Regenerative Skills

We live in a time when everyone seems to be looking for high tech solutions for every problem. Maybe it's due to all of the new tech that has come out in recent decades with lofty promises of new frontiers, or the fact that so many of us are removed from regular interaction with the natural world, but I genuinely believe that technology is more over-applied and responsible for more problems than it usually solves. For that reason I always like to see when professionals advocate for low tech solutions and a return to basics and analog methods, especially when working with nature. Today I have the pleasure of introducing two guests whose work I’ve admired for a while and who co teach a online course called low tech erosion control which focuses on the approach and techniques that are approachable for almost everyone to reverse and regenerate landscapes suffering from water erosion. First up, there’s Jeff Adams, who is owner/operator of TerraSophia LLC, a watershed restoration and landscape contracting firm based in Moab, UT. He has a depth of experience in permaculture, watershed rehabilitation, water harvesting, erosion control, and educational programs. With over 20 years of field experience, Jeff brings a practical and integrated approach to each project and course he does. Along with him we’re joined by Neil Bertrando, a regenerative specialist who has focused on integrated water harvesting, agroforestry systems, homestead production gardens with season extension, medicinal pollinator habitats, and ecological restoration for over 12 years. He has been a permaculture instructor at OSU since 2014. He holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science and owns an ecological design and education firm, RT Permaculture, specializing in effective and regenerative landscapes. Together we start by digging into each of their unique paths into working in ecological restoration in the American Southwest and the Great basin regions. They each describe the challenges of their climate and context as well as the historical and current sources of degradation of the surrounding ecology that is often behind the restoration project where they work. From there we systematically walk through the site assessment process of reading the landscape and understanding the local ecology to begin the project design. Both Jeff and Neil describe the ways they develop a plan of action including the information they gather and how they assess different implementation strategies, especially from the low tech options and working with materials found on site. We also talk about one of my favorite and often overlooked aspects of project design, which is the maintenance and revision strategies over time, as well as how to design with them in mind. This discussion is full of practical advice that you can use to get started on your own watershed restoration project at a manageable scale,

I’ve been lucky in recent months to be able to speak to people who’ve been leaders and change makers in the regenerative space for a significant amount of time. Building on that knowledge and experience I got to speak with Dr Mark Nelson. Mark is Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, head of Wastewater Gardens International and has worked for several decades in closed ecological system research, bioregenerative space life support, ecological engineering, restoration of damaged ecosystems, desert agriculture and wastewater recycling. Notably, Dr. Nelson was a member of the eight person “biospherian” crew for the first two year Biosphere 2 closure experiment, 1991-1993. The project included pioneering regenerative agriculture and waste and water recycling. Even before that, in the 1970s, he planted an organic fruit orchard at Synergia Ranch, Santa Fe NM and has helped manage its organic fruit and vegetable farm for decades. As Associate Editor of Life Sciences in Space Research, he is also an author and contributor for numerous books including “Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2”, “The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time” (2014), and “Life Under Glass: Crucial Lessons in Planetary Stewardship” (2020) by Mark and two fellow biospherians. I first planned out this interview withMark to focus on his work with wastewater management and gardening, but I quickly realized that it was only a small part of the work and experience in his expertise. As a result, we cover a lot of ground in this session ranging from the work and development on the Biosphere 2 installation and what it was like being part of the research team who lived there for two years. Mark talks about his work and learnings from decades of international ecological projects including those focused on wastewater management and how all these diverse places and contexts continue to inform the Ecotechnics initiatives. We also get around to focusing on his book “The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time” published by Synergetic Press. There we dissect the key considerations for safe harvesting and reuse of wastewater and the potential uses of it in gardens and beyond. Making use of wastewater is becoming more and more essential as the energy intensive and expensive methods of purification are quickly becoming unfeasible. Though people are becoming aware of this necessity and its potential it’s still going to require a lot more visibility to be adopted at the scale that is needed, so I hope that episodes like this will act as a catalyst to get more listeners like yourselves to consider how using waste water might fit into your own projects.

A few months back when I covered the topic of landrace gardening and crop breeding, I had no idea what a passionate and knowledgeable community around the world that I was tapping into. The seed savers and plant breeders who I’ve been in touch with, including quite a few who are part of the Discord community for this podcast, are working on everything from quinoa crosses for tough climate staple crop production, to the domestication of silverweed, adapted varieties for low maintenance, and so much more. For the most part though I’ve been coming across people who are doing this in their backyards and only occasionally on farms. It made me wonder if there was real potential in bringing heritage seed varieties and landrace breeding into larger operations and if it was even feasible at a large scale. Luckily, Joseph Lofthouse passed me the contact of Glenn Roberts promising that I wouldn’t regret reaching out to him and learning about the work he’s doing at Anson Mills. Glenn Roberts founded Anson Mills in 1998 in Charleston, South Carolina, with the vision to rematriate lost foods of the 18th and 19th century Southern Pantry. Today, Anson Mills grows and produces artisan organic landrace grain, legume and oilseed ingredients for chefs and home cooks worldwide, and provides pro bono culinary research support for chefs, pastry chefs, bakers, brewers and distillers through AM Research Labs. Anson Mills provides pro bono seed biosecurity for the growing community of Southern organic place-based identity preserved landrace crop farmers. Glenn is the recipient of the USA Artisan of the Year and National Pathfinder Awards, a founding member of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation and a pro bono consultant to the Board of Advisors, Stone Barns Center. From that bio, you can see that I hit the jackpot in my search for production scale farms working on landrace growing projects. Beyond the work he’s most known for though, Glenn is a very multifaceted and multi talented individual in many other fields which he describes at the beginning of the episode. From there he took me through his journey of rediscovering Carolina Golden Rice, a heritage variety that he knew from his childhood but which had been all but lost by the time he grew up. Glenn also gave me a window into the process of reviving an endangered seed and food variety as well as the incredible network of people around the world studying and working on these challenges. We also explore the culture that is connected to our traditional foods and how reviving lost genetics is about so much more than putting a different type of seeds in the ground, but rather rediscovering how to grow these strains and the management of the land and even community that is involved in caring for this food. There are so many fascinating stories and ideas in this interview that open up the world and potential of landrace growing as well as a huge network and collection of resources that Glenn and his collaborators have created for those of you who might be interested in getting involved and assisting in these efforts so I really encourage you to listen through to the end on this one and to check out the links and resources in the show notes for this episode on the website as well.

My guest today needs no introduction if you’ve been paying attention to the regen ag scene in the last decade, but just in case you’re new to this topic and community let me catch you up to speed John Kempf is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host and teacher. He is passionate about the potential of well managed agriculture ecosystems to reverse ecological degradation. It is John’s mission to have these regenerative models of agriculture management become the mainstream globally by 2040. In addition to being a grower, John is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, Crop Health Labs, Ozadia, and the Regenerative Agriculture Academy. He hosts the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, where he interviews top growers and scientists about the principles and practice of implementing regenerative agriculture on a large scale. I had John on the show twice now and in the first conversation I didn’t know much about him or his work and so we covered many of the softball questions about things like the definition of regen ag and its importance in a new ecological food system. Since then I’ve become an avid listener of his podcast and have a much better understanding of just how important his work and that of his companies have become in leading the way in this scene. As a result I wanted to explore some of the deeper questions that very few people have enough of an overview of this movement to be able to see, and that’s exactly what we cover in this session. Together John and I navigate where regen ag is in this current moment and the drivers that have brought it this far. John reflects on the patterns and learnings from the vast clientele of AEA about the commonalities and characteristics of successful farmers who’ve transitioned to regenerative management as well as those of the coaches and consultants that are effective in assisting them in their journeys. We also look into the influences outside of farming directly, the external factors that set boundaries on producers from the large food companies, retail outlets, commodities trade, investors, and politicians that wield so much power. Since John’s work is already one of my go-to sources for information on the newest innovations and state of progress for regen ag, it was a unique pleasure to be able to gain insight into his vantage point and strategy on how to bring this movement forward further.

Despite the popularity of regenerative agriculture at the moment and the fact that there are many inspiring farmers involved in the movement, it’s still rare to find experienced farmers, especially in large scale operations that have been working to regenerate their ecosystems and communities for more than 20 years. For this reason I was thrilled to connect with Will Harris of White Oak Pastures for a second time to dig into the remarkable career he’s had and the journey of transforming his farm into one of industrial beef production to a holistically managed multi-species farm that has been a beacon of the potential of regen ag in his region. For those of you who didn’t catch the first episode I recorded with him, Will Harris is the owner of White Oak Pastures, in Georgia’s semi-tropical Coastal Plain. Described by his daughters as an “organic icon” of the Real Food movement, he is one of the very first people to bring grass-fed and humanely raised meat to the mainstream. Harris is one of the most outspoken critics of industrialized, centralized, and commoditized agriculture and is one of the most recognized leaders in the regenerative and resilient agriculture space. In this episode we focus on the new book that he’s just published titled A Bold Return to Giving a Damn: One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food. We start by talking about the origins of his family’s tenure on the farm almost 150 years ago and how management and practices changed through the generations. From there Will shares his personal journey from following in the footsteps of his father who was a skilled industrial cattleman, to his awakening that gradually began to transform the way the farm was run. Along the way the town of Bluffton, GA where they’re located began to change and grow along with them and we discuss the role that White Oaks played in the revitalization of the community. We also cover a wide range of insights from Will’s career from the challenges and hurdles that have been working against their vision from the political and industrial forces in the food system in the US, to points of hope and inspiration that make the difficulties worthwhile.

Though we’ve covered many aspects of soil health on this show in previous episodes, this is an area of scientific and agronomic study which is constantly growing and evolving. It seems that there are a growing number of specialists who are pioneering research in very specific and detailed aspects of soil health which helps to expand our overall picture of the ecosystem under our feet. At the same time it’s essential to be able to translate all of this advanced biology, chemistry, and even physics into information that someone from outside of academia can translate into action on the land and a soil care and fertility strategy. Thanks to another great recommendation and connection from my friend Anja at Soilify, I was put in contact with Matt Slaughter to explore this kind of practical information. For 20 years Matt has been helping farmers around the world understand their soil microbiology and finding ways to help them "bring soil back to life". He is the Founder, President and Laboratory Director of Earthfort where he’s primarily focused on customer support through consultation and education, but is also responsible for product research and development. As the creator of Earthforts products, he is constantly striving to help customers understand and use the products to the greatest advantage of the end-users. As a scientist, philosopher, and poet, Matthew is always learning and attempting to integrate natural, holistic processes into agriculture. Matt was also an early student of Elaine Ingham and worked with her for years going out to consultations in remote places around the world. In this interview, Matt starts by sharing some incredible stories from those early days in the field and the key learnings that have stayed with him until this day. We talk about how he has developed the soil amendments and products that his company is known for and what he’s learned about how they work over years of study. We also get into a broader understanding of soil health and function as well as how it can differ across contexts and use cases. Matt gives his thoughts on many other soil amendment strategies like bio inoculants, different types of compost, biochar and the like as well as what all this research and working with farmers all around the world has taught him about the commonalities and patterns of productive soil and land. I’ve often been careful not to go too deep and academic into the topic of soil health because of how technical and unapproachable it can be, but Matt does a great job of making all the immense knowledge and experience he has simple and approachable so I know you’ll find valuable insights that you can use to develop your own soil care strategy.

