Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

Jay Fuhrer is a Conservationist & veteran Soil Health Specialist from the Natural Resources Conservation Services, located out of Bismarck, North Dakota. With over 4 decades of experience, Jay's work has been critical to the widespread implementation of regenerative agriculture across the globe. Of his many contributions, Jay is most known for developing the 5 Soil Health Principles: establishing soil armor, minimizing soil disturbance, continuing live plant and root presence, and integrating livestock grazing systems. Throughout their conversation, Jay and John discuss: Jay's early years at the NRCS, and his desire to move forward with agriculture's best interest at heart. The story of how Jay and his colleagues started a 150-acre demonstration farm with a focus on natural resource education. Examples of new research and discoveries being made at Menoken Farm, including the implications of water hydrology systems and the power of encouraging soil biology. Jay's observations from conducting Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and measuring infiltration rates over the years. Assisting growers by "starting with the geology" and how Jay's soil recommendations are rooted in the history of the land. Proper livestock integration and the benefits of diversity when it comes to grazing. The shortcomings of agricultural system labels and Jay's reasoning for working with growers of all backgrounds. Jay's concerns with shrinking native range land in the Dakotas and why he believes it is an ecosystem that we should maintain into the future.

Ben Taylor-Davies is a farmer and regenerative agriculture consultant from the United Kingdom. Ben was a conventional agronomist until his wife persuaded him to apply for an award through the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust which enables farmers to travel and learn agricultural methods from around the globe. This ignited Ben's passion for regenerative agriculture and discovering better ways to treat soils, crops, and livestock. Ben currently shares his stories, both personal and professional, on his website RegenBen.com. He is also currently finalizing his first book, "MORE-ON: How to get off the UK agriculture's treadmill of input farming." Throughout their conversation, Ben and John discuss: How the Nuffield scholarship program allowed Ben to broaden his views on successful ways to farm from around the globe. The current management practices being implemented on Ben's 500-acre farm in the UK and how these practices have evolved over the years. Ben's "three free things" (sunlight/energy, precipitation, and carbon dioxide) and why they should be priority number one for all growers. Perspectives on carbon dioxide delivery and how farmers can improve their CO2 supply. The vast diversity of soil types and climates found within the UK. The UK's current mainstream agricultural methods and financial shortcomings of managing an ecosystem through high input costs. John and Ben discuss their recommended reading lists for growers. Check out Ben's website at www.regenben.com! For more information on his latest book, go to https://www.regenben.com/about/the-book/

Cannon Michael is a 6th generation family farmer in California's Central Valley. When Cannon first started working at the Bowles Farming Company, it was a broad-acre row crop operation, focused on cotton, barley, and alfalfa. After 15 years of overhauling the farm's management practices, Bowles now incorporates both organic and conventional methods as he raises a vast array of vegetable crops: tomatoes; watermelons; garlic; onions; herbs; and many more. Throughout their conversation John and Cannon discuss: The major changes over the 160-year history of Cannon's family farm, as well as the current scope and scale of his growing operation. What it means to be a grower in California: The culture of innovation, interacting with a rigorous business climate, strict regulations, and interest in promoting fair practices for people and the environment. A prediction around agriculture's decentralized, technology-driven future and how it will impact growers. The power of branding partners, communication, and the advantages of telling your story to end consumers. How bandwidth and a fluctuating environment can lead to significant limitations on operational efficiencies.

Jay Hill is a conventional farmer and agricultural visionary from the American Southwest. Jay is a new breed of American farmer, focused on reinvigorating the industry through a new perspective on what is possible for large-scale growers. Through his social media presence and weekly podcast, Jay is calling on farmers across the globe to abandon their old ways of operating and take back the role of "business owner" from outdated intermediaries. Throughout their conversation, John and Jay discuss: How Jay's growing operation has evolved over the years to be less resource exhaustive. Why farmers need to position themselves as both marketers and business owners Jay's transition from "Price Taker" to "Price Maker," and how partnerships in processing give growers more control over their operation. The public perception of American farmers and what needs to be done change the narrative. Strategies to incentivize growing a more nutritious and agronomically beneficial product, and the role of the federal government in this process.

Dr. Dwayne Beck is well known for being one of the pioneers of no-till agriculture in central South Dakota and across the High Plains. For more than three decades, Dr. Beck has been creating comprehensive systems for both irrigated and dryland crop production throughout the region, educating growers on the power of crop rotation, diversity, and other regenerative practices. He currently serves as the Research Manager at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm, a non-profit made up of farmers committed to sustainable land practices. On today's episode, John and Dwayne discuss: Dwayne's background and his earlier work assisting local growers with their irrigation systems The continuing decline of the Ogallala Aquifer and how water infiltration can be improved by implementing no-till agricultural practices. Addressing the often-overlooked aspects of irrigation, such as percolation and water delivery, and how it affects soil health. Dwayne's observations on lake bottom soils, the power of macropores, and the prevalence of summer fallowing in the High Plains. Utilizing de-percolation strategies to maintain proper nutrient levels in your soil. Using competition, sanitation, and rotation to control weeds, diseases and insects. Dwayne's historical research on nutrient cycling and fertilizer placement. Dwayne offers up a broader historical perspective on how agriculture, human nature, and mother nature work together. A discussion on why moving to no-till options for all crops including potatoes, carrots and sugar beets are engineering and genetics problems. The shared vision, but much different methods, between regenerative agriculture vs. organic agriculture.

Rick Haney is a renowned researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the creator of the Haney Soil Analysis, an innovative extraction procedure to assess overall soil health and plant mineral availability. Today, John sits down with Rick to hear his story and discuss a future of agriculture centered around agronomic realities and biological processes. Throughout the episode, John and Rick cover a wide array of topics: The journey Rick took to discover an improved system for analyzing soil health, eventually leading to the development of his namesake soil assay. How Rick's work and an emphasis on data can help growers save an average of $20 per acre in nitrogen applications. Over-fertilization and what soil respiration says about the fertility of a field. Rick's battle with calibrations and the industry's collective leaps in agronomic understanding since the 60's. The work of Dr. Richard Mulvaney, namely the Illinois Soil Test, and how it compares to Haney's soil nitrogen report. The shortcomings of mainstream agronomic research and the power of "listening to nature." The importance of using water and biological activity as the gauge of soil mineral release rather than acids and extractants to judge soil mineral content. Why many growers are routinely able to reduce Nitrogen and Phosphorus inputs. The importance of looking at real yields rather than soil test data as the sign of a well-functioning fertility program. The power of embracing new developments in ag research and the future of in-field sensors.

Bob Quinn is a 30-plus year veteran of Regenerative Organic practices and founder of Kamut International, an organization devoted to high quality Khorasan wheat and sustainable agricultural practices. After receiving his PhD in plant biochemistry from UC-Davis, Bob returned home to work on his family's wheat and cattle ranch just outside of Big Sandy, Montana. In the mid 80's, the farm became his "laboratory" as Bob began implementing regenerative organic systems long before they rose to prominence. The Quinn's began planting a Khorasan wheat they would call "Kamut"—an ancient Egyptian word for "wheat"—which would end up seeing a lot of success with whole grain bakeries in Southern California. "My business philosophy is start small and build on your success. I don't have a big pile of money, so I can't go out and just try big experiments, so I try small experiments. If they're successful, then I build on those. And that's what we did, we started with a half an acre [of Kamut®] which was all that seed that we had in 1988—30 years later, we are contracting with 250 organic regenerative farmers in Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan for over 100,000 acres of this stuff." Kamut® is a distant relative to the modern wheat crop that is known for its unique flavor and health benefits. Ancient Grains like Kamut® see much lower yield potential than modern wheat, which over time lead some manufacturers to mix Kamut® with lower quality grains. In an attempt to protect the quality of the grain and the end consumer, Bob decided to trademark the grain, guaranteeing an unhybridized, unmodified, and organic product for their growing list of customers—in fact today, a staggering 75% of their grain goes to Italy. During the episode, Bob goes into detail about how improved testing equipment led to a surprising discovery about minute glyphosate levels in their crops. Kamut International has been organic since its inception, but at one point almost a third of their farmers were sending grain that tested slightly higher than ten parts per billion in glyphosate. Bob was astounded when he discovered that glyphosate is so prevalent in American agriculture that trace amounts can be found in the rain during the growing season. Since this discovery, Kamut International has overhauled their testing protocols and mitigated trace glyphosate levels whenever possible. Whether you are the buyer, the manufacturer, or the consumer, Bob believes in a "everybody wins" approach to business. He believes his impact and scale was achieved by paying farmers more, so he prides himself in the ability to implement economic incentives anywhere he can. Bob recalls in his conversation with John that almost 30 years ago, he began offering three times the amount of the commodity wheat price for Kamut® wheat, which proved to be a very effective business move. Today, that incentive has grown to five times the commodity price. Bob's expertise goes way beyond wheat, for a farmer located in the Upper Great Plains he has an unlikely variety of successfully growing dryland produce. Throughout the episode, Bob goes into detail about how this production came to be and how regenerative organic practices allow him to grow things like watermelon and summer squash in Montana. Bob and John also discuss nutritional value of ancient grains, how the western diet has led to a jump in autoimmune disorders, and the concerning rise of glyphosate levels in our food. Bob also tells the story of how his company accidentally came upon creating cooking oil in the search to create a better diesel fuel.

In our latest episode, John sits down with one of Australia's most recognized thought leaders in Regenerative Agriculture, Dr. Terry McCosker. Over the course of three decades, Terry has worked with about 10,000 Australian farmers—a staggering 10% of all farmland on the continent—coaching them through an agricultural approach that emphasizes both soil nutrition & pasture ecology. Terry currently serves as the director of RCS, an Australian agriculture consulting firm, but his career started at an early age when he had the opportunity to work on an Australian cattle station. Driven by a fearless pursuit of excellence, Terry found that most of the problems that faced the cattle station, as well as other operations across the country, stemmed from an outdated reductionist view of farming. As he continued his research, which included traveling to farms across the globe, he saw firsthand the power of holistic practices and their effects on livestock. Terry began challenging the paradigms of conventional farming and what he observed were results like an increase in livestock reproduction and mortality rates. Throughout the episode, John and Terry discuss the work of Stan Parsons and Allan Savory, the importance of cell grazing alongside other regenerative practices, the proper strategies farmers use to approach succession planning, and the fascinating future potential of carbon sequestration. "A client of mine once said that he thought he was a livestock producer. And then he came to one of our programs and went away thinking that he was a grass producer. And then over time, as he's learned more and more, he now believes he's a soil manager. If you understand that you're a soil manager, the production and the economics of your farm will actually look after itself…to be truly regenerative, a farmer needs to understand that they are a part of the ecosystem, not apart from it." -Dr. Terry McCosker

