff at the house, at the ranch, different things. So. He was like, if there's a problem, we have to solve it.

He's like, start drawing stuff. And uh, yeah, there's a tool here. So he loves to go like to Home Depot and see all the stuff, the different things that are there, like they can use for irrigation, um, and, and different things. So that is, uh, basically my, my, uh, I think that my bigger inspiration.

It's, I'm, I'm a child of the eighties, so, uh, sometimes people call that the MacGyver approach.

Yeah. Yeah. Same here. Same here,

And so, uh, so obviously, you know, when you see problems like that, you have to figure, you figure out the best solution for the, for the problem, right?

right? [00:20:00] Um, yeah. You have to, you have, I mean, there was no, no other option. When you have no other option, just fix it. No matter what, you start to put creative.

Okay. the thing. And so talk about the transition from, uh, farm Box to Elis, you know, how, how that happened.

Yeah. So, um, last year working for Farm Box, um, there was, I, I worked with so many, so many clients, so many people. Um, like I did some trials with the Denver Zoo, for instance. You know, that they were trying out the fodder, doing all these lab analysis and different things. We were feeding their giraffes and, and, and multiple animals over there.

Um, and, and the,

Is there, is there a difference? And fodder for all the different types of animals. Obviously we talked a lot about horses and people talk about cattle fodder as giraffe fodder different, you [00:21:00] know?

no, it's, it's the same product. It's the same product. So fodder is something that you made out of any kind of grain, honestly. But the best grain for it is, uh, barley. So barley is, is the best because it sprouts faster than any other grain. Um, and also it has the, this ability to generate, you know, the, the protein content of it, it has to be low in order to sprout faster because low protein means that it can be hydrated very fast, and that is sprout

faster. Right? Um, same with wheat. Wheat works very well as well. Other grains are, are, um, typically are lighter than these other grains, so we typically use barley and, and for barley, uh, for all the animals that we have had, uh, barley is the one that we have given, given them.

I, I know with, uh, people talk a lot about, you know, barley for fodder. Are there different strains of [00:22:00] barley or is this just one kind, or, I imagine there's different types, just like wheat

there, yeah. There are multiple, uh, species, or not species, but varieties, right. Um, the variety that it works best for fodder. Um, it's the variety that comes to malting companies. Um, for the same reason. Because if you are like working with. This type of grain that, that goes to molting and goes to beer.

At the end of the day, it's a, it's a seed that needs to be low in, in protein. If you're, if you're using other type of seeds like seeds that goes to feeding animals with it, you know, seed that goes to pastures and stuff like that is a, is a really different seed because it has, it's more of a system. It's, it's hard to break it.

Um. So malting, uh, companies and malting suppliers [00:23:00] are, are the best for these purposes for

sure.

And so, yeah, you were talking about the transition, uh, to, uh, E.

So, yeah, so I was looking at this, uh, different, sorry, I went to, to the, to different trials that we did. But, um, so I was, the last year I was trying to obviously commercialize this, this container and there's a, there's a lot of interest. Out there to, to get farther to feed your animals with it, you know, because of the sustainability metrics, because of so many things.

So, so many benefits on the nutrition, the nutritional side. So many things. So a lot of people are very interested. But the containerized solution, it's, it's for some of 'em, you know, for the industry, the container solution that we put together, uh, was able to produce 850 pounds a day, which. Basically, if you look at the industry, you can feed 30 cow,

um, 35 [00:24:00] horses, stuff like that.

so that's 850 pounds per container.

yeah. So I was talking to, uh, many renters that they have like 200, uh, head of cattle. So for that you need like eight containers. So putting one container next to another at some point doesn't make sense. Maybe two. It's okay. Three, you. Think about it, you know, because it's all, every container has their own system, their own, uh, uh, way of farming and all this stuff.

