This is a show for professional growers and agronomists who want to learn about the science and principles of regenerative agriculture systems to increase quality, yield, and profitability.
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Record rainfall has resulted in an unprecedented number of unplanted acres in 2019. Farmers must now consider how best to manage these fields for the remainder of the season. In an otherwise fallow year, cover cropping options abound during a unique summer planting window. In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf hosts a panel of American Midwestern agronomists and farmers, Steve Groff, David Kleinschmidt, Brad Hobrock, and David Chance, to discuss wet weather, the ina...
In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. Jerry Hatfield, Ph.D., a plant physiologist who runs the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, Iowa. Jerry has done extensive research on the interactions between soils, plants, and the environment. Jerry describes his findings from some of these tests which track interactions among different types of cover crops with different soil and plant variable...
In this episode, John interviews David Montgomery, Professor of Geomorphology at the University of Washington. John and David discuss soil regeneration at length, pulling from David's experience developing new topsoil in dead, stony ground and his deep dive into the science behind it. David came to the field of regenerative agriculture from a unique position. As a geologist studying erosion, he became curious about agricultural impacts on soils. When David set out to write his first book, Dirt: ...
Mike Omeg is a 3rd generation cherry grower who has spent the last few decades farming 350 acres of cherries in The Dalles, Oregon. Mike is an innovator with the vision for new approaches and the analytical mind to measure results. He's tested myriad techniques in his quest for the best and most profitable methods of growing cherries, and was awarded the Good Fruit Grower award by the Fruit Grower News in 2017. In this conversation, John and Mike delve into the type of bio-intensive system Mike ...
Pascal Fafard is a consultant and crop advisor in Quebec, Canada, working primarily with fruit and vegetable growers. He holds a bachelor's degree in agronomy and has been supporting and mentoring fruit and vegetable growers for more than 25 years. While working in IPM, nutrition and vitality advising, and the typical agronomic considerations, he realized that taking care of growers is as important as the grower taking care of plants. This shift in focus led to his unique take on agriculture tha...
Hi Friends! Welcome to Season 2 of The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast! Thank you for listening, spreading the word, and helping to make this show such a hit, while expanding our community in the fast-growing regenerative agriculture movement. It is my honor to be part of this community along with you as we launch Season 2 of this show. For this season-opening episode, we are immeasurably pleased to bring Dr. Don Huber back again, sharing more of his wealth of accumulated knowledge. Don was our...
John Kempf and Ed Curry take the stage in Louisville, KY at the ACRES Conference 2018 — a hotbed for regenerative agriculture practitioners for the last 30 years — to record the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast's first ever LIVE show. The Acres Conference isn't just another trade show or conference; this is a gathering of passionate and purposeful people working to share information and tools, and challenge the status quo in agriculture for the greater good. This is why we chose Acres 2018 for o...
"It's a very exciting time to be in agriculture, and a really great time to be a farmer, I think, and a great time to be an entrepreneur." ~Pam Marrone Pam is the founder and CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, a leader in bio-pesticide research and manufacturing. She is a Ph.D. entomologist, turned entrepreneur. Pam is an inspiration to not only the next generation of microbial Ag researchers but to women in science and business. In addition, her work has helped farmers who are looking for more ben...
This week, we present a follow-up to the interview I conducted last week, in Episode 27, with Gary Zimmer . I hope you enjoy the chance to dive deeper into some of the topics raised in the previous episode. Gary has been a key figure in the development of regenerative agriculture in America, is a sought-after speaker, and is the author of both The Biological Farmer (now available as an updated and expanded second edition), and Advancing Biological Farming . He is the founder of Midwestern BioAg ...
Gary Zimmer's impact on modern regenerative agriculture technique and proliferation is hard to overestimate -- with an enthusiasm and zeal that are positively infectious -- we are privileged to have him as a guest on the podcast. Zimmer is the founder of Midwestern BioAg , a company which advocates similar principals to Advancing Eco Agriculture , while focusing on dry soil amendments. He farms with his family in Sauk County, Wisconsin and is the author of two seminal books on biological agricul...