In our latest episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews plant pathology veteran & agricultural visionary, Dr. Robert Linderman, discussing the benefits of mycorrhizal fungi and other bio-control agents that protect crops from soil-borne pathogens. After receiving his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from U.C. Berkley in 1967, Robert would spend the next 40-plus years contributing pivotal research findings to the USDA and other agricultural organizations. During his time with the USDA, Robert was introduced to a colleague who was fascinated by the power of mycorrhizal fungi and their ability to keep pathogens at bay. Their conversation ignited Robert's pursuit to understand mycorrhizae symbiosis. Throughout the episode, John and Robert discuss the benefits of building up antagonistic organisms in the soil to create a disease suppressive environment, allowing crops to thrive. In addition to other educated approaches to battling pathogens in your soil, Robert also takes listeners into a deep dive of the Ashburner System, telling the story of how one Australian avocado grower utilized a mycorrhizal fungi strategy—without even knowing it—to suppress phytophthora outbreak across his orchard. "Farms, whether they're seeding or transplanting or planting bulbs or whatever, need to treat that material where the infection is going to happen…to have something there waiting for the pathogen when it tries to get into the plant is the best chance. It's like immunizing a child for infections that might come. You build up some kind of resistance and the resistance is in a biological form." -Linderman Robert and John also discuss the thoughtful inoculation of propagules, mycorrhizal fungi's effect on photosynthesis, concerns about single factor analysis found in agricultural research, and the true price of the "instant gratification" chemical fix.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Loran Steinlage of Flolo Farms in Iowa. They discuss his experience in relay cropping, interseeding, cover crops, and controlled traffic farming. Loran grows grain crops for seed, has implemented youth programs on the farm, and has experimented with 60-inch corn. Listen for practical advice from a current grain farmer. Loran grew up planning to be a livestock farmer like his father, but was hit by a semi at the age of 14, causing him to change his plans. Today Loran grows corn, beans, wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, sunflowers, and oats. Typically, they do relay cropping and interseeding, though this year they have not been able to do relay cropping due to a freeze in May of their cereal crops. In 2006 Loran began interseeding while his whole farm was corn on corn. Through interseeding, he found his way into cover crops and relay cropping. In the fall there are cereal crops such as winter wheat, rye, spring malt barley, or oats. Loran watches for stand quality, sometimes rolling over into corn if the stands aren't good enough. Otherwise, he sows soybeans at the normal time. Loran uses a 30-inch planter to give more room for the combine. In July winter wheat is harvested, then cereal rye, then malt barley. If there is a window with good weather, they add buckwheat and harvest it and the soybean crop together. Loran's method has long been to focus on seed quality for economic viability. Uniform emergence is the key that ensures all the heads mature at the same time for a high-quality harvest. Once cereal crops dry and re-wet, germination quality goes down, so they try to harvest the cereal as it dries. For a few years, they were making $7-$8 per bushel on malt barley. Food grade wheat can earn a $2-$3 premium, but with grain cleaners the value can be almost doubled. Loran receives a minimum of $10 for cereal rye seed. He utilizes controlled traffic and stays on the tramlines to avoid creating compaction or driving on the crop. Controlled traffic has great results in a field, but it requires more forethought and careful management to be successful so it has not been widely adopted. Even if there's a small yield loss, Loran avoids straying from the tramlines as much as possible. About 5 or 10 farmers participated in a tramline study with Bob Recker, with only Loran interseeding cover crops. The extra biomass in the tramlines was very valuable, and a 60-inch gap provided extremely high quality cover crops. Bob Recker did further testing of his "barcode plot" and saw that the 60-inch gap was significantly better than the 30-inch gap for cover crop production. This year, he plans to relay cereal crops into standing 60-inch corn, which in his experience has yielded equivalent or better to 30-inch corn. He attributes some of that to having a precise planter. He also questions if yield should be the ultimate goal. Loran believes growers around him who sacrifice some yield for grazing days can attain 2-3 months of grazing instead of one, which can substantially lower feed costs. Loran believes kids belong in agriculture today, and that it isn't happening enough. He believes in self-education and the importance of allowing kids to learn on-farm, rather than going off to college. In pursuit of this goal, Loran's started a 4-H program on his farm and increased field days. Having the children working with soil scientists can inspire them so they want to enter the field, and he's seen some success stories already. He thinks that more people need to step out of the way and let young people take their place. Loran sees the future of agriculture being focused on niche markets. He wants people to build an operation to fill voids in the market, rather than taking other people's ideas and trying to make them fit their operation. He would change government intervention in agriculture if he could. If inherent risk was returned to farming, he believes competition and innovation would return. He also wants people to learn more about practices used after the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression and to combine those with current knowledge to improve fertility and soil health. Resources:The Steinlage Way Loran Steinlage on Twitter Growing Crops 365 Days a Year - Loran Steinlage Corn Maverick: Cracking the Mystery of 60-Inch Rows Jill Clapperton, Rhizoterra

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Professor Richard Mulvaney from the University of Illinois. Dr. Mulvaney is a prolific soil fertility scientist and researcher with many published papers relating to nitrogen and potassium uptake in crops. His work with Dr. Saeed Khan led to the development of the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT). John and Dr. Mulvaney discuss nitrogen uptake in crops, how soil should provide most of the needed nitrogen, and the fallacy that applying nitrogen builds soil organic matter. He also describes the "potassium paradox", how significant amounts of potassium are available from the soil, and the damaging cycle that is created when applying potash. Nitrogen Fertilization (00:00:53)Dr. Mulvaney began working in soil fertility in the 1980s with a focus on minimizing nitrogen fertilizer loss to increase crop uptake, specifically in regard to the isotope N-15. In collaboration with Dr. Saeed Khan in the 1990s, he found evidence that in some cases, fertilizer nitrogen on corn has no statistically significant response. At the time, most soil scientists were operating with the assumption that the optimal amount of fertilizer nitrogen is found by multiplying 1.2 times an expected yield goal, then deducting nitrogen credits such as a previous legume. In a project in Illinois studying on-farm plots, around 33 of 75 studied sites showed no significant response to fertilizer nitrogen, a finding inconsistent with the 1.2 method. The unfertilized yields, or check yields, were very high and not significantly increased with an application of nitrogen. Thus, Dr. Mulvaney hypothesized that the 1.2 calculation might not be as reliable as previously thought. Dr. Khan and Dr. Mulvaney conducted research to determine the difference between plots used in that study that were responsive and those that were unresponsive to fertilizer nitrogen applications. His wife noted that while soil scientists understand how carbon in plants is heterogeneous and decomposes at different rates, they assume that nitrogen is all the same. Examining the differences within nitrogen forms made clear that the plants at the non-responsive sites had sufficient levels of nitrogen available from the soil and so did not need nitrogen fertilizer applications. Using diffusion on the soil samples from the same study, they found that non-responsive soils were consistently testing higher in amino sugar nitrogen. The prevailing thought at the time was that fertilizer is the primary source of nitrogen for crop uptake, especially for corn. However, Mulvaney's and Khan's data shows that at least two thirds of the nitrogen in the crop at harvest is supplied from the soils, rather than from applied fertilizer nitrogen. In soils with higher amounts of amino sugar nitrogen, applications of fertilizer nitrogen are a waste of money because most or all of the nitrogen is supplied by the soil. It follows that measured soil nitrogen is only correlated with crop response to applied nitrogen when soil tests measure amino sugar nitrogen. The 1.2 method was developed from research trials on static plots. These corn plots received the same fertilizer treatments each year. On the unfertilized plots, corn used the nutrients from the soil with no nitrogen fertilizer added. Microbes will also use nitrogen from the soil to break down crop residues, depleting the following crop of nitrogen and depressing yields. The depletion of nitrogen resulting in depressed yields on the unfertilized plots makes the fertilizer effect appear more dramatic in comparison. Because the 1.2 method is based on static plots, it and its related assumptions are invalid when applied to farmer fields. Similarly, the assumption that one-third of the nitrogen will come from the soil is incorrect. In reality, two-thirds of the nitrogen is supplied from soils and only one third or less comes from fertilizer. These misconceptions have misled growers on the importance of nitrogen applications. Because soil is the primary source of nitrogen for crop uptake, soils should be tested to determine how much nitrogen fertilizer should be applied. Dr. Mulvaney and Dr. Khan developed the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test (ISNT) to estimate the amino sugar fraction for variable-rate nitrogen application recommendations. A former student of Dr. Mulvaney runs the lab at Cropsmith, where the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test is available. Expansion on Amino Sugar Nitrogen (00:24:15)Amino sugars are an organic form of nitrogen produced by microbial activity. They occur in microbial cell walls, spores, and in chitin. The bacterial cell walls are more decomposable. Nitrogen shows up in asparagine and glutamine, essential amino acids, which contain one nitrogen atom each in the amino group and the amide group, which is prone to break down. It is estimated that 5-10% of soil organic nitrogen is in the form of amino sugars, but Dr. Mulvaney believes it is likely higher. Amino sugar nitr

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. David Johnson, a New Mexico State University research scientist, Adjunct Professor for the College of Agriculture at Chico State, and Faculty Affiliate for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. His research clearly outlines the importance of managing the ratio between fungal and bacterial populations in the soil for plant productivity and carbon sequestration. During his research on the salinity of manure compost, Dr. Johnson and his wife, Hui-Chun Su, developed the BEAM Soil Compost Bioreactor which develops compost with high fungal populations. John and Dr. Johnson discuss carbon cycling and the capacity of biology to sequester carbon and build soil organic matter. The conversation provides a fascinating look at the role of carbon dioxide in agriculture and the environment, how the ratio of fungal to bacterial populations in the soil are key to carbon cycling, and the methodology growers can employ to actively increase soil organic matter while decreasing costs. Carbon Sequestration (00:02:00)Dr. Johnson explains that high concentrations of carbon dioxide are problematic due to the impact on the climate, increasing the global temperature, rather than the impact of CO2 on plants, which like high concentrations of carbon. Due to those effects, carbon sequestration must be part of sustainable agriculture. John mentions that he has seen organic matter gains in the fields of half a percentage point per year, a very rapid improvement. Dr. Johnson believes that rate is possible, but only with cattle or other grazers in the system. In his experiments based solely on biology, he sees a little over a quarter of a percentage point per year increase in soil organic matter, or 10 tons of carbon per hectare. The Microbial Community (00:08:00) In order to realize these significant results in building soil organic matter, Dr. Johnson says the microbial community must be balanced. The microbes cycle carbon, improve carbon use efficiency, and create a healthy soil system. Plowing and the use of biocides destroy fungal populations, so those need to be restored in order for soils to function appropriately. John references a slide in one of Dr. Johnson's presentations comparing fungal to bacterial biomass ratios and the partitioning of the photosynthates. The explanation is based on an experiment with compost made in the BEAM bioreactor, where fungal dominant soils were shown to utilize five times the amount of carbon in the plants than bacterial dominant soils. An average of 11% of carbon captured by a plant goes into the root, shoot, or fruit of the plant in most agricultural systems today, but in a fungal dominant soil, 55% of the captured carbon can be partitioned into the plant rather than into the soil. This can dramatically affect plant productivity and growth. Maximum productivity and carbon capture happen when the fungal to bacterial ratio is one to one, which also causes soil respiration to decrease. There can be increased crop biomass as well as more organic matter in the soil. Dr. Johnson notices that as fungal populations in the soil are restored, farmers are often happier. About 60% of a crop must be left to effectively rebuild the soil even after the soil microbes are in balance, rather than 100% removal. Balanced Systems (00:27:00) Dr. Johnson explains that having the right microbes is a necessary first step towards building soil health, but is not the complete solution. The compost his team uses as an inoculant has over 2,500 species of bacteria and over 400 species of fungi, archaea, viruses, and more. That is a balanced community of varied microbes. The energy flow and carbon flow is also critical, and the photosynthetic rate must be increased. All of those work together to make a much more efficient, restored system. When the soil biology is in balance, the microbes can make the elemental nutrients available for the plant. That takes out the human guesswork of trying to figure out how much of each nutrient is needed. In a corn trial, the amount of applied nitrogen was decreased to 15%, or about 37 lb. per acre, and two lb. of compost per acre were added. The result was a small decrease in productivity in the first year and $80 more an acre in profits. Although only 37 lb. of nitrogen per acre were applied, 261 units of nitrogen were measured in the soil, compared to the control of 256 lb. of nitrogen. The nitrogen was made available from the soil system rather than as a purchased input. Dr. Johnson believes that healthy soil biology leads to a resilient system. He has seen dramatic changes in water absorption and retention when cover crops are used and soil biology is improved. In compacted soil, it took 10 minutes for an inch of water to infiltrate, and it now takes only seconds for that same inch of water. The first 1% increase in soil carbon is associated with a five times increase in the amount of water the soil can hold. A

