165: You’re looking at a Tree Farmer’s dream

Walt McPhail, Brother Bill, and Dr. George Kessler (from a previous episode!) join Tom and Emily to discuss Walt’s farm. Walt and his ancestors have managed to keep the property within the family tree for a long, long time. He shares how he always knew he wanted to be a forester, why he’s been “retired” for nearly his entire career, and so much more, in this week’s episode!

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:35] Before we hear from Walt, we first hear from Brother Bill on what he’s learned from Walt.

[3:45] If you ever get a chance to work with Walt, do it.

[4:45] Walt did the master tree farm course in the early ’90s.

[6:35] Building a legacy is very important to Walt and he made it a priority to take his children along with him to show them what he was doing.

[8:20] Walt’s girls were hesitant to take on the property, they would not sell it, but they had no idea how they were going to manage it when Dad’s gone. Walt came up with a solution.

[11:50] How do you best manage tree poles?

[15:55] How did Walt get into planting tree poles?

[20:35] What’s Walt’s favorite spot on his property?

[24:50] How do you determine what is a pole?

[34:35] Walt talks about his family lineage and how they first came to America.

[38:00] Walt always knew he wanted to be a forester, but he got into veterinary school to fund his forestry habit.

[42:05] What lessons has Walt learned over the years?

[45:00] What’s the best way to manage a tree farm? Brother Bill offers some advice.

[48:50] What are the men most proud of in their career?

 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Sctreefarm.org

State.sc.us

Scforestry.org

Americanforests.org