So at the end, we were looking for something more industrial, and I was looking around, getting back to my context when I was starting with this in Chile and I got back to Osis, um, uh, I, I met Rafael, who's the CEO and owner of Osis. He's in Madrid, in Spain. Um, because he had a facility in Chile and I visited it, uh, in [00:25:00] 2018 around that.

Uh, and I met the guy that represent El in Chile. So I went to this facility and I found it like amazing.

Okay.

It was like, it was like the go to technology that you want to, we want to have. But at, at that point I was thinking like in little, I was thinking in something that we can move around in modular farms, which is, okay, so modular farms are, are great, but it's not for everybody, you know?

So in this case, in, in, in the United States, it was like there is a way to provide fodder systems and covered the whole and satisfy the whole industry, you know, in from people that have 200 500 cows to 1500 5,000. You know, and we can make those systems accordingly, the head of animals that you have and that, uh, it's something that really moved me.

I was like, okay, what's the price? And it was a reasonable price for the amount of [00:26:00] pounds of fodder that you can produce. So I, I went to Spain, met the guy, and, and came back with the, with the contract signed of the representation of North America. Um, and, and since then I started working on leave behind Farm Box.

And on January this year I started, uh, with, with OSI Feed, which is a branch of Osis International. Um, and we are trying to commercialize this in, in the state.

What was the biggest, uh, there's probably several things when you, when you say you start moving to industrial level. Mc fodder systems, but just what, what are some of the, the basics that, that, uh, to help the listener understand like how these systems work? Like when you're moving from a container, you know, you said it was cost prohibitive and, and maybe just like farm prohibitive to have eight containers on the farm.

What do you get now with a system like Luc?

[00:27:00] So first of all, um, I would like to mention Osis have, um, 40 years of experience in this technology. Okay? So they started 18 85, 19 85, um, with, uh, with a very unique, um, technology, which is patented. Um, and what you get into your question is like. The flexibility of these systems are amazing in terms of like some, somebody that has an old barn that they want to use for to produce hydroponic fodder. There's definitely a way to do it. There's a way that this technology has to enclose the room with sandwich panels, with insulation in it, uh, and create the CEA inside this, uh, this room.

And we can. We can cover this room with, with racks and each [00:28:00] rack will produce 1100 pounds of fodder per day. And that flexibility is something that I really love because I, I, I heard so many stories about people that have existing instructors and stuff like that, and that is something that we can go ahead and, and start building.

You don't, you don't need to build it from scratch. Besides that, the workflow of it, it's. It's great because it's, it's something that you build, you know, a, a big, it could be a big facility. I mean, obviously we offer system from 500 pounds a day to the biggest one that we're coding right now for a project in Georgia, it's gonna be 400 tons at a system.

So that, for just for the. F for you to make an idea is like for 40,000 heads. Uh, obviously there are spread in, in different like ranches around it. Uh, we are, we're working with this group, [00:29:00] we're gonna put together a FO hub where they can deliver all these fodder to these different ranches around it. So that is basically the, the range that we can manage.

Um, now. Obviously when, when you get a system that is, let's call it like 5,000 pounds a day system, you have a warehouse where it's not too big, could be around a thousand square feet, um, that the workflow inside is very cool because you have space. Um, how it works is basically there are eight shelves on each rack.

And the cool thing about this particular valve that they have. Is that everything works under like gravity, so the water doesn't need any, like, you don't need a pressurized, um, uh, system or pressurized connections to each rack. It's just, it just gravity that's putting water on the top of it, and it's like flooding shelves by shelf.

We're [00:30:00] reusing the water. We are not recycling it. We are reusing it. And then the residual water is about like 30. But with that said, it's something, as I mentioned, like you can, um, have all these, uh, spaces that you can cover it with racks, with towers. And then on the, on the preparation room, we put the hoppers and we put something that is very cool, uh, which is the tray washing machine.