This week I want to build on the panel discussion that I started previously in the panel episode with the group from the Alpbach forum. In that conversation we looked at various visions on what a regenerative food system could look like from representatives from Nestle, Agrana, and a conservation farmer. Today I want to bring another perspective into this idea of building healthy and resilient food systems from a friend of mine who has been working on this by connecting stakeholders throughout the entire food value chain in Finland. Patricia Wiklund is the CEO of Invenire, a making ideas-happen-agency working with food & the bioeconomy, circularity, biodiversity & thriving rural landscapes. She has been instrumental in creating a “living laboratory” on the Åland Islands in southwest Finland. She is also a hub leader in the Baltic region of the Savory Institute Network promoting holistic land management, and a partner in Gens, a company working for upward spiraling farm life. Patricia and I met almost two years ago during my work co-coordinating the first Climate Farming conference. She along with three other fascinating colleagues of hers from Finland attended the event and were my first window into the budding regenerative agriculture movement in that area of Europe, which I otherwise knew next to nothing about. Since then I've been looking for an opportunity to follow up with her in order to see how their projects and collaborations develop. It turns out Patricia and her team have been advancing some fascinating experiments in connecting members all through the production, processing, and retail sides of the food web in her area and this is the main focus of our conversation in this session. We also cover the challenges and opportunities of working in a small microcosm like the Åland islands where she works, and some of the advantages of dealing with food systems that haven’t yet been over developed and retain some of their traditional structures like local markets and diverse local production. Patricia also shares insights into how we can all work, in very tangible ways, to become active and participating citizens in our food systems instead of just consumers. This session holds a lot of new insights and options for people who care to become more resilient on a community level in terms of food security in ways that have nothing to do with planting a veggie garden or becoming a farmer, many of which are relevant even to those of us who do produce food.

The growing popularity of permaculture food forests and backyard multispecies orchards is part of a movement that I’m 110% in support of. Any addition of native and food producing plants in diverse multispecies configurations is a wonderful thing. I want to see as many people as possible find success with these plantings, and that’s why I’ve been a bit concerned by the way that many designers and landscapers oversell the benefits and expectations to people who want to plant their first fruit trees and expect to get a yield from them. That isn’t to say that it’s a ton of work and you shouldn’t expect to get meaningful harvests from your fruit trees, but I want to make sure that first time growers have realistic expectations of the maintenance and growth cycles of their fruit trees so they can manage the and find the success they’re looking for. Caring for a fruit tree or small orchard is a growing journey for both the plants themselves and the people who care for them, and to shed light on the full journey of growing fruit trees I got in touch with Suzan Poizner. Susan is an urban orchardist in Toronto, Canada and the author of the award-winning fruit tree care book Growing Urban Orchards. She is an instructor of Fruit Production at Niagara College in Ontario and the creator of the award-winning online fruit tree care training program at www.orchardpeople.com. Susan is also the host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist. In this conversation Suzan and I talk about the differences between caring for a few fruit trees or a small community orchard in the city, and what most people associate with orchard maintenance in a farm context. From there we go methodically through the essential considerations of selecting fruit tree varieties for both resilience and production, planting considerations to give them the best conditions to start with, maintenance and pruning in the early years to ensure vigorous growth, tips and tricks to increase harvests and fruit quality, and a whole lot more. We even talk about Suzan’s learning journey in developing a community orchard and some of the unexpected challenges that came up.

Any of you who’ve been following the show this season will remember one of my favorite episodes from the beginning of the year in which I documented a water restoration job I went out to Nicaragua to go in collaboration with Restoration Agriculture Development, the contracting company founded by Mark Shepard. There I worked under the guidance of Jake Takiff, RAD’s dryland restoration specialist and the lead designer on that job. I got along famously with Jake and learned a ton from working alongside him on that project. So much of his personal journey and the story of the development of his own farm and restoration design in Western Colorado didn’t make it into the episode we recorded back then, but I knew I would need to follow up and share his story with all of you. Well we were finally able to find time and make our long overdue catch up call happen. So let’s start with a little intro to set the context. Jake and his wife Meghan started Cedar Springs Farm back in 2016 on the Western Slope of Colorado where they’ve built a home and now have two children. They are focused on building soil, fostering biodiversity and managing water. The project utilizes scaled up permaculture techniques and regenerative farming practices including silvopasture, rotational grazing and agroforestry. The management practices have transformed the landscape from an arid, high desert into a lush system of pastures with trees and yield high quality beef and pork. Jake also hustles as a project coordinator, consultant and field manager for Restoration Agriculture Development through which he’s had the opportunity to design and install regenerative systems for farmers all over the world. His experience on his own farm, combined with the many installations he’s managed for clients gives him a unique perspective and approach to the regenerative farming movement. In this conversation we’re going to unpack that approach piece by piece. We start with a little background into his first experiences in farming and the elements that clicked and have stayed with him his whole life. We go into the key connections and learnings that have informed his growth and capabilities as a farmer and land manager, as well as the mentors that have shaped his path. Jake shares the details of his design approach to his own farm and how the patterns of the various ecosystems where he’s farmed have helped to inform him about the hydrology, plant communities, animal communities and the essential relationship between all of them that have come together to make his medium sized farm work so well. We also dissect some of the specifics of the experiments he’s run over the last 7 years, those that have worked, and those that haven’t, and contributed to the evolving transformation of the land that continues to get better and better. In general I’m a big admirer of people who have come to develop such a close and observant relationship with the land and living beings of the places they inhabit, and Jake is an exceptional example of someone who has centered his life around a deep connection to all the diverse and nuanced elements of his ecosystem from the natural ecology, his own family and local community, and even the complexities of the economy and socioeconomic realities that they participate in.

At the end of August I had a unique opportunity to attend the European Alpbach Forum in Austria, as I was invited by organizers at Nestlé to moderate an event they were organizing. This was a unique session that included a guided hike in the Alps around the town and a discussion centered on the core themes of which structures, innovation, incentives, models, and mindsets are necessary to enable the transition to regenerative food systems. As listeners of this show already know, I’ve explored these concepts a lot in the past but mainly from a farmer and land steward perspective, only a few times exploring the wider industry that processes, distributes, and markets the end products that most people buy. So I was curious to understand how some of the biggest food companies globally and in Europe see the concept of regenerative food systems and their roles and responsibilities within them. The event included three speakers, Katja Seidenschnur (the sustainability director at Nestle), Ulrike Middelhoff (Group sustainability manager at Agrana which is a large processor of food ingredients like sugar and starch), and Hans Gnauer (farmer and deputy chairman at Boden Leben, which roughly translates to Living Soil, a conservation ag consulting and education company). Together they represent perspectives from different sized food processing companies and the supply chain from field to final product. Since we knew we wouldn't be able to record the event itself, The night before, we got together for dinner in the little town of Reith in Tirol and recorded this conversation in a cozy little restaurant. In this case cozy also means that the old wooden benches were quite creaky and that's the sound in the background which I'm not enough of a sound engineer to have removed completely. Oh well. In this conversation with the three of them we started by talking about each of their visions for a regenerative food system and what actions and resources they think are needed to make them a reality. I picked apart a few of the answers to get beyond the easy proposals and challenge a few of the assumptions beyond them. We also go into the roadblocks and challenges that are holding these ideas back and the responsibilities that each of them and their representative companies or communities have in transforming the current food system to one that goes even beyond sustainability. I’m really glad to have had the chance to get to know each of the speakers during our event and it gave me some valuable insights into the paradigm and thought process behind each of these representative members of the food system that has changed so much of how we eat and experience food in recent decades. I really hope to continue to participate in conversations like this and help to shape the dialogue and priorities that these companies base their policies and practices on. If any of you out there would like to hear me explore any particular topic or perspective from other aspects of the food industry, you can join the conversation and make requests on our Discord community which you can sign up for for free on our website at regenerativeskills.com.

At this point I’ve covered a wide array of practices and management styles that fall under the broad umbrella of regenerative agriculture. Some could be considered traditional while others are more modern and innovative and they span continents, climates, biomes and industries. Nonetheless I’ve noticed a pretty big gap that I’ve yet to cover in detail that I hope to begin to fill in today. Dairy farming has been under sharp criticism in recent times. Scrutiny over everything from the appropriateness of dairy in the diet to the methane emissions of cows and the controversial practices of early separation of calves from their mothers to maximize milk production have all contributed to a diminished reputation. Though these critiques are very legitimate, what if there were solutions to all of them without the need to turn to non-dairy alternatives? Today to explore these solutions is one of the leaders in regenerative dairy and a growing movement of dairy producers working to develop a new way of managing dairy cows and the pastures they coexist with. Phyllis Van Amburgh along with her husband Paul and their family are leaders in holistic land use, biodiverse cultivation, Organic dairy herd management, and more. Together they are dairy farmers in upstate New York, and have been involved in key innovations in the dairy industry, mostly in western parts of the world, re-integrating dairy cows as a cornerstone for ecological health and for human communities to thrive. Phyllis and Paul have also helped develop the Grass-fed certification program with NOFA-NY and PCO. In this interview Phyllis starts by sharing her inspiring story of transitioning away from her previous career as she and Paul embraced a gradual move into full time farming. We explore the intuition she had that much of the conventional wisdom and ways of doing things in the dairy industry were not really in the interest of either the cows nor the farmers and how that led them to rethink their own dairy operation. Phyllis outlines the key aspects they consider essential for managing a dairy herd regeneratively and the pioneering journey they’re on to make exclusively grass fed dairy cows viable through selective breeding and holistic managed grazing. We also explore Phyllis’ insights from her work helping large dairy operations in the USA and Europe to transition to regenerative management and the challenges and opportunities that the wider industry has to transform.

This is part two of the conversation started last week with Akiva Silver. Co-owner of Twisted Tree nursery and homestead. If you haven’t yet heard the first part, you can find the link in the show notes for this episode on the website at regenerativeskills.com You’ll remember from last week that one of the first projects I encourage people to do when starting any land based project is to start a plant nursery. Not only will you start the long process of coaxing plants into maturity which is worth beginning as soon as possible, but you’ll also learn valuable plant care and propagation in the process. Planting your own nursery can also save you money when you eventually begin planting out your design, and if you enjoy it enough and can find a market for saplings and seedlings, you can make good money selling nursery stock as well. There are also real advantages to growing your plants in the soil and environment where they’ll live so they get the chance to acclimate rather than suffer a harsh adjustment from the heated greenhouse and chemical fertilisers so common in most plant nurseries. In the first portion of this episode we dove into how Akiva first began to propagate trees and his transition into making a business out of it and supporting his family by growing plants. We also got into all kinds of propagation methods and where and how to find the best materials for growing nursery stock. This week I’ll conclude this interview by exploring how to build a business around growing the plants you love, improving your soil enough that you can eliminate fertilisers and other inputs, the maintenance and care of your nursery through the different seasons, and the sales and marketing side of the business.