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Zach Bush MD, an educator and a triple board-certified physician who specializes in internal medicine, endocrinology, and hospice care. Zach brings his understanding of the systemic challenges in pharmaceuticals and farming to non-profits such as Farmer's Footprint and Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, where he works to create collaborative communities to solve these human and environmental problems. In this episode, John and Zach discuss the challenging problem of glyphosate. Zach describes the research showing the ramifications of this phosphonate compound and provides clear insights into the science of the problem before returning to an optimistic vision of regenerative agriculture as a solution. Glyphosate/Roundup (around 00:02)With Zach's background in chemotherapy and cancer research, he was on the front lines in 2005 when it was discovered that the gut microbiome, made up of fungi and bacteria, has a significant impact on whether and how cancer affects people. Joining other researchers, he began to learn the importance of supporting beneficial fungi and bacteria and realized that glyphosate damages the microbiome. Zach explains that glyphosate was originally deemed safe due to the fact that it blocked the shikimate pathway, which does not exist in humans or animals. However, in time it was discovered that glyphosate limits access to some essential amino acids needed by humans for microbiome resilience. Zach says that glyphosate targets protein structures in human cells which can lead to a leak in the gut lining, furthering chronic inflammation. He says that some widespread chronic diseases, such as asthma, Alzheimer's, and cancer, can be traced to gut disruption and inflammation linked to glyphosate use. Zach references the statistic that the Mississippi River collects 80-85% of the water-soluble residues of Roundup. The last stretch of the river is referred to as "Cancer Alley" because the surrounding regions have the highest rates of cancer in the world. When glyphosate was first widely used, it was thought of as safer than the chemistries it replaced because those were known carcinogens. What we're seeing now, a generation of 25 years later, is that vegetables can have high enough levels of glyphosate concentrations to lead to leaky gut, which is not fully explained by historical definitions of toxicity. In addition, Zach explains that there is an epidemic of autoimmune and neurological disorders that can be attributed to glyphosate. From a study done on mice, Zach knows there are cumulative epigenetic effects of Roundup. If a first-generation is exposed to Roundup, the second generation does not need to be exposed directly to have disorders, immune dysfunction, and a shortened lifespan. The third generation of mice in the study experienced cancers and stillbirths, still without direct exposure. Chronic diseases in children have been increasing exponentially, and Zach expects that trend to continue according to the models developed from this research. Sixth Extinction (Around 00:20)John asks Zach to elaborate on the prediction that the human population will go extinct in 70 years. Zach bases this prediction on the rise of chronic disease combined with decreasing fertility. He cites the statistic that about 1 in 3 men and women are infertile. Zach explains how we are creating the sixth extinction event by destroying soils, increasing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans, and other modern phenomena. The Research(Around 25:00) Zach mentions that he is currently working on a book that covers this perspective. For current material, Zach recommends Stephanie Seneff's research correlating glyphosate to chronic disease epidemics. In the last seven years, Zach's lab has been working on the causation aspect, with that research available on ionbiome.com. Zach's lab has shown that glyphosate disrupts the tight junctions that act as intelligent gatekeepers in a cell while inducing cells to show precancerous attributes. White papers are available on his website for multiple studies he's been involved in, including one showing that gluten intolerance is actually glyphosate toxicity. Zach has noticed a great increase in immune dysfunction, especially in children, which he attributes to the leaky gut injury caused by glyphosate. He sees this as evidence that we are destroying our ecosystem. John recalls the prediction that within 60 years we will run out of topsoil, and Zach notices that is very close to the 70-year prediction for extinction. Zach finds it very important that we regenerate soils. He says 11% of GDP is lost each year with the loss of topsoil and hopes this might motivate larger groups of people to switch to a regenerative system because it is a notable financial statistic. Other Pesticides, Endocrine Disruption(around 41:00)The impact of pesticides on the endocrine system works in conjunction with the damage a

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Joel Salatin, a well-known lecturer and author and the co-owner of Polyface Farms in Swoope, Virginia. Polyface Farms is a "diversified, grass-based, beyond organic, direct marketing farm". Joel is well-known for his highly engaging public speaking style and is the author of twelve books relating his experience as a self-described 'lunatic farmer'. In this episode of the podcast, we visit the challenges of mainstream, conventional agriculture through Joel's paradigm-shifting lens, and learn why farmers are beginning to shift to a regenerative model. Joel also describes how farmers can learn the skills of marketing, communications, and public speaking, and broaches the uncomfortable topic of planning for farm inheritance and succession. Joel's worldview, informed by both real-world experience and immersion in a broad range of literature from philosophy, history, and religion, to current events and business, forms the foundation of his farming practices. Joel states that deep soils were not built with 10-10-10 chemical fertilizer, but rather built with real-time solar energy converted to carbon and vegetation that rots or is eaten and manured in place. Joel describes why he does not believe such organizations as McDonald's or Monsanto are evil, but rather thinks they have misguided beliefs concerning ecological systems and food production. Most often, employees at these organizations truly believe they are helping the world. While their understanding of agricultural processes is wrong, they are not ill-intentioned. The ability to understand the opposition is an important skill Joel developed in high school debate tournaments that helps him to build bridges with those who see agriculture differently than he does. Joel and John discuss how most farmers desire to better their land and none have the intention to degrade the soil. Yet, many farmers continue to practice mainstream agriculture with its soil-degrading effects. Joel explains that for farmers to change their practices, often they need to face a crisis. He describes how the symbol for "crisis" in Japanese is the same as the symbol for "opportunity". He sees crises as an opportunity for farmers to move towards more productive, regenerative practices. Joel also describes how we can elicit broader societal change to where regenerative farmers are viewed as the heroes within their communities. The benchmark of success most used in farming is yield. Farmers also consider equipment and infrastructure as benchmarks of success. Joel's take is that neither of these are a determinant of financial success or farm profitability. He relates an anecdote from his early years when his father, a tax preparer for the neighboring farming operations, mentioned that their own threadbare family farm was more financially stable than those farmers with large and fancy equipment and expensive facilities. Joel believes the mantra that farmers must feed the world is a fallacy that encourages detrimental practices and unsustainable agriculture. The coronavirus pandemic has sharply defined the need for communities to be able to feed themselves and has placed a spotlight on the drawbacks of the current centralized system. Joel describes his belief in an intelligent creator who has loaned the world to us as an investment. In his words, no investor would accept dead zones, pollution, and species extinction. Thus, it is our responsibility to improve the land and help it become more fertile year after year. Seeing the world as an investment helps people to treat it well rather than deplete its resources for unsustainable growth. The dysfunction of the current system is evidenced by the statistic that small-scale agriculture produces 70% of the global food supply with 30% of the inputs while the other 30% of the food supply is produced using 70% of the inputs. Joel makes the distinction that the size of a farming operation is not a determining factor in how regenerative or sustainable that farm can be. Rather, the sustainability of a farm can be rated on how centralized the operation is. He describes the growth of Polyface Farm as growth by duplication, rather than centralization. Although his farm is considered a large farm by the USDA, it has a small-farm feel partly due to his method of decentralizing 100,000 chickens in 300 field shelters on pasture rather than concentrating them in two giant poultry houses. He considers the ecological carrying capacity of the land when expanding, ensuring the land can absorb the livestock manure. Decentralized systems are much more resilient and much less smelly than concentrated, centralized systems. Although he cannot predict the future, Joel is certain that building healthy soil will stand the test of time. He emphasizes that an agricultural system of the future must be integrated, regionally focused, and full of complex relationships, and that it will be human and soil orie

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. Rattan Lal, an acclaimed soil scientist, researcher, and author. Dr. Lal has published hundreds of journal articles on soil ecosystems, effects of tillage, global food security, sequestering carbon in the soil, and more. In the early 1990s, Dr. Lal was a pioneer of the now mainstream idea that healthy soils are a defense against rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading groundbreaking research in Africa and later in South America. After a long and storied career, he is currently the Director of the CFAES Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, where he works with graduate students to research soil carbon sequestration and climate change. In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Lal provides an in-depth description of the function of carbon. Carbon is the determinant of healthy soil. As Dr. Lal describes, the reason that soil life is much more diverse in healthy soil is because organic carbon is the food for soil organisms. Thus, the healthier the soil, the higher the percentage of organic carbon, providing more diverse populations with the ability to thrive. This is also why, if crop residue isn't returned to the soil frequently, the soil organisms will starve and the soil will eventually die. By dying, Dr. Lal means the soil will no longer contain enough living organisms to carry on the biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes needed for healthy plant growth. Dr. Lal outlines the concentrations of organic carbon in the soil, which should be approximately 2% in the top 8 to 12 inches. Maintaining this level of soil carbon is essential for water retention and for controlling soil erosion and leaching. It's also critical for nutrient cycling and improved soil structure. Dr. Lal states that CNPK should be the slogan for the application of elements, rather than NPK because carbon is such a critical component of a healthy soil system. Dr. Lal details how carbon is essential for the utilization of the nutrients in the soil, whether they are native or applied, and illustrates the management of soil carbon levels by describing it in similar terms to managing a bank account. In a bank account, the goal is to increase the savings, and therefore what is deposited into the bank must always be more than what is withdrawn from the bank. Soil is exactly the same way. If we want the organic matter to increase in the soil, what we put in as a biomass carbon must be more than what is taken out. We lose carbon from the soil for four different reasons. These reasons are erosion, leaching, decomposition, and volatilization. It's important to know the amount of carbon loss happening from the soil so we can add a sufficient amount of biomass carbon back to the soil. The efficiency of humidification is about 15-20%, meaning the carbon added into the soil after harvest is 15 -20% of the original biomass after one year. Dr. Lal says that the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in corn or wheat residue is approximately 80:100, while the carbon to nitrogen ratio of humus is 12:15. That means the humus is more enriched in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Therefore, to make the most efficient use of the added biomass, microbes need nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other elements to transform the residue carbon into humus carbon. In an experiment on Dr. Lal's current Columbus, OH research farm, he developed four plots with 4, 8, 12, or 16 tons of biomass per hectare respectively. He then cut each plot into two and added extra nitrogen and phosphorus on the one side of the plot and no additional nutrients on the other side. The results showed the percentage of residue converted into stable humus is substantially increased when extra nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients are added then when there are none. Dr. Lal also describes his thoughts on providing farmers with compensation for ecosystem services. As a society, we could ask farmers to provide services to the global community such as carbon sequestration and the improvement of water quality. Dr. Lal believes society should be willing to compensate farmers for these services. He describes how he's calculated the cost farmers should be paid and has determined a baseline of $16 per acre per year by calculating in terms of tons of carbon and the worth of that carbon ($125 per ton) sequestered in soil as organic matter. Dr. Lal's outlined system of ecosystem services is not similar to a subsidy but is rather a payment earned for services performed. Dr. Lal also describes the necessity of passing a Healthy Soil Act. Similar to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, the Healthy Soil Act would be critically important to human health and to the slowing of climate change. Dr. Lal believes the passage of this act is especially critical because of the impact soil has on both air and water. Soil is the link between the atmosphere, the environment, plants, animals, and people. This episode is densely packed w

