Nutrient-dense food, it’s a big topic in regenerative agriculture.  It’s just one of the many goals of improved soil health and it’s so very important to our own, human health.  But how do we quantify it? What new research techniques are uncovering these connections and how can we identify practices and systems that will improve nutrient-dense food?  Our guest today is trying to discover just that, Dr. Stephan van Vliet is a nutrition scientist and metabolomics expert in the Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. van Vliet earned his PhD in Kinesiology and Community Health as an ESPEN Fellow from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received post-doctoral training in the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine.

Dr. van Vliet’s research is performed at the nexus of agricultural and human health. He routinely collaborates with farmers, ecologists, and agricultural scientists to study critical linkages between agricultural production methods, the nutrient density of food, and human health. Dr. van Vliet uses high-throughput metabolomics techniques to study the presence of bioactive compounds in the whole food matrix and their impacts on human metabolic health.

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Stephen van Vliet

056 AgEmerge Podcast Dr. Stephan van Vliet: Research at the nexus of agricultural and human health.

Welcome our guest Blaine Hitzfield, a second generation farmer and business entrepreneur with a passion for regenerative agriculture. Blaine carved out an early life career by helping his family of seven brothers establish a farm-to-consumer food business that thousands of consumers know as Seven Sons Farms. 

We discuss the success of the Seven Sons brand and how he and his family transitioned from conventional farming practices to regenerative pasture-based farming models. Monte and Blaine cover everything from disruption of the food system, impact on local communities, customer trust, and loyalty, and utilizing technology to make it all happen. 

After graduating high school in 2004, Blaine carved out an early life career by helping his family of seven brothers establish a farm-to-consumer food business that thousands of consumers know as Seven Sons Farms. 
The success of the Seven Sons brand has been a catalyst for helping Blaine’s family transition from conventional farming practices to regenerative pasture-based farming models. When you visit the farm today you will witness over 550 acres of restored soils supporting a diverse production model of grass-fed cattle and pasture-raised hogs and chickens. As CEO of the family business, Blaine has been the driving force behind developing diverse entrepreneurial opportunities for his entire family. 

In 2014, Blaine began developing custom e-commerce software in an effort to help more regenerative farms reach consumers with transparent and ethically raised foods. What began as a small in-house project has developed into a farm-raised tech business called GrazeCart. Today over 400 farms and online food brands use GrazeCart to sell and ship over 20 million pounds of pasture-raised foods to consumers in the USA and CA. Blaine and his family have become a shining light and a beacon of hope for small family farms all around the world.

Blaine lives in his hometown of Roanoke, Indiana with his wife Charis and their five beautiful children. Blaine is the proud father of three sons and two daughters; Bryton, Tyton, Charleston, Lillyana, and Juliana! Blaine enjoys spending time fishing with his family, house projects, camping, and evening rides around the farm on his ATV.

Check out their websites:
https://sevensons.net/
https://grazecart.com/

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062 AgEmerge Podcast Blaine Hitzfield Seven Sons Farms

Dr. Stephanie Seneff, is a Senior Research Scientist at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

On this podcast Monte and Dr. Seneff discuss her research and work in understanding the role of toxic chemicals and micronutrient deficiencies in health and disease. Sometimes our topics are hard but necessary to hear. Hopefully, this conversation will encourage you to do some critical thinking about our production systems and how we can continue working to improve not only soil health but human health. 

Dr. Seneff has a BS degree from MIT in biology and MS, EE and PhD degrees from MIT in electrical engineering and computer science. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings. Her recent interests have focused on the role of toxic chemicals and micronutrient deficiencies in health and disease, with a special emphasis on the pervasive herbicide, Roundup, and the mineral, sulfur.  

Dr. Seneff's Website:
stephanieseneff.net

Toxic Legacy on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0971R287S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Bioconcentration of glyphosate in wetland biofilms:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33310222/

Glyphosate remains in forest plant tissues for a decade or more:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112721003479

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080 AgEmerge Podcast - Dr. Stephanie Seneff, MIT Senior Research Scientist

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. John Tooker. Dr. Tooker is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Entomology at Pennsylvania State University.  We have a great conversation with him as he discusses his research studying relationships among plants, invertebrate herbivores, and natural enemies to understand the factors that regulate populations of herbivorous insects and slugs. 

Dr. Tooker talks with Monte about how they are helping farmers observe what is happening in but also around their fields and using the power of observation while pausing to explore all the possible factors affecting their system. In addition, the long-term goal of his research is to exploit ecological interactions for sustainable insect pest management. 

https://ento.psu.edu/directory/jft11
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker

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089 AgEmerge Podcast Dr John Tooker Prof of Entomology

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi a Professor Emeritus of soil physics (soil management/environment), the Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. His research focuses on the effects of crops and tillage systems, crop residue, cover crops, and nitrogen application on soil carbon dynamics, sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem services.  Monte and Dr. Al-Kaisi really connected the dots when it comes to a systems approach, microbial function, soil carbon dynamics, and soil health. 

Dr. Al-Kaisi studied the interaction effects of agricultural management practices and environmental factors such as weather variability and landscape spatial variability on soil organic carbon sequestration and systems sustainability and productivity. As a result of his research, he has developed field calculators to assess the impact of soil management practices, such as tillage, crop residue, and crop rotation on soil health. He developed a soil carbon index for soils in Iowa. Dr. Al-Kaisi is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and Soil and Water Conservation Society.

Important Links:
Iowa Residue Calculator
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soilmgmt/calcResidue.aspx
Soil Erosion Calculator
https://milford.nserl.purdue.edu/wepp/strips.php
Dr. Mahdi Al-Kaisi Published work:
https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/authors/1702

094 AgEmerge Podcast Dr. Mahdi Al - Kaisi

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dan Kittredge. Dan has been an organic farmer for more than 30 years and the founder and Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA), a non-profit whose mission is to “increase quality in the food supply.” Dan has become one of the leading proponents of “nutrient density,” and works to demonstrate the connections between soil health, plant health, and human health through workshops and speaking engagements across the country and globe, the annual Soil and Nutrition Conference, and an increased presence online through social media, a YouTube channel, and an upcoming online course.  Today he and Monte discuss the opportunities and challenges in all these areas.