After the last few weeks of focus on the intricacies of Holistic management and building community in agriculture, I wanted to go back to some technical information on specific farming enterprises. One of the most common questions I get asked from listeners and clients who are starting new projects is about where to begin. Those of you familiar with permaculture will know of the common advice to live and wait a full year on your site before beginning to design and implement your vision. This time of observation and information gathering can be essential to avoiding common mistakes and preparing your place and design adequately to begin, but it can be frustrating for many people who just want to get started. For that reason, one of the first projects I encourage people to do is to start a plant nursery. Not only will you start the long process of coaxing plants into maturity which is worth beginning as soon as possible, but you’ll also learn valuable plant care and propagation in the process. Planting your own nursery can also save you money when you eventually begin planting out your design, and if you enjoy it enough and can find a market for saplings and seedlings, you can make good money selling nursery stock as well. There are also real advantages to growing your plants in the soil and environment where they’ll live so they get the chance to acclimate rather than suffer a harsh adjustment from the heated greenhouse and chemical fertilisers so common in most plant nurseries. In order to get a better understanding of just how easy and enjoyable it can be to start a nursery, I spoke with Akiva Silver who owns and operates Twisted Tree Farm, a homestead, nut orchard, and nursery located in Spencer, New York, where he grows around 20,000 trees per year using practices that go beyond organic. His background is in foraging, wilderness survival, and primitive skills. He has been observing nature intensively for the last 20 years, and cultivating a deep appreciation for life in that time. This is a longer episode for this show and it’s packed with useful and practical information so I’ve split it into two episodes. This first one dives into how Akiva first began to propagate trees and his transition into making a business out of it and supporting his family by growing plants. We also get into all kinds of propagation methods and where and how to find the best materials for growing nursery stock. Next week I’ll conclude this interview by exploring how to build a business around growing the plants you love, improving your soil enough that you can eliminate fertilisers and other inputs, the maintenance and care of your nursery through the different seasons, and the sales and marketing side of the business.

I’ve been watching an interesting and important discussion play out for a number of years now within the environmental movement and ecological farming community. It appears that on one hand we have a group that is convinced by the data that farming to feed a population which is growing exponentially through traditional land based means is doomed to be an ecological detriment. Our current system should instead be replaced with high tech solutions such as vertical farms and laboratory processes to create the nutrition this population needs. As a result we could return much of our farmland to rewilding efforts to recover the natural environments and biodiversity that we've lost, in no small part due to modern agriculture. On the other side we have people who are convinced by the data (often the same data) that we need to return to a deeper and more compassionate relationship with the earth, one that allows for us to produce a yield without compromising the ability of all other life forms to exist and thrive. In this way we can both feed the population and restore our role as environmental stewards. Rather than returning many farms to rewild, we could incorporate habitat and biodiversity into our production methods and foster the recovery of wild species in a way that enhances the resilience of our production methods. Instead of isolating human activity from a pristine concept of the natural world and permitting destructive actions in the remaining space, we could consider all of our necessary functions within a globally connected landscape for their potential to enhance all forms of life, not just our own. These two contrasting world views recently came to head during a debate between Allan Savory and George Monbiot. Allan represented the side of holistic management, taking into account the infinite complexity of the natural world to create management frameworks to operate with this nuance in a way that respects all the cycles and life affirming principles of our world. George has been an outspoken critic of this position, especially in how it relates to the management of livestock in farming, arguing that there is no potential for beneficial ecological outcomes in livestock farming, and that in order to combat the climate crisis and mass biodiversity loss, high efficiency farming must be leveraged, along with technologies such as precision fermentation, to produce plant based protein alternatives to meat. I’ve linked to the video recording of the debate in the show notes for this episode on the website, in order to let you make up your own mind about which side you support. I also want to express that I don’t consider these two positions, certainly not in their rigidity, as the only positions in the broader discussion. At the same time I know that anyone who has listened to more than a few episodes of this show will know which direction I lean personally. That brings me to today's interview in which I’ll be speaking with Chris Smaje. Chris is a university-based social scientist turned farmer. Has co-run a small farm and market garden for the last 20 years. Along with farming he is a dedicated voice for regenerative and locally based food systems. He's the author of 'A Small Farm Future' which articulates his vision and the details of a society built around local economies and food systems, and his most recent title, 'Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future directly confronts the popular arguments in favor of manufactured food and removing food production from the land. In our conversation we start by identifying the sources and advocacy of industrially produced food and farm alternatives. We break down the manipulation of data and reductionist thinking that results in conclusions that technological fixes are our only solutions. Chris also paints a picture of his ideas for a brighter alternative to these conclusions and what is possible in a more locally based and decentralized configuration of our sources of sustenance. We also dig into the active role that all of us can play in creating this alternative future and accelerate a transformation in the role of farming as well as supply and production of food to one that serves the broader community of life that we’re all connected to. This is one of my current favorite subjects of exploration as it is connected to so many aspects of how we live, organize ourselves, co-create culture and community, and manifest our future. I hope to explore aspects of this with many more people and perspectives in the coming months, so please, if there are people that you would like to hear me interview about these topics or if you’d like to add or challenge any of the points in the upcoming discussion, I encourage you to reach out on our discord community or to me directly at [email protected]

One of the emerging practices in the regenerative work space is that of citizen science. This covers an infinite range of scientific specialties, but I’ve especially seen amazing things come from two areas in the last couple years. These would be mycology and the study of soil. That isn’t to say that traditional institutions aren’t making advances in these fields, but passionate amateurs have also been leading some incredible innovations in these areas. Incredibly, at the center of both of these movements I regularly find my good friend Matt Powers, the author of many well known volumes including the Permaculture Student volumes one and two, Unstoppable Enthusiasm, and now even volumes for children including the newest, The Forgotten Food Forest which can all be found on his website along with many online courses at thepermaculturestudent.com But of course today, we’ll be focusing on the cutting edge of soil science and how these new discoveries can help you in a very practical way to improve the health of the soil on your land and grow the highest quality food anywhere. As a follow up on the last interview we did together about his epic text book of a volume, Regenerative Soil, comes the next volume that illuminates the study of soil called Regenerative Soil Microscopy. Having read the first book is a necessary prerequisite for this volume, which goes into best practices and key observations that aspiring soil scientists and anyone who wants to know what is going on in the food web under their feet can use to tap into a world of learning through their microscope. As is typical of my conversations with Matt, the topics range wildly from selecting the best equipment for building your microscope lab, and ensuring you don’t go blind over time, to the way that this information has helped him advise farmers all over the world to achieve amazing crop results, to fascinating conversations he’s had with leading scientists in the field and much more.

Since last year much of my work with Climate Farmers has been in building the European farmer community and creating connections so that members can learn from each other. I admittedly don’t have a lot of prior experience with this so I went looking for experienced and successful community builders to mentor me in the process. One of the most helpful and inspiring people the this search put me in touch with is Klarien Klingen, one of the primary organizers of the Dutch agroecological community called Toekomstboeren which translates to future farmers and works to strengthen the connection and representation of ecological farmers in their country. They’ve made commendable progress in advancing awareness of their community and hosting events that connect farmers around their country in the process. Both of which are things I aspire to do with the Climate Farmers community. In this conversation, Klarien and I explore her own background as a farmer and what has motivated her to unite others around her. We also look into what is behind the growth and success of Toekomstboeren as well as the collaborations and alliances that have strengthened their efforts. I have found the information and experience I’ve gained from my consultations with Klarien to be quite universal beyond just the particularities of the farming community. Her observations and learnings ring true for many of the other community efforts and unification projects I’ve observed and been a part of.

I’ve touched on this topic briefly in previous interviews, but it bears repeating. Agriculture around the world is going through a critical moment. The skyrocketing prices of petroleum products, meaning most agriculture chemicals and fertilizers as well as machinery fuel, is causing a tipping point for many farm businesses. Operations that have long been dependent on these synthetic inputs are facing tough decisions. Do they double down and continue to keep their land on life support, sticking with the system they know, but which is becoming more and more unsustainable, or do they take a gamble on new management methods that prioritize soil biology and multiple ecosystem services? There are no easy answers since for most growers who’ve relied on these inputs for years if not decades, there will need to be a period of transition, even if they chose regenerative management, in which their yields could suffer. Luckily, there are a few well qualified professionals out there with a track record of guiding farmers through the challenge of transitioning their land management practices, and I had the chance to speak to three of them in a special panel discussion. In today’s session I’ll be speaking with Ian Robertson, Ben Taylor-Davies, and Ed Brown. Between these three fellas they have decades of experience at the forefront of regenerative agriculture, and continue to push the advancement of agroecological innovation at both the individual farm scale as well as the institutional level. All three of these guys are good friends who attest to speaking to one another just about every day and you’ll hear the characteristics of their friendship come out in this insightful and also light hearted discussion.

One of my favorite topics to explore on this show is how other people with unique skill sets and talents look at the natural world and the ecological design process. I’ve been fortunate in my network of designers, educators, farmers, and academics to peer into the specialties of ecological understanding and design thinking from many points of view, and today is one of those opportunities. I first met Henry Anderson through a design project that our mutual friend Juan Pablo was working on in Portugal through the Climate Farmers Pioneer program. We were looking at a feasibility test for a 50 hectare plot that some investors were considering as an investment in regenerative agriculture. Juan Pablo introduced me to Henry as a colleague who would look into all the potential for leveraging native plant communities for ecological restoration and high value crops. I was immediately impressed by Henry’s extensive knowledge of biomes and plant communities in Portugal and together we all developed a really elegant mixed agroforestry design for the clients. Long story short, the investment wasn’t picked up, but all three of us have been good friends ever since and now I’ve got Henry back to share some of his knowledge and experience as a biologist and designer. Henry is a Scottish multi-disciplinary designer based in Lisbon, Portugal with a background in landscape architecture, urban design and ecological planning. He has accumulated over fourteen years of professional experience working for leading architectural and landscape offices around the world, including in Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom and Portugal. Henry now specializes in delivering best practice regenerative solutions for landscape architecture, agriculture and ecological restoration projects within the Mediterranean biome, and follows an ecology led process that delivers multi-functional outcomes specific to each project's unique context. In this conversation we talk at length about the process by which Henry starts to assess and investigate the state of ecological health and identify the plant and wildlife on a site, essentially his form of reading a landscape. We also look at the tools and resources that can expand the research process and give insights into historical land use and plant communities to open up more options for a design. Together we also dissect the concept of natural succession and how you can leverage this trajectory to enhance and speed up the development of your project, and a lot more as well. For those of you who love the deeper science of ecology and biology, but find the academic approach to it a bit too disconnected, this is the interview for you since Henry has a unique way of explaining and making connections between the abstract concepts and real life applications.

