(light upbeat music) (light upbeat music continues) (energetic rock music) ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ - Welcome to "A Shot of Ag."

I'm your host, Rob Sharkey.

How do you spell farming?

Is it PF, or is it pharmacist?

We're gonna talk to a pharmacist that has become a flower farmer.

We're gonna be talking with Morrissa Reynolds.

How you doing?

- Good.

How are you today?

- Yeah.

It's Mo.

You go by Mo.

- Yep.

- Tell me the story behind the name.

- So my name is... My mom doesn't even say it this way, but my name is actually Morrissa.

I am named after my grandpa, Morris, but everybody says Marissa, even my own mother.

- Okay, but it's Mo, right?

- But it's Mo because it's M-O.

- That's a lot better 'cause everybody likes a short name.

We don't have to mess around, and you don't have to spell out much.

- Right.

- Yeah, okay.

You're from Chatham, Illinois.

- Yep.

- For the people that don't know, where is that?

- South of Springfield.

- Okay, so thank you for making the drive.

- Sure.

Thanks for having me.

- So you kind of live two lives, right?

You are an ER pharmacist.

- Yes.

- And you're also a flower farmer.

- [Morrissa] Yes.

- It's a combination you don't see every day- - It's not.

I'm kind of two different people.

- [Rob] (laughs) Are you a farm girl?

- No, not really.

I didn't grow up on a farm.

I grew up in town with zero farming background.

- Okay.

You're married?

- Yes.

- Now, your husband has a farm background, right?

- He does.

He grew up farming with his dad.

His grandfather farmed.

He actually has a degree in ag.

He doesn't get to use it day to day at his day job, but he certainly uses it at home working for me.

- Oh, so he works for you?

- Well, I mean, it's our farm, but it's just like, you know, we joke back and forth.

- (laughs) Okay, so I'm assuming like as you're growing up, you're going to college, you went for the pharmacist?

- Yep.

- Yeah.

Why'd you wanna become a pharmacist?

- Do you want the answer that I would say in my pharmacy school interview, or do you want the real answer?

- [Rob] Nobody's watching anyway.

I don't care.

(Morrissa laughs) - The real answer is that I wanted a decent salary.

- Yeah.

- I grew up with a single mom.

I was raised by just my mom, and we never struggled, per se, but because of the way that I grew up, I was very planned, and everything was like, you know, set out.

And I knew that if later in life I got married and had a couple kids, I wanted to have a job where if that marriage ended, I could support myself and a couple kids.

And I knew that I would get a job right out of school, and I would have a decent salary.

And I wanted to work in healthcare, and it just seemed like the best option.

- Yeah, pharmacists, you look at that as more of a career, a high-paying job, but it's also a harder one to get.

You must be smart.

- Yeah.

- How smart?

- Decently smart.

I got into pharmacy school when there were only a few in the state, so.

- Is it- - It was very competitive back then.

There's more schools now, so it's a little less competitive.

I think that... I don't know if there are as many kids like trying to get into the profession or not.

They're really pushing residencies now post education, and not a lot of people wanna mess with all that.

- ER pharmacist, I don't know if I've heard of that before.

- It's a very unique position.

I don't dispense medications.

So when people think of a pharmacist, they think of someone at Walgreens or CVS, and I don't do that.

And a lot of people don't even realize that pharmacists work in a hospital.

So I work in the ER.

I don't dispense medications.

When you come in to the ER for whatever emergency you're having, whatever illness you're having, the physicians and nurses see you.

Medication orders get put into the computer system, and then those come through me before they go to a dispensing cabinet for a nurse to get out.

So I'm checking to make sure that it's the right medication, the right dose based on your age, your height, your weight, your kidney function.

If it's with antibiotics, I'm trying to decide if that's the best option.

Do we need to do something different?

I also attend all of our codes, all of our traumas, strokes, intubations, and mix all the medications for that.

- So you kind of like oversee.

'Cause I know a lot about it 'cause I watch those medical shows, right, and someone's coming in, and they're screaming, "Push two of epi," I don't know.

- Yeah, one of epi.

- Okay, you're like overseeing that.