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews Ray Archuleta, an outspoken proponent of healthy soil systems and the founder of Understanding Ag and the Soil Health Academy. Ray has spent decades working in conservation agriculture and, in this episode, he describes his journey from seeing nature as a competitive entity, in which all else should be killed in order for the desired crop to survive, to his understanding today that nature thrives on diversity and collaboration. Ray describes how new science and technology have identified many examples of collaboration in agroecology, like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which share water resources and transport energy and nutrients from organism to organism. Even under stress conditions, these microbes provide water to the plant, an example of nature sharing resources rather than competing. He provides examples of research that illustrate fields with a diversity of species showing greater resilience and yields than monoculture plantings. Ray attended graduate school at New Mexico State University, after which he served as a livestock specialist in the Peace Corps and then as a conservation agronomist with the NRCS. During Ray's early years working in conservation agriculture, he started asking difficult questions: "Why is sediment the number one water quality problem in the nation? Why does it take so many acres to make a living?" Through these questions and more, reading books such as Allan Savory's Holistic Management, and coming to Gabe Brown's ranch in 2007, Ray had revelatory moments, realizing that robust soil ecology is the key to solving many of the challenges plaguing farms today. On Gabe's farm, Ray observed an ideal example of a thriving ecology. When he realized the crops had received no support from nitrogen or chemical fertility applications, he began to dig deep, looking for research that would explain how this ecosystem was working. What he found was that nature thrives when collaborations between compatible organisms are fostered, illustrated not only in agronomic studies such as Brown University's paper on Stress Gradient Hypothesis but also in the real-world operations of early-adopting farmers. John and Ray describe the collaboration taking place between plants, microbes, and bacteria in a healthy ecosystem as descriptive of a larger collaboration between farmers who are practicing these methods and sharing their information with other growers. Ray describes his own journey from viewing farming as drudgery to learning how the relationship between the living organisms works and feeling like he was a part of that relationship. The conversation takes a deep dive into this farmer-soil-plant relationship, providing growers with the history of the soil health movement, the roles that policy, society, and agriculture play in the broader global health context, and the encouraging view on the vast gains that have been made in the field of soil health since the beginning of Ray's career as a soil conservationist thirty years ago. Resources: Understanding Ag The Soil Health Academy The Stress Gradient Hypothesis Holistic Management by Allan Savory Gabe Brown's Ranch Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. Arden Andersen, who holds a Ph.D. in Agriculture and Biophysics. In this conversation on biophysics, John and Dr. Andersen explore topics such as the role of calcium, soil compaction, pest pressure, and more from the perspective of biophysics and energy. Dr. Andersen's career in agriculture started in childhood on his family's holistically managed dairy farm. This experience provided him with the daring to question accepted science and to forge new paths. While earning a bachelor's degree in agriculture, Dr. Andersen noted that his father's herd suffered from none of the dairy diseases he was studying, allowing him to draw a correlation between disease immunity and herd health. Through further study, he determined that immunity is influenced by nutrition and that this principle is the same for plants and mammals, including humans. Dr. Andersen dove into the world of biophysics, learning from pioneers such as Dr. Philip Callahan, Dr. Dan Skow, Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp, and Dr. Carey Reams, all of whom have had a vast influence on the fields of biophysics and energetics. Dr. Andersen reiterates the importance of soil calcium and functional biology to plant health, but from the perspective of the energetic signals the minerals and plants are carrying. He says that calcium is the foundational messenger that allows communication within the plant/soil system at the cellular level and that if calcium is ample, foliar sprays become much more successful and effective. Similar to putting a cheater bar on the end of a wrench to gain additional torque, foliar sprays add the last touches of power to a plant that has a sufficient soil base of nutrition. John and Dr. Andersen discuss clay chemistry and clay aging and how this impacts soil compaction. Clay aging is a term derived from the petroleum industry and it describes the process that develops when enough potassium chloride has been applied into the clay matrix to drive out the calcium and magnesium. At this point, the clay collapses and hardens at the molecular level, and soil compacts easily. Dr. Andersen warns that high-powered artificially produced electromagnetic frequencies can exhaust antioxidants and essential nutrients. To overcome the negative impact of these frequencies, plants must have a solid foundation of biology to derive nutrition from the soil. He states that plant growth is restricted by energetic limitations, and not by time. The subtle energies that drive information exchange between and within living cells determine how fast that cell can grow. An insufficiency of harmonic energy can lead to an insufficiency of molecular movement. By harnessing these energetic life forces, plants can be grown to maturity much faster. Dr. Andersen notes that plant genetic information is carried by an energetic signature that determines the physical chemistry and describes how stray energetic current causes both plant and animal disease by interfering with the central energy signature of that living organism. Dr. Andersen stresses the importance of being in tune with the soil, plants, and life in the field. He reviews the scientific component of communication between plants and the human heart and mind, stating that it's the life force in plants that we are gaining from the food we eat which keeps us alive. Listen to this episode to explore how understanding energetic life forces can provide the key to gaining enhanced performance from our crop genetics and environment. Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews Dr. Jill Clapperton, a plant physiologist with an intuitive understanding of the workings of the rhizosphere and an abundance of metaphors that clearly explain these mechanisms. Dr. Clapperton worked as the Rhizosphere Ecologist at AgriFood Canada and more recently started her own company, Rhizoterra, where she researches agronomic practices and develops technologies for scientific on-farm decision making. John and Dr. Clapperton delve into the science of the rhizosphere, discussing how the plant drives and controls the actions that transpire there. Each plant species exudes its own signature of carbon compounds, including sugars, amino acids, lipids, nucleic acids, and other compounds, which Dr. Clapperton refers to as 'carbon skeletons'. The plant then works with the rhizosphere to add the 'meat' of mineral nutrients, oxygen, hydroxyl groups, and more to make the long or short carbon chain 'skeletons' functional. Dr. Clapperton describes the function of these carbon chains as having multiple "command lines" or calls to action, available in their service of the plant. These actions include things such as calling in nematodes to parasitize insect larvae that are feeding on the roots of the plant, or calling in nitrogen-fixing bacteria if the plant is a legume. Dr. Clapperton also details how the nutrient density of a crop varies based on the cover crop species grown prior to the crop. The root exudates of different plant species develop entirely different colonies of soil fauna to bind the nutrition they need and deliver it to the plant. Because of this, a multi-species cover crop will provide a greater number of different nutrients available in the soil to the following crop. Dr. Clapperton outlines a detailed list of the crops with a compatible rhizobium; for example corn and canola rhizobia are incompatible. Dr. Clapperton also describes the various forms that photosynthates can take within the plant structure, underscoring the need for a robust photosynthesis cycle. As a metaphor, Dr. Clapperton suggests it's like starting with the train engine, which is the photosynthate, and then continuing to add cars onto the train by building these very different molecules from photosynthesis. In the complicated plant/mycorrhizae relationship, the mycorrhizae may need slightly more acidic root exudates in order to grow its hyphae, so it gathers minerals and transports them into the plant, trading them for more amino acids and carboxylic acids and organic acids. Scenarios occur where secondary plant compounds used for fighting disease are made, and if the plant doesn't need them, they will be broken down and redeveloped into other compounds. In addition, Dr. Clapperton describes how microbes seem to "hoard" amino acids and mineral elements and that if the soil fauna contained only microbes they would out-compete the plant for nutrients. Thus, predator/prey relationships come into play in which the plant calls for other organisms such as bacteria and fungi to eat and digest the microbes, making the nutrients being held by the microbes available for the plant. She describes the methods plants use to continually assess their needs and send chemical signals to the rhizosphere. For example, if there's an aphid on the leaves, the plant sends a signal to ramp up secondary metabolite production to lignify the leaves. Dr. Clapperton's latest research focuses on maintaining a preventative environment in plants, finding and replicating the factors that lead to plant resistance to disease and pest attack. For example, nematodes trying to puncture the roots of an onion crop can be parasitized by fungi, and insects trying to eat the roots can be preyed upon by nematodes. Dr. Clapperton is researching these interactions and learning how we can develop the conditions for them to occur. Learn more about her research on the Rhizoterra website. Listen to learn: How to switch plants from dependence on spoon-fed sugars to a healthy relationship with the soil rhizosphere. How feeding sugars causes unhealthy behavior in the rhizosphere that detracts from plant disease resistance. Why creating an environment where roots can grow rapidly inhibits plant disease incidence. Which plants develop rhizobia that work well with each other, and which plants to avoid planting together. How to grow crops with a proactive immunity so they acquire defense systems in place against pests. How to work with research organizations to measure the efficacy of new practices, and why it is critical to measure yield and quality results comparisons. Resources: Physiological Plant Ecology by Walter Larcher Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease by Dr. Don Huber Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants by Horst Marschner Gabe Brown on YouTube Dr. Jill Clapperton on YouTube Dr. Kris Nichols on YouTube Dr. Christine Jones on YouTube For the Love of Soil: Strategies to Regenerate our Food Production

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. Norman Uphoff, who was the director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development from 1990 to 2005, and is currently Professor Emeritus of Government and International Agriculture at Cornell University. In this episode, Dr. Uphoff relates how he learned about the System of Rice Intensification in 1993 when he was sent to Madagascar as part of an initiative led by Cornell University to develop a program to increase rice yields and help rural development. There Dr. Uphoff learned about the System of Rice Intensification, a method of growing rice that was claimed to increase yields dramatically that had been developed by a French Jesuit priest named Father Henri de Laulanié. Dr. Uphoff was skeptical that the full extent of the reported yields was true but thought the method merited further investigation and developed a plan for the Cornell program to run trials. The System of Rice Intensification focuses on providing plants with oxygen, photosynthesis, and soil biology, involving methods that were not the norm in the growing practices used in rice production, but that consistently increased yields from 50 to 200%. Farmers using this system saw many more tillers, greater root growth, and plants that stayed green longer. The plants intercepted more sun, gave higher yields, and were more resistant to pests and diseases. They didn't bend over in storms as easily and could withstand water stress and drought conditions. Dr. Uphoff describes how he trialed the method, demonstrating it on the ground in Madagascar and then expanding it to other countries. Dr. Uphoff describes the practices used in the SRI method for growing rice and then shows how those same methods, renamed to System of Crop Intensification (SCI), can work for other crops. One key characteristic of SRI and SCI is the use of compost instead of commercial fertilizers. Dr. Uphoff describes the situations in which compost shows the same efficacy as commercial fertilizer. This episode is a gem from one of the pioneers who achieved wide promotion of regenerative growing practices in an era when those practices were much less popular than they are today. Resources: Photo mentioned in the episode: (Note from Dr. Uphoff: "The two rice plants in Cuba are the same variety (VN 2081) and the same age (52 days after seeding in nursery). SRI plant on right was transplanted from the nursery at 13 days into SRI growing conditions, while the plant on left was removed from nursery at 52 days for transplanting at usual time in Cuba. 43 tillers vs. 5 tillers; as important are the differences in size and color(!) between the two plants. The size of the SRI roots says to me that the soil into which Luis Romero planted this seedling was really well-endowed with beneficial microorganisms that stimulated this root growth.") Links: Dr. Norman Uphoff's website Book: System of Rice Intensification; Responses to Frequently Asked Questions New York Times Article Cornell Article Modern Farmer Article Dr. Norman Uphoff's published research articles: All Dr. Uphoff's research papers The system of rice intensification as a sustainable agricultural innovation: Introducing, adapting and scaling up a system of rice intensification practices in the Timbuktu region of Mali Symbiotic Root-Endophytic Soil Microbes Improve Crop Productivity and Provide Environmental Benefits Grain yield and nitrogen utilization in response to reducing nitrogen rate in hybrid rice transplanted as single seedlings Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Jason Mauck, an Indiana corn, soybean, wheat, and hog producer who thinks outside the borders of convention and who has pioneered a number of innovative practices. Jason describes the guiding force behind his experiments and innovation as the desire to gain as much control over the variables in farming as possible. Rather than embracing traditional planting and application methods, Jason experiments with new approaches to farming, measuring whether they give him more resilience and control over his inputs and yields. Jason is passionate about relay cropping, the practice of having a second crop growing before the first crop is harvested. An example of this is a cool grass cereal such as wheat or rye planted with a summer annual of corn or soybeans. He describes his experimentation with this approach, from the original plan of planting two crops together and doing all of the same things he would do for each crop planted separately, to his current understanding of the equilibrium needed to successfully bring both crops to maturity with a productive harvest. He has experimented with modifying the width of the rows to accommodate the needs of both growing crops. He also discusses the role manure management plays in his farming operation, and how his goal is to use this source of nitrogen to decrease his dependence on off-farm inputs. In this interview, Jason talks about seldom discussed ideas, such as the phi angle of plant expression, which he describes as coordinating plantings so the solar angles reach the intercropped species. Also, he describes how a farmer can influence 6-ear corn or 200-seed wheat by following the principles of the Golden Mean. Jason talks about the conventional rationale of farmers, by which seed is planted with high hopes, given plenty of nitrogen and all the "by-the-book" fungicide and herbicide applications, and how his approach differs. Alternatively, he thinks of maximizing his yield with on-farm inputs and minimal costs, as well as considering the benefits of water absorption and soil biology the planting adds to the ecosystem. Jason also talks at length about farm economics, and how to increase the contribution margin by decreasing the input costs while employing methods to increase yields. Listen to this episode to hear from one of the most innovative young farming voices in the United States, and follow his social media channels below to keep up with his stream of ideas and measured experiments. Resources: Jason Mauck's Twitter Jason Mauck's YouTube Constant Canopy website Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews French agronomist, Olivier Husson, whose pioneering work on soil pH and redox potential provides a groundbreaking look at what goes on within the soil. Olivier has focused a large part of his research on the study of reduction-oxidation (redox) in rice production, where the crop is grown in paddies in anaerobic conditions. These conditions are ideal for the study of Eh. Eh, the short notation for redox potential, is a measurement of the availability of electrons, whereas pH is a measurement of the availability of protons. In order to gain a full picture of the soil's nutrient profile, we need to assess both the pH and the redox potential at the same time. In this interview, Olivier details: the difference between Eh and pH how the Eh profile changes based on photosynthetic activity how electrons in the soil are key to reversing oxidation and absorbing nutrition from soil mineral reserves how Eh determines water absorption capacity how the whole plant is regulated by the redox signal the Eh and pH parameters that are present when pathogenic fungi, bacteria, and viruses manifest in a plant and cause disease. John and Olivier have also presented on the topic of redox in a 6-hour course format, including graphs and visuals, which is available as a part of the Regen Ag Academy. You can access this course segment below for free. Resources: Redox Potential: Eh and pH as Indicators of Soil, Plant, and Animal Health and Quality Encyclopédie des plantes bio-indicatrices vol 1 Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews Claudia Carter, Executive Director of the California Wheat Commission. Originally from Ecuador, Claudia leads research around the marketability of California wheat and helps to develop and maintain domestic and international markets for this commodity. Through a partnership with the University of California Davis, the California Wheat Commission tests in-field performance of wheat yields and quality. With their in-house research lab, the Commission also develops pasta, bread, and other products to test wheat varieties for performance. In this episode, Claudia describes her educational journey in cereal sciences, and her focus on the durum quality parameters that processors need to develop a good pasta. John and Claudia discuss biofortification, the process of breeding wheat varieties for a specific nutritional profile. For years, bakers have demanded wheat varieties with lower mineral content, since the presence of minerals interferes with flour performance. Claudia describes the work being done by wheat geneticist, Dr. Jorge Dubcovsky, to reverse this trend and breed wheat varieties with increased quality and nutritional value. Claudia also talks about the function of protein content in baking, and why higher quality wheat is essential for bakers to develop a premium product. If you're a grain producer, you will find the information in this episode especially useful. Resources: California Wheat Commission Washington State University Wheat & Small Grains North Dakota Wheat Commission Kansas State University Wheat Production Whole Grains Council Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews plant pathologist Dr. James White of Rutgers University, whose work provides a new perspective on plant pathology, susceptibility to soil-borne pathogens, and plant absorption of nutrients. Dr. White explains how endophytes, non-pathogenic fungal and bacterial organisms present in all plants, are a mechanism by which plants can absorb complete molecules, internalize and propagate soil-borne microbes, and nullify pathogenic organisms. In the interview, Dr. White describes how plants cultivate microbes at the meristem, or root tip, where exudates are created. In this zone, these endophytes further attract and cultivate microbes from the soil in the rhizophagy cycle, from rhizo- meaning 'root' and -phagy meaning 'eating'. Through this process, plants attract and internalize soil-borne microbes. The microbes are then internalized by the plant and deliver nutrients from the soil directly to the roots. Dr. White relates how this endophytic process encourages oxidative interaction, fostering hardier, more stress-tolerant plants, and how nitrogen applications and fertilizer decrease the incidence of these endophytes, leading to disease-susceptible crops. In cotton culture, for example, the practice of seed de-linting prior to planting effectively destroys the endophytes present on the seed. Besides stimulating growth and stress tolerance within the seedling by bringing nutrients from the soil, endophytes also colonize pathogenic fungi, resulting in their reduced virulence. The endophytes don't kill the fungi, but rather they colonize and weaken it so disease incidence is greatly reduced. In some cases, those pathogenic fungi will actually become endophytic fungi in the plant, as in the example of Fusarium oxysporum. Once Fusarium oxysporum is colonized by the endophytic bacteria, it grows more slowly and onto the plant leaf surface. However, as long as the endophytic bacteria are also present, the Fusarium organism doesn't cause disease. Dr. White describes how researchers are just beginning to understand the significance of endophytic functions and the rhizophagy cycle. In the future, we are enabled to be more cognizant of what we're doing to the soil and plant microbiome in the process of cultivating plants. In this absorbing conversation, John and James cover the science behind: How plants absorb living microbes How endophytic microbes change potential pathogens' behavior to provide plant nutrients rather than cause disease How plants propagate soil derived-microbes Why cultivated varieties are more disease-susceptible than wild varieties and how this can be reversed How plant breeding processes can contribute to the loss of beneficial microbes on the seed coat More details that will change the way you think about seeds, planting, disease, and nutrition Resources:Research Paper: Rhizophagy Cycle: An Oxidative Process in Plants for Nutrient Extraction from Symbiotic Microbes Research Article: Pest Management Science: Review: Endophytic microbes and their potential applications in crop management Learn more about the rhizophagy cycle in a new 6-hour course from James White at https://www.academy.regen.ag/understanding-rhizophagy/ Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this podcast interview, host John Kempf and Canadian farmer Derek Axten discuss Derek's path to profitable farming practices. This journey started in 2007 when Derek made a trip to Dakota Lakes Research Farm where he witnessed soil health and water infiltration levels beyond which he knew were possible. In subsequent trips to Dakota Lakes and visits to Gabe Brown's ranch, Derek learned soil and crop management principles which he's adapted to his own farm. In this episode, learn about the methods and systems Derek has applied and how they've changed the trajectory of his farm from soil health and economic perspectives. Derek describes his system of inter-cropping and the management practices he employs to increase soil infiltration. He and John also discuss controlled traffic farming, Derek's liquid fertilizer regimen, and decreasing the use of applied nitrogen and other synthetic inputs. Listen to learn how Derek approaches: Soil management tactics and results Water infiltration Intercropping with two or more crops Fertility applications and compost teas Tillage Controlled traffic farming Support For This ShowThis show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email UpdatesTo be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & BookingPlease send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] CreditsThis episode was recorded by John Kempf and Derek Axten and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf. We've put together a survey; here's the link: advancingecoag.com/podcast. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