I’ve been looking forward to today’s session for a good couple months now. Though it’s been years since I got excited about seed saving and heard the first little bits of the ideas around landrace gardening, I only recently got a window into its real potential. I honestly feel a bit embarrassed that I didn’t know more about landrace plant breeding until recently since it’s the reason we have pretty much all the domesticated and semi-domesticated varieties of food that you can find all over the world. It also turns out to be an incredibly approachable practice that throws out the traditional rule book of plant breeding with its meticulous adherence to detailed record keeping, isolation distances, and inbreeding. But instead of hearing about it from me, let me introduce you to Joseph Lofthouse. Joseph adopted the principles of landrace gardening in response to the harsh growing conditions in a high-altitude, short-season, desert garden. Instead of relying on expensive poisons, labor, and materials to coddle the plants, he instead encourages genetic diversity, cross-pollination, and survival of the fittest, allowing the plants to adapt themselves to the current and ever-changing ecosystem, thus simplifying gardening and seed saving. Joseph is the author of Landrace Gardening: Food Security Through Biodiversity and Promiscuous Pollination, and he was kind enough to send me a copy ahead of this interview. I don’t always have the chance to read the books that get sent to me by publishers and authors in their entirety, but I have to admit I ate this one up and fully got through it cover to cover. In our conversation today, Joseph and I start by uncovering his personal pathway as a farmer early on and the failures and frustrations with seeds available in the stores that led him to experiment with landrace growing. Not only does Joseph face many challenges in the high desert environment up at more than 5000 ft of elevation in Utah, but he also practices what he calls “vacant lot farming,” which quite literally means he’s farming on abandoned plots of poor soil. From there we get more technical by clarifying the difference between a heirloom variety, a hybrid, open pollination, and a landrace, and why it’s so important for us as growers to move away from the industrialization of seeds and plant breeding. I also wanted to expand on the initial knowledge around the basic concepts of landrace gardening that we explored a couple weeks ago on this show in an interview with Julia Dakin who is a collaborator of Joseph’s. Together they created the “Going to Seed” network and free online course platform to promote landrace growing and seed sharing. In that interview we covered a lot of practical information and basics, and so I will recommend that you go back and listen to it in case we’ve skipped any essentials in this session. So building on that previous interview we dug into some of Joseph’s personal experiences and stories from trialing hundreds of landrace projects on his farm and some of the truly unique findings and evolutions that he’s witnessed. He also offers essential insights into not only the tips and tricks that have led to his successful breeds, but also the mindset and expectations that have helped him remain open to unexpected outcomes and the patience required for growing and reproduction cycles. Touching on a deep interest of mine within the broader topic, we also navigate the challenges and potential of landrace trees and perennial crops. Joseph has a close family connection to walnut breeding and shares insights into the legacy work that this practice is for him. Over almost 7 years of listening to different ideas and practices from so many people all over the world, I’ve identified a few that, for me anyway, hold the most potential in various aspects of ecological restoration and regenerative growing practices. For example, working to restore the hydrological function of a landscape can yield outsized results for the amount of time and resources put into it. Capturing and propagating indigenous microorganisms has an outsized impact on long term soil regeneration. Landrace gardening looks at the challenge of growing food in diverse conditions and ever changing variables and switches the narrative from, how do we manipulate the environment to make it conducive to grow ever more narrow plant genetics, to, how do we increase and promote the plant (and animal) genetics to become resilient to both the challenges of our current growing conditions and the ever growing variables that the future will bring. These are the efforts that every grower around the world both knowingly and unknowingly contributed to in order to produce food in the past, and I believe it’s essential for agri-cultures to embrace them once again.

A lot of my work these days revolves around communicating with farmers around Europe who are at various stages of a transition towards regenerative management. For many different reasons farmers are looking for solutions outside of the conventional industry of chemical and technological manipulations and are rediscovering the potential of partnering with natural cycles and processes. Though there are a handful of examples of growers who’ve been pioneering these practices around the continent, the vast majority are fairly early in their journeys. It’s still rare to find an experienced commercial grower who has found success through organic, no-till, low input systems. Luckily there are a few who have shown that this is possible and are sharing their knowledge and experience and I’m thrilled to feature one of them in this session. Helen Atthowe has worked for 35 years to connect farming, food systems, land stewardship, and conservation. She currently farms and does soil- and natural enemies’ habitat- building research on her new 5-acre farm in Western Montana. Helen has an M.S. in Horticulture from Rutgers University and even studied with renowned Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. She has worked in education and research at Rutgers, the University of Arkansas, and Oregon State University and was a Horticulture Extension Agent in Montana for 17 years. Helen was a board member for the Organic Farming Research Foundation 2000-2005 and advisor for Wild Farm Alliance in 2018 & 2019. She first owned and operated a 30 acre certified organic vegetable/fruit farm in Montana and later co-owned with her late husband a 26 acre certified organic orchard in California. Together they then moved to a 211 acre organic farm in Eastern Oregon doing mainly orchard and vegetable production. The two of them also created educational videos on their YouTube channel called Agrarian Dreams, and did video presentations about their ecological farming methods. She is the author of “The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture”. And that is exactly what we’ll be focusing on in our interview today. As a reflection of many of the discussions happening within the Climate Farmer’s community at the moment, Helen and I really dug into the unique goals she and her husband had during their farming careers and how they gauged their success. We talk about the way they measured progress on their journey towards a healthy yet low input system for both their orchard and vegetable crops as well the routines and practices that brought them the best results. Much more than just the knowledge and practices of her farming experience, Helen brings a remarkable mindset of constant learning and experimentation to this conversation that is now informing her new 5 acre project in Montana. We also cover the most important learnings that she has gained through her career and how it informs the establishment of all her new research.

Welcome to a very special episode of the regenerative skills podcast. This is the 300th episode that I am publishing today, and to make the occasion I wanted to try something new. At this point the show has grown immensely from where I started it and I would imagine that most of you who are tuned in now haven’t been here since the beginning. For that reason I’m going to revisit the origins of this show and explain the context in which this podcast was started, how it’s evolved along with my own personal journey, and bring you up to speed about where I am currently. We’re also going to check in with my dear partner Alba who is appearing only for the second time on this show. She’s bravely confronting her self consciousness about speaking English on a recording in order to share her perspective and ask some questions, and though I doubt she’ll ever listen to this episode, I want all of you to know how much it means to me to include her in this milestone and share my gratitude for all the support and patience she’s shown me in getting to this point. I also get a chance to speak with my dear little sister Emily, who has been my closest friend and confidant for my whole adult life. She and her three daughters, my nieces Selma, Rawan, and Lujane are here visiting for the first time since we moved to this farm and are spending two months of the summer with us. You’ll get to hear from all of them later in this session. By the end I’ll also share some insights into the vision for both this podcast and the broader aspects of my work that the show is contained in. As with any future vision there are a lot of variables and uncertainties, but you’ll get a peek into what I have in the works at the moment before I hopefully announce them happening in future episodes.

Today’s episode touches on a very timely topic for me. I’m currently developing a program to assist European farmers in their transition to regenerative management of their farms, and the big challenge is to make a program that is relevant for the vast array and contexts and differences that farmers across this continent are working from. No set of information is appropriate. No one teaching style is going to connect with everyone. Even the regulatory frameworks and incentive structures can vary a lot. I’ve long since observed this as an obstacle for design frameworks like permaculture which have a solid foundation in the principles and patterns of nature, but often get lost in the details and techniques like swales, chicken tractors, or herb spirals. I’m of the opinion that we’re all overwhelmed with information and possibilities in our bizarre anthropogenic world and more options and information often only serve to make choosing and taking action tougher. I believe that simple and reliable processes and organizational support have a much bigger role to play in helping us to set priorities, put parameters on our options, and make the overwhelm more manageable, especially when it comes to the complexities and timescales of working with living systems. Lucky for me, one of my friends and respected colleagues in the permaculture space has just developed a course and accompanying tools to assist precisely in this area. William Horvath, founder of “Permaculture Apprentice.” William studied permaculture in Australia before quitting his job as a geologist for the mining industry there and moved with his wife back to Croatia where he is originally from. For years now he’s been developing his own permaculture paradise and writing and educating about his experiences on his blog and through his design and consulting services through permacultureapprentice.com. He has also begun teaching permaculture courses for people looking to start their own farms and transition to a regenerative lifestyle. In today’s session we pick apart the common hurdles that lead to inaction and paralysis despite having all the knowledge and information we may need. We talk about the common problem of having lofty goals, many projects going on at once, and limited time and resources to do them. From there we go deep into defining the What, Where, and How of your goals in order to build them into a process. William talks about how to break them down into manageable chunks from there through phases and steps of development as well as sharing tools and advice for keeping everything organized and scheduled in calendars and to-do lists so you never miss essential windows again. I really want to express just how important I believe that this piece of the puzzle is for all of us in reaching our goals. I know from my own experience how much getting organized, building routines, planning ahead in detail, and creating loops of experimentation, monitoring, and revision have all been in my life and in my success with clients and in business. Though I’ve come a long way personally, I still have a lot of learning in this area and doubling down on preparation and planning has always paid dividends for myself and those I know who excel in their chosen fields. Before we get started, I’ll also recommend that you go over to the links in the show notes where William has given exclusive access to some of the tools and templates that feature in his course in order to get you started. And if any of you want to stay up on the development of the transition program I’m building for Climate Farmers, the beta program will be available for members of the Climate Farmer’s community this fall and you can sign up now on our website at climatefarmers.org.

Today’s episode is going to require some context for anyone who’s not familiar with the origin of this show. Back in 2017 when I started this podcast I was doing an internship with my friend and mentor Charlie Rendal on bamboo building in Lake Atitlan Guatemala. I had been traveling back and forth from Guatemala for a number of years. I had originally gone down there with a friend to learn Spanish and I ended up coming back for years to see friends and just because I love that country. In my time there it was impossible not to get connected with all kinds of projects and initiatives to try and improve the living conditions for local people. Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the second poorest in Latin America by GDP. While I understand that that’s not the only meaningful metric for quality of life, there was no ignoring the fact that the opportunities and resources that I saw in most other places I traveled and had taken for granted in my life up until then were drastically lacking in most parts of that country. For this and many other reasons which we’ll touch briefly on in today’s conversation, everywhere you go in Guatemala you’ll find Non Governmental Organizations or NGOs as well as all types of charities and aid entities claiming to work to address everything from malnutrition to ecological challenges, sanitation, infrastructure, education and everything else in between. It seemed like every foreigner who I met who wasn’t a backpacker worked for one of these groups and when my friends and I eventually bought a small plot of land and started to put down roots, we began to learn a lot about the aid industry all around us. Between rumors, first hand stories, and even my own experience it became clear that more than a small percentage of these organizations were not as altruistic as they projected. It was well known that many were fronts for money laundering. Others simply paid out large salaries for foreigners to attend events and fundraise while little worked on the ground. Stories of corrupt sequestering of funds were common, and even among these entities that were really committed to their work, I heard so much about communities having solutions forced on them with little say in the matter. Projects getting abandoned before completion, technological fixes handed over with little or no training, and so many others I could go on about. Despite this grim picture I’m painting of the aid industry in Guate, I did get to know and make friends with a handful of people who really took the time to understand and integrate with their chosen communities before devising solutions. I got to know folks who were also putting down roots and really had some skin in the game when it came to the outcomes of their work and impact. Today I want to take a look at one in particular, called Seeds for a Future, as much for the work they’re doing as for the approach and learnings that guide their initiative. This organization first came to my attention when my close friend Leilani reached out to put me in touch with Daillen Culver who is their director of operations. Leilani has been on the show before and she is one of the few people I know who has traveled extensively within Guatemala and has an intimate knowledge of both the good and reprehensible aid work that is happening in that country. So when she brought Daillen and Semillas para un Futuro to my attention, I knew it would be worth looking into. In this session both Daillen and Leilani join me to talk about the simple beginnings of this project and the unique context in which it got off the ground. They help to outline the challenges that the communities they work with are facing and the long term approach to co-create solutions along with the people they collaborate with. We also cover the principles that guide the progress and decisions within the project and the external challenges that Daillen and Leilani work from outside to support. Charity and aid work continue to be fraught with controversy and skepticism, and I will not make the assertion today that the approach that Seeds for a future is taking is the only effective one. I do however appreciate the perspective and insight that both of these women bring to such a tricky subject and I hope that it will make space to continue this conversation in future episodes as well as on the Regenerative Skills Discord Community.