- Yeah, it's very different.

I get to actually be part of the healthcare team, and I feel like my job lets nurses be nurses.

They don't have to think about the medications, you know?

- Yeah, well, it's gotta be, I mean, life-saving, right?

Because if you've pushed the wrong thing, then you're gonna find out real quick.

- Right.

- Yeah.

I've got a good buddy that's a nurse practitioner, and I see him once a year during hunting season, and once a year, as soon as he sits down that night, he takes out the phone 'cause he's saved all year like X-ray pictures of stuff that people put up right there.

What do you prescribe for that?

- Surgery, (Rob laughs) (Morrissa laughs) usually.

- Good enough.

- Yeah.

- So I mean, do you enjoy it?

- I do.

- Yeah.

- I do.

- Okay, and is there... In this country, there's a lot of prescriptions.

I mean, do you struggle with that?

- I do.

So I always tell people that I'm the least pro-medicine pharmacist that you're gonna meet, which is kind of weird, right, 'cause like, my job is medicine.

I just feel like as a nation and as a world, we're over-medicated for all sorts of reasons.

But what I do in pharmacy lets me see life-saving medications do what they're supposed to do.

People save lives too, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to see medications that actually help save lives instead of a list of 30 home medications that someone's taking for various reasons.

- Yeah.

Let's say, I don't know what would happen that would make this, but your life changed, and you were the pharmacist that was, you know, like at a Walgreens or something like that.

I mean, I could see where that would really be a conflict 'cause I imagine you see all these people coming in, taking maybe drugs that even shouldn't go together.

Yeah, I don't know, how do you deal with that?

- It's hard because medications are supposed to make you healthy and make you better, right?

So oftentimes in the back of my head, I'm like, "Wow, we're admitting this person, and they're on 30 medications.

Why aren't they healthy?"

- You hear this too.

It's like, "Oh, my grandmother, she was like on the verge, and then they took her off everything, and then she got better."

- Yeah, so, every once in a while, it's not often, but, you know, we'll get a 102-year-old that comes to the ER for whatever random illness.

Like they're actually- - It's 'cause they're 102.

- But they're on no medications.

- Yeah.

- And it's like, "Wow, how'd you get this far with no medications?

That's kind of crazy."

- It's alcohol.

- (chuckles) Well.

(Rob laughs) - Okay, so let's talk about your multiple personality, your split personality.

- Yeah.

- Why the flower farming?

How'd that happen?

- Well, we spent a lot of weekends when our kids were little and we lived in town going to the farmer's market and getting flowers.

It was a big deal for my little girl and I, and she would pick out our bouquet every weekend, and it was always something that we did on Saturdays if I wasn't working at the hospital.

The property that we live on now that we run the business from, we bought in 2020 right before COVID hit.

- [Rob] Oh.

- And we were- - [Rob] Is that good or bad?

- Well, (laughs) at the time, we were like, "Wow, we're really overpaying for this."

It was 20 acres of just farm ground that we had to then like- - [Rob] That's what you always say, though.

- We were like, "Oh, we're really overpaying for this."

And then COVID hit, and it's like, "Wow, we got this pretty cheap."

- Yeah.

Land, you always look like an idiot when you buy it, but in 10 years, you look like a genius.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- So we spent over two years developing the property.

Everything was slowed down 'cause of COVID when we went to build our home, which is a barndominium.

Our windows went on back-order for eight months.

It was a whole thing.

So my- - They're overrated anyway.

- (laughs) Windows?

- Yeah.

- (laughs) Okay.

So we were out there all the time.

My husband designed the building and helped build it.

And I don't know, one day I was just like, "I think I'm gonna learn how to grow flowers."

We were no longer going to the farmer's market because every extra minute that we had was spent out there developing everything.

And I was like, "Well, we've got plenty of space.

I'm gonna try to grow flowers and see how that goes."

And I just don't really ever do anything a little bit, so it turned into a whole business.

Now keep in mind, I had never even had a houseplant.

- Oh.

- I had never taken care of any kind of plant.

So when I said I was gonna grow flowers, my husband was probably just like, "Yeah, okay, I'll like till up this little spot for you."