Gabe Brown is a clear, collected, and inspired voice for regenerative agriculture, having implemented and seen great changes on his family's ranch in North Dakota over time. In fact, Gabe's A-Horizon (topsoil) is 27 in, and the soils on surrounding farms only have 4-6 in of topsoil! Gabe is the author of the recently published and highly-acclaimed book, Dirt To Soil , from Chelsea Green. I highly recommend reading this truly inspiring and informative book. Speaking and teaching about the practic...
In this episode, I explore the characteristics shared by farm managers whose operations are exceptionally successful, and consistently outperform similar farms in the region. In my experience as a field consultant and working with AEA's growers, I've observed a set of distinctive managerial patterns in the more successful growing operations. These traits bring outstanding results when farmers apply them over time. Listen to this episode for insights on these characteristics, and how they make gr...
Peter McCoy speaks for the fungi. His mission is to increase awareness, appreciation and the practical use of all manner of mushroom and mycelia. Peter is a co-founder of the grassroots advocacy group, Radical Mycology . He is also the author of a book by the same name which I've found to be the most thorough, current, and inspiring mycological reference available. For those of you new to the wonderful world of Fungi and regenerative agriculture, mycology is the study of fungi (mushrooms, lichen...
Dr. Silvia Abel-Caines is a Veterinarian with a Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition, who is currently working as the Staff Ruminant Nutritionist for Organic Valley. She has researched neonatal immunity and colostrum supplementation in dairy calves and has also performed research on improving the fatty acid profile of milk through nutrition. Combining the knowledge from her experience with ruminants and her technical training and research, Dr. Silvia Abel-Caines provides grazing insights and key informat...
In this episode, John discusses specific methods for the management of nitrogen and phosphorous for maximum benefit while reducing leaching, runoff, and pollution. Learn how to address nitrogen and phosphorus from both organic and conventional approaches. This episode contains effective, actionable information geared towards responsible and regenerative fertilizer management. This episode is sourced from a previously recorded AEA webinar and contains specific AEA product recommendations -- which...
Sometimes growers apply fertilizers to crops that don't respond to the applications like they're expecting. When plant health and vigor is in a decline, and nutrient applications don't move the needle, how can we reclaim the situation? Through our consulting experience, we have learned that when nutrient applications bring little response and plants are going downhill, applying the right biology will reverse the direction of a declining crop with a speed and effectiveness that is almost magical....
Sarah Singla is a farmer, agronomist, and educator from Southern France. Her family farm has been in no-till production since 1980. When she took the reigns in 2010 she additionally pursued a wonderfully complex diversified cover-cropping, mixed species, multi-income-stream approach that is highly thought-out, yet fluid. Sarah has visited growers the world over in direct communication about their production systems. Her experience is broad, yet she consistently finds the most successful producer...
Jonathan Lundgren is an agroecologist, Director of the ECDYSIS Foundation, and CEO of Blue Dasher Farm. He received his Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 2004 and was a professional pesticide evaluator with USDA-ARS for 11 years. Jonathan's research and education programs focus on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for sustainable food systems. His ecological research focuses heavily on conserving healthy biological...
Soil analysis should be used as a milestone to monitor progress towards growing healthy crops; they should not be used as a goal. Every nutrient and soil amendment application needs to produce a strong crop response, not just a soil analysis response. When we apply this understanding properly it means that we will not apply uneconomical quantities of soil amendments to balance a soil analysis that do not first provide a benefit to the crop. On the mini-episode this week, I talk about where soil ...
Greg Pennyroyal is the Viticulture and Enology Coordinator at Wilson Creek Winery & Vineyards in Temecula, California. He is also the Professor of Viticulture for Mt. San Jacinto Community College. Greg has worked in many industries including medicinal organic herb production, traditional eastern medicine, and botanical medicine research and development. Greg has been active in researching neurodegenerative diseases in conjunction with the University of California, Santa Barbara and has a br...