Since the three part series that Nick and I recorded about the vast array of drought mitigation and recovery solutions for people in different living situations we’ve gotten a lot of follow up questions from listeners who want to go deeper into this subject. Luckily one of my friends and mentors who’s had an outsized influence on my educational journey and inspiration to work with farmers and land managers in helping them to make the most of the water resources has just come out with a new book. Many of you know Mark Shepard for his seminal book, Restoration Agriculture, I’ve also had him on this show in the past to talk about his previous book Water for Every Farm. Most recently I spoke about Mark a lot with Jake Takiff when he and I went to design and install a water retention landscape in Nicaragua as representatives of Mark’s company Restoration Agriculture Design. That brings us up to this point where Mark has just released the field manual to accompany the book Water for Every Farm which is intended to assist any designer or practitioner with the engineering specifications for various water retention features and earthworks. These will not only help you to ensure proper due diligence but also to navigate the jargon and regulations, specifically in the USA, that the USDA and army corps of engineers uses in order to better communicate and perhaps even find support from those entities. In this chat Mark and I explore the details of his masterline system and how it can be adapted to the needs of modern farmers at any scale. We also explore the flexibility of the design system to be relevant for diverse and complex topographies. For me it was also important to explore the topic of long term maintenance for earthworks and water retention features since so much emphasis is put on the design and installation, and then, due to poor maintenance planning, the project can be quickly degraded or even fall apart. With someone with over 30 years of experience, this is an essential aspect to consider.

Just checking in while still on a short holiday. I just dropped my mom off at the airport at about 3 yesterday morning after a wonderful week of her visiting us, my sister, and her girls at the farm. It’s been such a blessing to have almost all my favorite women under the same roof for a time. My family is scattered all across the world, so these moments when a number of us can be together is really precious to me, and a big motivation of why Alba and I moved out here to begin with. Though we only moved into this place back in December, it’s already fulfilling the dream of bringing mine and Alba’s families closer together. The down time has done me a lot of good as well. Though wrangling a bunch of little kids is anything but relaxing as most of you know, it’s thoroughly fulfilling to watch them discover a few abilities and life lessons while finding their feet and bearings through this gorgeous natural environment. They've been learning to take care of the chickens, identify plants that we can eat, and which ones are stingy and pokey. We’ve been playing in the river and making erosion barriers. Yesterday we planted trees for a new hedge, and made some rainwater diversions in the road. I also had the time to have some deep conversations with my mom and sister looking ahead for what we want in our lives. My mom and dad are reaching retirement age, and they’re looking at references of my grandparents, all of whom are in their 80s with rapidly declining health. We’ve talked about how we should be taking care of ourselves and one another as we age and change from roles of care receivers to care givers. Things like risk factors, maintenance, and even graceful decline came up, all of which are very relevant to this ongoing topic of holistic health that we continue to explore in this show. So with that said I’m excited to bring you the second part of this conversation I had a good few years ago with my close friend and nutritionist Crystal Honeycutt. This second part focuses on the topics of supplementation for faster recovery, the nuanced definition of regenerative health and how we can rise above our low standards of health as they currently are to reach our superhuman potential.

Over the next two weeks I’m going to be taking some much needed recharge time with my family here on the farm. I've got my little sister Emily here and her three little girls Selma, Rawan, and Lujane who came from Kuwait city to spend the summer with us, and my mom who just arrived on Wednesday who will be spending a week with us. We’ve got outdoor education time around the farm (which we call Jungle School), a number of fairs and local festivals in the area we’re going too, and a lot of good food to indulge in made by our neighbors and broader community around the comarca of Osona in central Catalunya that we’re going to explore. Going hand in hand with the family time, I’ve been aware of a need to find a better balance in my home life. It goes along with this series on holistic health that I’ve been building, and both my partner Alba and I have been re-examining here at home. Alba has been suffering from some acute inflammation in the gut recently which has really impeded on her quality of life. In my case I’ve been flirting with burnout as I juggle between my work, the projects around the farm, and now looking after three little kids. Though I’m not in pain or discomfort, now that I’m in my mid thirties I notice that I can’t abandon my health routines and self care for as long without feeling the consequences as I did a decade ago. As a result, Alba, my sister and I have been asking ourselves questions about the necessary adjustments we need to make in areas of our diet, rest cycles, personal care, and balance of obligations to ensure that this journey is enriching and fulfilling in the long run. For this reason I’ve also been thinking a lot about a previous series of talks I had with my good friend Crystal Honeycutt. I recorded a two part discussion with her back in the early days of this show when it was still called the Abundat Edge Podcast and I was living in a little shack while I built our bamboo house on our homestead farm in the mountains of Guatemala. We went into a lot of the considerations and personal analysis that I’m now revisiting, but since I recorded a pretty decent introduction to the conversation I’ll let my highly curated podcasting voice from 2018 set us up for the interview.

Welcome to the final episode in mine and Nick’s 3 part series on drought. In the first episode we talked about how drought was affecting our two homes at the moment. His home on the island of Tenerife, and my own in Northeastern Spain. We went over the definition of drought and some common myths and misconceptions, as well as the major factors that can make drought more common and severe. In the second episode we turned to look at the myriad of options that are available to mitigate and even reverse the effects of drought focusing first on the sequence of design considerations. We looked into stopping points of drainage and damage, minimizing the need for use, and then capture and retention. From there we take a specific look at small scale to medium scale living space. Apartments and condos all the way up to small homes to homesteads of a few acres. In this last episode we’re going to wrap up the layout of different drought mitigation strategies for medium, large and even regional scales. More than home infrastructure, this session focuses on land management with interventions like earthworks, road and access design, and even restoration of water bodies like rivers and streams. The regional scale is an aspect of drought mitigation that I believe everyone has a responsibility to get involved in, and there is a need for a variety of approaches, from political action and institutional reform, to coalition building, and even direct work on the ground.Hopefully by the end of this series you’ll feel much better informed about what drought really is and some of the many options available to you to create resiliency against this increasingly common and severe occurrence in many parts of the world in order to take action and change the trajectory that your home and your community is currently on. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.instagram.com/regenerative_skills/ https://www.instagram.com/permanick_permaculture/ https://www.permanick.com/welcome/ https://vergepermaculture.ca/product/erwh-bookandtool/ https://permacultureearthworks.com/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1234602.Design_for_Water https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12528817-let-the-water-do-the-work https://quiviracoalition.org/techguides/ https://www.anabranchsolutions.com/beaver-dam-analogs.html http://www.restorationag.com/product/water-for-any-farm-2/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74zRegYj1JA https://regenerativeresources.co/ https://www.greeningthedesertproject.org/ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/580219.Rain_Gardens http://www.buildingnaturalponds.com/ https://homesteady.com/4984632/alternatives-to-septic-tank-systems https://regenerativeskills.com/galen-fulford/ https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-tom-duncan/ https://regenerativeskills.com/joost-wouters/ https://regenerativeskills.com/bruce-kania/ https://regenerativeskills.com/brian-von-herzen/ https://www.harvestingrainwater.com/ https://oasisdesign.net/ https://lacasaintegral.org/ https://community.waterstories.com/

Continuing with our deep dive into drought, my good friend Nick Steiner and I are going to move now from defining drought and the its myriad of causes and factors that make it worse, to a wide range of solutions and opportunities available to people who are living in different environments and with different access to land and space. You may not be surprised to hear that we ended up running long and so I split the episode into two parts. In this session we cover mostly the order of consideration for a retrofit of a home or even a landscape design geared towards water harvesting and rehydration. Then we look at the options available to people in small living spaces like apartments and condos in urban or peri urban areas. We also start to explore the next size up which would be small to medium sized homes with access to anything from a small garden to a couple acres of land. The great thing about looking at things in this order is that pretty much all the options available to small scale living or land access are also available as you size up. I also think it’s important to explain that there’s no reason you need to own or have access to large amounts of land in order to have a meaningful effect and influence on the water catchment in your local area, or often even more importantly, assist in shifting the culture of water use and abuse that is baked in to many of our modern societies to one of reverence and respect for water and the life it enables. Now, it’s impossible that Nick and I mention and explore all of the options at the various scales of living that we cover in these next two episodes, so please reach out to us if you think there are other possibilities we should be aware of or mention in future talks. We’re always excited to expand our own understanding and have a better grasp of the new and emerging knowledge for working with water. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.instagram.com/regenerative_skills/ https://www.instagram.com/permanick_permaculture/ https://www.permanick.com/welcome/

It’s that time again. In todays’ regenerative round table, my good friend Nick Steiner and I give updates on our respective projects. Him on the Island of Tenerife and myself in the mountains of central Catalunya in Spain. In the update we talk about some of the challenges we’ve been experiencing this year. The big topic at the moment for us, and many other in this area of the world, is drought. Partly because Nick and I live in parts of the world where drought is a common factor we’ve been researching it for some time. In this episode we’ll break down some of the common myths and misconceptions about drought and its causes. We’ll also talk about the link between drought and other common natural disasters such as floods and wildfires and then give concrete examples from our respective home bases. We go into some of the hidden factors that lead to regional droughts and some of the science behind the way water works in the environment to cool the atmosphere and create more moderate conditions in the climate. This chat is the first in a two part look at drought and will set us up for a second episode next week where we’ll break down some of the wide ranges of actions and changes that can make a difference, not only in mitigating the effects of drought but also reversing the trends in the long term and rehydrating your landscape. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.instagram.com/regenerative_skills/ https://www.instagram.com/permanick_permaculture/ https://www.permanick.com/welcome/

A couple weeks ago I had a wonderful conversation with my good friend Harriet Mela, the independent researcher from Austria who has helped push the boundaries of soil science and plant physiological understanding. We focused last time on how plants handle water stress, specifically drought and the management practices that can either help or inhibit their natural adaptation to this stress. Harriet also made it clear that she had a lot more to say on this topic and behind the scenes we talked about how to frame another discussion. In that time I shared a link to research done by Dr James White demonstrating how plants can absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere via enzymes in the stomata of their leaves. Turns out that Harriet is of course in close correspondence with James and she suggested that we invite him to our next session to explore the newest discoveries and experiments that they’re both conducting. How could I say no to that! So a quick intro to Dr James White to get us oriented. James is Professor of Plant Biology at Rutgers University in New Jersey where he and students conduct research on ecology of microbes that inhabit plants known as endophytes. James White is the author of more than 270 articles and book chapters, and author and editor of seven books on the biology of plant microbes. He is also an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Associate Editor for journals Symbiosis, Fungal Ecology, MycoScience, Biology and Scientific Reports, and also serves as Chief Editor for the Plant-Microbe Interactions Section of the MDPI journal Microorganisms and has presented extensively at international industry and academic conferences focused on regenerative agriculture, plant biostimulants and crop microbiomes. So as you can imagine, between James and Harriet, we get into some epic material. Though this session takes us in many directions, a couple of which I probably can’t even pronounce correctly, the overarching theme that we explore is the workings of plants and their symbiotic relationships with other organisms that helps them to adapt and overcome stress in their environments. We start by looking at this topic from the perspective of drought tolerance to wrap up the previous conversation, and then we expand from there. We even get into genetic adaptation, the problems with industrially produced seeds, and by the end uncover a key piece of the puzzle that could help you cut the time it takes to transition to regenerative management of your farm into a fraction. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.jefflowenfels.com/books-by-jeff-lownfels/ https://kindharvest.ag/courses/ra-cc-carbon-course/

