Guest Blog: We just announced our first Permian Basin project. Our partner in this project is Cody Wilson, a fourth generation farmer who is a leader in innovation and processes to make American’s farms continue to supply the world’s food. Cody is our guest blogger to talk about the motivation for farmers and ranchers everywhere – legacy of the land:
My grandparents and parents secured our farm and ranch by selling our mineral rights to an oil company. Back then, focus was on the next generation that would one day inherit this west Texas land. Because of them, I now farm that very land for the fourth generation. This story is probably your story too, if you farm in the West.
Today, I’m looking to secure the future for my own son. But times are different – though still tough.
The mineral rights are gone. The economics of farming is more complex and dominated by corporations and accountants. Though we farmers are literally feeding the world, it’s difficult to economically maintain a large farm.
So, I had to find a new way to ensure that my son has land to farm. After quite a bit of exploration, I’ve discovered it was in front of me all along – water.
On my land, oil rigs are gushing out produced/by-product water and that water is then tossed away through disposal.
I learned that this water can be converted to steam via solar panels and then the steam can turn a turbine. So, my farm can sell electricity. That was the first step to securing the future
Partnering with Encore Green Environmental was the second. That steam can be converted back to water, processed right there on the same land to match the soil’s ‘DNA,’ and then land-applied to grow vegetation. The soil improves, the vegetation grows, and through photosynthesis, we capture carbon.
This way my land can be secured for yet another generation. We live in a time when you either innovate or you’re gone. But it’s good to know that water being used for agriculture is still the key to making a farm profitable, but not exactly as in the years past.
We’ve announced this partnership at the Permian Basin 2019 conference in Midland. If you’d like to know more, contact Encore Green Environmental. You owe it to the next generation to at least have the conversation.
www.EncoreGreenEnvironmental.com