John Kempf discusses the crucial role of nutrients like nitrate, potassium, and calcium in driving vegetative growth, and manganese, phosphorus, and ammonium for reproductive development. He explains the antagonistic relationship between auxins and cytokinins, detailing how their balance, influenced by sugar allocation to fruit versus roots, impacts overall plant health and susceptibility to disease. The episode concludes with a key strategy for achieving high-quality vegetative growth through calcium dominance.
Dr. Jerry Pollack is a pioneering water researcher whose work in structured water and cell biology has been described as being some of the most important research that will be conducted in the 21st century. His research creates a completely new paradigm of cell biology and nutrient absorption. He is recognized worldwide as a dynamic speaker and author, whose passion lies in plumbing the depths of natural truths. Dr. Pollack received the 1st Emoto Peace Prize and is a recipient of the University ...
On the mini-episode this week, I focus on why we should develop regenerative agriculture, how it is different, and why it is important. In the past 10 or 12 years, a lot of conversation has been had on sustainable agriculture. In this episode, I explore what it is that we want to sustain, why regeneration is important, and how regenerative farming systems impact the bottom line in a way that sustainability cannot. Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA , ...
Steve Diver has earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Horticulture and has conducted research on fruit and nut production, and seasonal changes in elemental concentration in pecan fruit and leaves. He has served as the Extension Horticulture Agent in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, and has also worked as an Agriculture Specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. In 2010, he established an independent firm, Agri-Horticultural Consulting, which provided soil analysis and consult...
Professor Lynn Long has worked in sweet cherry research and Extension at Oregon State University since 1988. At that time, the main cherry variety being grown was Bing on a Mazzard rootstock, leading to disease and susceptibility to weather pressure. Lynn has been an advocate for diversity in varieties and rootstocks, maintaining a cherry variety trial since 1996, and evaluating nearly 100 varieties and selections for potential adoption by the sweet cherry industry in the Pacific Northwest. He h...
Dr. Kris Nichols has conducted innovative research on soil biology, understanding how to regenerate soil health quickly. She is the founder and principal scientist of KRIS (Knowledge for Regeneration In Soils) Systems Education & Consulting Services. Dr. Nichols has also been the Chief Scientist at Rodale Institute and a Research Soil Microbiologist with the USDA. In this episode, Kris and I discuss how to harness the power of fungi to decrease the use of synthetic fertilizers, the symbiosis...
Dr. Hatfield is the laboratory director for the USDA's National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment. He has also served on the faculty of the University of California-Davis and is a Past President of the American Society of Agronomy. In this short but very powerful episode, Jerry and I discuss the mechanics of improving plant efficiency in capturing water, nutrients, and light and put that into productivity. We talk about the role that the soil-plant continuum plays in not only develo...
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Larry Phelan , a professor at Ohio State University where he heads research programs studying the role of soil communities in plant health and susceptibility to disease and insect pests in biological farming systems. Larry also heads programs researching the identification and behaviors of plant secondary compounds and insect pheromones that affect host finding and other behaviors. In this episode, Larry and I discuss plant and insect communicati...
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing a great farmer and friend of mine, Klaas Martens . Klaas has been farming for more than 30 years and has driven the adoption of sustainable farming practices through his work with numerous national organizations and advisory committees. This episode contains some really great information from Klaas's many years of experience developing sustainable farming systems. In this episode, we talk about the cultural practices that form the basis of weed contr...
This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Groff , a farmer and cover crop pioneer who has also worked with the University of Maryland on extensive cover crop research. Steve founded Cover Crop Coaching in 2016 and has spoken to audiences across North America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and many other parts of the world on the use of cover crops across the full range of agricultural applications. In this episode, we talk about important management tools to incorporate with cover crops, t...