Today I’m going to dive deeper into the broad topic of holistic health and wellness for this ongoing series that I started with Richard Perkins a couple weeks ago. In this episode we’re going to take a step back and analyze wellbeing with a perspective from the world of high performance athletics. Now I would imagine that for many of you this probably sounds a bit off-brand in comparison to my usual focus on ecological restoration and farming, but bear with me. Even though my guest today, Dr. Gerrit Keferstein’s studies focused on health and high performance in sports, his work has expanded significantly in his current practice to include a much more holistic view of wellness that touches on the esoteric, social, mental, and other broad contributors to a whole picture of what contributes to our health. Since we spend the first part of the session going into Gerrit’s background and studies, I’ll keep the intro short by saying that he is a doctor, coach and scientist with many years of national and international experience in professional and competitive sports, as well as in the treatment of chronic diseases. He’s also the founder and director of the MOJO Institute. To give you a small idea of what the institute is about I’ll quote from the two beliefs that the MOJO Institute was founded on. The first belief is that health is more than the mere absence of disease. We expect more than the health insurance-prescribed supply status of "sufficient". We want optimal. Our acute medical system is of course not designed for this. It performs other tasks. And at that it is excellent. Nevertheless, there is a need for supplementary offers in the healthcare market – today more than ever. The second belief is that man is not a machine, but a biological being. The body can therefore neither be repaired nor tuned. One just adapts to the challenges of their environment - positive and negative. And of course one is dependent on the resources available to them. These are two parameters that we can work on: Optimizing the challenges and the resources.Hopefully you can now understand why I was thrilled to get a chance to dive into this holistic understanding of health. Before we get started you’ll probably notice at the beginning of this interview that we don’t start out as formally as I often do on this show. That’s because Gerrit and I kicked off right away in getting to know one another and he had a lot of good questions for me in the beginning that I wanted to include, and by the time we got into the line of questions I had prepared I figured it was valuable enough to leave it all in, so with all that said, let's start from the beginning. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://mojo-institut.de/ https://www.instagram.com/performance.doc/

Today’s interview has been in the making for me for a couple years now. I first got to know Michael Reber through the pioneer program with Climate Farmers that I directed two years ago. Through that program we guided farmers from around Europe through existing online regenerative farming courses and helped them to adapt the information and techniques to their own businesses and contexts. By this point Michael had already gone through a few major transitions on his own farm and was in the process of diving deeper into soil health and improving the soil function on his 200 hectare grain and silage production operation in the south of Germany. During this period and through events like the Climate Farming conference that we hosted for the last two years, I got to know Michael’s remarkable story and see his farm in person. Since a large part of what I do is centered around communicating with farmers in Europe to understand their needs and challenges in their transitions toward regenerative management of their farms, stories like Michael’s are so important to highlight. There are many specific parts of what he and his family have been through that are very unique, but through all of it I hear similarities in the journeys that other farmers are on as well. The patterns of disruption in the business that cause people to reevaluate their priorities. Internal disputes that set us on a different trajectory. Daily learnings and the patience needed for observation and understanding to accompany us on our learning journeys, and other events like this resonate with so many of us, not only farmers. Despite Michael’s self consciousness about his level of English, he does a remarkable job in this interview in giving me a window into the changes and adaptations that have brought him and his farm to where they are now as well as the difficulties they’ve had in the past and still have in getting their land on a regenerative trajectory. As much as the details about soil health and the techniques he’s been trialing and the results they’ve achieved, I love the human side of his story that I know many of you listening will connect to as well. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: Join the Climate Farmers Community Michael's Podcast: https://bodenundleben.podigee.io/feed/mp3 Web: https://innovativelandwirtschaft.de Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Landwirtschaft.Reber/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichlReber Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.reber/ YouTube: Innovative Landwirtschaft Reber

Many of you will remember my guest today from the three other interviews I’ve done with him over the years. Zack Loeks is a good friend and a maverick of many regenerative skills and knowledge. From growing up on a permaculture homestead in northern New Mexico as a kid, to farming commercially in Canada, teaching edible ecosystem design through Ecosystem U, designing and installing edible ecosystems and many more side projects, I’m always thrilled to catch up with him. In the past I’ve interviewed him about his previous books “ The Permaculture Market Garden” and "The Edible Ecosystem Solution” which are broad concepts and patterns brought into practical design and applications. Today however, we’re going to focus on his newest book, “The Two Wheel Tractor Handbook,” which, in contrast to the other two, is a more specific manual about the wide range of uses and applications of a versatile tool, which incorporates broad concepts and uses within it. We start out first by just catching up as Zach explains some of the many fascinating projects and jobs that keep him constantly busy and innovating. From there we dive into the world of two wheeled tractors and why he believes they’re one of the most useful and adaptable pieces of machinery for a wide range of contexts and enterprises. We discuss their history and innovation and the huge number of single use power tools that they can replace on a farm or homestead. We also do a side by side comparison with larger four wheeled tractors and on the other side, compare them to working solely with hand tools. Zach also breaks down the options for different attachments, personal considerations as to whether a two wheeled tractor is right for your own operation, and we even discuss the maintenance and repair considerations to make sure it doesn’t break down on you. Yes it’s nerdy, yes it’s super fun, and yes it’s always inspiring to hear what Zach is working on and tinkering with. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://newsociety.com/books/t/the-two-wheel-tractor-handbook?sitedomain=row&variant=43851666292986 https://www.ecosystemu.com/home https://www.ecosystemsolutioninstitute.com/ https://www.zachloeks.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@EcosystemU https://www.instagram.com/zachloeks/

Now that I’m spending so much time out on the land here at the new farm I’m becoming a lot more conscious of my health. Nutrition has been really important for me in the last handful of years as I’ve struggled to overcome the chronic digestive issues that plagued me until my 30s. Over time I’ve dug deeper into whole food nutrition, fermentation and the gut microbiome, the importance of healthy fats and unpasteurized products, and quite a few others. At the same time, I’ve read and researched a lot of work that’s very dogmatic and extreme in their nutritional and healthy living advice. Some of the recommendations are really unrealistic for my lifestyle or miss important holistic concepts of an overall healthy way of living in connection to one's surroundings and sources of food. For this and many other reasons I’ve been closely following the development of Richard Perkins new book titled Farm Fish Hunt Pick Bake. Like many young farmers and homesteaders, I know Richard from his work and educational videos around the development of Ridgedale farm in Northern Sweden. I’ve interviewed him now a few times in the past on previous seasons of this show and hosted skill exchange events online with him for the Climate Farmers community. Cooking and nutrition has been a minor part of his online teachings until recently, but has been very much in line with the ethos of his ideas on reconnecting with the land and living in close relationship with your food sources, both plants and animals. As Richard has been transitioning from beyond full-time farming he’s collaborated with the incredible chefs who’ve catered his many farm events and trainings to create a cookbook that conveys the full scope of not only the recipes, but also the process of foraging, farming, processing, and preserving all the food that Ridgedale farm is well known for. In this interview Richard and I explore where the inspiration for this new focus on food came from, and how the book has come together. We also dive into reemerging traditional concepts from the book like nose-to-tail eating, the art and culture of fermentation, the importance of both raw and properly cooked foods, the redemption of animal fats, and so much more. I’ve often thought that even if I didn’t love the farm lifestyle I’d still be in love with regenerative agriculture just for the food, and this massive volume covers so much of exactly what it means to reconnect with the ecology and processes of your food sources to make the enjoyment, appreciation, and reverence for what we eat a part of our lifestyles once again. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/828829028/farm-fish-hunt-pick-bake?ref=checkout https://www.richardperkins.co/ https://www.youtube.com/@regenerativeagriculture https://www.instagram.com/richardperkins.co/ https://regenerativeskills.com/richard-perkins-helps-troubleshoot-your-market-garden/ https://regenerativeskills.com/richard-perkins/ https://regenerativeskills.com/abundantedge-richard-perkins-042/

Today I’m going to give you a window into the series of Skill Exchange calls that I host regularly for the members of the Climate Farming community. The community is open to any active farmer in Europe and together we’ve co-created an online learning space for farmers to connect with one another, share ideas and knowledge, and receive support from their peers.This series of Skill Exchange calls is part of my ongoing effort to create a free library of farmer’s presentations on tips and abilities they’ve found success with throughout the diverse farming operations that are represented in our groups. In today’s episode we get to hear from Lorenzo Costa, who’s been on this show once previously in an episode I recorded on his farm in the Chianti region of Italy with Zach Weiss when I visited in November of last year. Lorenzo will offer a deep dive into some of the processes and recipes he has learned, applied, and found success with from Korean Natural Farming, or KNF. We start out with an overview of what KNF is and how it began before jumping into tutorials on how to make your own indigenous microorganisms, DIY liquid fertilizers, and more. This is a very technical presentation which will walk you through the each step in how to make these garden amendment and enhancement products for yourself, and since I know it can be tough to remember everything much less take notes if you’re doing something else while you listen to this, Lorenzo was kind enough to send me his presentation with all the pictures he refers to so you can reference it later when you’re mixing all this stuff up.Check out the presentation here Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://christrump.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lorenzo.costa1/ https://www.instagram.com/lascoscesa/ https://en.jadam.kr/

In my work with farmers and clients I’ve always looked for the leverage points where small actions can lead to the largest changes and progress. Where is it that a beginner or novice can invest some resources and make big leaps rather than burning out for small results. In fact, as I’m in the early stages of renovating my own house and farm, this is a source of constant reflection for me as well.This line of thinking has led me to focus so much on water, since basically all life is dependent on it, and if you can keep your landscape hydrated you can massively increase the living capital potential regardless of what you’re producing or what ecosystem you inhabit. Another leverage point that I’ve become increasingly focused on, thanks to the work of Julia Dakin and Joseph Lofthouse of the “Going to Seed” organization, is that of landrace gardening and plant breeding. I won’t give away too much because we’ll go deeper into it in the episode, but the broad concepts is, why go through all the effort of trying to adapt the conditions of your environment, your soil, water access, and other conditions, in order to grow plants that were either grown in greenhouses or completely distinct environments, when you could instead breed resilient and thriving cultivars that are adapted to your specific growing conditions. In order to shed light on this ancient concept today is Julia Dakin. Julia is a food and seed producer in Mendocino County, California. She has been involved in agriculture for most of her life, and has devoted the past few years to growing market crops and teaching the benefits of seed saving, local adaptation, and genetic diversity. For the last year she’s been collaborating with Joseph Lofthouse to create the course Landrace Gardening. Over the last six months, she co-founded an organization called Going to Seed, whose mission statement is ‘inspiring a shift in agriculture towards adaptation, diversity and community. Going to Seed now offers free seed contributed from growers in the Landrace Gardening network, as well as free online courses. More recently Julia has been working on the new online course together with collaborators in Southern Mexico called Center of Origin: Sustainable Farming Methods of Southern Mexico. In today’s interview, Julia and I go over her adapted definition of landrace gardening and the research epiphany during the pandemic that transformed her understanding of the conditions needed to grow the most nutrient dense food. From there we go into the practical steps on how to get started with your own landrace breeding trials and how to select for the traits you want to favor over time. We also cover the easiest vegetables to get started with, how this can work for people with tiny gardens, and some of Julia’s own learnings from her early trials in growing her own tailored plants on her farm. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://goingtoseed.org/ https://goingtoseed.org/products/1406309 https://goingtoseed.org/products/center-of-origin-traditional-farming-methods-in-southern-mexico