- We learn to keep our mouths shut.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

(Rob laughs) - I mean, did you like just Google it, "How do I raise flowers?"

- I found a lot of information on Instagram.

I started following people.

- It's worse than Googling.

(both laugh) - I started following other flower farmers, and just, they would talk about a topic, and then I would go Google that or try to find that in a forum on social media.

A lot of people will ask a question, and there's all these comments, but you can actually learn quite a bit from, you know, reading all that.

- Yeah, are these all Roundup Ready flowers?

- No.

- Oh, that's too bad.

- You can't call 'em organic 'cause I think you have to have some special thing to say it's organic.

- Well, you can't have like synthetic fertilizer.

- I use fish fertilizer.

- [Rob] Oh, you should be good.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

No, they look pretty.

I don't know what any of them... Okay, I'm gonna sound like an idiot, but are they carnations?

- No.

- Damn.

- This isn't the grocery store.

- Cut that out.

(cards tapping) Cut that out.

Okay, what are they?

- Zinnias.

- Oh.

- Celosia.

Zinnia.

- Zinnia.

- Zinnia.

- I'll point.

You say.

- Okay.

- Celosia.

Gomphrena.

- Ooh, you know 'em all.

- Snow-on-the-mountain.

- Oh, how about this little fella?

- Frosted Explosion grass.

- Oh, that's fun to say, isn't it?

Oh, did I miss any?

- [Morrissa] I don't think so.

- Which one tastes the best?

- Oh, cosmos.

Tastes the best?

We don't eat them.

- You don't eat them.

- How was it?

(cards tapping) - That was a mistake.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

- I thought so.

- (clears throat) That was a big mistake.

(Morrissa laughs) Yeah, they're pretty, and we should just look at them.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

Okay.

So (laughs) are these what you started out with, or is there like, I don't know, roses?

- We don't grow roses.

I tried once.

We have terrible soil.

That's a whole other thing.

- Every rose has its thorn.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- So if I use roses in anything, I get them from our wholesaler.

- Okay.

So, I mean, you have flowers.

That is hard enough.

Now you've got to make money off of 'em.

How'd you go about that?

- I learned from other flower farmers, like I said, on Instagram.

So when I learned how to grow them, I was like, "Well, I think next year, I'm gonna offer subscriptions."

So basically what that does is it helps you pre-sell your flowers.

So I'm not making 30 bouquets this week and trying to find a place for them to go.

They're already sold.

So we do spring and summer subscriptions.

That's how most of our flowers go out the door.

- Okay, so is these like people getting 'em every week?

- Yes.

- Yeah, and do they come to your farm?

- We have a pickup location right there on our farm, and then we also partner with a men's store in Springfield.

- [Rob] A men's store?

- Mm-hm, The Crafted Stag in Springfield.

You should go.

It's great.

- [rob] To the Crafted Stag?

- Yeah.

There's a bar.

- [Rob] It sounds naughty.

- Well.

(Rob laughs) - Not to get off topic, but how did you team up with them?

- I put something out on social media that I was looking for a pickup location in Springfield because I knew we had people that wanted our flowers in Springfield, but driving all the way out to our house in the country is not ideal for someone on the west side of town.

And I just kind of put out there like, "Would anybody be willing to be a pickup location for us?"

- And The Crafted Stag said yes.

What percent come to your farm?

What percent go to The Stag?

- It's about 1/3 to The Stag and 2/3 to our house.

- Okay.

So you have 17 acres, right?

- 20.

- 20 acres.

So obviously when you buy ground, you are connected to it, and now you have people coming out to get your flowers.

Was that a concern?

- It's not a concern for me.

It is a concern for my husband.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- He grew up on a farm, and he grew up with his dad loading them up into the truck with a shotgun because someone was on their property somewhere, so.

I've had to beat that out of him a little.

- I get it, though.

Yeah, I mean, you put so much time and effort into it, and then my fear, if I was doing what you were doing, is that people would come, and they wouldn't respect.

- Right.

- Yeah.

- That's why we've never opened like a you-pick situation.

A lot of flower farms will do that, or they have a location where they can do that.