Before we present our newest episode, we have a request for you. As we complete our second season of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, we have a supporting base of over 5,000 listeners who engage with our episodes shortly after we post them. We now ask for your feedback on the podcast, whether there are topics you'd like to hear more about, and what suggestions you have for improvement. We've put together a survey that allows you to tell us what you think. Here's the link: advancingecoag.com/podcast. We are appreciative of your feedback and we look forward to implementing it to make the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast ever better! Thank you for permitting the interruption…now, on to the show notes! In this episode of the podcast, John interviews Dan Kittredge, the Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food Association, whose development of sustainable agriculture techniques has connected him to farmers worldwide. In this interview, John and Dan delve into the science of growing crops as it relates to human nutrition, describing how agricultural production practices can produce a better nutrient profile in our foods and the potential this holds for human health. He explains why a balanced, as well as a higher nutrient density in crops, is desirable. He discusses the complex relationships between the sun, soil, and plants that lead to these higher and balanced levels of nutrition. Dan explains that across the same food types, i.e., all carrots, wheat, milk, etc., there can be discrepancies in the reported nutritional values and how nutritional data on food packages can be wildly incorrect. Over the past few years, Dan has been working on the development of a BioNutrient Meter, a handheld spectrometer which tests mineral levels in fruits and vegetables. Dan describes the science of spectroscopy, which is based on the frequencies emitted by each chemical element --this same technology helps scientists and astrophysicists determine the composition of stars six light-years away in our solar system. By measuring the frequencies and light particular elements emit, they can measure the percentage of hydrogen, helium and other gases. With the science of spectroscopy, and other new technology, Dan and his team at the BioNutrient Food Association have built a first-generation model of a miniaturized consumer-priced spectrometer for testing the nutrient levels in crops. Listen to this provocative conversation between two pioneers who are truly passionate about growing food as medicine to learn: How Dan founded BFA, and how this non-profit provides support and education for farmers about the use of biological systems The science behind plant resistance to insects, and why these resistant crops make good, in fact better, food for humans. The differences in nutrient density between instances of the same crop when grown on different soil under different conditions How soil and plant health correlates to nutrient density How the compounds that correlate with flavor and aroma are those that make the plant indigestible for an insect or disease The science of spectroscopy, and how the new BioNutrient Meter works Resources The BioNutrient Food Association is having their annual Soil & Nutrition Conference in Massachusetts on November 13 to 17, 2019. For more information, visit soilandnutrition.org. For more information on the BioNutrient Meter, visit the BioNutrient Food Association website. Our community impact spot for this episode is provided by Hourglass Films. Hourglass Films has developed a documentary about regenerative agriculture called Sustainable, a film about the land, the people who work it and what must be done to sustain it for future generations. The film features some regenerative growers who work with AEA, and is currently available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and more. We hope you watch this documentary and find it engaging and useful. We've put together a survey; here's the link: advancingecoag.com/podcast. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us! Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant.

In this episode of The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews Walter Jehne, an Australian soil microbiologist and the Director of Healthy Soils Australia. Walter has written and taught extensively about the earth's soil carbon sponge and hydrology as they relate to climate change. Walter provides context for the extreme weather events we are experiencing, and clearly identifies the role that water plays as a climate regulator. He describes how we can manage water to safely and naturally cool the planet and regulate climate change. Walter has developed a perspective on the impact that farmers can have on the climate that is different than the dominant narrative on carbon sequestration. While carbon sequestration is an important piece of the puzzle, Walter explains how managing the way our soils retain and hold water has a much bigger impact due to the way the hydrological system functions as a regulator for the planet. Walter describes how specific tactics in the management of water in our soils can reduce extreme weather events. Here are a few things Walter and John discuss in this engaging episode: Why rising co2 levels are a symptom, rather than the cause, of the abnormal warming of the past 250 years How improving the soil's water-holding capacity contributes to a more stable climate The foundational principles of atmospheric physics and the climate The effect of land degradation on the hydrological dynamics of the planet How regenerating the soil carbon sponge is the critical bridge between carbon management and hydrology management How increasing photosynthesis and "green longevity" is the key to restoring the hydrological balance, thus restoring climate balance and reducing extreme weather events Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded by John Kempf and Walter Jehne and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews French agronomist, Pierre Weill, who created a feed company in 1992 in French Brittany with the intention of producing health-oriented animal nutrition. He then went on to co-found a nonprofit association called Bleu-Blanc-Cœur, which connects all the actors involved in the food chain to help producers and consumers connect the dots between reduction in disease and the quality of food production. Pierre's fascinating research trials examine the differences in human health when animal products from animals fed high-quality forage-based diets are consumed versus products from conventionally fed animals. In one group of six trials, conventionally fed animals were fed a diet of corn and soybeans, and the animals with a healthy diet were fed high-quality forages and seeds. Consumers in the trials were divided into control groups who ate milk, eggs, and other animal products from the conventionally fed animals, and experimental groups that ate the same from animals which were fed the higher-quality products. The two groups ate the same quantity and type of foods. The only difference was the diet of the animals. In this way, the producer's behavior, and not the consumer's behavior, was measured. As a proof of concept, the omega 6 and omega 3 levels, which correlate with the inflammatory processes, were measured in both groups of people, and a significant difference was found. The ratio of omega 6 and omega 3, which is healthy at a level of 5 and pro-inflammatory at a level of 10, was 15 in the control groups, and five in the experimental groups. Pierre also talks about the structure of a new trial, currently underway, testing the immunity of breastfed children with the mothers' diets being the differential, once again measuring the quality of the diets eaten by the animals whose products the mothers consumed. John and Pierre delve into the link between soil health and human health, and how the human gut microbiome is linked to a larger microbiome in the soil. The health of one is reflected in the health of the other. John and Pierre also discuss Bleu-Blanc-Cœur, and how Pierre developed this organization to address the problems of access to high food quality among populations with lower economic status and producer incentives to serve these groups. Within Bleu-Blanc-Cœur, producers pay close attention to the quality of animal health and diet and are connected with consumers who enjoy better health because of the producer's choices. As an experienced animal nutritionist, Pierre provides information on the most optimal diets for hens, cows, and pigs. He discusses the impact of a healthy animal diet, on-farm economics, and describes how the longevity, higher fertility, and higher yield of milk and butterfat lead to an increase on the bottom line for farmers employing healthy animal diets. Pierre's recommended resources (that are not written in French): The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollack To learn more about Pierre's work to improve the nutritional and environmental quality of our food, visit the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur website here. Follow Pierre's research, and read the results of past peer-reviewed studies. Our community impact spot for this episode is No-Till on the Plains, a non-profit organization that provides education, networking, and inspiration for growers who focus on soil health. No-till on the Plains will be hosting their annual winter conference in Wichita, Kansas, in January of 2020 where John Kempf will speak and present workshops about regenerative agriculture systems. To learn more about this conference and to register, visit the event information page on the web. Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded by John Kempf and Pierre Weill and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