So this tray you have to harvest manually. Right. And then you, when you harvest it, you put it upside down, you pass it through this tray washing machine, and it avoids a lot of time working on the washing. And you don't need the brush or something like this, just this machine. Um, and just for you to make an idea, that project will be, uh, for 5,000, will be a hundred, 140,000 bucks,

Okay.

like

built here in the us. It's pretty [00:31:00] competitive. Um, and, and at the same time, you have uniform fire every single day. That's the thing. So uniformity is very important for ranchers in general. Um, and consistency, you know, um, fit security at the end is something that they were looking for. So that's what, that's, that's why I, I am, I get very motivated to.

Provide the system at scale as well.

What's been the response to maybe customers that you've spoken with or people you've spoken with, or farmers you've spoken with in the past when you only had the opportunity to talk about a container system? Now you're having conversations about the elusive feed system. Is there a better fit now? And, and you can have much more informed conversations because the Luc feed is, is exactly what they need.

Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, when we talk about fodder itself, like the final product, [00:32:00] obviously now since I've been like a decade in this industry, I, I can talk about it with much more authority than before. That's one thing. Um, and I've seen all the different actors at all the different companies around the world that produce Potter.

Um. That I can compare all these different, like system, how they produce it, how they manage it, how they, uh, control the environment and stuff like that. Um, and I can definitely have a nice conversation about, you know, okay, osis, what it brings to you, unbreakable parts, reliable system. Um, a system that doesn't break, that's, uh, that, that's, that's just a lot.

And a system that actually. It is meant to be for, to be in a ranch. You know, it's sometimes I feel like some companies they try to, um, invest in, in designers, in engineers and stuff like [00:33:00] that. Like I, as, as the forest is, are rocket designer, which is not, which is not like the right approach I would say, because these, at the end of the day, these projects and these forms.

Um, they will land in a ranch. So the skilled labor of ranch is not always like the very high skilled labor. You know, you don't have to have an engineer to

run it. You need robust, you know, skilled labor. And these systems are very, uh, thoughtful on that, in that sense. You know, we are, we develop this system that are very didactic screens are very didactic.

So something is, doesn't, doesn't work or, or something is not running. It has just a cross on top of it. So you see the image of the fan, for instance, like with a

cross on top of it. Um, so this, that is a big difference too. Mm-hmm.

What's, uh, when, when, when you think about. The opportunities that are exist in the United States. You obviously have a lot of, um, [00:34:00] history because Lucius has been global probably, you know, like you said, for 40 years. So there's a lot of, you know, things that have tried and trial and error. So you're getting the benefit now of all the things they've tried in other countries implementations, feedback from farmers, how has that been helpful for you knowing that you have a lot of experience to build upon when you're having these conversations?

Yeah, good question. I mean, that is one of, uh, our main approaches I would say, like when, when we are talking to people and, and renters. Again, we are talking with the 30, because we have been in the industry for 40 years, so we have over 400 installations out there. Some of them are running, some of them they're not because of multiple things could happen in the ranch, but for the majority, they have very good experience applying fodder into the different diets.

Um, and depending where you are, because it depends on the industry, some people [00:35:00] produce fodder for dairies or for beef cattle. Um, one of our biggest facilities since in Leon, it's, uh, 235 tons a day, which is a completely different layout than the normal ones that we are talking vertical. This is not vertical.

Um, I was, and it was built along with, uh, energy production engines. So we, they were using that heat to heat up their greenhouse where they put this spotter on, on the ground. Um. There's so many experience out there, um, and the reaction of the animals, the improving infertility, for instance, in in cows and dairy

Oh.

Um, avoiding, you know, in cows, if we, we talk about dairy is like if you, you are avoiding like acidosis frames, um, or episodes colleagues and stuff like that. These are like. For the majority of these things are experiences, [00:36:00] uh, where we talk to these clients, these potential clients, and we say, yeah, this is, this is what you can get.

Now, that is the other challenge too, like talk to these people and they have been producing feed, I mean producing feed and, and feed animals for generations in a way that whenever you're presenting a new technology. It's hard, like that traditional mindset, it's very hard to break, you know? It's like, um, they, they are very, you know, not stubborn, but it's like they,

They're very set, set in their ways.

