The Biggest Little Farm

Hey, John, you there?

Yeah, go ahead.

These animals are in a terrible spot.

We're gonna move 'em all into a pasture that's safer.

They'll be fine.

Copy.

Breaking news in Southern California. Six major wildfires now.

John, what's going on? Are you coming with us?

Molly, it's still really far away.

But just get prepared in case, okay?

- Whoa. - Oh, my God.

There's fire over there on that side. There's fire down there.

And then there's a fourth one that's up that way.

As soon as you're done this, you guys can go.

We're gonna move the ewes and the lambs

all together in 16, and that's just one pasture.

John, I'm not okay with this.

I can see a lot of smoke out the window.

We're gonna go.

I never dreamed we could even get to this point

to have so much to lose.

But... I was wrong.

Okay, guys, you're gonna get knocked down.

But just remember, keep getting up and keep moving forward.

Look. She's not scared.

Everyone told us this idea was crazy.

That attempting to farm in harmony with nature...

would be reckless, if not impossible.

But what's crazier is that this all started

with a promise we made to a dog.

Hi! So I'm doing a scallop cook-off,

and John ate all the ones that I had already done.

But they were so good.

John and I were living in a tiny apartment in Santa Monica.

I just wanted everybody to see how I started my day.

Oh, he's still half asleep!

John was a cameraman working on wildlife projects all over the world.

I love these zucchinis, 'cause look how they're all different shapes.

Molly was a private chef and culinary blogger...

And the dense flesh makes for a really nice soup.

...specializing in the health benefits

of more traditional cooking methods.

Bone broths are rich in gelatin,

which supports the digestion...

And she knew an even deeper truth.

You know, the health of our food

is really determined by how it's farmed.

We promised each other that we'd build

a life of purpose together.

And there was no question for Molly

that we'd both find plenty of purpose on a farm.

But this farm would have orchards, gardens, animals...

Not just any farm.

We're talking like something out of a children's book.

We would grow apricots and peaches, plums,

nectarines, cherries, kumquats, grapefruits, guava, limes...

Her dream was literally to grow

everything she could possibly cook with.

This vegetable garden, it wouldn't be just any vegetable garden.

We would have flowers, herbs...

And we'd do all of this

in perfect harmony with nature.

Thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil...

Like a traditional farm from the past.

Fennel, strawberries, boysenberries,

raspberries, kale, broccoli...

Sounded like a meaningful life.

But our reality was so far away

from anything like a farm.

Okay, ready? Go ahead.

So I'm starting to get the red tomatoes.

Her excitement for food was infectious.

And that is my September porch garden.

But I couldn't see any way to make it happen...

Look, I've got these little wasabi sprouts.

...until one day, when we saved a life that would change ours.

I found myself filming an animal hoarder for work.

She had 200 dogs in one house.

Buster, quiet.

And the county was about to come take them all.

Hey, I like this guy.

That's where I met Todd.

Hey, buddy.

She kept him in a tiny pen with these huge

Great Pyrenees dogs three times his size.

Molly, this one right here. You see him?

Come on, John. For real? Bad idea.

Yeah, but look at his eyes.

Today, about 200 animals have been removed from a home near Tehachapi.

Many of the dogs had to be euthanized.

We had a baby.

Todd filled us with purpose.

Are you gonna do anything fun?

- What's he doing? - Rollin' on his back.

Roll over. Good.

Shake. Chair.

Speak.

Good boy!

We made one promise to him.

Our home would be his last.

- Hey, guys, this is Jacob from downstairs. - The problem was...

Your dog's been barking... ...if we left, he would bark...

...all day. ...nonstop for eight hours.

Yeah. We tried everything.

We got Todd one of those fancy LA dog trainers.

If your dog's an out-of-control barker,

then this program is for you.

- Actually, a couple of them. - That didn't work.

We got him a citronella barking collar

that sprays orange in his face every time he barks.

And when we got home, the whole entire house smelled like oranges,

and the canister was empty.

Then we got him this anxiety shirt

that was supposed to wrap around him and make him really calm.

That was the day he tore the carpet up.

Oh, and remember you even tried that service vest

so that you could take him everywhere?

Oh, man, Todd. This is so wrong.

We sensed it was coming.

The landlord called.

Todd had to go.

Moving to another apartment wouldn't stop Todd's barking.

We couldn't just give up on him.

And then it hit us.

Molly's dream could be the answer to everything.

We had a great idea

with no way to pay for it.

So we read every farming book we could find.

Cold-called old farmers.

And we drew up a business plan.

It was time to find an investor.

But first, we shared our vision

with our closest friends and family.

Old MacMolly had a farm

E-I-E-I-O

Yeah, they made fun of us.

With an oink-oink here And an oink-oink there

It's a long story.

But it worked, because one person told another person...

And the word of our dream spread and spread.

Until it eventually connected us to some investors

who actually saw this old way of farming as the future.

All we needed was a farm.

The apple orchard could go here.

And we need a lot of different kinds of chickens.

- We need to find a spot for cherimoya. - Yeah.

And over there, I saw a perfect spot for a garden.

- I wonder if we can grow bananas. - Oh, my God.

Come on, Todd.

Here we are.

Apricot Lane Farms.

There's Todd runnin' by,

the happiest dog in the world.

Molly's bold vision has landed us

on over 200 acres of

somewhat neglected land

about an hour north of Los Angeles.

Looks like what used to be

an old irrigation pond or something.

- To Todd, it was perfect. - Todd, come here!

Come on. Yeah!

Molly, look. It's a beehive.

- Man, they're all dead. - Oh.

It didn't quite have an abundant feeling of life,

yet not much around here does.

We're surrounded by these large-scale monoculture-type farms.

To our north, the ruins

of the largest indoor egg operation in the world.

Egg City once housed 3.5 million chickens,

laying about two million eggs a day.

To our west,

miles of red raspberries growing under plastic hoop houses.

And I guess this is what farming has become,

so that farmers can make a living.

And the farm we're on

followed a similar monocrop-type approach.

They were really only growing lemons and avocados.

So it's pretty clear that our plan for a farm

is way outside of the norm.

So, how long you been beekeepin'?

Forty-eight years.

Whoa. You ever been out here before?

Nope. So what do you think killed 'em?

How long you been doin' this?

Beekeeping?

This is what we're fighting.

It doesn't smash.

The soil was dead,

and we had no idea how to bring it back to life.

And worse yet, every other farmer

we've mentioned Molly's dream farm idea to

thinks we're crazy.

Consultant for traditional farming...

- Okay, anytime. - She was like, "Hey, John,

"this guy named Alan York is coming today to give us some advice."

Are there any questions?

He's like this world-renowned expert

in traditional farming practices.

And he shows up wearing all linen

and sandals.