MALE ANNOUNCER: Growing a Greener World is made possible in part by-- FEMALE ANNOUNCER: The Subaru Crosstrek, designed with adventure in mind, built in a zero landfill plant, so you can roam the earth with a lighter footprint.

Subaru-- proud sponsor of Growing a Greener World.

MALE ANNOUNCER: And the following-- the US Composting Council, Milorganite, and Rain Bird.

[gentle instrumental music] ♪ JOE LAMP'L [voice-over]: I'm Joe Lamp'l.

For 10 years, Growing a Greener World has told the stories of the people and the places who are making a difference in the health of our environment and the sustainability of our global community.

But as we embarked on our 11th season, life changed overnight.

So many things we took for granted would never be the same again.

Now it's up to each of us to take a more active role in not just saving our planet, but making it better, feeding our families with organically grown food, conserving vital resources, protecting natural habitats, starting in our own backyards.

Growing a Greener World-- it's still our mission, and it's more important than ever.

[gentle instrumental music] ♪ It's a gardening story we've heard before-- someone that's just starting out or perhaps well-entrenched in a promising career that suddenly has a change of heart.

So they take that scary leap of faith, and they set out on their own, oftentimes, leaving behind a promising career with prestige and power to follow their passion and a call to the earth.

And that's exactly what today's story is all about-- a man that did just that.

But what makes Jason Brown's story unique is that this is a man that walked away from millions, with fame and prestige and perks and power that very few people get to experience.

But as we'll learn as we follow Jason's journey, it's how he's playing out in his new career, on his new field, that makes him a true all-star.

[gentle instrumental music] Jason Brown is a huge man.

That's the first thing you notice-- 6' 3", 325 pounds.

When you meet him, you can't help but be dwarfed by him.

His hands are enormous and incredibly strong.

You think to yourself, this guy could play football, and you'd be right.

Jason Brown was drafted by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens in 2005 after a collegiate career at the University of North Carolina, in which he didn't miss a single game.

After four seasons in Baltimore, he signed with St. Louis to play for the Rams.

But he wasn't just some third-string bench warmer.

Jason Brown was the highest-paid player in the league at his position.

He played center, one of the sport's most specialized jobs, and one that can lead to a long and lucrative career for the elite few who do it as well as Jason.

But at that level, the pressure of pro football can sometimes hit harder than a blitzing linebacker.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: Is the only job where, every single year, you know that they're going to draft a whole bunch of strong, strong-willed young men to come and gun for your job, for your position.

And so it really is a dog-eat-dog survival of the fittest.

And the thing is, is that the NFL stands for Not For Long.

It's a very stressful job.

Everyone sees everything of what you're doing-- every play, every snap, every practice rep. And so that the thing is, it's something that I struggled with because I felt as though I was carrying the weight of a lot of people's hopes on my shoulders, especially when we lost.

I don't like that feeling, as though I'm letting people down.

JOE LAMP'L: In the prime of an NFL career, and with a $35 million contract on the table, Jason Brown suddenly called an audible.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: I began some soul searching.

I was literally going through a mid-life crisis at the age of 27 years old, all right?

[gentle instrumental music] JOE LAMP'L: And this deeply religious man found himself wondering if perhaps his true calling lay down a very different path.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: I had to ask God, what would you have me to do with my life more so than anything else?

In order for me to have a fulfilling life, all right, even beyond football, what would you have me to do with my life to make sure that I'm being a good servant, to make sure I'm being a good father, a good member of my community?

And God point me towards agriculture.

He said that he wanted me to be a farmer.

I was like, whoa.

Like, really?

That's it?

But my agent doesn't like for me to recollect it like this.

But he said that, I believe you're making the biggest mistake of your life.

Because what young kid is going to tell a head coach in the NFL, no, coach, I don't want to come and play for you, a winning team, and make millions of dollars?

I've got to turn all of that away so that I can go be a farmer.

[gentle instrumental music] JOE LAMP'L: There was just one minor problem.

JASON BROWN: I didn't know anything about farming.

I grew up with a little bit of a green thumb, did a little bit of landscaping with my father as far as planting shrubs and trees and flowers here and there.

But as far as doing it on a large scale, no.

This is totally brand new to me.

JOE LAMP'L: So Jason did what most of us do these days when we need a little how-to help-- he started looking for videos on the internet.

JASON BROWN: When I share with people that I started learning farming about watching the videos on YouTube, I get a lot of laughs and chuckles, but it is true.

And that's actually what works best for me because in my football career, we watched a lot of film and hours and hours of film every single day.

And when I would do this I would emulate what I saw.