Dan grew up on Many Hands Organic Farm in central Massachusetts with his parents, Julie Rawson, NOFA-MA Executive Director, and Jack Kittredge, Natural Farmer publisher. After a global career in food and seed activism where he worked with farmers across India, Russia, and Central America, Dan returned to the U.S. and launched the BFA in order to ignite a movement around food quality. 

Dan has become one of the leading proponents of “nutrient density,” and works to demonstrate the connections between soil health, plant health, and human health through workshops and speaking engagements across the country and globe, the annual Soil and Nutrition Conference, and an increased presence online through social media, a YouTube channel, and an upcoming online course. 

In 2018, Dan launched the Real Food Campaign, now the Bionutrient Institute, that, with open-source science partners Our-Sci and FarmOS, are leading the effort to identify and increase nutrition in the food supply. The Bionutrient Institute has engineered and unveiled a prototype of a hand-held consumer spectrometer, the Bionutrient Meter, designed to test nutrient density at point of purchase and bring transparency to the marketplace. Via the Bionutrient Meter, the goal is to empower consumers to choose for nutrient quality and thereby leverage economic incentives to drive full system regeneration.  

https://bionutrient.org/

Do you have a question for our guest or Monte to answer? Click on the link to submit your question and we will get back to you. 

AgEmerge Podcast Follow Up Questions Link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEIDQFBcyyzYniqrrgBHXr6AopZddN25xR-6IswEnli69v_w/viewform

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096 AgEmerge Podcast with Dan Kittredge Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food Association

Thanks for joining us, we’ve got a great conversation with Steve Statler Senior Vice President of Marketing & ESG at Wiliot.  Imagine technology the size of a postage stamp, changing the way we make, distribute and sell food and consumables.  It is technology that can make our supply chain more efficient and it cut food waste. 

AgEmerge has purposefully focused on bringing together regenerative agriculture and emerging technologies to make regenerative farming possible anywhere and everywhere and today’s conversation explores those exciting opportunities. 

Steve is Senior Vice President of Marketing & ESG at Wiliot, leader in battery-free Bluetooth semiconductor and cloud services. With over 10 years in the industry, Steve has channeled his passion from IoT &amp; cloud technology as a speaker, author, and host of the Mr. Beacon Podcast.

https://www.wiliot.com/
https://www.wiliot.com/blog#01
https://www.wiliot.com/podcasts#01

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099 AgEmerge Podcast With Steve Statler of Wiliot

Thanks for joining us and welcome to our 100th AgEmerge Podcast. It's hard to believe we've recorded 100 episodes with some of the great change makers in agriculture, from scientists, and researchers, to medical doctors and ag entrepreneurs, we’ve tried to bring you the full gamut of all things regenerative agriculture. Today is a pinnacle for us as we host Gabe Brown, our first on-stage AgEmerge Keynote speaker and one of the influential forces that challenged our thinking about the way we farm. There’s a great conversation ahead as Monte and Gabe take a three-hour deep dive into all things regen ag so let’s get started.
Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources.
Gabe, along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, own and operate Brown's Ranch, a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. The ranch consists of several thousand acres of native perennial rangeland along with perennial pastureland and cropland. Their ranch focuses on farming and ranching in nature's image.
The Browns holistically integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include a wide variety of cash crops, multi-species cover crops along with all natural grass finished beef and lamb. They also raise pastured laying hens, broilers and swine. This diversity and integration has regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides.
The Browns are part owners of a state inspected abattoir which allows them to direct market their products. They believe that healthy soil leads to clean air, clean water, healthy plants, animals, and people.
Over 2,000 people visit the Brown's Ranch annually to see this unique operation. They have had visitors from all fifty states and twenty-four foreign countries.
Gabe and Brown's Ranch have received many forms of recognition for their work, including a Growing Green award from the Natural Resource Defense Council, an Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and a Zero-Till Producer of the Year Award, to name a few. Gabe has also been named one of the twenty-five most influential agricultural leaders in the United States.
Gabe recently authored the book, “Dirt to Soil, One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture.”
He is a partner, along with David Kleinschmidt, Shane New, Kathy Richburg, and Dr. Allen Williams, in Understanding Ag LLC. He is also an instructor for Soil Health Academy, which focuses on teaching others the power and importance of healthy functioning ecosystems.

www.understandingag.com

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100 AgEmerge Podcast With Gabe Brown

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Greg Gunthorp. Greg is a fourth-generation farmer who is clearly a critical thinker.  Greg has re-imagined what livestock production and meat marketing looks like on their farm. His understanding of the history of ag production and his ability to glean knowledge from that history has given him discernment and a great perspective on how to manage and lead their operation. Greg says he likes to act locally and think globally and that really defines the way Greg sees things, he has both that 30,000-foot big picture view clear down to the minute details. 

In 1998, Greg Gunthorp was selling live hogs for less than his grandfather did during the Great Depression. It was then that he entered the meat industry-- all while still raising high-quality, pasture-raised pigs like his family has for generations before him.

The Gunthorp family looks a lot different now but the way they raise animals has stayed the same. Gunthorp Farms is a family-owned business and all members of the family chip in. Gunthorp Farms also employs approximately 30 full-time and 15 part-time employees.

Gunthorp Farms specializes in quality meat that is a favorite among some of the best chefs in the Midwest.  All of their animals are raised on pasture without the use of antibiotics.  They have an on-farm USDA-inspected processing plant where they harvest, process, and package all of their animals before delivering to upscale restaurants and retailers. You can order their meats & have them shipped directly to your door.

https://gunthorpfarms.com/
435 N 850 E, LaGrange, IN 46761

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108 AgEmerge Podcast With Greg Gunthorp - Gunthorp Farms

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Eric Fuchs, a consultant for Understanding Ag. Eric’s work and experience make for a great conversation. He lives in Southeast Missouri on a diversified livestock operation where they raise hair sheep and contract graze cattle. He’s been using Holistic Planned Grazing for over eight years and has had a managed grazing system on his operation for more than 20 years. In addition to that, Eric also works in the water and wastewater industry as a source water protection technician. He works with small and large small communities and with agricultural producers to help ensure community water protection. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so let’s jump right in. 
Eric Fuchs lives in Southeast Missouri on a diversified livestock operation where he raises hair sheep and contract grazes all classes of cattle. He has been using Holistic Planned Grazing for over eight years and has had a managed grazing system on his operation for more than 20 years.

