Sovereignty Ranch + Mollie Engelhart’s Mission for Regenerative Agriculture
At Sovereignty Ranch in Texas, Mollie Engelhart is on a mission. A former vegan chef turned regenerative agriculture advocate, Mollie has transformed her approach to food production, sustainability, and business.
And at the heart of her farm’s efficiency? CoolBot technology.
Mollie’s journey started in Los Angeles, where she owned a chain of five vegan restaurants, supplied in part by her own regenerative farm. But as she dug deeper into agriculture, she realized the industrial food system—even for plant-based diets—wasn’t as sustainable as it seemed.
“Vegan food was a lie,” she explains. “Regenerative agriculture was the most powerful tool we had for soil health and human health.”
After the pandemic disrupted her restaurant business, Mollie pivoted fully to farming, moving to Texas to establish Sovereignty Ranch. There, she grows vegetables, raises animals, brews beer, and serves her local community—all while pioneering innovative cooling solutions with CoolBot.
“I didn’t expect to be starting over at forty six, but here I am. And (the ranch is) a more honest iteration of what I want to do,” Mollie tells us. “That is, growing food and serving the community.”
A Game-Changer for Local Food Systems
Mollie’s introduction to CoolBot came from her father, who used it in his small dairy operation. Seeing its effectiveness, she adopted it for her own farm, converting everything from prefabricated sheds to refrigerated truck trailers into efficient, affordable cold storage units.
“We made an amazing walk-in cooler for a fraction of the cost,” she says, describing how she repurposed a smart shed with insulation, FRP panels, and a CoolBot-driven cooling system. “It was a 16-by-8 prefab shed. We insulated it and turned it into an amazing cooler for our produce.”
Over the years, she has continued to innovate—using CoolBot for everything from grain storage to a cheese cave to her farm’s brewery. “We even converted the back of a refrigerated semi-truck into a packing room with a CoolBot,” she adds. “It saved us from standing in the hot sun while packing CSAs.”
For Mollie, the biggest advantage of CoolBot is its reliability and cost-effectiveness. “If a unit goes down, I can go to Home Depot and buy another window A/C unit. That’s $500 instead of a $5,000 service call.”
“The thing I’m most excited about, especially in the Texas heat, is that we’ve got backup CoolBots in case one goes out,” Mollie tells us. “CoolBot can help avoid a potential disaster.”
Conquering Industry Resistance
Despite her success with CoolBot, Mollie faced skepticism when designing the ranch’s brewery cooling system. “Everyone told me it wouldn’t work,” she recalls. She ultimately followed conventional advice—installing a traditional compressor system—but quickly regretted it. “It’s been a total disaster,” she says. “Now I’m switching back to CoolBot.”
She also sees CoolBot’s modularity as a huge benefit. “With our brewery, we’ll be using (multiple) 24,000 BTU units with six CoolBots. That way, if one goes down, we still have five running,” she says.
CoolBot’s Role in Supporting Local Farmers
Mollie believes CoolBot can revolutionize local food systems by making cold storage accessible. “CoolBot can help local food systems in such a profound way. A standard walk-in cooler is at least $25,000—which is completely out of reach for most small farmers,” she says. “With CoolBot, you can heavily insulate a space and create one for just a few thousand dollars.”
For farmers growing produce, storing dairy, or distributing local meats, this affordability is a game-changer. “If you’re selling oranges for eight cents a pound, how many thousands of pounds do you need to sell to afford a $25,000 walk-in cooler? It’s crazy how much effort goes into food, and how little we pay for it.”
She emphasizes that refrigeration is crucial for local food security. “We can lose thousands of dollars in inventory overnight if refrigeration fails,” she says. “Having backup A/C units and CoolBots on hand gives farmers peace of mind.”
Passion for Innovation
Mollie’s enthusiasm for CoolBot is infectious. She even shares it with fellow farmers and businesses, selling used walk-in cooler panels and showing them firsthand how her CoolBot systems operate. “Every time I sell panels, I ask, ‘Do you know about CoolBot?’” she says. “I show them my different setups—one for produce at 39°F, another for cheese at 50°F, and one for grain storage to prevent pests.”
Mollie’s creative and inspired eye sees potential coolers all over. She’s even converted an old shooting range on the property into a walk-in cooler. “We built the cooler under that existing structure for added shade that the targets would retreat into,” she says. “It worked perfectly!”
At Sovereignty Ranch, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand—and CoolBot is helping make that vision a reality.
“I love being sovereign and self-sufficient – well, actually community sufficient,” says Mollie. “And that’s the greatest gift CoolBot gives to entrepreneurs.”