I would be able to dissect it, break it down, and then transfer that right over to the football field.

Well, the farming, I can watch a video.

I can break it down.

I can dissected, and then transfer it over to the farm field.

I mean, so it was very natural.

JOE LAMP'L: But it was still an uphill battle.

Because even though God told him to be a farmer, and YouTube taught him to be a farmer, Jason and his wife, Tay, still didn't have a place to actually be a farmer.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: Because at that moment, we were still looking for land, all right?

And the most acreage that came about was maybe 100 acres or a couple of 100 acres here and there.

And we were going to settle for a nice mid-sized farm.

And then all of a sudden, a large track of land became available.

On the way to go travel and look at that farm, we drove past this farm right here.

And I was coveting thy neighbor's farm because I looked over and I saw the beautiful white farmhouse, the white barns and silos, the rolling hills, and all the pines.

And I said, God, I don't know who owns that farm, but I want you to bless me with a farm just like that.

We went to visit that other farm two more times, and I said the exact same prayer.

Our third visit, visiting the other farm, I'm sure the real estate agent thought that, oh, it's a done deal.

Third time's a charm.

They're going to buy this property.

But my wife and I, we came together, and just to let him know that, hey, this place is just not right for us.

We don't want to settle.

We're going to have to go and look at some other land.

And then he said, well, hold on a second, I know that you guys are interested buyers.

You know what?

There's another tract of land that I have.

It is not for sale, but I'm sure the owner would be willing to entertain offers.

I'm pretty sure I know what farm you're talking about.

JOE LAMP'L: And miraculously, Jason Brown suddenly owned the 1,000-acre farm he'd prayed for when it hadn't even been for sale.

And here, in Louisburg, North Carolina, the former NFL star would start a new career as a first-time farmer.

The story would be amazing enough if it ended there, but it doesn't, because what Jason decided to do next is completely unheard of.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: We made a covenant.

And we said, God, whatever place you bless us with, we're going to name it First Fruits Farm, and we're going to give your people-- we're going to give our community the first fruits of whatever is produced from this land.

JOE LAMP'L: That is amazing because there are quite a few farms that actually will donate kind of what's left over at the end of the season, the remaining harvest, but not the first fruit.

That's pretty exceptional.

JASON BROWN: Yeah.

So there's a lot of farmers, they allow groups to come and glean their farms.

But what we do, being different, we offer the first fruits of every harvest.

I didn't know who was going to help us to harvest our first crop.

And I said, all right, God, it's going to be over 100,000 pounds of sweet potatoes.

Who is going to help us when we finally got the field planted?

Two weeks later, I'm like, all right, God, the ball is back in your court.

Who are these people that they were going to come and help us to harvest?

And sure enough, we received a phone call from the Society of St. Andrew.

We knew nothing about them, but we found out that they are a network of gleaners.

And they let us know that, hey, Jason, we have a network with thousands of gleaners right here in the Triangle area that would love to help and come volunteer at your farm.

And I said, "Well, you know what?

"That's awesome, but I'm sorry, we're "not going to have any gleaning opportunities.

We're going to have harvesting opportunities, OK?"

I mean, so it's not going to be the second best or the co's or the number twos.

The first fruits of every harvest are going to be given to the needy, given to the community.

And that first year, they sent out more than 600 volunteers to move every single potato out of these fields.

Yes, it's mind-boggling.

Yeah.

JOE LAMP'L: And how much did they harvest that year?

JASON BROWN: Over 120,000 pounds of sweet potatoes and more than 10,000 pounds of cucumbers.

JOE LAMP'L: So now you've been at this a few years, not many, but you've done more than well over 120,000 pounds.

What are you up to now?

JASON BROWN: Yeah.

To-date, we're over 850,000 pounds of food.

JOE LAMP'L: And how much of that have you donated?

JASON BROWN: All of it.

JOE LAMP'L: [chuckles] I get it from the standpoint that you wanted to donate the first fruits.

And your accountants are probably cringing a little bit, but they're going, hmm.

But when we look at the business model, and it's not just the first fruits, it's all the fruits.

JASON BROWN: It has been all the fruits.

JOE LAMP'L: 850,000 pounds.

You're OK with that business model?

JASON BROWN: Here's the thing-- there are people that have come up to us before in the past, and they said, we want to purchase some food from your farm.

And God placed it on our heart to not sell anything, and at least for it for those seasons, because kind of for us, we were paying it forward.

There are some markets that we're going to be looking into possibly fulfilling to help make sure the farm is sustainable, and that we're able to bring in enough to help sustain all of those overhead costs for the farm.

But when God tells you to give it away, I mean I can't argue with that, all right?