Eric also works in the water and wastewater industry as a source water protection technician. He works with small and large small communities and with agricultural producers to help ensure community water protection. His efforts help save millions of dollars in costly water treatment system upgrades while also negating the need for long-term regulations. He has seen firsthand the problems with agriculture land use and its effect on drinking water.

Eric’s journey into regenerative ag began on his own operation when he discovered how soil health focused practices could benefit water resources. He also realized that more regulation is never the answer but that the solutions for clean water are easily attainable by changing how we operate.

Graduating from the University of Missouri in 1994 with a degree in agronomy, Eric served in the U.S. Air Force for five years, during which time he received a master’s degree in human resource development.

I began my farming career as a conventional grazing and livestock owner, which I quickly realized was not profitable or sustainable for our environment. When I started my career in source water protection, I quickly realized the problems created by conventional agriculture were rampant. Most problems I saw with poor drinking water quality could be attributed to agriculture.

I had been using regenerative techniques on my own operation for many years but when I saw how these could also save our waterways and provide clean safe reliable drinking water, it became a passion of mine to let others know there were practical solutions to these problems. It was apparent that the same techniques used to make my own operation sustainable and profitable could be used on a large scale to clean up our drinking water. My passion now is to share with others the solutions to these problems.

Through my experience as a regenerative farmer and source water specialist, I bring an understanding to a range of groups on the current and future scene of pending regulations. Additionally, I can work with communities, businesses and individuals to improve drinking water quality, AND save money and mitigate the need for additional burdensome regulations.

www.understandingag.com

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113 AgEmerge Podcast With Eric Fuchs - Understanding Ag Consultant

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Christian Krupke a professor in the Dept of Entomology at Purdue University where he focuses on insect pest management in field crops. His research has concentrated on illuminating the strengths and weaknesses of the primary pest management approaches used in corn and soybeans. And he has a special focus on Bt corn and neonicotinoid seed treatments. Dr. Krupke and Monte discuss the resilience of nature and how fast it bounces back. They discuss what we’ve learned about preserving the biology in the soil and how to reconsider those pest management systems.  

He completed his doctoral degree in entomology at Washington State University in 2004, and since 2005 has worked at Purdue with responsibilities in insect pest management in field crops (i.e. corn,
soybeans, wheat, and other small grains), where he leads active applied research and extension
programs. Dr. Krupke also teaches a graduate-level course in Integrated Pest Management
(IPM). His research has focused on elucidating the strengths and weaknesses of the primary
pest management approaches used in corn and soybeans, with a special focus on Bt corn and
neonicotinoid seed treatments of corn and soybeans. Dr. Krupke has published over 50 peer-
reviewed manuscripts and given dozens of talks on these subjects to fellow researchers,
members of USDA, EPA, USFWS, and a range of stakeholder groups including growers of these
commodities, beekeepers, and a wide range of conservation organizations.

Important links:
https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/fieldcropsipm/index.php

https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2108429118

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119 AgEmerge Podcast Christian Krupke - Dept of Entomology - Purdue University

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Kelsey Griesheim, Assistant Professor of Soil Fertility at North Dakota State University. She completed her PhD at the University of Illinois, where she worked under Dr. Richard Mulvaney conducting field evaluations to measure fertilizer uptake efficiency of various application types. Monte and Dr. Griesheim take a deep dive into her studies of nitrogen. She gives us a lot to think about like when we apply nitrogen, we’re fertilizing our crops, but we are also fertilizing the microorganisms. And that, Dr. Griesheim points out, is why nitrogen management is so difficult, because we have to take into account the fact that that nitrogen is not just being used by the plants, it's also being used by microorganisms in the soil. And they’re often, a lot better at scavenging nitrogen than the crop is. We’ll cover that and so much more so let’s get started. 

Kelsey Griesheim grew up in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois and completed her BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Illinois in Urbana, Champaign. She was hired as assistant professor of soil fertility at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in February of 2023. While at Illinois, she worked under Dr. Richard Mulvaney conducting field evaluations to measure fertilizer uptake efficiency of various application types using 15N as a tracer. She is currently building a research program at NDSU to tackle the same issues for North Dakota producers.

https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-home/directory/kelsey-griesheim
https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/saj2.20503
https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/saj2.20531

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120 AgEmerge Podcast With Dr. Kelsey Griesheim

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Jack Schultz, Research Professor in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston. His research has focused on the chemical and molecular interactions between plants and insect herbivores. And those relationships are what Monte and Dr. Schultz explore as they discuss the amazing communications being discovered between plants and insects. It’s a fascinating conversation so let’s jump right in.

Dr. Schultz’s research has focused on the chemical and molecular bases of interactions between plants and insect herbivores, integrating insect physiology and behavior with plant chemistry, molecular biology and ecology. He (with undergraduate Ian Baldwin) was the first to demonstrate volatile signaling by and among plants. He also studied the role of plant tannins induced by insect attack in defending plants against pests and found that some interfere with biocontrol.
Gene expression underlies defense induction by plants. The Schultz lab demonstrated the relationship between gene expression, resource allocation, defense compound production and plant defense using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. They also found that salivary signals allow some insects to block plant defense responses.

Some insects induce the development of unique organs on plants called ‘galls.’ Galls house the insect and provide concentrated food resources. A team led by Schultz demonstrated that development of the gall formed on grape leaves by grape phylloxera involves plant genetic pathways unrelated to leaf development and requires relatively undifferentiated leaf cells and manipulation of plant hormones.

