(relaxed rock music) - Welcome to "A Shot of Ag."

My name is Rob Sharkey.

I'm a farmer from just outside of Bradford, Illinois, but when we talk farming, you gotta talk to great outdoors.

Today, we've got Andy McGava and Michelle Cozzi.

How you guys doing?

- Wonderful.

- Good.

- Yeah, McGava.

- McGava.

- McGava.

- Yep.

What did we just talk about before the show?

- We're both terrible with names.

- Yeah, I practiced your name how many times and I got it right every time.

- At least a half a dozen.

- But when it hits... - Yep.

- Yeah.

(all laugh) All right.

You guys are from Wyoming and Illinois.

- Yes.

- That's two different states.

- Yes.

- It is.

- Yes.

(Rob and Michelle laugh) - So people from Peoria or South that don't know where Wyoming is, where is that?

- We're approximately 45 minutes straight north of Peoria through Princeville.

- [Rob] Okay, is that where you're from originally?

- No, I grew up in the rural area of Princeville and Laura and Monica along Spoon River.

- Gotcha, and, Michelle, where are you from?

- I'm from Chicago.

- From Chicago?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

(Michelle laughs) How did you find your way down here?

- Well, that's quite a story.

- It is.

(Rob laughs) Someone went fishing.

- Good thing we got time.

- Yeah.

- Someone went fishing.

Yeah, we met online.

- Really?

- Yep, yep.

Yes.

- On Farmers Only?

- No, a place called, of all things, Plenty of Fish.

- [Rob] I've actually heard of that site.

- Yep.

- So is it- - He went fishing.

- Oh, I get it.

It's a play on words, isn't it?

- A little bit.

- Yeah, well, how long you two been together?

- It'll be 14 years in March.

- [Rob] 14 years, okay.

- I've been living here 13.

It took me a year to move out here.

- Quite a change from Chicago from Wyoming to Illinois.

(laughs) - Mhm, for sure.

- Okay, so explain to me what Cozzi Ranch is.

- Go ahead, dear.

- Cozzi Ranch, it is a place for the youth, kids with developmental disabilities to come and fish and hunt and explore the land.

It was founded in 2018, but in 2017, the original 501c3 was Jamie's Crew 22, And then after, we used that for helping families out with maybe some adaptive equipment, was kind of heavy on their pocketbook.

So they would look to Jamie's Crew, and we would help them out that way with tandem bikes, swings.

And then the property behind Andy's house came available.

And once we acquired that, Cozzi Ranch was born in 2018.

- So this area is what they call strip mine spoils.

- Yes.

- And can you explain what that is if people don't know?

- So strip mining is the operation of taking coal from the ground without tunneling.

So they're harvesting coal with cranes, bulldozers, earth moving equipment, and that the area just north of Wyoming was actually quite heavily mined through the '50s and '60s as far back as the early 1900s.

There were coal mines in the area, even tunnel mines, and the history that I have dug up on it, it was a Peabody and then Midland clear into the late '60s, early '70s.

- Yeah, that was back before they worried too much about like restoring.

(laughs) - Very true, very true, habitat restoration.

- It's left a really cool area.

I mean, not as a farmer, you can't appreciate it, but like as outdoorsman or people that enjoy nature, it's actually kind of a neat side effect it is.

- You say they weren't worried about restoration, but whoever designed this property for watershed did an awesome job.

The flow of the natural runoff of the water, they did a wonderful job.

I don't know if they made mistakes or they knew what they were doing, but it all works on our property.

- And those old timers, they knew what they were doing.

- Yeah, yep, eyeball.

- They had stuff figured out.

- Yep.

- You're a lifetime outdoorsman, hunterman, fisherman.

- Yep.

- Trapper.

- Trapper, yep.

- That's kind of a lost art, isn't it?

- It is.

There are still a lot of people that enjoy the sport and pursue it, but it has gone by the wayside simply because of the marketing changes of fur and just people's aspect of wearing fur, but we all have to remember that is a renewable resource, renewable natural resource, and they do have to...

Harvest is part of conservation.

It's a needed tool as in the explosion of the raccoon population.

If those raccoons are not used, disease will run rampant through them, and mother nature will take care of it, but it's a lot more cruel than what we do.

- Yeah, if you don't live out in the rural areas, I don't think people understand what raccoons have done.

They've exploded, and I would say we have more damage in our corn crop from raccoons than we do from deer anymore, which is amazing when you think about it.

- I would very much agree with that, yeah.

- What kind of critters are you seeing out there?

- We have seen things in the last four years that I haven't seen in my entire life.

- Sasquatch?