John Kempf and Vernon Peterson take the stage for a live-recorded conversation at the inaugural Acres U.S.A. Healthy Soil Summit, held at the University of California Davis Conference Center on August 21, 2019, for this Regenerative Agriculture Podcast episode. Vernon's experiences from 30 years of growing tree fruit and other crops on both conventional and organic acreage in California's water, weather, and labor-challenged environment inform the wisdom he posits here. Peterson was the recipient of the Grower of the Year Award from the California Certified Organic Farmers Association and the Organic Produce Network in 2017. He farms 300 acres of stone fruit, including peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots. Vernon's operation also packs fruit for almost 80 neighbors, including stone fruit, pomegranates, and citrus. Listen to hear Vern's strategies for activating employees to achieve their fullest potential, his knowledge of organic fruit production and marketing, and a call to farmers to tell their story through knowing the nutrient value of their food. Vernon also discusses how he's formed a unique alliance of growers that work together in marketing, sales, operations, and compliance areas, resulting in successes for multiple small-scale organic operations. Vernon describes the "aha!" moment when farmers realize that organic production is more than just the conventional input substitution. He provides examples of measuring fruit tree production and worker productivity on his own operation, describing why it's important for employees to have access to the data and tools needed for their own improvement. He shares how a simple pay scale increased the output quality without costing him more while paying the workers double. He makes the case for how extraordinarily close relationships with employees lead to greater business success. Vernon also turns the ag production paradigm on its head when he suggests that growers should start by selling the crop, then focusing on marketing and packaging, before growing the fruit. He also shares his overarching goal of reinvigorating agriculture through organic production. He believes that documenting and publishing the nutritional quality of food holds the potential to turn the tide of agriculture in America. Vernon's recommended resources: The Stockman Grass Farmer BizBooks Ag Software The nutrient meter mentioned by John: BioNutrient Food Association's BioNutrient Meter Our community impact spot for this episode is the cover crop provider, Green Cover Seed. Green Cover Seed shares the benefits of cover crops with the farming community. They do an excellent job of conducting and disseminating research into cover crops species, blends, and uses. While there are many excellent cover crop providers out there, Green Cover Seed stands out for their education, outreach, and variety. Website: https://www.greencoverseed.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfrK9tSdYXpHFxbhKxgcMbw Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded live by John Kempf and Vernon Peterson at the Healthy Soil Summit and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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 inability to plant in sodden areas and the options to sow cover crops in empty fields. David Kleinschmidt, a midwestern agronomist, and owner of Progressive Agronomy Consulting Services, consults with growers across the Midwest where his in-depth knowledge of soils and soil health helps farmers realize better yields. Brad Hobrock is the owner of AgriBio Systems in Illinois where he farms several thousand acres of corn and soybeans. His voice and experience show the issues of cover cropping and weather challenges from a farmer's perspective. David Chance, the owner of Chance Farms and several thousand acres in Indiana, shares his expertise on cover crop mixes, dry weather planting, and farm subsidies. Steve Groff, the Cover Crop Coach and founder at Cover Crop Coaching, is based in Pennsylvania. He travels across the country teaching farmers the techniques and value of cover cropping systems. John and his guests outline the challenges farmers are facing this season, with a record number of unplanted corn and soybean acres throughout the Midwest due to excessive rain and flooding. They explain how cover crops can pay for themselves by decreasing the need for fertilizer applications while improving soils and yields in subsequent years. Listen to hear a broad array of perspectives on: The benefits and drawbacks of various species and their best uses How to determine your cover crop mix with your goals and budget in mind A comparison of simple one or two-species blends versus a diverse mix of cover crops The differences between cool- and warm-season legumes The value of cover crops in diffusing herbicide residue The value of cover crops in managing carbon and nitrogen The importance of bacterial and fungal inoculation The role of crop insurance programs Which cover crops can shift the soil's microbial population from bacterial to fungal dominance Which cover crops speed up the bioremediation process of pesticide residues in the soil profile This podcast serves as an invaluable resource for any grower whose planting window has passed without the ability to get in the field and for anyone considering the use of cover crops. The Community Impact Partner for this episode is the NOFA Summer Conference, a three-day conference that offers a wide-range of seminars, workshops, and other educational opportunities. Immerse yourself in a community of like-minded practitioners and curious learners eager to share inspiration and ideas for organic food, farming, health, activism, and beyond. The NOFA Summer Conference is a family-friendly event in Massachusetts where you can bring the whole family to enjoy workshops for adults, kids and teens, over 60 vendors, live music, games, and amazing food! Learn more about the conference and register here. The Community Impact Partner for this episode is also the Healthy Soil Summit. This August, Acres USA will host the Healthy Soil Summit in Davis, California. Join farmers, consultants, researchers, and others for two days of engaging learning from world-renowned experts in the field of regenerative agriculture including John Kempf, Gary Zimmer, and Brendan Rocky. Wherever you are in your farming journey, this event will provide you the tools to enhance the productivity and profitability of your operation through biological practices. Go to acresusa.com to learn more about the Healthy Soil Summit. Email us at [email protected] or call us at 1-800-355-5313. Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded by John Kempf, Steve Groff, David Chance, Brad Hobrock, and David Kleinschmidt, and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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 variables. Jerry also studies agriculture as a molecular geneticist, testing which genes are activated in plants during drought versus flood conditions and other environmental factors. John and Jerry also discuss the differences between the terms sustainable agriculture and regenerative agriculture, and answer the questions: What are the steps to regenerative agriculture? What is the return on this type of system? To quote Jerry, "If you go down this road of improving your soil, you increase your profitability, you increase your yield stability, and you'll sleep better at night." In this episode John and Jerry cover: The carbon balance in terms of improving the soil-plant-health continuum The roadmap provided by regenerative agriculture for increased profitability The needs of biology and how to fuel those needs to provide climate resilience Listen to learn how the carbon cycle can shift and change when growers begin to manage soils and crops differently with regenerative management, rather than with present mainstream management. Jerry says, "Agriculture is in the carbon capture business," and this episode explains why, drilling into the role of carbon in regenerative agriculture. The Community Impact Partner for this episode is the Regenerative Organic Alliance, the developer of the Regenerative Organic Certification, a holistic agriculture certification encompassing pasture-based animal welfare, fairness for farmers and workers, and robust requirements for soil health and land management. Brands are already seeking to bring ROC-certified products into their supply chain. You are invited to research and join the ROC program. The first step is to download the ROC Participant Handbook on their website. Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or a booking request: [email protected] Email John directly: [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded by John Kempf and Jerry Hatfield, and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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: The Erosion of Civilizations, he imagined it would tie the subject of landscape formation over millennia to how soil erosion affected ancient civilizations. He ended up writing about the history of farming, because that's where soil erosion and degradation connects back to human societies. Spending more than a decade looking at how agriculture has influenced soil loss resulted in an epiphany that led him to see regenerative agriculture as the solution to historically degenerative agricultural problems. In this thought-provoking interview, John and David discuss: How conventional farming practices have contributed to mining the soil, and how this impacts the future of global societies. David's observations of rebuilding soil at scale and the science behind it The 3 principles of successful soil regeneration: Minimal ground disturbance Keep the surface covered Grow diverse crop rotations How the key to rapid restoration of soil fertility is about kick-starting the biology Why David is an unrepentant optimist on the issue of reversing soil degradation, something he didn't think would happen when he wrote the book on erosion. John and David explore the soil-life effects of glyphosate as an antibiotic and mineral chelator, and conjecture as to it's human health impacts. There is a fascinating glimpse of a South African farm that doubles as a cheetah rehabilitation area, that may spur new ideas on meshing agriculture with wildlife conservation. David shares about his two musical projects as well. https://www.bandmix.com/bigdirt/ David is the author of two books: Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations 2007 Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life 2017. David's recommended reading list from the episode: Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown Organic No-Till Farming by Jeff Moyer The Third Plate by Dan Barber The Community Impact Partner for this episode is Jerry Hatfield, director of the National Lab for Agriculture and the Environment at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. The ARS seeks partners to participate in on-farm research to further our collective knowledge about best farming practices. Please consider getting involved with this important work as a citizen-scientist, and look forward to a future podcast interview with Jerry soon! Website: www.ars.usda.gov/nlae Email: [email protected] Phone: (5l5) 294-5723 Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event to [email protected] Email John directly at [email protected] Credits This episode was recorded by John Kempf and David Montgomery, and produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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 has developed and the data he has collected in his trials. Mike has shown that profitable large-scale agriculture and regenerative practices are entirely compatible and speaks to how his operation has scaled regenerative practices. He also thinks deeply about return on investment, the economic growth of his operation, and discusses the positive impact that regenerative methods have had. Believing that one of the fastest ways to improve soils is to grow a healthy crop, Mike explains his view of the tree as the conduit for putting carbon into our soils more efficiently than mulch or compost. Supported with the correct nutrition, the tree is simultaneously building this year's crop and boosting nutrient levels in the soil for building future crops. In the episode, Mike gives in-depth information on his experiments with different types of cover crops saying, "When we talk about having a return on our investment, we need to have every seed that goes into that mix be there because we know it's going to earn us a return - not because we want to feel good that we're maybe doing something that we read in a book was important." Close to the end of this conversation, Omeg says, "I'm excited for every day to bring new challenges in farming. And focusing upon biological and restorative agriculture has just brought a real sense of joy to me when I walk through the orchard. It's exciting, and I love it." Mike is truly an important figure in the landscape of stone fruit production. Check out his YouTube channel where he covers not only some of the most innovative stone-fruit production methods, but also a host of other fascinating topics. Whether you grow cherries or cherry tomatoes, you will find this conversation between John and Mike to be fascinating and informative, with lessons that span all of agriculture. Listen to this conversation to hear Mike explain: His very practical experience and cost/benefit analysis with mulch, compost, cover crops and interplanting How mow-and-blow replaced Mike's use of compost How plant sap analysis influenced his inputs management process Mike's extensive trials, and thinking process, for finding cover crops suitable for orchard alleyways Specific information on Ajuga (Ajuga reptans), Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia), and Comfrey (Symphytum officinale var. patens) Nutritional defenses against the two major cherry diseases, bacterial canker and powdery mildew that he never imagined possible An interesting anecdote on freeze resistance The value of fish and other inputs on orchard plantings The ROI on a bio-intensive system based on increased cherry size and firmness How biologically intensive practices and large scale production fit together Resources: SeaShield (fish product mentioned by Mike) Mike's recommended sources for information: YouTube The Farming Ladder by G. Henderson Please remember to support our Community Impact featured partners! Acres USA is North America's premier publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming. For more than four decades they have been helping farmers, ranchers and market gardeners grow food organically and sustainably. Acres USA is dedicated to the mission of educating growers about the benefits of ecological farming, with content that is designed to help you grow your operation in an ecologically and economically sound way. Check out their books, podcast, and monthly magazine! Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast email list. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event to [email protected] Email John directly at [email protected] Credits This episode was Recorded by John Kempf and Mike Omeg, Edited by Nathan Harman, Produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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 that has inspired advisors and growers to adopt more intuitive farming practices in the hopes of fostering greater peace of mind, increased clarity and enjoyment, better plant vitality and improved business productivity. As you will hear, Pascal is committed to life in all its many forms and brings a perspective that stresses the importance of a close partnership between man and nature. His innovative approach encourages advisors and growers to unlock their full potential and to strive to realize what is most important to them. This episode is largely the story of Pascal's thought journey on the nature of farming, the relationships we hold with nature, and the opportunity to make both more meaningful. He and John talk about the development of techniques to increase communication between growers and their plants, and a much more subtle way of interacting with our crops, which is intended to provide greater fulfillment to the grower, and better results. We may be challenged to step outside our comfort zones, hearing what Pascal offers, but one may find it to be of great value. "If there is something I want to say today...my only desire is... open new possibility to the grower, and if there is something that resonates in themselves from what I say, just take it. If there is something that doesn't talk to you just...throw it in the garbage." In this episode, John asks the question "What is it that plants desire from the grower?" This episode introduces a Regenerative Agriculture Podcast first: quotes from actual plants, as translated by Pascal. He notes that "When you communicate with nature you can receive information as a thought, as an image, as an emotion, you can be pulled to go somewhere in the field. It depends on the person...be open minded...it's got to be your way." There are many stories from the field and a few action items, but this interview is not about science and agronomy. It's about a farmers relationship to life, and passion for the work of farming. These are esoteric concepts that Fafard presents eloquently and practically. Pascal's course suggestions: Maya Kincaid: The Sedona International School for Animal and Nature Communication Pranic Healing - International course offerings: (USA EAST site: https://pranichealingusa.com/) (USA west site: https://pranichealing.com/) And John's suggested reading on the topic: The Lost Language of Plants and The Secret Teachings of Plants, both by Stephen Harrod Buhner. If you have questions or would like to set up a consultation with Pascal, please reach out to him at [email protected] Please remember to support all of our Community Impact featured partners! Chelsea Green is an employee-owned and mission-driven company and a leading publisher of hundreds of great titles, including Gabe Brown's recent book, From Dirt To Soil -- which we featured Gabe & his book on this show, in Season 1. If you like this podcast, you will love their books. And there is just enough winter left to read a few. Visit them at www.chelseagreen.com and enter the code "REAG30" at checkout, for a generous discount just for listeners of this show. And finally, we are very pleased to announce the recent release of AEA's new online learning platform, the Regen.Ag Academy, https://academy.regen.ag/ The first course is ready and more are on the way. This self-paced series of courses, each comprised of multiple video lessons, and graded quizzes, is geared toward the agricultural professional, Certified Crop Advisor (CCA), student, or highly motivated grower who wants to further their studies in regenerative agronomy. It is an accredited course and can be taken for CEU points from the ASA. We've been working hard to set up a platform where the best of John Kempf's teachings can be received, and where you can assess your own knowledge. We look forward to your participation and feedback. Check out Regen.Ag Academy here, and sign up to be notified of future course releases. Thanks for Listening! Support For This Show This show is brought to you by AEA, helping professional growers make more money using regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you grow on a large-scale and are looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Sign Up For Email Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings,