In 2007, Schultz became Director of the Christopher Bond Life Science Center at the University of Missouri, where he led interdisciplinary research by faculty from 8 departments in 6 colleges. Funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and NSF, he developed and taught in a training program in science communication for graduate students. Schultz has also taught tropical ecology and studied plant defenses in Costa Rica, primarily at the La Selva Biological Station.

https://uh.edu/nsm/biology-biochemistry/people/profiles/jack-schultz/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15923339/
Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
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121 AgEmerge Podcast With Dr. Jack Schultz

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Jimmy Emmons, Jimmy is the SR Vice President of Trust In Food and leads their Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Connected Ag Project, America’s Conservation Ag Movement and Trust In Beef, coalition-driven conservation programs developed to accelerate the adoption of conservation agriculture at scale. Monte and Jimmy discuss what the successful implementation of these practices looks like and how leaving a legacy is so much more than leaving a piece of property. They’ve got a lot to cover so let’s jump right in.

Jimmy Emmons leads Trust In Food’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Connected Ag Project, America’s Conservation Ag Movement and Trust In Beef, coalition-driven conservation programs developed to accelerate the adoption of conservation agriculture at scale.

Jimmy and his wife, Ginger, own and operate Emmons Farm in Leedey, Okla., where they farm 2,000 acres and have 5,000 acres of rangeland where they run 300 head of cows and calves in an integrated row-crop and livestock operation that optimizes water resources, reduces erosion and improves organic material in the soils. He is a public speaker, educator, mentor and advocate for conservation management practices to improve producers’ resiliency to weather, operational efficiency and profitability.

Emmons most recently served as coordinator for mentoring for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. Prior to that, he was regional coordinator for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation, where he supported operational and business functions across the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA). He has also served as president of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and led fundraising for the National Young Farmers Education Association.

https://www.trustinfood.com/

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122 AgEmerge Podcast With Jimmy Emmons Senior VP for Trust in Food

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Dianna Bagnall a Research Soil Scientist for the Soil Health Institute. Her current work includes integrating research and outreach to secure the global soil resource. Some of her specific research includes developing functions that show the effect of management on soil physical properties, on-farm soil health assessments, qualitative analysis of farmer interviews, and outreach to farmers in the United States. She and Monte discuss the importance of being able to quantify and assess the practices that are being used to build soil health across the country. Listen in to this powerful conversation.

Dr. Dianna Bagnall serves as a Research Soil Scientist for the Soil Health Institute. She is an applied soil physicist specializing in soil physical health and socioeconomic dynamics of soil management. Her current work includes integrating research and outreach to secure the global soil resource. Specific research includes developing functions that show the effect of management on soil physical properties, on-farm soil health assessments, qualitative analysis of farmer interviews, and outreach to cotton farmers in the United States. Dianna is an associate editor for Vadose Zone Journal, the 2023 Soil Health Community Leader for the American Society of Agronomy, and the Early Career Representative to the Soil Science Society of America Board.
Soil Health Institute Website:
soilhealthinstitute.org

Soil Health Institute and Cargill Partner to Advance Water Stewardship Through Improved Soil Health Website: 
https://soilhealthinstitute.org/news-events/soil-health-institute-and-cargill-partner-to-advance-water-stewardship-through-improved-soil-health/?fbclid=IwAR2IwKGj1LIvf63sCmEZvNURdxOVYIg252o6afWor8BrLpO9bakEU07RTJk

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123 AgEmerge Podcast With Dianna Bagnall a Research Scientist for the Soil Health Institute

Thanks for joining us! As the year draws to a close, we often find ourselves evaluating the results of this year's harvest and reflecting on the systems and practices we’ve adopted to improve soil health. Some of our guests have shared with us that they’ve changed their practices not only for soil health and water quality but also because of a health event in their lives that prompted an examination of their current systems. 

Today, we’re bringing you a medley of guests who explore the human health and soil health connection. We’ve picked out some great highlights, with Seth Watkins, a farmer and inaugural Iowa Leopold Conservation Award recipient in 2022.  Anthony Corsaro, the Founder and Managing Director at Outlaw Ventures working on building a better food system for tomorrow. Dr. Stefan van Vliet a human physiologist studying the effects of food and physical activity on human health. and Erin Martin, gerontologist and founder of Conscious Aging Solutions.

You’ll find links to the full episodes of each of these guests in the podcast notes. There’s no question that we’re still learning about all of the human and soil health relationships and we remain committed to bringing you guests who contribute to our understanding of these connections.

Full AgEmerge Podcast links for each guest can be found here:

Seth Watkins
https://youtu.be/qjXlJmpTjEY?si=oq6Uwt2N9oJP1gIe

Anthony Corsaro
https://youtu.be/iJvIjyJbSaU?si=_3ded2srFLEjWK1s

Dr. Stephan van Vliet
https://on.soundcloud.com/mWXaR

Erin Martin
	https://youtu.be/fAIr5GyUSgU?si=Emxr7VeK6yqA5vkC

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124 AgEmerge Podcast Soil Health Human Health Connection

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Doniga Markegard a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author. Doniga and Monte have a wonderful conversation discussing  the methods Doniga and her family are using to graze their animals, how they observe and interact with nature, to lead towards a more biodiverse and balanced ecosystem and they are seeing incredible results. Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and chicken supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 11,000 acres. 

Doniga Markegard is a wildlife tracker, regenerative rancher, speaker, and author of Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild and Wolf Girl: Finding Myself in the Wild. Her teen years in nature school started her on a path that led to a career in animal tracking and then permaculture and ranching in at her farm in California, Markegard Family Grass-Fed, where she works to regenerate both soil and community through farming. Using the innovative, carbon-storing methods of regenerative ranching, she’s restoring the land she tends, bringing native grasses and wildlife back. Doniga is a consultant and guest instructor at Nature Awareness Programs around the country, has led retreats in places such as 1440 Multiversity, Canyon Ranch and is a regular speaker at events such as the Bioneers Conference, Food Inspiration Trendsummit, and The Grassfed Exchange. She is a certified educator with Holistic Management International. She has worked with companies such as Patagonia, Tesla and Google, and has been featured in articles from Civil Eats, FastCompany, GreenBiz, The San Francisco Examiner, and NPR. Most recently she has been featured in the film Kiss the Ground available on Netflix. 