- No Sasquatch.

- That SOB.

- He's afraid.

(Michelle and Andy laugh) - You're afraid of the Sasquatch?

- No.

- I would be too.

You ever seen that thing?

It's like 10 foot tall.

- Let's not get too deep into the stories, but we have seen short tailed weasels, the first one I've ever seen in my life, badger, beaver, otters, eagles.

- Wait, whoa, otters.

- Yes, otters.

- Okay, most people don't think otters are around here.

- They're wrong.

They're wrong.

- Beg to differ.

(Rob laughs) - I've been in touch with some of the biologists at Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University, and they were actually releasing them into the watersheds in the mid '90s.

- That's otterly ridiculous.

- Yeah, I think so.

- Apparently he didn't think it was funny though.

- (laughs) We have kind of a poor relationship with the otters.

- You're not a fan of the otter?

- Not right now.

- What don't you like about otters?

- Well, we work really hard to build our fishery for the kids.

So a lot of that is stocking.

A lot of the money that's donated to us, it goes to buy fish for the kids to catch.

The otters are coming in and decimating fish.

- Gotcha, okay.

And bobcats?

- Bobcats, yes.

I have not personally laid eyes on 'em, but on trail cam photos, we now have a pair of bobcats both of them in the same photo.

- Okay.

I'm up in Bureau County, a little farther north.

They're there.

I mean, I've seen 'em when we get 'em on trail cameras.

I would say regular.

I mean, they are here now.

- Yeah, anywhere along a rivershed, it seems everybody is getting photos.

- Okay, do you want to revisit the whole Sasquatch discussion or are we moving on?

- That would be a long story between you and possibly my sisters, and I won't get involved in it.

- Okay, that deer man, you remember that's a Stark County myth?

- Deer man, - You ever heard of that?

- A Stark County myth, yes.

Yes, I think every high school boy may have used that on a date here and there to scare the other one, so she would sit closer.

- I wish I would've thought of that actually.

- There you go.

Maybe I was ahead of my time.

- Princeville boys know what they're doing, you know what I'm saying?

(all laugh) Okay, let's get back to the Cozzi Ranch.

So, Michelle, tell me the importance of... Well, tell me the story of this picture here.

- Well, that is a picture of Jamie's Pond, which is a huge accomplishment for us on there.

We've had it reworked.

I mean, my son loved just the outdoors and animals.

And so, we specifically dedicated that pond to the kids, the youth to come and go fishing - Jamie was your son.

- And the DD.

Jamie was my son, yes.

- And he was autistic.

- Yep.

- This pond is dedicated to the youth and the DD community, the developmentally disabled.

We have a lot of events right there at Jamie's Pond.

It was one of our first big accomplishments.

- Yep.

I mean, there's a lot of kids that come out, and it's their first, They throw in, sink a worm, and the next thing you know, they're catching fish.

I mean, they're not waiting to catch a fish.

It's happening right then and there within just a couple of seconds of it dropping in.

So, it's exciting for the kids.

It's exciting for us to see that.

- The smiles.

- The smiles is what says it all.

- [Rob] And when did he pass?

- In 2016, July of 2016.

And shortly after that, we just dedicated, and we wanted something to remember him, to honor him, and Jamie's Crew 22, which is our 501c3, that's what came out of it was all of that.

And then the property behind the house became available, and that's when Cozzi Ranch, it was born.

He's the vision.

He's the brains behind the whole operation.

He really is.

- We're in trouble.

(Michelle and Rob laugh) - He knows the land and knows how it works.

He's got a vision of what we wanna do we wanna do with it.

It's a special project for both of us.

- So when you have the experience of someone going to Jamie's Pond and being happy, are you able to enjoy that?

- Absolutely.

- 100%.

- Yeah, it is.

- 100% - It's just seeing their smiles and the laughter coming from them, calling to their dad and saying, "Dad, dad look, I got a fish."

And I mean, it could be this big, and they're happy.

- There's a lot of photos taken at Jamie's Pond.

There's a lot of firsts.

We have had 10, 12, 13 year old kids catch their first fish at Jamie's Pond.

It's full of hybrid blue gills, which are a little more aggressive of a bluegill, and they get bigger faster.

And this piece of equipment is actually an automatic fish feeder that we can feed these fish a 43% protein feed, and from three inches, within a year, we can have 'em larger than your hand.

So it's easy to keep the pond populated and keep the kids busy.

- And they're a fun fish to catch.

- They're terrific.

- They are, they're fast.

- They bite, and it's very cool.

In the picture there, you've got- - An angel.

- How do you describe that?