And while I would love to offer that, I would never be able to do it like to the public.

I would never be able to like, "Come out to our place on Saturday for this big you-pick event."

I have thought about maybe doing smaller groups and people that we know, but, yeah, you worry about... People just don't respect things.

- Yeah.

We interview flower farm because, honestly, I'm fascinated by how people get into agriculture now.

You know, 20 years ago it was, you know, you started with 80 acres of corn and soybeans.

You just built your way.

That's gone.

It's almost impossible anymore.

Now it's people doing, you know, I guess, say, odd stuff like this with flowers and that, but it's working for them.

They're making money, and they're building their farms.

The vast majority of flower farms that we talk to are making the bulk of their money by just having people come out, paying some money because they wanna take Instagram pictures with them.

Have you thought about that?

- We've thought about it, but, again, I don't know what the liability on that looks like.

And it's hard to have strangers on your property, especially when they're looking at our home, and they're looking at 20 acres.

And then it's like, how honest is that person?

Are they gonna say they broke their leg?

And then is that, you know.

- [Rob] Well, a lot of them too is they're like, they've got stung by a bee out there.

- Which could very well happen.

- Then you tell 'em, "Well, did you hurt the bee?"

(both laughs) So who's buying your flowers?

- Lots of people.

People really love it, and I'm really lucky.

- Mostly chicks?

- A lot of guys.

I actually had a text from a guy on the way here needing flowers for his mom for her birthday.

I have a really great core group of customers.

And their husbands and spouses or whatever, they just kind of get it.

Like, they don't want you to go to the grocery store and pick up something that somebody else is gonna have that looks just like it.

They want something custom from us.

- [Rob] Why do you hate Kroger's?

- Well, I don't hate Kroger, and we don't even have a Kroger where I live.

- Piggly Wiggly.

You hate them, right?

- County Market.

County Market.

- County Market, yeah.

- I mean, I'm just... If you're gonna buy somebody flowers, and that's what's in your budget, I get it, and that's great for you.

But I just want people to know I have something different to offer.

- No, honestly, I get it.

I used to raise hogs, and I'd go into Walmart.

I'm like, "Why?

Why are people buying pork chops here?"

- They're not good.

- They are safe and healthy, but, yeah, they taste like water, right?

So your flowers, like how long ago were these picked?

- Last night and this morning.

- Oh, okay.

You going out like every day?

- Oh, yeah.

- Do you enjoy doing that?

- I love it.

- Really?

- This morning was actually great because it was like 62 degrees.

It was ideal.

- It's been raining like crazy, though.

- But this year we have had the best weather this year than we've had since we started.

We officially started the farm in 2023.

I learned how to grow in 2022.

We've had absolutely terrible weather, extreme heat, no rain.

So the rain that we have had this year has been wonderful.

- Yeah, boy, till next year is gonna be a super drought.

So what are you gonna do then?

- Irrigation.

I don't know.

(both laugh) - You can go on Instagram.

- Figure it out.

- And see how to irrigate.

(laughs) - I don't really wanna do that, but.

- Is there any plans for expansion on doing this or other stuff like that?

- We have expanded quite a bit into weddings, and that's actually, I really love it a lot.

- [Rob] Ooh, with the brides and that?

- Yeah.

- They get (exhales) angry.

- I mean, I say no to some people too.

- [Rob] Yeah.

- But if I feel like it's a situation where they're gonna kind of show me their inspiration and let me create something special for them, then it works well for both of us.

If you have somebody that wants everything exact and very certain and wants some special flower from some other country that's a million dollars, like, it's a no for me, dog, you know?

(laughs) - It's a no for her, dog.

(both laugh) Now, are you talking about just the flowers, or you ever think about like having an event space?

- Like on our property?

- Yeah.

- I don't think my husband can handle it.

- Well, just buy another property.

- Oh yeah, 'cause we're rich, I forgot.

- You're a pharmacist for goodness' sake.

- A pharmacist with two kids on 20 acres.

(Rob laughs) No, probably not.

- [Rob] Okay.

- Probably not.

It's also really hard.