Along with her husband and four children, Doniga owns and operates Markegard Family Grass-Fed LLC raising grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and chicken supplying the Bay Area with local, nutrient dense foods. The family ranch leases land through out the Bay Area spanning over 11,000 acres. 

Doniga’s work expands beyond her family ranch into policy and advocacy. She has organized a stakeholder working group at the State Capital for small dairy herds. She then took the lead on legislation that would enable family farms to be more sustainable and utilize pasture in an economical and productive way.

Doniga’s deep observation experience aids in her ability to monitor grassland health, biodiversity and to manage land based on the principles and patterns found in nature. Doniga is passionate about large-scale restoration of Western Rangelands through cattle grazing. The Markegard Family has forged partnerships with some of the largest land trust groups in California, private landowners, as well as regional open space parks. Each ranch has a grazing plan and conservation management plan developed in conjunction with landowners and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She is dedicated to finding ways to regenerate lands and community through ranching practices that build soil, sequester carbon, capture and purify water and enhance habitat. 

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

125 AgEmerge Podcast With Doniga Markegard

Thanks for joining us! At the end of 2023, we took the AgEmerge Podcast on the road to the Big Soil Health Event in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It was a great event where hundreds of farmers and ranchers from all over the country gathered to learn, share, and encourage each other to continue to adopt soil health strategies. We asked attendees to join us in our “on the road" studio to share their soil health journey and I want to tell you, get a tissue. These are heartfelt, raw stories of family, legacy, and amazing soil health. 

Thanks so much to our guests for sharing! Don’t miss a single story, let’s jump right in!

Check out our awesome guest list:
Sue Kuennen from Iowa

Tom Rudolph from Indiana

Seth Watkins from Iowa

Liz Haney from Texas
https://www.agsoilregen.com/

Emily Kamala from Colorado
https://farmrebel.org/

Lance Irving from Wisconsin
https://sandcountyfoundation.org/about/staff

Jeremy and Kelly Slack from Ohio
Jerry and Jen Volenec from Wisconsin

Evan and Rochelle from Wisconsin
https://craftgrainswi.com/

Nick Sennert from Iowa

Roger Wenning from Indiana 

Cameron Mills from Indiana
http://millsfamilyfarms.com/

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

126 AgEmerge Podcast At The Big Soil Health Event

Welcome to the podcast, today Dr. Jason Rowntree joins Monte as they have a great discussion about Jason’s research that focuses on identifying the metrics and management that reflect ecological improvement in grazing land and other agricultural systems. And just like many of our guest, he had a moment where his paradigm shifted and it came in the form of a series of hurricanes. And that got him thinking about resilience and what does it mean to look at resilience in agriculture. Jason is also the co-director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at Michigan State University. 



Jason Rowntree is a professor of Animal Science at Michigan State University where he holds the Charles Stewart Mott Distinguished Professorship for Sustainable Agriculture. Rowntree’s research focuses on identifying the metrics and management that reflect ecological improvement in grazing land and other agricultural systems. 
Rowntree has given presentations throughout the United States, Australian, Canada, Europe, Saudi Arabia, Africa and New Zealand. Rowntree has led or been a co-investigator on $27.75 million in funding to conduct food system research. Jason is also the co-director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at Michigan State University.  

Center for Regenerative Agriculture Link:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/regenerative-agriculture/mc_cid=35b4197d89&mc_eid=UNIQID

His work in beef sustainability was featured in the movie Sacred Cow and he too has been highlighted in The Washington Post, New York Times, Forbes and many other popular media publications.  

Sacred Cow Link:
https://www.sacredcow.info/?mc_cid=35b4197d89&mc_eid=UNIQID

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

127 AgEmerge Podcast With Jason Rowntree Prof of Animal Science at Michigan State University

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Dr. Don Reicosk. Dr. Reicosky is a retired Soil Scientist for the USDA-ARS, North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, MN, and Adjunct Professor in the Soil Science Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul. 

He has an exciting discussion with Monte about the foundational research he conducted back in the late 1990’s finding that tillage releases carbon into the atmosphere in sudden rushes of CO2 as the soil is opened up. And now, more than ever, Dr Reicosky uses his time to help growers know this critical information, whether it's conservation, agriculture, regenerative agriculture or soil health farming, he says we’ve got to adopt these practices so we don't destroy all of our soil resources. It’s a great conversation so let’s jump right in!

Early research involved describing crop response and water use on conventional till and no-till systems with and without irrigation and later focused on tillage and crop biomass management as related to global change issues with emphasis on measuring carbon dioxide and water losses following intensive tillage with a portable chamber. 

The short-term tillage-induced gaseous losses of carbon were related to the volume of soil disturbed in the tillage operation and help explain the long-term decline in soil carbon associated with intensive tillage agriculture. These results suggest need for improved Conservation Agriculture Systems for enhancement of soil resources and environmental quality that resulted in numerous international invitations.  In retirement, he continues to write about Conservation Agriculture Systems, soil carbon management and environmental issues and to travel and talk about carbon cycling and carbon management in agricultural production systems.

Research and articles by Dr. Reicosky:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Don-Reicosky?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

https://www.jswconline.org/content/70/5/103A?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

https://www.jswconline.org/content/78/5/105A?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

128 AgEmerge Podcast With Soil Scientist - Dr. Don Reicosky

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, Founder and Director of the Ecdysis Foundation and Director and CEO of Blue Dasher Farm. Jonathan was one of our speakers at the very first AgEmerge event and his presentation was so powerful. 

Watching the work that he and his whole team are doing at Ecdysis and Blue Dasher Farm inspires us to continue to learn and understand the biodiversity necessary to nurture our land. In this episode of the podcast Jonathan says, “you know those entomology problems, those insect pest problems? The reason we don't solve them is because they're not entomology problems, they're soil problems. And until we heal the soil, we’re just going to continue to have problem after problem after problem.” Take a listen as he and Monte talk about their research, discoveries and passion to solve those problems. 