- I describe it as the angel picture.

It was super imposed on that picture, just him kneeling, and then there's the dog in there.

Those two were inseparable.

And so we just thought it would be appropriate to have that at his pond.

And actually it was his sister that took the picture and superimposed that on there.

- Edited it.

She did all of it.

- Okay, tell me about the feather sign.

- The feathers, every time we're on the property, if we see a feather, we make sure that we pick it up.

I always say, whether it's a turkey feather, which that's what that is, or a goose feather, the white ones specifically, I'm not sure where those come from, but I say that those are a sign from the heavens and that it's a wing from his angel wings, (laughs) just saying, "Hey, Mom, I'm here."

- That's really nice.

It's gotta feel good in memory of such a tragedy that you can provide a new experience.

Like you said, if someone...

Probably for you and I, it's hard to imagine being 12, 13 and not catching a fit.

- Yeah, it's crazy.

- But I mean, we also know how important that is just in life cycles, in becoming a grown person.

I mean, what's it mean to you guys?

- Right now, obviously, it's what we do.

We are on the property almost every night through the summer.

We go out.

It's a huge chore to keep things managed, just the pond management, which we knew nothing about four years ago.

Herman Brothers Pond Management, I know that you are acquainted with Nate.

- Never heard of her.

(all laugh) That's funny.

I did get you to laugh though.

(all laugh) - And Austin Bennett have been absolutely invaluable to us.

Just a world of knowledge.

Without them, what we have done just wouldn't be there.

But we spend so much time out on the property, and then just to see even a single family come with one or two kids and have a nice quiet evening, whereas they are not watching TV, they are not on their phones, they are not playing video games, something different.

Get outta the house, get a little fresh air, get some sunshine.

- So if I wanna take my kids fishing, hunting, I just look you up on a plot book and show up and there I go, huh?

(Michelle laughs) - No.

It's not quite that easy.

- Take me through the process.

- So the process is, what we really prefer, is the parent or the guardian of the kids get in contact with us and make an appointment to come out for a tour of the property just so they know where a few things are, where we are because it is Stark County and GPS doesn't always work.

(Rob laughs) We give them a tour of the property.

They get familiar with us, where we're at, where the locations of the gates are, and then they get a permission slip for one fishing season.

They get a rule sheet, which we call common sense rules, common sense courtesy rules.

And then when they do want to go fishing, they can bring their kids out.

We prefer to have a text or a phone call, courteous rules, "Hey, can we go fishing Friday night?"

And 99% of the time we say yes unless we have an event going on like if there's a Boy Scout troop.

We're heavily involved, not heavily.

We just got involved last year, 4H now has a fishing program.

So six times last year- - Does Stark County have a 4H?

- Huge.

- Really?

- The second largest 4H group in the state of Illinois.

- Oh man, now I'm gonna get emails.

(Michelle laughs) - Well, the program last year with the 4H was pretty amazing too.

So they came out from, was it April through July?

- April, May, and June.

- April, May, and June.

So each month they had to come in.

It was like the first month was crappie.

The second month was bass.

- Bass.

- And then the third was catfish.

- So why do you two do this?

(Michelle laughs) That wasn't supposed to be a trick question.

- (coughs) Excuse me.

My sister sent something to me last night.

It was just a little clip in a message and it said, why are you so worried about taking a kid fishing?

And the answer is, because I was once that kid.

I'm sure you have memories of your dad, your uncle, your grandpa, whoever it may be, your neighbor, an acquaintance of your dad coming out to take you fishing or hunting.

It's what I wanted to do all my life.

I didn't wanna play baseball or football or anything.

That's why we do it.

- And also giving them an opportunity to come and enjoy something that is out of the normal for them, especially the ones with the disabilities.

We want them to come and enjoy, enjoy the property, fishing - Hunting and fishing, it's becoming less and less percentage-wise of a population as a thing that people do.

It's just getting more out of it.

And if you are a boy or a girl, young age, that want to do it, sometimes it's so intimidating because you don't know what to do or you gotta figure out public ground or something like that.

So to have a deal like you guys have, I gotta imagine there are some young people that are just all over this.

- Yeah.

- Oh yeah, especially the local community.

We will be at an event in town like the 4H fair, whatever.

We will have kids come up to us, say, "Andy, Andy, when can we go fishing again?"

And I tell 'em, "You are welcome to come fish anytime.

"You gotta talk to mom and dad."

- They look forward to that.

They look forward to the fishing - And hunting, so Lance Gentle is our seed corn salesman.

So tell me the story about his son and the turkey.