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 first guest on the show in Season 1, and you can listen to the first-ever Regenerative Agriculture Podcast episode with Don, here. Dr. Don Huber is a leading plant pathologist, Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, and prolific author, contributor, or editor of more than 300 published academic writings and three books. For more than 50 years, Don has been a renowned researcher and principal voice in the field of crop-plant pathology, especially as it relates to the overlapping spheres of mineral fertility and microbial ecology. As a research partner, consultant or advisor, he has contributed to work in more than a dozen countries and been awarded numerous honors and awards for his copious scientific contributions. Critical among these, has been his work in: nitrogen efficiency; nitrification inhibitors; plant and microbial metabolite interactions; development of aminopeptidase profiling, whereby unknown micro-organisms can be rapidly identified and then cultured, by their amino acid profile; and copious work vastly furthering the understanding of mineral/ microbe/ disease/ herbicide interaction. There are some heavy science topics in this show that may compel your own further research. But no matter what or where you grow, there are some truly high-value practicalities laid out in this conversation. This all makes him a really exciting guest to have on the show. In this episode, listen as Dr. Don Huber covers the following and more: Reducing vs. non-reducing sugars and the role they play in energy storage and metabolism. High levels of reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) are an attractant of insects and disease. Manganese is an enzyme cofactor for the sucrose phosphate synthase enzyme that converts glucose and fructose. Reducing sugars are exuded from roots, attracting pythium, Phytophthora, actinomycetes, oomycetes. Non-reducing sugars are less exuded and a poorer food source for these organisms. Most soil pathogens remain dormant and harmless until activated by external nutrient sources. The grower can control this. In disease suppressive soils, soil bacteria colonize the resting structures of dormant fungal or oomycete spores, causing fungistasis, keeping them dormant. Reducing sugars, as root exudates, disrupt this suppression by giving bacteria a more ready food source. Airborne pathogens are also attracted to a deficient nutrient profile of the above-ground plant parts. Rusts require an exogenous source of Zinc on the leaf surface for spores to germinate. Siderophores can be prevented by antibiotics, nutritional integrity, and immune responses. Some early fungicides did not affect the fungus, but rather the amino acid profile of the plant, denying the fungus its food source. Apple Scab example. Aminopeptidase profiling that Don developed. Not directly practicable for farmers, but a fascinating and now commonly used lab practice, in microbiological research. Nitrogen is not just N, from the periodic table. Ammonium, Nitrate and Amino Nitrogen must be considered as unique substances, that affect systems differently and should be used differently. Molybdenum's role in the Nitrate Reductase enzyme functioning, and other details on nitrogen conversion and storage. Ammonium is the most efficient form of Nitrogen for corn and wheat. Nitrate requires 12-16% of all sugars just to convert to a plant usable form. Ammonia, however, cannot be stored and must be metabolized as its taken up, which can be stressful for very small plants. Efficient urea use and its reliance on the relatively abundant urease enzyme to hydrolyze ammonia. At the end of the show, Don gives this reminder: "It's truly remarkable how everything is integrated to such a dynamic degree that it all relates together… Just look at the whole picture and make sure that we're meeting the needs of the plant… We need to look for the specific elements, but recognize that they're all part of an integrated system." ~Don Huber For more reading of Dr. Huber's work, view his selected bibliography and further bio. Be sure to check out the links below as I have some exciting announcements to make! Enjoy! John and The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast team at AEA PS... I am excited to announce that, in alignment with my mission of making regenerative agriculture the new standard for agriculture, and due to popular demand, I am opening an online academy, the Regen.Ag Academy! The first course is entitled Precision Ag Nutrition Management, offering powerful and engag

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 our first ever Podcast LIVE and why John and Ed make such a great pair to co-create this inaugural episode at this event. Ed is an old-school breeder and grower with a new-school mentality. More than 90% of the green chiles grown in the US and Mexico are from Ed's breeding program. He is now the only breeder of his kind in the world. Even if you don't grow chiles, you can certainly learn something from this discussion. The show covers important topics such as: The art of visual phenotyping Soil health's impact on genetics Increase in yield by maximizing genetic potential over time Visually measuring the yield and quality of a chile crop within 30 days of planting The relationship between early vigor and crop yield How Ed's management practices have brought steady decreases in Phytophthora and Xanthomonas bacterial spot Ed's prediction for the coming capsaicin revolution and its many positive benefits One of the most powerful things Ed says is, "The soul of farming is the soil." We agree. The finale of our first season, episode #30, represents a huge milestone and our first ever Podcast LIVE. A huge THANK YOU is in order to all our amazing listeners around the world in the regenerative ag community who have supported this show and helped to make it such a success. We hope you have a lovely holiday and we look forward to sharing the second season of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast with you in the new year. Thank you, The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast Team Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list. Credits This episode was Directed by Geoffrey Shively, Edited by Nathan Harman, Produced by Nathan Harman, Robin Kitowski, Jenna Sodano, and Anna Kempf.

"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 benign ways to address pest challenges. Marrone's career has taken her from Monsanto and Novo Nordisk to entrepreneurial ventures such as Agraquest Inc. and MBI. Her research screening for microbes and their products has yielded a library of tens of thousands of potentially useful microbes, and has given the world several of it's most widely used Bio-Pesticides.Pam also co-founded the Biological Products Industry Alliance to help growers understand HOW to make the best use of these materials in a combined whole farm program. Throughout this fascinating conversation you will discover: 50% of pharmaceuticals are derived from natural products, but only 15% of pesticides Environments where one is more likely to find insecticidal microbes compared to fungicidal microbes Technologies that are enabling faster and more effective microbial and metabolite research Microbial shifts observed due to different farming practices Ecological and profitable advantages of BioControls over synthetics The great need for more multifactor, on-farm, holistic research as opposed to single-factor, silver bullet research Why it's not necessarily the bacteria or fungi themselves, but the compounds they produce that we are looking for Enjoy! John Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Episode Resources Marrone Bio Innovations Bio-bites articles and podcasts linked on Pam's blog ATTRA IR4 at Rutgers Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA) Biocontrols market growth [article, report] Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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, a consulting and fertility provision company headquartered in Madison Wisconsin. Gary's consulting has largely been in broad-acre crops and dairy, but the powerful information he offers can be universally transferred to any crop. Gary's analogies between ruminant digestion and soil mineralization helps us understand concepts in biological farming. This talk is sprinkled with fast-paced wisdom, anecdotes, research, and philosophy. The conversation centered on three topics which are critical to every farm: Trace Minerals Gary's preferred trace mineral nutrition sources and distribution methods A lively discussion on sap, tissue, soil and dairy ration testing Using mineral inputs when and where needed, with purpose, based on data Nitrogen Management Nitrogen management is NOT merely a numbers game Digestibility and solubility are the critical considerations in N management The use of various nitrogen stabilizers such as polymer coatings, humates and carbohydrates The use of S, Mg and Mo to stabilize nitrogen in the soil Growing crops without purchased nitrogen Removing N availability as a limiting factor by growing N Carbon A perceived N response which is actually caused by solubilizing carbon and releasing CO2 The economics of mineral balance in terms of yield bump vs. yield loss How to best think about cover crops and their use Thank you to Gary for joining us twice and hope everyone enjoys the show! Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 agriculture, which I highly recommend: The Biological Farmer (now available as an updated and expanded second edition), and Advancing Biological Farming. In this episode, Gary: Provides stories and insights from his decades-long career Clarifies the distinction between soil-correction and crop-fertilizer Reiterates the need to focus on biology in our soils and to use crop variation Warns against simply replacing fertilizer sources point-for-point when transitioning to organic production The discussion is lively, informative and short. Thus, we decided to invite Gary back for a follow up episode which will air next week, where Gary and I dive deeper into specific actionable steps growers can take to better manage nitrogen and trace mineral nutrition delivery from the soil. Hope you enjoy! John Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 practical steps for soil regeneration and farm profitability for more than 15 years, Gabe is also a partner with Soil Health Consultants LLC, an all-star group of ag thinkers and doers engaged in challenging the status-quo of agriculture. In this episode Gabe and I speak about: The time when Dr. Norman put a 4 ft long probe into the ground and the soil would collapse with only 2 ft in the probe because of tremendous pore space. The reception of his book and the increased adoption of regenerative agriculture he's observed. How to drive wholesale change in agriculture: the role of producers (most), consumers (a lot), processors (plenty) and government (not much!). His desire to educate consumers regarding their role as potential Regenerative Ag advocates who leverage their food purchasing power. The need for growers to focus on photosynthesis, carbon cycling, and support of biological systems. The relative value of soil testing, which test is most valuable, and what to measure. The idea that Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium are abundant enough in soils and the atmosphere to supply all NPK needed for crop and livestock production, and can be made available through cover cropping and biological cycling. Dr. Norman's research on Gabe's farm documenting soils with up to 70% pore space. The real potential to increase nutrient density, environmental conditions, and farm livelihood in the near-term. And the one thing he wishes every farmer in the country would do. This is Gabe's second time on the show and I am pleased to welcome him back. Listen to Gabe's and my previous episode, which received great feedback, here. Hope you Enjoy! John P.S. Next Tuesday, Nov 7th, I will be hosting an AEA webinar to discuss our seaweed product and why plants respond so differently to it than to other seaweeds. Sign up for the webinar here. Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Related Resources Book: Dirt To Soil, by Gabe Brown TEDx Talk: Gabe Brown on Regeneration of Our Lands: A Producer's Perspective Webinar: John Kempf on How Crops Benefit From Robust Soil Microbial Populations Podcast: Eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizer with Kris Nichols Webinar: John Kempf on Changing Agronomy With Biology Webinar: Capturing Residue to Build Soil Organic Matter Book: Soil, by David Montgomery Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list. Credits This episode was Directed by Geoffrey Shively and Nathan Harman, Edited by Nathan Harman, Produced by Nathan Harman, Jenna Sodano, Robin Kitowski, and Anna Kempf.