Dr. Lundgren is an agroecologist, Founder of the ECDYSIS Foundation, and CEO for Blue Dasher Farm. Lundgren’s research program focuses on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for sustainable food systems. His ecological research focuses heavily on conserving healthy biological communities within agroecosystems by reducing disturbance and increasing biodiversity within cropland.

He received his PhD in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 2004 and was a top scientist with USDA-ARS for 11 years. Lundgren’s research and education programs focus on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for regenerative food systems.

Ecdysis Foundation & Blue Dasher Farm as a research foundation as well as training ground for future scientists and farmers. He is an Agroecologist, Farmer, Rancher, and Beekeeper.

ECDYSIS
https://www.ecdysis.bio/

Blue Dasher Farm
https://www.bluedasher.farm/

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

129 AgEmerge Podcast With Dr. Jonathan Lundgren Founder of Ecdysis and Blue Dasher Farm

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Steven Chen, Chief Medical Officer of Alameda County Recipe4Health, an award-winning “food as medicine” model that intentionally brings together health care, food systems, and agriculture to improve food/nutrition insecurity, chronic conditions, and health/racial equity, while leading the scale and spread of Recipe4Health (R4H).

Dr. Steven Chen is Chief Medical Officer of Alameda County Recipe4Health, an award-winning “food as medicine” model that intentionally brings together health care, food systems, and agriculture to improve food/nutrition insecurity, chronic conditions, and health/racial equity. While leading the scale and spread of Recipe4Health (R4H), Dr. Chen and his team successfully implemented one of California’s first Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition services as a covered Medi-Cal (Medicaid) service in California.  

His experiences as a son of immigrants and a 2nd generation Taiwanese American have informed his commitments to better serve vulnerable populations. He developed integrative medicine services to offer acupuncture and osteopathic manipulative medicine services in Federally Qualified Health Centers. As a former Medical Director at Alameda Health System trained in LEAN process improvement, he led the design of a state-of-the-art clinic replete with a teaching kitchen, group rooms to support group medical visits, and pod-based care teams. 
 
Dr. Chen serves on the Board of Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US), is active on California’s Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition Steering Committee, helped craft two bills for the California legislature, and given testimony to the U.S. Congressional House Rules Committee Roundtable on Food as Medicine.  

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Chen is a board-certified family medicine physician who completed his residency training at UCSF-San Francisco General Hospital. He completed additional fellowship training at the University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, leadership training through the California Health Care Foundation’s Leadership Program, acupuncture training through the UCLA-HMI Physicians’ Medical Acupuncture program, and advanced training in osteopathic manipulative medicine. 

Recipe4Health Website
https://recipe4health.acgov.org/

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

130 AgEmerge Podcast With Dr. Steven Chen

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Kevin Helash to the podcast. Kevin is the CEO of Biotalys an AgTech company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for crop and food protection. Listen in as he and Monte discuss these exciting advancements in science and the technology.

Kevin has a 30-year career committed to supporting the agriculture industry and its most innovative advancements. Kevin is passionate about the future of sustainable agriculture. I think Kevin said it best when he said the most valuable asset a farmer has is their soil. 

From growing up on a farm in Manitoba, Canada, to a 30-year career committed to supporting the agriculture industry and its most innovative advancements, Kevin is passionate about the future of sustainable agriculture. In his new role, his focus will be on accelerating the development and global commercialization of the company’s breakthrough protein-based biocontrol solutions for crop and food protection. 

Kevin Helash said: “I am excited to begin my journey with Biotalys and was delighted to meet the team in Ghent, Belgium, this week. With Biotalys’ groundbreaking technology platform and a diverse group of skilled professionals, I am confident we will be able to materially contribute to a more sustainable agriculture.”

“At the same time, I want to warmly thank my predecessor Patrice Sellès for where he has brought the company during his leadership over the last four years, as we are moving closer to entering the market with our first protein-based biofungicide, Evoca. I am grateful that Patrice will support me during the initial phase, before taking the well-deserved opportunity to spend more time with his family, as was his wish.”

Kevin Helash’ experience will be instrumental in leading the acceleration of Biotalys’ development. He is a results-driven corporate executive who brings more than 30 years of international experience in agriculture and biological products to Biotalys. His experience spans commercializing numerous breakthrough technologies in the agricultural industry on a global scale, including in positions as CEO of EnviroKure, Marrone Bio Innovations - previously listed on Nasdaq - and Agrinos. He built his career at Agrium (now Nutrien) where he became vice president and corporate officer. Kevin Helash grew up on a farm in Canada and his family was active in farming until a couple of years ago.

https://biotalys.com/
https://biotalys.com/media/news/kevin-helash-commences-role-chief-executive-officer-biotalys

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

131 AgEmerge Podcast With Kevin Helash of Biotalys

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Pamela Tanner Boll an artist, filmmaker, writer as well as the Director and Executive Producer of several films including To Which We Belong. She is also the Founder and CEO of Mystic Artists Film Productions. We’re excited to explore her vision as she worked to, in her words, “shine a light on the amazing possibilities for restoring our lands. And how we could fix our water problems and our climate issues.” She loves farmers and all of that was what brought her to this film. We think you’ll be inspired as you listen to the stories and vision not only from the film but from the possibilities and hopes we have to address the challenges in agriculture we are facing today. 

Pamela is the Co-Executive Producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary, Born into Brothels. Pamela has executive produced the following film projects: Living in Emergency: True Stories of Doctors Without Borders; In a Dream; Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence; Our Summer in Tehran; Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields; Close to the Fire; She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry; E-Team; Teen Press; Obit; Navajo Nation; and Storm Lake.

Pamela directed and produced Who Does She Think She Is?, a feature-length documentary film that follows five women who are mothers and artists. Pamela also directed A Small Good Thing, a film that asks the question, how can we live in a better way? She is currently working on a new film project, To Which We Belong, highlighting farmers and ranchers who are improving the health of their land with regenerative practices and helping to reverse climate change.