Yes. And so that's why it's important, like new generation, um, from, from these farms and these ranches, they're adopting more technology because of the lack of. Labor, first of all. And others like, yeah, they knew they, they want to try new things. Mm-hmm. [00:37:00] Um,

What's what, what, what's the biggest, um. Education piece for them if they're, like you said, if they're, they're used to feeding cattle the tradition, the traditional way, you have to explain the benefits of hydroponic fodder to them or, or like you said, some of the benefits that they may not even be aware of.

Yeah. Um, most of it is like. This is not rocket science. Again, it's, it's, it's a manual thing. You can have a fully automated system, but it's something that you can train on and be comfortable with a system. Then how to apply the fodder so we can, with, with, with some nutritionist to back us up that people that have been working with fodder for a long time and those nutritionists, they know how to apply fodder, how to formulate the diets to in order to work.

Um. So at the end, you have to convince them to adopt a new thing, but not something, not a machine that you have to babysit. You know, it's, it's a machine [00:38:00] that actually helps you. It's a tool for feed security. You know, it's a tool that you can use every single day of the year, no matter what the system is, or no matter what is happening out there, the farm and the system will work and will provide the clean nutrition for your cattle, for your hair.

So. Um, that, that is one of the key points here, like feed security. It's something that we, they really like, they really want, because they struggle with it. Like sometimes they're like COVID and, and the, the hay spikes up, you know, um, the, OR, or different like natural disaster or some, somehow you're born full of hay.

It's gone. Whenever you're, you have this system, system, you can rely on this consistency on this, um, nutrition that you will have every single day.

Mm-hmm.

who would be like an ideal client [00:39:00] for Elis? Is there someone that maybe it just, therefore it would be too small and, and they may not be ready for it? Or when, when you think about, you know, who, who can benefit the most from, from an Elis feed system? What comes to mind? I.

I would say, I would say like three. Well, hold on a sec, Harry, this is the last, you can cut that part if you want.

I'll cut that. Don't worry.

Um, yes.

Alright. Who can benefit from, who benefit the most? Well, people that are located in drought areas, you know, people that are. Struggling with water. You know, there's some incentives out there of the government, like retiring wells, so they will pay you to retire a well because the water is a critical

issue, you know, um, critical issue.

So, so those, like, especially in the Western [00:40:00] states, I think that, uh, it's, it's more, it's more needed. Um. Yeah. Now I, I had like recently, like today a conversation with a guy in Utah and they're, you feel like Utah, they're kind of in the north and they could have like a lot of mountains and stuff. And you, you'll see like Utah with full of water, but it's not, there's a massive drop like it took to the guy.

It rained in April and just recently, like last

week, um, they got a little bit of rain and that was it. So. Those places are looking a lot for these type of technologies in order to reduce the amount of water they use for their crops. With the fodder system, we use like 95% less water than traditional farming, so we're here to help 'em for sure.

So, so, uh, what's a, what's a typical day for you look like?

A typical day, well, [00:41:00] I. I'm, uh, all over the place, honestly, Harry, this is, uh, this is another company I have to run completely. Uh, obviously we have a team of, so we are training a sales team. We have people working in Canada, people working in multiple states. I'm in Austin, Texas. We moved here, um, in part because we are, I would say, close to close a deal with the ranch around the area.

So it's very. Very com it was very convenient to move here. Um, taking care of the marketing, taking care of the pr, you know, same way that I, I, I knew like Sper, same thing. Like, hey, the author, okay, let's, let's, let's set this up. Um, so typically start with, with, uh, exercise and then taking care of everything.

taking care of the bo of your body and mind first is probably important.

Yeah, yeah, [00:42:00] exactly.

It seems like you're wearing a lot of different hats. Uh, what's a tough question you've had to ask yourself recently?