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 growers more successful on their operations. This podcast episode was originally recorded an exclusive webinar and received such fantastic feedback, I wanted to share it with you. Because this was a webinar, the audio quality is a somewhat lower than usual. The concepts I cover include: Focusing personal energy on increasing revenue, while delegating responsibility for decreasing costs to managers Developing an intimate understanding of the agronomic science needed to increase revenue Focusing on developing manageable data, measuring, and documenting which techniques work or don't Making decisions based on data, particularly economic data Having an intuitive heart connection to your crops Click here sign up for our email list and get updates when new episodes are available. Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Related Resources Extraordinary farm managers do more of these things, than others: Focus their time and energy on increasing revenue (spend 80% of own finance related planning time) Delegate decreasing costs to accountants, advisors, and/or other staff (spend 20% of own finance related planning time) Develop an intimate knowledge of the science needed to increase revenue Put a big focus on developing data sets, measuring, and documenting the techniques that work and don't work Are decisive and make decisions based on data, particularly economic data Plan for the long-term Expect perfect implementation and execution from themselves and staff Have close relationships with staff, bordering on family Spend time learning new information (reading books, attending events, listening to educational media) Are open-minded to exploring new information Think big, start small, and scale fast Have an intuitive heart connection to their crops Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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, lichens, molds, etc.) and is a fundamental element of building soil health and profitable regenerative systems. Peter is in high demand -- appearing in publications, speaking, and recently starting the world's first mycology school (Mycologos), dedicated to the practical arts and science of working with fungi and, after much fanfare, being successfully funded on Kickstarter. Peter is well-versed in fungal impacts on agriculture systems on which this podcast episode focuses. His advocacy also covers ecological restoration, medical research, manufacturing, human nutrition, and more. Actionable Information Within This Episode: Why fungi should be considered a primary component in agricultural systems. Types of fungi to know in farming and how to encourage them. Utilizing fungal roles in the carbon cycle, soil aggregation, stability, and porosity. Calcium syncing and phosphorous harvesting. Myco-remediation techniques for neutralizing toxins. Drought, heat and disease resilience and tolerance. Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Related Resources Animation: Mycorrhizal Fungi in Action Regenerative Agriculture Podcast: Eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizer with Kris Nichols Good Life Revival Podcast: Permaculture, Rewilding, and Homesteading with Peter McCoy Webinar: John Kempf on How Crops Benefit From Robust Soil Microbial Populations Webinar: John Kempf on Changing Agronomy With Biology Webinar: Capturing Residue to Build Soil Organic Matter Organization: Open Source Ecology (Peter McCoy, Advisor) Wikipedia: Mycology Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 information on maximizing dairy production by managing all aspects of cow health. On this episode of the podcast, Silvia and I talk about The roles of key trace minerals in plant health and performance The science behind immunity with nutrition How the lack of key mineral access leads to plants being largely comprised of nitrogen Animal behavior and the feeding sequence How farmers can change what ruminants graze for by what they are fed prior to letting them out to pasture Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources The Farm as EcoSystem by Jerry Brunetti Grass, the Forgiveness of Nature by Charles Walters Management-Intensive Grazing by Jim Gerrish The Albrecht Papers The Art and Science of Grazing by Sarah Flack Soil, Grass, and Cancer by André Voisin Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 means, you can also tap into visual versions of this information, here: Recorded Webinar presentation (video) Webinar Slide deck Preventing Nitrogen and Phosphorous Leaching - Episode Highlights Key Points: Plant nutrients should be available without being water soluble Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers can be stabilized to prevent them from leaching We can maintain and increase yields while reducing nutrient runoff when the right technology is used Phosphorus exists in the soil in four states: Plant available inorganic, orthophosphate (1 lb per acre) Microbially complexed, organic, unavailable (50 lb per acre) Adsorbed to soil particles, unavailable (150 lb per acre) Mineral, (includes precipitated), unavailable (up to 9000 lb per acre) Phosphorus can be lost to water by: Loss of soluble inorganic P shortly after applying Loss of small soil particles with adsorbed P (majority) Plant available inorganics: Become rapidly complexed Adsorption Precipitation Binds with Fe, Al, Mn in acidic soils, and Ca in alkaline soils Best availability at ph 6-7 Microbial Complexed Microbial processes mineralize and release orthophosphate, Can tap into adsorbed P and mineral P Optimal soil temperature of 65-105º F To prevent phosphorus leaching Accelerate the mineralization process to release more P from unavailable reserves Mychorrizal fungi and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (BioCoat Gold) Apply P that is available but not soluble Add stable humic substances which have a high anion exchange capacity, can hold P without leaching (HumaCarb) Microbial stabilized nitrogen, added carbon, sulfur, molybdenum Rejuvenate and ATS Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources http://nmsp.cals.cornell.edu/publications/factsheets/factsheet12.pdf https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/961-the-phosphorus-cycle https://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/nutrient-management/phosphorus/the-nature-of-phosphorus/docs/the-nature-of-phosphorus.pdf http://www.cropnutrition.com/availability-of-phosphorus-fertilizer http://soilquality.org.au/factsheets/phosphorus http://blog.nutri-tech.com.au/the-phosphate-equation/ Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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. I discuss the three steps we take to flip directions in short order. Enjoy! Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 producers reducing erosion, increasing soil microbiology and working with nature. She has since become a champion of regenerative agriculture. In this episode, you will find particularly useful information on cover/crop/animal/bee systems in grain-based production. Sarah expands on her compelling vision for the regenerative future in agriculture with multiple examples and options to fit any farm. We discuss: How learning and education for farmers is linked to farm profitability Goal-based thinking in agriculture - what it is and how it works better than following any one methodology such as organic, no-till, sustainable, etc. Techniques for preventing erosion Techniques for reducing fuel consumption of tractors and equipment Improving degraded soils Fertilizer reduction Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources Dirt, The Erosion of Civilizations, by David Montgomery Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 communities within agroecosystems by reducing disturbance and increasing biodiversity within cropland. In this episode, Jonathan and I discuss How diversity in insect populations decreases pest problems Why the term "pesticide safety" is meaningless, and the ecological implications and risk assessment of pesticides How to develop agroecosystems that reduce the need for insect management products and other agrochemicals How to design a proactive pest management system Beekeeping, varroa mites, overwintering, and other interesting aspects of bees and honey production Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources Ploughman's Folly One Straw Revolution Mark Winston Carl Sagan Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 tests are needed for optimal farm performance how a soil test can be a detriment what to look for in a soil report what the numbers aren't telling you why you can decrease your annual fertilizer inputs and get a better crop response Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources https://www.advancingecoag.com/soil-samples-analysis Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 breadth of knowledge about plant health that is a true delight. In this episode, Greg and I discuss How the microbiome determines 'terroir' and influences flavor and quality, Using plant sap analysis, and how well it correlates with field observation Can you produce fruit with more flavor and metabolites in a stressed environment, or in an optimal environment? Plus many more highlights Support For This Show This episode is brought to you by AEA - Advancing Eco Agriculture - leading regenerative agriculture since 2006. Visit www.advancingecoag.com today and learn how AEA can help you increase quality + yield. Resources The Farm as Ecosystem by Jerry Brunetti Science in Agriculture: Advanced Methods for Sustainable Farming by Arden B. Andersen Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease by Lawrence E. Datnoff, Wade H. Elmer, Don M. Huber Tuning In To Nature by Philip S. Callahan Nutrition Rules! by Graeme Sait Postmodern Winemaking: Rethinking the Modern Science of an Ancient Craft by Clark Smith Chemistry Made Simple: A Complete Introduction to the Basic Building Blocks of Matter by John T. Moore Khan Academy Acres U.S.A. Music Greg recommends: For a musical translation of what it's like when you feel a sense of elation when new concepts click into place: Beethoven's 9th Symphony, otherwise known as the Ode of Joy For when you gotta clean out your barn: Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love Episode 16 - Greg Pennyroyal - Highlights 2:30 - Greg's journey bringing him to where he is today Greg started on a family farm, not having any experience or idea what he was doing Greg's advice on finding a mentor, and how a local dairy farmer became one of Greg's first mentors How Greg found his practical experience and down-home logic helped him when thinking critically about what he was taught in college Why Greg moved on after a decade, and him ending up at Trout Lake Farm for the decade after 8:25 - Integrating business and agriculture The importance of not being greedy when developing a solid place in the market 9:00 - Greg's movement to Leiner Health Products and his increase in research possibilities Why looking for alternatives to standard agriculture doesn't mean we need to be looking for alternatives to science Greg's views on having a perspective of connecting the dots on a higher level than deep science 10:30 - Standardizing natural products like medicine Greg's breakthrough on finding plants growing in ecosystems closer to where the plant was native to, where biological principles were used, had much less variation from season to season and farm to farm This was because plants that are built better and grown in a biological system tend to have more biochemical homeostasis 13:10 - The connection between biological integrity and the human genome 13:30 - Greg's homeopathic testing with interesting results 15:45 - Greg's work on an MS medication from a rare Tibetan herb, and how it was similar to California white sage 17:20 - The importance of being aware of misinformation on both sides of unconventional and conventional agriculture 17:50 - Greg at Wilson Creek Winery and Vineyards Greg loves making wine! Viticulture is one of the few agricultural crops that a paid for quality. Great grapes = higher wine prices. x6 value of the commercial value of grapes How different regions of growing contribute to the taste of wine - which is due to the microbiome of the area (microbial patterns) 23:05 - More info on plants being grown in their native environment grown using biological practices Level 1 - plants struggling to survive Level 2 - getting in balance Level 3 - enhance production of what plant has difficulty producing when not balanced Highest level - Disease and insect resistance plant producing healthy offspring 26:10 - Bringing plants into balance Both from a nutritional perspective and from a microbiome perspective Getting plants onto a positive cycle and out of a negative cycle 29:10 - The amazing resiliency of plants How quickly stressed trees can recover when given the proper opportunity 30:15 - Great results of plant sap analysis over petiole analysis 32:00 - Plants expressing different chemical profiles based on the nutritional and microbial environment Everyone cares about flavor and aroma Stressing a plant vs. producing in an optimal environment The debate in the wine world on deficit irrigation Greg doesn't believe enough research has been done in this area, but Greg thinks for plants "stress is stress", and that plants want to produ

I've been asked a lot recently about how to manage vegetative growth versus reproductive growth. On the mini-episode this week, I talk about which nutrients drive strong vegetative growth, and which drive strong reproductive growth and development, along with the hormonal interactions which drive plant dominance. Nutrients in both categories interact with and synergize or antagonize certain plant hormones. These interactions shape how trees and plants develop reproductive buds and fruitwood versus shoot growth. On this episode, I talk about which nutrients are vegetative, which are reproductive, and how to switch plant dominance between vegetative and reproductive stages. 4 Vegetative Growth nutrients: Nitrate Nitrogen (not ammonium or urea) Potassium Chloride Calcium Reproductive nutrients: All other nutrients will bring a slight reproductive response but the below 3 drive the strongest reproductive growth. Manganese Phosphorus Ammonium Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.

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 of Washington's highest honor, the Annual Faculty Lecturer Award. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of the research journal WATER and Director of the Institute for Venture Science. Dr. Pollack's (award-winning) books include The Fourth Phase of Water (2013), and Cells, Gels, and the Engines of Life (2001). Dr. Jerry Pollack maintains an active laboratory at the University of Washington in Seattle. In this episode, Jerry and I discuss How water moves to the top of a 100-yard tall redwood How nutrients are absorbed across cell membranes and plant roots The role of EZ water in moving nutrients through vascular tissue How plant roots can absorb complete compounds from the soil solution Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Resources Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor Episode 15 - Dr. Gerald H. Pollack - Highlights 4:50 - What is exclusion zone water? (EZ Water) We all learned water had 3 phases, but the idea that water could have a phase between liquid and solid has been around for some time EZ water is between solid and liquid. Gel-like, almost like raw egg whites EZ water has a negative charge, unlike ordinary water Energy comes from infrared light EZ water is also called fourth phase water, ordered water, or structured water 13:10 - John strongly recommends reading two of Gerald's books: Cells, Gels and the Engines of Life The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor 13:40 - How are nutrients and water transported inside a plant? How are nutrients absorbed by root systems? How does EZ water relate? How a tube in water that allows water to continuously flow works in the same way that trees can transport water Energy is coming from light absorbed in the water will drive the flow of water How this same idea can apply to the cardiovascular system in the human body 27:45 - How is this related to nutrient mobility? 31:35 - Alternate mechanisms for nutrient absorption by cells The assumption that the cell membrane is impermeable is questionable Why the idea of thousands of pumps and channels in the membrane doesn't work The cell gets its electrical potential from the negatively charged water If there is no impermeable barrier, then substances can be absorbed by the cell 42:40 - Simplicity is the essence of science 45:50 - What is the limitation of what cells can absorb? Substances could move in and out of the cell in transition areas of water to EZ water 49:25 - Water crisis in agricultural - soils that cannot hold water well anymore Soils need charge distributions just right to build EZ water Water holding capacity is diminished when the soil is destroyed, directly related to the ability to make EZ water 54:30 - What is the question Gerald wishes he was asked? The role of water in health - absolutely central. Cells cannot function properly unless properly hydrated The role of grounding in health and in its ability to convert water to EZ water Juicing to get EZ water from inside plants Support For This Show & Helping You Grow This show is brought to you by AEA, leaders in regenerative agriculture since 2006. If you are a large-scale grower looking to increase crop revenue and quality, email [email protected] or call 800-495-6603 extension 344 to be connected with a dedicated AEA crop consultant. Feedback & Booking Please send your feedback, requests for topics or guests, or booking request have a Podcast episode recorded LIVE at your event -- to [email protected]. You can email John directly at [email protected]. Sign Up For Special Updates To be alerted via email when new episodes are released, and get special updates about John speaking, teaching, and podcast LIVE recordings, be sure to sign up for our email list.