If you’ve been following the episodes so far this season, you know I’ve got a lot of projects and travels going on right now. Since the episode I recorded in Nicaragua, I’ve also been on a project on the island of Madeira and just two days ago I got back from a 9 day trip to Portugal. Though I haven’t been able to record everything like a diary the way I would have liked to, today I did get a chance to sit down with Nick Steiner who was with me every step of the way during the tour around three of our favorite farms around the Alentejo region.To keep things short, we start by talking about the activities we were involved with and the farm visits with the Climate Farmers team. Then we go into more detail about the enterprises as well as the management techniques and experiments that each of them are implementing and having stunning results with, and then, since it wouldn’t be an episode with me and Nick if we didn’t geek out about water management, we talk about the opportunities we observed from the different farms on how to hold and store water better, and what implications this could have for the fertility and production on each of their landscapes. I know that this will be only one of many visits we make to Portugal, especially given the requests and interest we’ve been getting from other farmers in the region to help with water scarcity issues. In future episodes, Nick and I will start to move from the larger overview talks like today, and go into more detail on the causes and effects of broken water cycles, the range of techniques available for specific contexts, and actual tutorials and classes where you can transform your land into a water retention landscape. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.permanick.com/welcome https://instagram.com/herdadesluis_porcusnatura?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=https://instagram.com/permanick_permaculture?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=https://instagram.com/montesilveirabio?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=https://instagram.com/sergio.grapegrower?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I’ve got a treat for you all today. After almost 3 years, I’ve got Shane Simonsen back on the show. For those of you who are not familiar with Shane, I’ll give a quick intro and then point you to the links to the two previous shows I recorded with him because they’re really worth while. Shane is a biologist who has a fascinating project on 40 acres in Queensland, AU centered around the concept of zero input farming, which also happens to be the name of the popular blog he’s written about it, which is one of the most original approaches to large scale food production that I’ve come across in a long time and asks the simple question of “how might we still be able to produce enough food for ourselves and our communities if we no longer had access to all of the inputs and fossil fuels of our modern times.” Despite sounding like a post apocalyptic exercise in primitive living, Shane’s writing is surprisingly optimistic and pragmatic. In a small excerpt from his very first post from September 2019 he writes: In the resource constrained future ahead of us these input dependent approaches to growing food will become impractical or impossible. Instead new systems that rely on locally adapted crops and livestock, integrated into systems that are truly compatible with the local geology and climate will be required. I have taken on the challenge of developing these systems in our particular region in the remaining two decades of vigor I have left in me. This blog is an account of this journey. Hopefully I can inspire some of you to follow in my direction and develop your own locally adapted systems. , but that’s just an excerpt from the original interview I did with Shane from before the Pandemic. Today I’m speaking with him about how his zero input strategy helped during the Australian response to the pandemic. We go over what he learned and observed from the resilience and weak points of his farm, as well as how it has caused adaptations for the next steps ahead. On top of all the farm and ecology talk, we dig into the new series of a unique brand of science fiction novels that he’s just about to publish. Though it’s much better to hear him explain it, I can say that I’ve never yet found literature on a possible future for a reintegrated future human society whose world is built around biological technology in contrast to the industrial and mechanical technology that dominates our modern world as well as every other sci fi premise I’ve so far come in contact with. That alone has my imagination and curiosity piqued and I hope it's something we can explore a lot more in future sessions. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://haldanebdoyle.com/ https://zeroinputagriculture.substack.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4r7XRgHoe4Ac0v2YVeQkg

One of the most important resources we’ve been working to create for our network of farmers here in Europe through my work at Climate Farmers is what we’ve called our coach matching service. We’ve long since seen that one of the hurdles that farmers face in their transition to regenerative agriculture is either one of two things. Either not the right specific information and support based on their unique context, or as is more common in the internet age, too much information to the point of overwhelm, inaction, and self doubt.The truth is that having too much information fighting for space in your farm management plan is often more damaging than not knowing what to do.For this reason we’ve put a significant effort into finding the most reputable and experienced coaches and consultants in regen ag around Europe in order to help match farmers who are looking for assistance with the right professional for them. I also put emphasis on the title of coach there because we recognize that these transition journeys are part of a long term strategy for the health of farm ecosystems, businesses, and the health of the people involved. No matter where you are in your own journey it can be helpful to receive some dedicated support and assistance from someone with an outside perspective and experience in your challenges to get you over the hurdles in your way to break through to the next level. At the same time, this represents a paradigm shift in the conventional attitude. Many farmers are used to receiving advice from consultants and “experts'' who give calculations and recommendations which are to be followed precisely. Coaching relationships on the other hand assume that farmers and land managers know their land and businesses better than anyone and only need some guidance, new ideas, and structure to reach their own potential and that of their farm ecologies. For that reason I reached out to one of the most prominent voices in this space, Nicole Masters, who is also a trainer of farm coaches to help me better understand the value of coaching relationships and journeys.Though Nicole has been on this show a few times now, we’ve mostly explored the more technical details of water management and soil science, but in this episode we’ll look at her perspective on the work she does with growers directly as well as the programs she’s created for the professionals who are guiding farmers on their transition journeys. Nicole talks about the paradigm shift in coaching that needs to accompany a paradigm shift in land management as well as how it can be approached from both sides. From the coaching side we talk about the abilities and characteristics that make for an effective coach. From the farmers' side we discuss how they can prepare themselves for a successful coaching relationship as well as how to assess a potential coach to see if they’d be a good fit for them. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://integritysoils.com/ https://integritysoils.com/pages/create-coaching

The mindset required to find and purchase the land and home that my partner and I are now living in is not the same mindset required to develop and invest in the long term journey of being here. This has become obvious to me as new opportunities and collaborations come up in my work life and I find myself falling into the old habits and tendencies that I've become used to in the previous years. I'm now in a position in which I need to take some steps back, look at the whole that we are managing and develop a long term strategy for the more deeply connected life and career that my partner and I have talked about cultivating all along. The constant hustle, savings, and work that helped us get established on our property is a mindset of scarcity and constant want. If we want to become integrated members of our human and natural communities and become "people of place," I will need to invest in the relationships, co-dependence, and stewardship that very few people or institutions are capable or teaching. In today's episode I start by giving an update of the first few months of being moved into our new home and farm. The priority projects that we've taken on to get comfortable and established here as well as all the considerations and conflicting opportunities that have guided and disturbed our decisions in this short time. Since the deeper questions of how to orient ourselves for a longer term path towards our unique definition of a quality life is one that I often hear others struggle with, I wanted to share some insights from my own process as well as the tools and resources I turn to in order to make the process more manageable. I hope this discussion sparks a longer conversation about the deeper motivations and core values beneath the projects and work that we do on the land and in our communities. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YsCRc99iQA&t=21s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rvFZJBC_Ug&t=124s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniWaDUiW8g

Those of you who’ve been following this show for a while have watched my fascination with water and its role in every ecosystem grow over the years. By now, between my professional experience, the courses I’ve taken, and the research I’ve done, I feel quite competent in working with land in a practical way to restore its cycles and functionality on the land. Where my understanding is still lacking is in the cutting edge science of the way that plants use and interact with water. I’m no research scientist and don’t hold any degrees in biology or ecology, but I’m fascinated to go deeper into the micro workings of water at cellular levels to understand how we can better manage the plants and other living beings in order to oc´create the highest potential of ecosystem function on the land we interact with. With that very small and achievable goal in mind, I reached out to my friend and one of my favorite guests on this show to help me to understand the deeper biological and physical workings water within plants.Harriet is an independent research scientist from Austria known for her work uncovering the unexplained phenomena of plant growth and development. Informed by her background in microbiology, mycology, and biochemistry, Harriet has a unique capacity to describe little-known connections between emerging biological research and agriculture. Her objective is to use the scientific background that we have to introduce agricultural methods that are more resilient and also low input for farmers benefit. In this conversation we explore the observations in Harriet’s garden that prompted her to begin looking deeper into why some plants wilt and struggle in hot and dry conditions, while others are able to continue growing and even thrive. She introduces me to some of the lesser known capabilities of plants to cycle water internally and overcome drought conditions. We also talk about the indications that anyone can observe in plants that demonstrate their health and resilience to drought conditions as well as some of the practical management changes in the soil that can promote better water handling in crops. A lot of innovation has also been happening lately in the field of foliar feeding due to the potential of reverse transpiration through leaves and stems, but Harriet also has some important criteria for growers to consider to ensure that their foliar applications are effective and not causing unintended damage. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://regenerativeskills.com/harriet-mella-demystifies-cutting-edge-soil-science-for-ideal-plant-health/

Welcome to the first epsiode of season 7! So much has happened in the month between the last episode where I introduced my partner Alba and our new home and farm in Spain. There have been a lot of projects both inside the house, out on the land, and within our own businesses. One of the new developments that came up is that I was invited to assist on a watershed restoration design and install project with a company that I've admired and looked up to my whole career, Restoration Agriculture Development (RAD). RAD is the design and project installation company founded by Mark Shepard, the legendary farmer and author who has helped to define the ambitions through his work and writings such as "Restoration Agriculture" and "Water for Any Farm." Though Mark wasnt involved with this job directly, I got to work with their team lead, and accomplished farmer in his own right, Jake Takiff from Cedar Springs farm in Hotchkiss, Colorado. In this first episode, I'll be trying out a new format in which I'll bring you along for the duration of this project and give detailed updates about how work is moving forward, what we're learning in the process, and the main takeaways. If you enjoy this format, please let me know, since I have a lot of potential jobs lined up, farm visits, workshops and my own projects at home I would love to share with you. As always, the best way to get in touch and have your voice heard is to connect via the Regenerative Skills Discord server. You can sign up for free below. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: http://www.restorationag.com/ https://ranchonanacatl.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ranchonanacatl/ https://rainwaterrunoff.com/cedar-springs-farm-in-hotchkiss-colorado-practising-regenerative-agriculture-at-high-altitude/ https://www.instagram.com/cedarspringsfarm/

2022 has been an intense year for me behind the scenes. I don't often talk about my personal life here on the show, but I've had some major milestones this year that I'm excited to share with you. It's been a long journey of almost 4 years since leaving the project that I cofounded with my two colleagues in Guatemala around the time that I started this podcast, until now when my partner and I are recently moved into our new little farm in the mountains of Catalunya in Spain. In this episode, for the first time, I'm going to be speaking with my partner Alba about what that journey has been like and what we have planned for our home, farm, and the businesses that will support its development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YsCRc99iQA&t=15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rvFZJBC_Ug&t=6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniWaDUiW8g Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.instagram.com/regenerative_skills/ https://www.instagram.com/molidebojons/

I’ll keep today’s intro real short because this is a long episode. The short of it is that my good friend Nick Steiner and I have been diving real deep into the topic of landscape hydrology and water cycle restoration both on our own properties and through our work with clients and farmers all around Europe. In the process we’ve become complete nerds about this topic and all of the incredible potential that working with water systems can have for the ecology and quality of life where it’s applied appropriately. So today, Nick and I are just gonna lay it all out and summarize some of the many learnings we’ve gathered through courses, research, personal experience and case studies from our work. We’ll be looking at hydrological work through small home scale actions to massive regional and country level policy change and transformation. So instead of explaining all of this twice, let’s just jump right in. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: Contact us to schedule a free water project planning session https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-goshey-17a518122/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/steiner-nick/ https://www.instagram.com/permanick_permaculture/ https://www.instagram.com/regenerative_skills/