Like, I work full-time as a pharmacist, so I do three 12s at the hospital, and then the other four days and all the other hours at home, I have all of this.

So we wouldn't be able to effectively run an event space with me still at the hospital.

My husband also works full-time.

- Yeah.

- So.

- Well, tell me what it's like, right, because you did build this.

This is all yours, and that is something very special.

I mean, I'm a multi-generational farmer, and believe me, I appreciate that.

But, you know, there are things that I built myself, and I appreciate those more.

So when you're going out, and you're picking flowers on what you created, tell me how you're feeling.

- It makes me feel good.

People have always received our flowers really well.

They love it.

It makes them happy, and it's so nice to hand off that joy.

I'm also handing you something that was picked last night or today, and then people can't believe how long our stuff lasts.

We have subscription holders that will come pick up their flowers each week, and they're like, "The other ones still look great, so I'm just gonna add these to it."

People don't understand that... You know, they don't get it.

When you're getting flowers at the grocery store, they came from another country.

They flew 3,000 miles.

They've been stored in different ways in different places, and it affects how long they last.

- I don't think most people do know that.

- They don't.

I didn't.

- They assume maybe, I don't know, California somewhere.

- Right, which, in a lot of places, there are a lot of flowers that come from places in the United States, but I mean, it's something like 90-plus percent of the flowers sold in the United States come from another country.

- Yeah.

- It's wild.

- So when you're at County Market, and you see someone buying flowers, do you just walk up to them and say, "Why do you hate America?"

- No.

- Oh.

Maybe you should try it.

- I should.

(both laugh) - So I always thought it would be very smart as a husband if I had something like you that was close to me just to do it, right, and gave you the money.

And then every week, I'd go pick up the flowers, and then my wife would be like so happy.

- Yeah, we have husbands that do that.

- Yeah, the smart ones?

- Yeah.

They buy our subscriptions like as a Christmas gift.

- Oh.

- And then, yeah.

- And then do they forget to pick them up, and the wife comes picking- - No, I mean, sometimes I have to text them like, "Hey, it's pickup night.

Don't forget."

- That would be me.

Like every week, it'd be the same.

(laughs) Is there a more popular flower than any... I mean, is this the usual?

- This is the usual for this time of year.

This has a little more like... You know, now we're kind of transitioning into fall colors, and that's a little bit more of a boho look.

People also really- - A what look?

- Boho.

- I don't know what that is.

- You should Google it.

- We're on air.

I can't be- - Oh, later?

- Boho, all right.

I guess we're Googling that folks, boho.

Is it naughty?

- No.

- Oh.

- Like gypsy.

Does that.... - Do you know what boho means?

(whistles) Hey, do you know what boho means?

No?

- [Crew Member] Is it bohemian?

- Bohemian.

- -Ish, yes.

Like gypsy, like fun, all the different textures, you know?

- You know, forget I asked.

- Okay.

- I don't wanna give- - People also really love our peonies.

We grow peonies, but they're a spring.

- Ah, pennies.

- Peonies.

(Rob laughs) They only bloom in the spring, so they're done.

- They always have ants on them, though.

- Okay.

(Rob laughs) People are always like, "How do you get the ants off?"

and I'm like, "Well, I just shake 'em off."

- Is that all you do?

- Yeah.

- They don't hide in there?

- No.

- Little fellas and that?

- You can dump them upside down and shake them, and they all fall out.

- We've got a property that we're doing some stuff to, and there is like 1,000 lilies that were there planted by somebody else, and I think we're just gonna bulldoze 'em off.

- [Morrissa] You should.

I'm not a lily fan.

- I thought that would tick you off.

- Not at all, I would get rid of 'em.

- Because everybody's like, "Oh, split them," and all that stuff.

- They're not cute.

- Bit of a flower snob here, okay.

Lilies, you can go bite me.

(both laugh) So, about one acre?

- -Ish.

I think less than that.

Chet would tell you it's less than that.

I don't really know.

I'm not a dimensions girl.

- So I'm a farmer that farms thousands of acres, but they're not by hand.

An acre-ish of flowers, that's gotta be... I don't know how that's not a full-time job in itself.

- Well, it is.