Pamela grew up in Parkersburg, WV.  She received a BA in English from Middlebury College and a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies from Lesley University. Pamela raised three sons in Winchester, Massachusetts, and now lives in Boulder, Colorado.

https://www.towhichwebelong.com/

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

132 AgEmerge Podcast With Pamela Tanner Boll

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Chris Jones a Retired Research Engineer from the University of Iowa and author of The Swine Republic, Struggles with Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality. Today he and Monte discuss the agricultural efficiencies and practices that we can make happen in more environmentally responsible ways. That includes a system approach to our entire management practices. Chris talks about how we can work to deploy these practices in enough areas that they can make a difference at the landscape scale. It’s a powerful conversation so let’s jump right in. 

Chris Jones retired in May of 2023 as a Research Engineer from IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa, where his work focused on water quality and water monitoring in agricultural landscapes. Previous to that he worked at the Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa Soybean Association. Chris has a BA in Biology and Chemistry from Simpson College and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Montana State University. 

He has authored 55 scientific journal articles, several book chapters and is author of the book The Swine Republic, Struggles with Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality. He also writes a weekly column posted on Substack at Riverraccoon.substack.com. He lives in Iowa City, Iowa. 
Tell us your background and how you reached today’s line of work. I was born in Illinois and spent most of the rest of my life in Iowa and have observed firsthand how the state and its agricultural production systems have changed since the 1960s. While some things about agriculture's impact on the environment have improved, the environmental consequences of cornbelt agriculture are still severe and affect the quality of life of the region's residents. Consolidation in agriculture since that time has also had dire consequences for the prosperity and vitality of small-town Iowa. My work has focused on these consequences and how the condition of our environment can be improved within the backdrop of intense crop and livestock production. 

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

133 AgEmerge Podcast With Chris Jones

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Jeanne Carver, Founder and President of Shaniko Wool 
Her story is one of successful adaptation to changing market needs. Jeanne and her late husband Dan have been using sustainable / regenerative practices for decades. 
Jeanne shares with us that Dan was an engineer and a systems thinker which is key to how they understood the land, soil and their operation. 
From her family’s Imperial Stock Ranch, she and Dan transitioned from selling commodity lamb and wool to selling retail products that are ecologically sensitive. With the founding of Shaniko Wool Company, she has overseen the expansion of the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) certified American wool into a variety of products and markets by working first with the ranchers, and with designers, brands and exclusively U.S. supply chain partners. There is so much packed into this wonderful discussion so let’s jump right in.

Jeanne is at the forefront of an economic and rural revival, helping rebuild the importance of traditional skills, connections to the origins of food and fiber, and strengthening local, regional and domestic supply chain partners.  

Her story is one of successful adaptation to changing market needs. From her family’s Imperial Stock Ranch (est. 1871), she and her late husband Dan transitioned from selling commodity lamb and wool to selling retail products that are ecologically sensitive. With the founding of Shaniko Wool Company, she has overseen the expansion of RWS certified American wool into a variety of products and markets by working first with the ranchers, and with designers, brands and exclusively U.S. supply chain partners.  In an era of outsourcing and disconnect, she has led tirelessly with traceability and accountability, building relationships across the domestic textile industry. 
Jeanne Carver, 2023 Hall of Fame Award
Jeanne serves on several boards related to agriculture, and in 2014, Jeanne became the source and voice of American wool for Ralph Lauren’s first Made in America Winter Olympic uniform program, and again in 2018 and 2022.

Jeanne believes the most important story she has shared is how well-managed herds of grazing animals on their ranch have revitalized grasses and contributed to healing streams and the restoration of traditional salmon runs in Buckhollow Creek, a major tributary to the designated wild and scenic Deschutes River. With the Carbon Initiative, she is investing in the research and measured and verified results of an even greater story: the positive ecosystem impacts of Shaniko Wool Company ranches across a broader piece of the American landscape.
Points of Interest:
- Jeanne and her husband Dan have been using sustainable / regenerative practices for decades. 
- Her late husband was and engineer and was a systems thinker which is key to how they understood the land, soil and their operation. 
- They operated Imperial Stock Ranch which was established in 1871. 
- Her husband charged Jeanne with finding a market for selling their harvest.
- They evolved through the Value added journey, Jeanne understood that they needed to measure and monetize ecosystems deliverables
- They’ve done amazing things for the water and the whole basin, restoring salmon as one example
- She and her company are mentioned in King Charles book about food and farming  
https://www.shanikowoolcompany.com

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

134 AgEmerge Podcast With Jeanne Carver Shaniko Wool Co

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Brad Rosen the COO and Co-Founder of NODAR, a leading provider of next generation of stereo vision technology.  Technology developments in agriculture continue to create effective ways for automation and sensing providing farmers with useful information and working to improve operation efficiency. Today Brad and Monte discuss the power of the type of sensing technology NODAR has developed. It’s a great conversation so let’s jump right in. 
Brad Rosen is the COO and Co-Founder of NODAR, a leading provider of next generation of stereo vision technology. Brad is a seasoned business executive and entrepreneur. 
With seven tech startups under his belt, Brad has a proven track record of taking ideas from inception to product market fit, to exit.

Prior to NODAR, Brad started, ran, and sold Drync, a venture-backed B2B platform for retailers of beverage alcohol. Before Drync, Brad served as VP Product at Where, a mobile-first LBS company that was sold to eBay. Earlier in his career, Brad held roles at Cognio, a full-stack spectrum analysis system that was sold to Cisco, Ucentric Systems (sold to Motorola), and PureSpeech (sold to Philips).

Brad has an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management. Brad lives in Lincoln, MA with his wife and 3 kids.

Company Info:  NODAR’s Founder, Leaf Jiang, spent 8 years getting his BS, MS, and PhD at MIT studying and implementing optoelectronic systems. He then spent 12 years at MIT Lincoln Laboratory building laser ranging systems for the military - putting them on Humvees and robots for various 3D sensing applications. In short, he’s been thinking about this 3D perception problem for a very long time!