JOE LAMP'L: Has he told you to change a name for First Fruits Farm to All Fruits Farms?

[laughs] JASON BROWN: No.

It's still First Fruits Farm because in the first fruits, we know that we're giving our best.

We know that we're giving from our hearts.

And that's what it's all about.

JOE LAMP'L: That is what's it's all about.

JASON BROWN: Yeah.

[gentle instrumental music] JOE LAMP'L: Don't let Jason's easy demeanor fool you into thinking it's been easy.

On a farm of any size, there are always challenges.

And every farmer always has stories about the latest thing to fail, break, or die.

But every time Jason throws up a hail Mary pass on these fields, there always seems to be a miracle finish.

JASON BROWN: We had purchased a flock of dwarf Nigerian goats in the hopes of, oh, just raising some awesome goats, making some good milk.

And my wife, she wants to make some goat milk ice cream, right?

Well, the very first night that we brought those goats back here and put them in our pasture, we were devastated by coyotes.

And that very first night, they killed one of our goats.

The second night, they came back, and they killed two goats.

I was heartbroken because I didn't know what I was going to do.

And so that Wednesday night, I went to church and just defeat all over my face.

And one of my country church members, whose name was Donald Ray, Donald Ray came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

And he said Jason Brown, I want to give you a donkey.

And I was like, really?

Like, really?

That's the most weird and random gift that you can offer anyone, OK?

How many times have you been offered a donkey, OK?

And literally when he said that, I was feeling like a jackass myself.

But little did I know is that a donkey is the perfect pasture protection animal to have out there and protect my goats, all right?

And so I can't make this up.

[gentle instrumental music] Just this Easter, Good Friday-- let me tell you how good Good Friday truly was for us on First Fruits Farm.

So our children are growing, and we're already cooking about 15 to 18 eggs every single morning with a huge omelette.

And we have several hens out there, but I have an incubator.

So I don't want to go out and buy little chicks.

I can even make my own chicks.

I just need a few good roosters to fertilized the eggs.

I don't know where we're going to get a couple of roosters from.

But you know what?

Look, God, you know what we need.

We need some roosters.

And that afternoon, we drove past the gate, and I turn around the corner.

And I looked down beside the road.

I said, do you see that?

It's two roosters!

Right there!

Right there beside the road!

The past six years since we've been here, I've never seen a chicken on the side of the road, never.

But the very same day that I pray for a couple of roosters-- [snaps finger] [gentle instrumental music] That dinosaur of a tractor-- you see it right over there to the far right under the shed-- that's a 1968 Allis Chalmers 190XT.

That's a dinosaur of a tractor, OK?

And most farmers around here that are really trying to get it done, they don't work with antiques.

My first year out here at the farm-- because everything of what we had went into purchasing the land-- I didn't have any seed money.

And I'm out there on that tractor trying my best to work the land and to work the farm, to subdue the land.

And the sun was beating me down.

Mosquitoes and mayflies, they're biting me.

I'm breathing in all this soot and dust.

And I had enough.

I said, God, I'm out here working on your farm.

I don't know how are you going to do it.

But you know what?

By this time next year, I'm going to need a brand new tractor, and I left it at that.

Shortly thereafter, we had our first harvest here on First Fruits Farm.

And we got a lot of well wishes through emails, a lot of people saying, hey, good job.

But there was one email that stuck out.

And it was a gentleman, he said, I wanted to know, to see if you need any help with any equipment.

And I humbled myself, and I gave that gentleman a phone call.

And here's the way the conversation with.

He said that God told him to reach out to me and ask if I need any help with any equipment.

And I said, yes, sir, I have been praying for a tractor.

And he said, well, you know what?

I might be able to help you with that.

In less than a couple of weeks, there was a brand new tractor delivered to this farm.

JOE LAMP'L: A donkey, a few roosters, a new tractor, even this commercial-grade greenhouse, all given out of nowhere the moment Jason needed it the most.

And whether you believe it's been incredible luck, hard work paying off, or divine intervention, Jason is sharing all of those gifts and recruiting a few disciples too, performing outreach through farming.

JASON BROWN: We get countless youth that come on to our farm that have never stepped foot onto a farm before.

And when they get off the school bus, they're looking around like, I thought we were supposed to pick some sweet potatoes today.

Where are the sweet potatoes?

And they're looking up in the trees.

They're looking at out there on the ground.

They have no idea where sweet potatoes come from.

And I'll get into my tractor and plow a couple of rows.

And when the sweet potatoes start jumping up out of the ground, they're like, look at that.

Look at that.

I'm like, yeah, kid, that food was right down there the whole time.