It’s not often I get to do interviews in person, and it’s not often that I get a chance to go to Italy to visit amazing farms and take a course on regional scale landscape hydrological restoration either. In fact this was my first visit to Italy at all. All of these fortunate circumstances came together at the end of November, a couple weeks ago, thanks to the incredible efforts and coordination by my friend Ed Cutler, the director of the Tuscany Environment Foundation. Early on Ed invited me to come and assist on a four day course that he was planning with Zach Weiss from Elemental Ecosystems and Lorenzo Costa from La Scoscesa farm, and since I’ve been in Zach’s Water Stories course since the beginning I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go out and get my hands dirty with a few of my heroes while working on one of my biggest topics of passion.So today’s interview is taking place up on Lorenzo’s farm a day after the course wrapped up with incredible views of the mountain valleys and vineyards around as the three of us discuss some of the most important learnings of the week. In that session we covered a lot of ground. Much like in the course itself we zoom in and out throughout the discussion to explore the challenges and opportunities for water restoration work at a large scale and in smaller and more specific examples. Lorenzo gave us great information and context on the history of land use in the Tuscan area as well as his own farm. Zach explained a lot of bigger picture concepts about working with water and the solutions for degraded landscapes and mismanaged infrastructure. We also refer regularly to the farm that hosted the course of the previous days, Tenuta di Paganico, which I highly recommend that you check out. I’ll put the link to their website and social media in the show notes. Despite the challenges that they have with soil erosion and old water retention features that are no longer functioning, they are doing amazing work with forest management and grazing animals in silvopasture systems among others. I also highly recommend stopping by their farm store and restaurant if you ever find yourself near the town of Paganico. I know this isn’t a super detailed introduction to the interview, but everything is very well spelled out from personal introductions through the progress of the learnings from the course so I’m not worried that you’ll fall behind. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://www.instagram.com/lorenzo.costa1/ https://www.instagram.com/lascoscesa/ https://www.elementalecosystems.com/ https://www.waterstories.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@Water_Stories https://www.tenutadipaganico.it/en/ https://www.instagram.com/tenuta_di_paganico/

Today’s session, in contrast to the more challenging subject of the last two weeks, will take me back into my comfort zone, namely, nerding out about plants and how bizarre and amazing they are. I don’t claim to be a plant expert, far from it. I’m more like a fanboy of a stadium band that has been around forever pumping out the hits and that I only found out about recently and act like I discovered them. I hope those of you who’ve been growing and studying plants your whole lives will forgive me. A perfect example of a person who’s been a lifelong aficionado of the plant kingdom is Scott Zona. Scott holds a B.S. in horticulture and an M.S. in botany from the University of Florida. His Ph.D. in botany is from Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (now the California Botanic Garden) and Claremont Graduate University, California. He has explored plants in Florida, California, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Pacific islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, and Madagascar. His interests are in the diversity and natural history of tropical plants, especially palms, salvias, and bryophytes, and has published over 175 articles on these topics in various magazines, book chapters, and scholarly journals. He is the co-author of two books, Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms (2nd ed.) and The Palm Collection at the Jardín Botánico de Culiacán. His third book, A Gardener’s Guide to Botany, will be out in December 2022. Scott is also a member of American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Cactus & Succulent Society of America, International Association of Bryologists, International Palm Society, North American Rock Garden Society, and the Royal Horticultural Society and he is a Research Collaborator with the Herbarium of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All of this has made him way over qualified to write his new book, A Gardener’s Guide to Botany: The biology behind the plants you love, how they grow, and what they need. In this interview, Scott and I really just spend the whole time talking about why plants are the coolest and why everyone should love them too. This brings us through a world of plant physiology and biological processes, nutrition hydration and soil health principles, and the incredible adaptability and senses that have evolved in the vegetative world to overcome all manner of stresses and challenges in different environments. Despite the fact that Scott reminds me a few times that his book is not about how to grow plants or garden, I can’t help but prod him for advice and insights about exactly these topics since that’s my own most vivid connection with plants. All the same there’s something for every plant lover in this episode. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-gardener-s-guide-to-botany-the-biology-behind-the-plants-you-love-how-they-grow-and-what-they-need-scott-zona/18396717?ean=9780760374450

Today we’ll be wrapping up the second in a two part interview that I’ve been looking forward to doing for a long time. If you missed the first part of the interview then I really recommend that you go back and listen to it before this second half to get the proper context. As a quick recap, I’ve been speaking with conventional and industrial farmers for some time, not only to better understand the industry and the management practices they use, but also to understand the people who manage these farms, the decisions and challenges they face, and both the differences and commonalities they have with the regenerative farmers I speak to more regularly. In an effort to raise awareness of these issues and to introduce some perspective into the conversation that is going on now around the world about how we should produce food and manage the natural world that we’ve come to dominate, I reached out to a voice that I’ve been following for a number of months and that I believe represents very honestly the realities of modern industrial farming operations in North America. Jake Leguee is managing over 15,000 acres near Weyburn in southern Saskatchewan in Canada. He grows durum, wheat, canola, peas, lentils, and flax and farms with his family, including his wife and three young sons, and several other family members. Together they are a 3rd-generation farm that strives to continually improve - to leave things better than they found them. Jake is also involved in various places in the agriculture industry as well. As a farmer and an agronomist, agriculture, and the science and business therein, is his fascination and passion. In the first half of the interview we covered Jake's family’s history into farming and how has overseen some major transformations in how the land and business are managed since taking over the farm business. We also unpacked some of the points of friction that farmers like Jake have experienced when dealing with legislators and regulators in Canada, as well as how this is often representative of many other countries around the world. We wrapped up on a note about the importance of including farmers directly in discussion at the government level whenever decisions are being made that would affect their work and the farming sector in general. In this second part we’ll be exploring further some of the misunderstandings that Jake has observed about how the general public understands modern farming, the pressures that farm owners like him are under, and even how these misunderstandings can be overcome. We also talk about some of the more controversial management practices that modern farmers engage in and why Jake defends the use of certain crop protection chemicals, GMO crops, and the use of synthetic fertilizers among other issues. Just as a quick reminder, my aim in giving voice to these positions is not to advocate for or to defend them, but rather to share the perspective and reality of the farmers that those of us in the regenerative fields often villainize or try to distance ourselves from. I believe that it’s essential to understand their positions and look for common ground rather than trying to convince others of our way of seeing things. I believe Jake does an admirable job of bringing thoughtfulness and compassionate advocacy to his way of life and farming and I hope that this will open up a larger discussion of how we can better include and welcome conventional farmers into the regenerative transformation of the farm and food industries that many of us are hoping to advance. Join the discord discussion channel to answer the weekly questions and learn new skills with the whole community Links: https://thelifeofafarmer.com/

Today I’ll begin the first in a two part interview that I’ve been looking forward to doing for a long time, but let me give you some background context before we get started. It’s no secret that I’m a major proponent of regenerative agriculture and many of the different methodologies, practices, and concepts that this wide label contains. I believe strongly that our generation has an opportunity and an obligation to reconcile our food production system with the natural world that we depend on and to use our knowledge, wisdom, and access to resources to regenerate the health of the Earth’s biomes as a primary function through which we produce value for our own species in the form of food, fiber, fuel, and medicine.With that said, I’ve long been observing an ugly manifestation of this advocacy creep into the online and media discourse around regenerative agriculture. As we hold up examples of success stories and best practices, many of these discussions are also propped up on derogatory mentions of conventional or industrial farmers and farming practices. Some of these even expand into contests of who is more regenerative or who is doing better for the climate. I am certain that insults, negative assumptions, and general dismissal of the people and practices in this sector does nothing to bring their voices to the table, and often serves to further separate our ideals in the regenerative ag movement from the people who we should be working hardest to welcome. For this reason I’ve been speaking with conventional and industrial farmers for some time, not only to better understand the industry and the management practices they use, but also to understand the people who manage these farms, the decisions and challenges they face, and both the differences and commonalities they have with the regenerative farmers I speak to more regularly. In an effort to raise awareness of these issues and to introduce some perspective into the conversation that is going on now around the world about how we should produce food and manage the natural world that we’ve come to dominate, I reached out to a voice that I’ve been following for a number of months and that I believe represents very honestly the realities of modern industrial farming operations in North America. Jake Leguee is managing over 15,000 acres near Weyburn in southern Saskatchewan in Canada. He grows durum, wheat, canola, peas, lentils, and flax and farms with his family, including his wife and three young sons, and several other family members. Together they are a 3rd-generation farm that strives to continually improve - to leave things better than they found them. Jake is also involved in various places in the agriculture industry as well. As a farmer and an agronomist, agriculture, and the science and business therein, is his fascination and passion. My intention with this interview needs a little explanation. I’ve been reading Jake’s blog on thelifeofafarmer.com since the beginning of the year. There are few other places on the web where I’ve found confident and first hand defenses of many of the pariahs of regenerative and organic agriculture such as the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, GMOs and the massive increase in the average size of farms, yet Jake manages to do so in an articulate and compassionate way.I need to also mention that I do not agree with or defend the positions that Jake promotes in this talk, but that’s not at all the point. If you’ve been listening to this show for any length of time, you’re already well aware of my beliefs and opinions. The guests that I’ve interviewed over the last 6 years have done a much better job than I could at explaining them as well. My hope here is rather to reconnect those of us who are so susceptible to getting lost in an echo chamber of agreement with the humanity and core motivations that we share with the very people we often think we oppose. The biggest takeaway from this conversation for me was just h...

It’s been a wild couple of weeks for me and as a result I’m struggling a bit to catch up. After the 5 day regenerative Design course at the Green Rebel farm in Miravet, Spain, then the three day Climate Farming conference at Schloss Kirchberg in Germany, and I’m now on a short break visiting the small farm of a good friend of mine in Dessau between events before a week long team retreat with the Climate Farmers team in Brandenburg. When I get back I’ve got tree planting events lined up in the Pyrenees and then I’ll be facilitating a course in Tuscany on restoring hydrological function to the landscape with Zach Weiss and Lorenzo Costa. Maybe by the end of November things will calm down in time for my partner and I to move into our new property which we were finally able to sign the papers on after a year of paper and admin work! Fewf!All of that is to say though I’ve got plenty of great interviews lined up for you, I might be a little irregular in releasing the episodes over the next month.But enough about me. This week I’m thrilled to present the first in a two part series exploring the topic of building true resilience in agriculture. Resilience is often thought of as the ability to bounce back from a disturbance or a challenge, but in these two episodes we’re going to dig deeper and not only broaden the theory of true resilience, but also to look into case studies of growers and land stewards who are building lasting resilience on their farms. To help me to understand all of this better and to give practical advice that all of us, even those of us that don’t work directly with the land can use in our lives, I had a wonderful conversation with Laura Lengnick.Laura is an award-winning soil scientist with 30 years of experience working as a researcher, policymaker, educator, activist and farmer to put regenerative values into action in U.S. food and farming. Her research in soil health and regenerative farming systems was nationally recognized with a USDA Secretary's Honor Award in 2002 and she was a lead author on the 2013 USDA report, Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation. Since 2015, Laura has led research and planning projects exploring agricultural climate solutions, developed carbon management plans for organizations, and designed and delivered climate risk management workshops for farmers. Laura is also the author of The 2nd edition of her award-winning book, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate in which she explores climate change, resilience and the future of food through the adaptation stories of 45 sustainable, organic, climate-smart and regenerative farmers and ranchers across the U.S. In 2021, Laura joined the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming as the Director of Agriculture. You can learn more about Laura and her work at www.cultivatingresilience.com In the first part of this series, we’ll explore how changes in climatic patterns and rise in temperatures are affecting farmers around the world and how they can understand the risks they’ll likely encounter in the coming decades. We also talk about the unique sensitivities that each landscape and farm has, and how you can use this understanding to build your own resilient capacity. Thanks to my partnership with New Society Publishers who published Laura's book, as well as many other invaluable volumes centering on topics of regenerative living, listeners of this show who are also signed up on our Discord community, can now win either a physical or digital copy of Resilient Agriculture over the next two weeks. It’s super simple to be eligible to win. All you have to do is sign up for free to the Discord server either on the homepage on our website at regenerativeskills.com or through the link on our bio on instagram. Once you’re in, just send me a direct message letting me know that you’d like to win a copy of the book and I’ll enter you in the drawing which I’ll do a w...