From his extensive work with time-of-flight ranging systems (such as LiDAR), Leaf knew that they would not be a good fit anytime soon for many of the autonomous uses being discussed today, such as autonomy for the billion passenger vehicles out there. Laser-based systems are too expensive, too prone to failure, and have insufficient resolution to accurately detect objects. So Leaf set out to build something better and the answer was NODAR!
Website: https://www.nodarsensor.com/

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? 
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

135 AgEmerge Podcast With Brad Rosen COO and Co-Founder of NODAR

AgEmerge Podcast Episode 136 is dedicated to David Brandt, of Brandt Farms and Walnut Creek Seed. If you know your soil health, no-till history, and follow the leaders in these areas then you know how fortunate we were to get to visit with David before his passing.

Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/Hmsi9yDDtbM

We lost David in a tragic vehicle accident on May 21st, 2023. Earlier that year he’d made a 2023 visit to Sinsinawa Mound in Wisconsin, where the Sinsinawa River begins its 21-mile journey to the Mighty Mississippi. He recognized the Mound as a place where this message of holistic land stewardship could flourish. He planted the seed. This vision has taken root at Sinsinawa Mound in Southwest Wisconsin. Aptly named Fields of Sinsinawa: A Farmer-Led Learning Center, brings the message of healthy soil for a healthy planet to the Midwest and beyond.

David is often referred to as the “godfather” of conservation agriculture and soil health. His message has had worldwide impact. He mentored many farmers who admired his practical approach and the ways he generously shared what he learned from the soil during his 50-year farming career.

You’ll find more information on how to connect with the Fields of Sinsinawa: A Farmer-Led Learning Center here: https://mcusercontent.com/d34a1e6b8b607f4dc0d40fa39/files/eb5a6547-135e-e5f2-cea2-5ac0f4d75e45/Fos_Funding_Packet_d9.pdf

Donate to the Fields of Sinsinawa: A Farmer-Led Learning Center here:
https://mcusercontent.com/d34a1e6b8b607f4dc0d40fa39/files/d4beeef8-68e3-3555-c5db-5a7b19a20fd3/FoS_Donation_Sheet.pdf

More about David's Farming Legacy: 
David had been no-tilling since 1971, back when they called it trash farming and a whole list of other things. But David would not be deterred, he continued to test systems, implemented cover crops and utilized livestock to improve soil health. Listen in to this great conversation as he and Monte talked about the history, the present, and the exciting future on their farm.   

David Brandt farmed 950-acres all no-till, in Fairfield County, which is located in central Ohio. He began no-till farming in 1971 and had been using cover crops since 1978. David participated in yield plots for corn, soybeans, and wheat into various covers. This information has been used by seed growers as well as county agents and universities to encourage other farmers to adapt no-till practices in their farming operations. He had also been planting various blends of cover crops to find out what benefits they provide to improve soil health. David was co-owner of Walnut Creek Seeds, LLC with his son and daughter-in-law Jay and Ann Brandt.  David had articles published in Farm Journal, Ohio Farmer, Country Journal, and numerous no-till journals. 

He worked in cooperation with The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois, Penn State University, Purdue University, and Milan Research Farm in Tennessee. David was most recently working with OSU Randall Reeder and Dr. Islam on reducing input costs of fertilizers and herbicides using various cover crops which improve soil health. The results of this study have been published in the International Soil and Water Conservation Research journal. (March 2014, Vol. 2, No. 1) He was also working with the regional NRCS soils lab in Greensboro, North Carolina on the benefits of cover crops to improve soil health.  

www.walnutcreekseeds.com 

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?  Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you

136 AgEmerge Podcast With David Brandt in Memoriam

On today’s podcast, Colin Hurd joins us as we discuss autonomous technology innovations and how a college project turned into a mission to find solutions that solve some of today’s challenges in agriculture.  Listen in as we talk about situational awareness and not just the function of autonomy but the data that can be generated to improve our decision making in the field. And we explore how this technology can impact our soil health principles, practices and help with their implementation. 

Colin has devoted his career to bringing innovative solutions to the agriculture industry. Out of college, he invented a product and founded a company to reduce soil compaction called TrackTill. After commercializing the product and licensing it to Yetter Manufacturing he founded Smart Ag. 

Smart Ag developed the first aftermarket driverless system to automate tractors. After funding and growing the company, he successfully completed an acquisition to Raven Industies (NYSE:RAVN) in 2019 and stayed on as a Business Development Manager for Raven Autonomy. 

Raven Autonomy is taking on and solving the big challenges farms face by developing and delivering cutting edge driverless technology to the agriculture industry. Colin also serves as a Co-director for the Ag Startup Engine and a Board Member for Jackrabbit Equipment.

https://ravenprecision.com/
 
Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  
Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge 2021 stage or on the podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm

We’d love to hear from you!

046. AgEmerge 2020 - Colin Hurd, Raven Autonomy

On today’s podcast, we welcome Jay McCaman.  Jay is the author of “When Weeds Talk”, a top ten book on Acres, USA’s 2019 list. (Acres is North America's oldest publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming).
And more than a book, “When Weeds Talk” provides a comprehensive list of weeds and the soil conditions that enable those weeds to grow. 
On his mission to discover what weeds are telling us about the soil conditions in the field, Jay has amassed almost 20,000 note cards cataloging research that’s been done to uncover the weed soil connection.  Jay says, “It all fits together; weeds, insects, and disease are all connected to the soil.” 
Jay is a proverbial wealth of information sharing his findings about weed conditions in association with soil macro and micronutrients to porosity and drainage, Jay graduated from Michigan State University with a major in Agricultural Mechanization and went on to work in the implement business, farming and managing an organic orchard. 

Click here to order Jay’s book:  https://bookstore.acresusa.com/products/weeds-and-why-they-grow

Got questions you want answered?  Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers.  
Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge 2021 stage or on the podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm
We’d love to hear from you!

051 AgEmerge 2021 Podcast - Jay McCaman "When Weeds Talk"

Soil health, regenerative practices, and emerging technology — The AgEmerge Podcast. Join our host, Monte Bottens and producer Kim Sheese, as they engage with guests from diverse agriculture interests to discuss experiences, practices and scalable applications for any operation. Tune in to new episodes every other Tuesday to regenerate your ideas, soil, crops, livestock and livelihood.





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