Um, oh man, that's tough. Um, if I want to continue doing this, that is one, one thing, like, as an entrepreneur, I'm telling you like, it's, it's, uh, it's a day to day back back, um, uh, back to back day to like consistency, like. You're thinking about your, like your, your, is, is your project going? Is your project going somewhere else?

I have two girls now to take care of. Like, this is, this is something that I can, I need to keep pushing, keep pushing. And, and, and honestly, after all this time working on this, um, with the discipline and the perseverance of, uh, you know, keep, keep pushing because you really believe that this is something that can change.

A little bit the livestock industry, [00:43:00] the, like, how we feed animals in a sustainable way. Um, it's something that really moves me. I'm, I'm sometimes like, make me awake, uh, during the night too. So, so, uh, so yeah, that is, that is, uh, I, I convinced that this, is, this the way to do it. Obviously, I understand it's not for everybody, but I definitely believe that I can help a lot of people.

Yeah. And I can definitely relate as an entrepreneur. Like, it, it, it doesn't ever turn off. So, you know, you wake up, you wake up in the morning and you're already thinking about the six things you gotta do that day, and you just have to prioritize. I've been making more of an effort to make sure the first thing I do is like some sort of meditation or some sort of like workout, because if not the day just gets away from you.

That's a

key. That's a key. And, and I'm a, I'm a father too, so I have to take care of these girls. Um, and that, uh, filled my heart for sure.

What's been the, the, the biggest, uh, shift [00:44:00] in, in moving to the US and, and Austin, Texas?

What was

that,

what, what's been the biggest, uh, sh change for you or, or, or the biggest, uh, thing you discovered from moving to Austin, Texas?

Well, I moved, honestly, I moved like a month ago, so it's, it's, everything's so new now. I miss the mountains like a lot. I was talking to my wife, like the mountains we're in Boulder, so we're like right there, you know, you can see the mountains every single day. And now, uh, this is a little bit flat, you know, we have hills here, which is, which is awesome.

Something that I really like. It's everything is green, like all the trees and stuff. Neighborhoods are so nice. Um, but I move, I think in the right time because it's October. Uh, I moved in October last, um, at the end of October. So the temperatures are pretty, pretty nice now. Um, I'm a little bit concerned about summer,

but, but we'll see.[00:45:00]

Uh, we're trying to explore out there. Uh, I really like the river passing through Austin. It's a, it is a cold city. It's a, it has a lot of life. Uh, and it's a big city. I didn't know it's 2 million people here. Um, so it's, it's, it's great. Um, so far the. Tex-Mex is good. Um, barbecue is good. Um, yeah.

What's the biggest thing you miss about Chile?

Well, obviously

family, um, that is one of the, one of the things that I, at some point I would definitely, uh, come back to Chi. We have a lot of stuff to do here first, but I'll definitely, uh, want to go back because, uh, since I've been, I was part of a big family. Um, my parents, they have a lot of siblings as well, so I have like dozens of cousins on each side.

So I grew up with cousins, um, and I want to give my kids like the [00:46:00] same experience, you know? So that is something my brothers, so we have in total, my parents, they have already like 12 siblings, 12 grandsons,

Wow.

so. So that is something that we, we need to, obviously, we try to go to Chile as much as possible so they can be with the costumes and everything, but that is something that we miss a lot.

So as we wrap up here, Joaquin, um. I know you've been trying to make an effort, you connected with Sper and, and, and I don't know how, how active you are in going to conferences, but have you been able to network with other people in the industry, other people in the indoor farming industry? Um, I'm, I'm curious what your experience has been like there.

Well, um, with, with a lot of people that are in the, in the same industry. So for. With the legacy feed, the way we try to do as well is to compliment vertical farming [00:47:00] of the LI inside, because Potter obviously is vertical farming, too vertical pastures. But on the vertical side, we partner with a company, it's called Harvest Today.