You mean, there's sweet potatoes under all the ground out here?

Yeah, kid, there's thousands of pounds of sweet potatoes out here.

And the thing is that after they pick those sweet potatoes, and they get their hands dirty, it's such a real and tangible experience, whereas it's something that they haven't done before because in today's age, all of the youth are engulfed with video games, tablets, cell phones, computers.

And so they haven't seen a real farm before.

They think that food just automatically pops with the dollar menu, or it just automatically pops up in the grocery store.

No, all food comes from farms.

You give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day.

You teach a man how to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime.

Well, that's our goal here, is to have learning and teaching opportunities here at the farm where we're teaching the youth and adults about agriculture.

We're teaching them how to sow seeds so that they can start to develop and build these life skills that they're like, hey, this is pretty simple.

If that dumb jock over there can do it, I can do it too.

[gentle instrumental music] JOE LAMP'L: From sold-out stadiums on game day to one-on-one personal connections over rusty tractors and sweet potatoes, on a now-successful farm that was started with no experience whatsoever, it's an improbable story, but it's one that Jason says he wouldn't rewrite for anything.

[gentle instrumental music] JASON BROWN: I can say wholeheartedly that I have zero regrets, zero regrets.

[gentle instrumental music] In my football career, I was living the life of entertainment and entertaining folks.

Now, it's a life of service.

Before, when someone would meet me in the grocery store, and they'd say, hey, good game, Jason or bad game per say.

People would let me know.

The effect that I have now in what I'm doing through service, I'll meet someone at Walmart, and this will happen so random.

I remember there was a time when a lady ran up to me and just gave me a hug and embraced me.

And she said, thank you, Jason Brown.

Thank you so much.

And I was like, awkward.

I was, like, lady, I don't know you.

She said, I know you don't know me, but my family was going through a hard time last year.

I was laid off from my job.

I didn't know how I was going to feed my family.

And when I went to the local food bank, the only thing that they had was sweet potatoes from your farm.

And let me tell you what, I took them home, and I prepared them about five or six different ways.

My kids, they were tired of eating sweet potatoes.

But guess what?

They didn't miss a meal, and it made all the difference in the world.

And I just want to let you know, thank you from the bottom my heart.

[gentle instrumental music] And that's the power of agriculture.

You can do that with agriculture.

With football and competition, it's like you're working against one another.

But out here on a farm, we all have the shared common goal of feeding a growing nation.

And so right now, that goal isn't being met.

As long as there's a starving child out there, a child that is food-insecure, that goal isn't met.

And so if you ask me, there's a lot of work to be done.

[gentle instrumental music] JOE LAMP'L: Well, after spending several days with Jason Brown and his family and the staff of First Fruits Farm, this has got to be one of the biggest highlights of my career.

And I just can't stop thinking about the fact that Jason Brown, at age 27, at the height of his career, when he had a literal and worldly fortune, he walked away from it all to start a new career in a field that he knew nothing about.

Now, that's huge courage and a rock solid faith that's bigger than any farm, even this one.

And I'm reminded that as you walk down the path of your life's journey, it's never too late to follow your passions and dreams.

And it's always a good time to start growing a greener world.

If you'd like to learn more about First Fruits Farm and the work of Jason Brown, well, you can do that on our web site under the show notes for this episode.

And the web site address-- that's the same as our show name-- it's growingagreenerworld.com.

Thanks for joining us, everybody.

I'm Joe Lamp'l, and we'll see you back here next time for more Growing a Greener World.

[gentle instrumental music] MALE ANNOUNCER: Growing a Greener World is made possible in part by-- FEMALE ANNOUNCER: The Subaru Crosstrek, designed with adventure in mind, built in a zero-landfill plant, so you can roam the earth with a lighter footprint.

Subaru-- proud sponsor of Growing a Greener World.

[gentle instrumental music] MALE ANNOUNCER: And the following-- the US Composting Council, Milorganite, and Rain Bird.

JOE LAMP'L: My team.

JASON BROWN: Mike and Joe-- [interposing voices] [music playing] ♪ Don't quit your day job, Joe.

We don't play football.

We play farm.

JOE LAMP'L: What ever you say, Jason.

Whatever you say.

[music playing] MALE ANNOUNCER: Continue the garden learning from the program you just watched, Growing a Greener World.

Program host, Joe Lamp'l's Online Gardening Academy offers classes designed to teach gardeners of all levels, from the fundamentals to master skills.

Classes are on demand any time.

Plus, opportunities to ask Joe questions about your specific garden in real time.

Courses are available online.

For more information or to enroll, go to growingagreenerworld.com/learn.

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