I very much have two full-time jobs.

- Yeah.

Do you take flowers into the hospital?

- All the time.

- Yeah, do they appreciate it?

- Yeah.

- Do they really?

I think so.

- Are they just saying it?

- I mean, most of the time it's people that have ordered and asked if I could just bring it to work.

- Oh, really?

- Mm-hm.

- Okay, you don't give them for... Do you... (laughs) Okay, how good of a sense of humor do you have?

- Pretty good.

- Okay.

So, like, you know, in your ER, there's gonna be some people that don't make it, right?

Do you, like, slip your card like if you want some flowers?

- Maybe I should.

(Rob laughs) I've never thought about it, but I mean- - It's how a lot of farmers- - I've never done a funeral, but it is on my list of things I would like to do.

- Yeah, and you're there firsthand.

I mean, you'd be the first one.

That's how a lot of farmers get ground.

- We could just meet in the waiting room and talk about it.

- Exactly, yeah.

They go to the visitation, say, "You know, if anybody wants to farm your ground, I'll do it."

I'm just trying to help.

- Yeah, it's a great idea.

- Thank you.

(laughs) All right.

Okay, so your husband, he did come from a farm?

- Yep.

- But did he give you no help with how to grow flowers?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- No, I mean, he does all of the... Okay, let me just be honest.

I don't even know how to start our tractor.

- [Rob] Okay.

Generally, you turn a key.

- Well, I know that, but that's a boy job at my house.

- Okay.

- That's a Chet thing at my house.

So, you know... (laughs) - Yeah?

- I'm just being honest.

I think I was probably born like in the wrong time.

Like, I'm not like a, "Yeah, I need to do that" kind of girl.

- Like 100 years ago?

You'd get scurvy back then.

- Well- - You don't want that.

- There were other good things about 100 years ago.

- I don't think so, a lot of dysentery.

- Well, I mean- - How come Coyote Acres?

- So when we were looking for ground, which we were looking for ground all the time, it's hard to come by in our school district, my husband headed to get the kids one day from my mom, which I grew up in Virden.

And he took the backcountry way to my mom's house.

I don't even know why.

- Guys do that.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- And he was like, "Hey, they just put a for-sale-by-owner sign out on this property.

I'm gonna call the number."

And I thought nothing of it because we had gone down all these dead ends with other properties.

You know, it's gonna be in a flood plain, or you can't build on it or whatever.

And he called the guy.

We walked it the next day.

I was busy taking photographs, you know, like to show my mom, and the kids and Chet saw a coyote.

And so from that day forward, we just referred to the whole property as Coyote Acres.

And then when I wanted to start the business officially, they acted like it was the worst idea in the world to change the name, so.

- 'Cause it was your idea.

(laughs) If people wanna find out more about you online or anywhere, where would they go?

- We're all over online, so, our website, coyoteacreshomestead.com.

I'm all over social media.

- TikTok?

- I do TikTok, but it's my personal TikTok.

- Oh.

- A lot of our business stuff is on a lot of my personal social media, which is pretty public.

Maybe that's a bad idea, I don't know.

It's worked out okay so far.

- I have no damn idea what you just said 'cause it's personal, but it's private, and it's public.

- We have a business account.

So we have business accounts.

We have a Facebook page, Coyote Acres Flower Farm.

We have an Instagram for Coyote Acres, and then there's my personal Instagram and Facebook, but the business stuff all gets put on those- - They're gonna put it all down where you can read it.

- Yeah.

- Well, Mo, I wanna thank you for coming.

Your flowers are beautiful.

They taste like crap, but- - Sorry about it.

- They are very, very beautiful.

I love talking to you because I love the duality, right, because the pharmacist and the farming.

And I don't know, I just have this idea that you're probably going to be doing more and more of the farming.

- I hope so.

- Yeah.

Thank you very much for coming.

Really, really appreciate it.

Everybody else, we'll catch you next time.

(energetic rock music) (energetic rock music continues) If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to explore more of our local content.

You can connect with us on our social media platforms, visit our website, or download and watch the free PBS app.

We can't wait to see you next time on "A Shot of Ag."

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