I don't know if you have heard about them. They're very cool and the system's really cool because we wanted, we are looking at some projects to put some fodder systems to work. Along with a vertical farm and on an industrial way as well. Then a mushroom systems and a rooted crop system. So that is our partner to develop those projects.

So those guys are pretty cool. And we are in the same industry, so we share a lot of things. Uh, and they can go at scale too. So they have recently, they have redesigned part of this walls that they build. Uh, so they can fill out like big warehouses, 12 these walls, and it could, it could work very nice, um, with those guys.

And then a lot of invitations from, you know, Dubai and the Middle East. [00:48:00] Um, I have some connections in Jordan that they are looking at some, uh, regenerative agriculture with fodder. So help so install FO systems in order to free some of the. Um, land that they have to re regenerate it. Um, that is one thing, Jordan.

We have a project that I'm looking over there because not I, I try to get my most of my time here in the US but whenever we have clients like overseas, we take them because they, they're looking for these solutions. Uh, so in Jordan, in Qatar, I have another one over there. Um, but overall I. Like to connect with, with all these, uh, different personalities in the, in the industry.

I think it's great. I think it is, uh, it's, it's going the right way in order to have less complicated systems that actually [00:49:00] works, actually delivers what they deliver. Um, and, and clean food. That's the other big topic, like clean, clean food for everybody.

Yeah, I think that's very important. And so, uh, I appreciate you coming on connecting with us. If you need connections in Dubai, SPER in Dubai, I can obvi, he can obviously help you make some introductions for people there. If that's something that's needed, uh, or you, you see an opportunity there, definitely let us know.

Um, it's been interesting to, to, if you think back and look back at your journey, how you started on a farm, how you, your experience with horses in this environment working on a wrench and. But then tied into your engineering background and your, this obvious drive, this natural curiosity that, that I've, I've sort of, kind of, uh, interpreted from this conversation.

It feels like all the pieces came together, your experience at Farm Box, um, and your experience with your early fodder solution. So it feels like all the pieces came together to put you in the right place at the right time. [00:50:00] And it feels like now you're doing what you were meant to do and, and it probably wouldn't have been possible if you didn't ha hadn't had all these other experiences.

Yeah, you're exactly right. Um. And that is our, that is is part of my mission too, I guess, uh, with alo, like bring, bring feed security to all ranchers around, um, not only the US Canada as well, um, but North America in general and, and the world. You know, that's my, that's what's really motivates me. Um, and, um, yeah, it, it get independent of the climate and, and be sustainable.

And it's so interesting 'cause a lot of people in these, we have conversations here about food security, but if people understand where their food comes from, and a lot of it comes from like the cattle, you probably need feed security before you get the food security.

Yeah,

in hand.

totally. There's a lot of like innovations in the vertical farm for Lutheran to feed humans, but then yeah, the, the renters are related. [00:51:00] We are leaving them behind, uh, or overlook them. So this is, this is a way to. Uh, give them an opportunity and use less water, use less land, and, uh, keep their, keep their businesses, keep their businesses alive.

That's very important. 'cause people that what they know how, what they know that they do, it's, it's, it's wrenching. It's, uh, raising cattle, raising, uh, you know, horses. And if they all of a sudden got struck by a drought or, or something. The business is gone and this is a tool to fix that. So definitely, um, reach out to me, uh, anytime.

Uh, so for all the listeners, like, um, allows speed.com is our website. Fill out the form. Let's connect on LinkedIn. Um, and, and yeah, call me anytime We're open to have any conversation with, with different clients and hopefully that we can fit. Uh. [00:52:00] A tailor made FO system to

anybody.

Yeah, and we'll make sure those links are in the show notes and Lucius is spelled E-L-E-U-S-I-S v.com. I'll have that link and I'll have your LinkedIn, uh, and we'll put those in the show notes, make sure people can get in contact with you. Thanks again for your time, Quin. I really appreciate and enjoyed this conversation.

Yeah, enjoyed a lot. Thank you

so much, Harry. Appreciate it.