(Michelle and Andy laugh) - His sons, Colby and Caleb, were both our spring turkey hunters this year for youth turkey season.

And while I took Caleb to another location, Lance took Colby to a location.

And Colby is quite a character.

Great kids, great family, great young ag family.

He shot a huge tom turkey, his first ever, and even Lance had never been turkey hunting.

So to say they were excited is an understatement.

(Rob laughs) But to see Colby tell this story, "Andy there were turkeys over there.

"There were turkeys over there.

"There were turkeys in the trees.

"Andy, there was turkeys behind us.

"There was a whole posse of turkeys."

- I don't think they're posses.

- No.

(Michelle laughs) But for that day, - The kids.

- That morning it was Colby's story, and it's gonna live forever.

- It was a first.

- And that's where you get the memories.

- Yeah.

- It's special.

- It is special because, I mean, there's a lot of kids that never really get to experience that outdoor experience.

And I feel bad for 'em because I mean, I imagine I was like you where we had that opportunity.

I mean, it was not a big deal for me to go fishing on a Sunday afternoon, or it was not a big deal for me to get in a hunting stand.

But for the kids that don't get a chance to or the kids that don't ever get a chance to go out in the wilderness, what you're providing is just invaluable.

- We have local people that say, "When I was a kid, "I used to ride my bike out there and go fishing."

And when I was a kid growing up along Spoon River, it was you literally stepped out the back door and you could go for miles hunting and fishing, and all the local farmers, the landowners, it was not a big deal for you to go fishing in their pond.

It's a different world today.

We all know that.

And we're just trying to help out just a little bit to keep this lifestyle, these hobbies going.

- So if somebody wants to contact you or interested, how do they go about it?

- I would say it's on Facebook.

So Facebook would be at Cozzi Ranch, and it's got all the information on there.

We also have a website, which is www.jamiescrew22.org.

And on there, there's information on that as well, how to get involved, how to reach us is on there.

That's it.

- Shoot us a message.

We do have the ranch phone is on the Facebook page.

Of course, we can leave information with you, but it's just that simple.

Shoot us a message.

We'll go from there.

We will be getting into ice fishing season very soon, and Jamie's Pond is stocked with rainbow trout.

We did that last year, and we doubled the numbers this year.

- Oh, so it must be deep.

- It's not super deep.

We can only do it this time of year because of the temperature of the water.

- Gotcha.

Okay, but you need ice.

- We need safe ice.

- Safe ice - Safety first.

(Rob laughs) - It's fun.

For, what, the past three years, him and I sat out in the elements on a five gallon bucket with our little fishing pole.

And last year was our first year that we had a hut.

(laughs) So it's a lot of fun.

- Yeah, Emily and I did that in North Dakota last year.

We ice fished for about two days solid.

We never put a line in the water.

(Michelle and Rob laughs) We had a lot of fun though.

- Yeah, it's fun.

- Yeah, a whole lot of fun.

Okay, before we leave, the horse bits, how do you make those?

You make custom horse bits?

- So, the first 25 years of my life, I was a welder fabricator, and my youngest daughter was into horses.

It led into me buying, selling, and trading horse tack to making custom horse bits.

- Okay, so is that like blacksmithing and- - A little bit, fabrication, welding.

It kind of leads into being a jeweler.

- Oh, are you a jeweler too?

- Not a good one, (laughs) but I can mount and roughly engrave some silver.

- Okay.

- Yes.

- It's pretty cool.

- All right.

It's been a good interview, but I feel maybe there's some unresolved angst.

Do you wanna revisit the whole Sasquatch thing?

- No, no.

I had a a small run-in with a local paper columnist, Mr. Phil Luciano, over another monster that was supposedly sighted in the Spoon River Valley not too many years ago.

- What's that?

- That was the Perdelwitz Monster.

- What?

- The Perdelwitz Monster.

- What is that?

- Kind of along the lines of the Yeti, Bigfoot deal, but it is a thing, and there is a history with the Perdelwitz Monster in the Princeville, Spoon River, Stark County, Spoon River Bottoms area.

- Sometimes as a host, I feel like I've failed.

(Michelle laughs) This would be one of them.

Okay.

We're gonna hear more about this after - Sure.

- After the cameras go off.

I feel like you're gonna be maybe a little more- - I don't think we're too far apart.

You're welcome to come out anytime, have a tour.

- Well, not if that thing's roaming around.

- I was gonna say.

(laughs) - Andy, Michelle, I really appreciate you guys, and I appreciate what you do for the community and the kids.

- Thank you.

- It's fantastic.

- Thank you.

- Everybody else, we'll catch you next week.

(compelling tone)