Patent Attorney and Founder
JD: Let’s go, Mr. Munson. David, welcome to the show!
David: Hi, how are you doing?
JD: Doing great, so good to have you. Thanks for waiting backstage. So, you have an Agriculture Tech solution?
David: Well, I’ve got a ton of patents. I’m a wild inventor with a company named Full of Ideas.com.
David: That’s F-O-I, which stands for Full of Ideas. It’s the more dignified version of my company name.
David: I see, so Full of Ideas. What does the FOI Group do?
David: Exactly, it stands for Full of Ideas. But I am literally full of ideas and have had some incredible innovations due to a lot of success and freedom in my life.
JD: Wonderful, David. I do want to focus on one of those. Can we talk about your Prairie Grass system?
David: You bet. Basically, the reason carbon dioxide levels rose from the 1800s till now is not just due to man’s emissions but also because of the plowing of the North American Prairie, which destroyed the greatest carbon sink on Earth. It’s God’s gift of native prairie grass that grows up to 8 feet tall and thrives from thaw till frost, unlike grain crops with their short growing seasons.
David: So, the carbon sequestration of prairie grass fields is enormous compared to corn crops because they grow continuously and even include winter plants in the mix down south to keep sequestering carbon. We’re producing unhealthy food by feeding grain to animals. Nature made cows to eat grass, not grain. Cows eat grain because it’s sweet and high in carbohydrates, akin to eating donuts, but it’s not healthy for them.
David: My invention uses native prairie grass more efficiently to boost productivity sharply by selectively cutting it at a high height with my overhead harvesting system.
JD: Ah, I see. So this harvesting system is meant to be pulled behind a plow or tractor?
David: No, it’s more like a center pivot that rotates in the field, cutting strips of forage to harvest the whole field in about 30 to 40 days.
Matt: That’s cool.
David: You move the harvesting unit
JD: Like the center pivot irrigation systems out west?
David: Exactly! With those systems, you leave out corners of the field. My idea involves keeping cattle in confinement in those corners and transporting the forage to them. This way, they don’t trample or compact the ground. Cattle have one mouth but four feet, so they stomp on four times as much as they eat.
JD: Interesting. So, keeping them in the corners where the pivot doesn’t go?
David: Yes, it’s a whole system.
JD: Have you patented this? What are your plans to bring it to market?
David: It’s a significant investment, and ideally, we’d need several square miles of units feeding cattle to a nearby slaughterhouse. This eliminates the stress of trucking them, which cattle really dislike. I’ve done it myself, and it’s not pleasant. Standard methods use electric shocks to get them into trailers, stressing them out and affecting meat quality with stress hormones lingering.
David: I’ve raised grass-fed beef on my ranch and know how great it can be when done right. My grass-fed beef was so well-marbled that it graded Choice, unlike the super lean grass-fed beef that sticks to the skillet. I’m full of ideas about making the world better by ending world hunger through more efficient food production than grain crops.
JD: That’s fantastic. If you had a parting word for someone who’s just starting with their first idea, what would you recommend for them to find success?
David: Be realistic about your inventions and seek help from others. If you don’t get support, some ideas may have merit but aren’t viable due to high costs. It’s crucial for an invention to lower costs and increase profit. Many companies have gone public with inventions that don’t make sense or lose money. It’s essential to think about how to monetize your invention.
JD: Thank you, Mr. Munson.