Episode 114: The State of the American Food System with Austin Frerick
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Austin Frerick is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. He is a 7th-generation Iowan whose passion for agriculture comes from the weekends working on his grandpa's farm. He is a Fellow at the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale University. In 2022, he worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to organize a conference at Yale Law School entitled “Reforming America’s Food Retail Markets,” which explored competition issues in the nation’s grocery industry. He is the author of Barons: Money, Power and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry, which illustrates the...
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Episode 113: The Economics and Ethos of Market Gardening with Jean-Martin Fortier
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Jean-Martin (JM) Fortier has over 20 years of experience developing, testing, and perfecting biointensive and regenerative growing techniques on his small-scale farms in Quebec that increase the soil’s biology to achieve maximum yields on small surfaces. Jean-Martin’s mission is to promote the importance of human-scale regenerative agriculture in creating sustainable and resilient food systems. He achieves this goal by sharing his knowledge and expertise with thousands of farmers through the Market Gardener Institute. JM’s multifaceted roles range from CEO to technical specialist,...
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Episode 112: Transforming Arid Landscapes with Taimur Malik
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Taimur Malik founded Drawdown Farm, a regenerative farm in the Thal desert in Pakistan. Taimur engages in various regenerative agriculture practices, including planting diverse crops like bananas, implementing managed grazing trials, and using impact sprinkler systems powered by solar energy. Taimur emphasizes the importance of biological solutions and sustainable farming techniques to improve soil health, increase yields, and mitigate environmental impacts. His innovative approaches, such as using biologicals and adopting holistic land management practices, demonstrate his commitment to...
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Episode 111: Questioning Farm Management Traditions with Boe Clausen
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Boe Clausen is a second-generation farmer in Eastern Washington. His parents immigrated from Denmark and established Stokrose Farm in 1981. Initially focused on vegetable seed production, the farm diversified into alfalfa, hay, corn, wheat, and cattle. Boe now manages Stokrose Farm alongside his siblings. Boe's shift towards foliar applications, reduced nitrogen usage, and strategic nutrient management have improved crop health, reduced disease and insect pressure, and enhanced soil fertility. In 2022, he grew 250-bushel corn with only 20 lbs of nitrogen. In this episode, Boe and John...
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Episode 110: Stock Cropping and Regenerative Innovation with Zack Smith
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Zack Smith is a fifth-generation farmer from northern Iowa. He is the owner and operator of Smith Seed and Agronomy, LLC, and co-founder and CEO of Stock Cropper, Inc. Zack previously worked in seed production and chemical retail as a certified crop advisor and then as a seed rep while farming on the side. He eventually became interested in soil health and started experimenting with strip-tilling and using cover crops, which marked the beginning of his shift towards regenerative agricultural. Zack recently developed a system called “stock cropping,” a regenerative farming system that...
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Episode 109: From Urban Organizers to Organic Pioneers with Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge are co-owners of Many Hands Organic Farm, an organic CSA farm that serves 150 families in Barre, MA. They met while doing community organizing work in Boston, and in 1982, made the decision to move out to the country to raise their kids in connection to the land and grow their own food. Julie and Jack share their farm’s transformative journey from inception to becoming a model of regenerative, organic farming. In this episode, Julie and Jack discuss with John: Their journey from community organizing to farming and urban to rural living The financial and...
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Episode 108: Increasing the Nutrient Density of Wine Grapes with Nicole Dooling and Michael Frey
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Nicole Dooling and Michael Frey help operate Mariah Vineyards in the Mendocino Ridge alongside Nicole’s parents, Dan and Vicki. As founders, Dan and Vicki have mindfully tended their land for over 40 years, putting in the hard labor of planting and growing this vineyard from the ground up. Their family and vineyard have thrived due to their dedication, adaptability, and resourcefulness in working with nature. Situated at 2,400 ft elevation without irrigation, they holistically manage their vineyard using organic and regenerative farming practices. In 2020, Mariah Vineyards partnered with the...
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Episode 107: Sustainable and Profitable Agriculture with Marty Travis
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Marty Travis, a former furniture maker turned farmer, co-owns and operates Spence Farm in Illinois with his son, Will. Spence Farm grows a wide array of heirloom and native crops, heritage animals, and a huge diversity of agricultural opportunities on the 160 acres. Marty embraced sustainable farming, catering to Chicago's restaurant community. This unique partnership led to a thriving and sustainable business prioritizing soil health, livestock, and community relationships. The farm model evolved to support individual families in response to the Covid crisis and the closing of most...
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Episode 106: The Cumulative Benefits of Regeneration with Will Harris
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman and the owner of White Oak Pastures, a holistically managed regenerative farm raising cattle, pigs, poultry, rabbits, sheep, and organic vegetables in Bluffton, Georgia. After graduating college in 1977, Will returned to Bluffton, where he and his father continued to raise cattle using pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics. By the mid-1990s, Will became disenchanted with the excesses of industrialized methods and decided to return to the “radically traditional” farming methods his great-grandfather once used. Since Will has...
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Episode 105: Moving From Organic to Regenerative Management with Steven Cardoza
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
Steven Cardoza is a second-generation organic raisin grape grower. His 400-acre farm is south of Fresno, California. His father transitioned from conventional to organic growing in 1998 after discovering some of the inputs he was using were making him ill. Steven took over the business in 2017 with a massive jumpstart on the pathway to regenerative agriculture. Since moving from an organic to a regenerative approach, Steven has changed his management methods to enact many exciting results such as increased soil organic matter, increased yields and quality, and the elimination of pesticide use....
info_outlineBen Taylor-Davies is a farmer and regenerative agriculture consultant from the United Kingdom. Ben was a conventional agronomist until his wife persuaded him to apply for an award through the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust which enables farmers to travel and learn agricultural methods from around the globe. This ignited Ben’s passion for regenerative agriculture and discovering better ways to treat soils, crops, and livestock. Ben currently shares his stories, both personal and professional, on his website RegenBen.com. He is also currently finalizing his first book, “MORE-ON: How to get off the UK agriculture’s treadmill of input farming.”
Throughout their conversation, Ben and John discuss:
- How the Nuffield scholarship program allowed Ben to broaden his views on successful ways to farm from around the globe.
- The current management practices being implemented on Ben’s 500-acre farm in the UK and how these practices have evolved over the years.
- Ben’s “three free things” (sunlight/energy, precipitation, and carbon dioxide) and why they should be priority number one for all growers.
- Perspectives on carbon dioxide delivery and how farmers can improve their CO2 supply.
- The vast diversity of soil types and climates found within the UK.
- The UK’s current mainstream agricultural methods and financial shortcomings of managing an ecosystem through high input costs.
- John and Ben discuss their recommended reading lists for growers.
Check out Ben’s website at www.regenben.com!
For more information on his latest book, go to https://www.regenben.com/about/the-book/