A conversation with Herb Young, farmer who, after 36 years in the chemical industry working for Bayer, retired and bought a small farm in Georgia—where things quickly got out of hand. While researching organic premiums, Herb came across regenerative agriculture—and fell deep, very deep, down the rabbit hole. For over a year, he read everything, listened to everything, and then planted his first trees.

A few years later, Herb is now one of the leading regenerative citrus growers in the country, conducting cutting-edge research while selling his first harvest directly to consumers in over 36 states. And the most surprising part? His citrus is, on average, eight times more nutrient- dense than conventionally grown oranges. That means you’d have to eat eight regular oranges to match the nutrients of just one of his. Suddenly, the idea of food as medicine becomes very affordable. And, of course, his citrus is incredibly tasty.

We also discuss his history in the agrochemical industry, what his former colleagues think of his new “hobby” and what excites him most about the upcoming second season.

WHY HERB TRANSITIONED TO REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AFTER RETIREMENT

Ater retiring from the chemical industry, Herb bought a citrus farm and became fascinated by soil and ecosystem. His scientific curiosity led him to explore regenerative practices, driven by a desire to prove the viability of microbial health over chemical interventions.

“𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙞𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏’𝙎 𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙍𝙀𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙄𝙎 𝘼𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙏. 𝙄𝙏’𝙎 𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙇𝙏𝙃𝙔 𝙁𝙊𝙊𝘿, 𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙊𝘿 𝙎𝙊 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙈𝙀 𝘾𝘼𝙉 𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙀 𝙊𝙐𝙍 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙇𝙏𝙃. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬.”

“I literally discovered the whole soil microbe, the ecosystem, and became passionate about it, that was gonna make a difference… Now realizing that the system is already in place naturally to control the pests and we’ve just, we’re just not using it.” Herb Young

“If you taste the nutrient dense fruit first, the, the flavor’s explosive. It literally goes up through your sinuses and out the top of your head. I thought a hundred percent increase would be a dream and it’s 800%. I looked at it because of economic reasons, and then when I started researching it, I literally fell into the whole regenerative world. And I was absolutely overwhelmed. So I spent a year researching every aspect of regenerative agriculture and basically I got another master’s degree before I ever planted a tree.” Herb Young

HERB WORKED ON PESTICIDES RESEARCH HIS ENTIRE CAREER

Herb reflects on his career in the agrochemical industry, emphasizing the industry’s narrow focus on pest control and yield. He highlights the sincere belief among colleagues that pesticides were essential to “feed the world”, despite overlooking ecological impacts.

“All we believed is that our goal every day was to help farmers and to feed the world… There is no discussion in the industrial ag world about damage that we might be doing. That tillage and synthetic fertilizer and pesticides could be causing as much damage. I even had soil microbiology in graduate school, and there’s not discussion of of beneficial microbes. It’s, it’s all about the pest. Everything is geared that way. I would say, defending that industry, they all believe they’re doing the right thing.” Herb Young

WHY NUTRIENT DENSITY IS CRITICAL

Herb’s regenerative citrus yielded an 800% increase in nutrient density compared to conventional fruit, which he attributes to microbial soil health. This discovery reshaped his understanding of food’s role in human health.

“I hoped to get maybe 50% increase or a hundred, and it was 800%. I’ve even changed the way I eat since getting those results back. I’ve started shopping for organic produce and even beyond that, going to a farmer’s market and getting regenerative produce. I mean most that’s here in the us that’s our best way to get to ensure that we’re getting nutrient dense food is buy it from the farmer. I know and I realize everybody can’t do that.” Herb Young

WHY FORMER PESTICIDE-INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES DISMISS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Herb’s former colleagues entrenched in conventional practices express resistance towards regenerative agriculture. They prioritize chemical solutions over soil health, dismissing regenerative methods like cover crops as impractical or unscientific.

“They really disregarded… [A colleague] said, ‘We just need some NPK 10-10-10. That’ll solve this.’ I just can’t convince them… My field doesn’t look like anybody else’s. It’s knee-deep clover and hairy vetch… but they’re not interested.” Herb Young

OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED

Koen and Herb also talked about:

• Why citrus is so healthy
• Impact of HLB citrus disease
• Direct-to-consumer marketing challenges
• Technology in soil health monitoring

LINKS:

• Squeeze Citrus
• Squeeze Citrus on AdvancingEcoAg
• What’s Lycopene Flavonoid
• Will Harris on Joe Rogan’s podcast

LINKED INTERVIEWS:

• John Kempf – Forget about soil, Focus on plant health instead
• Elaine Ingham on why healthy soils don’t need rotations
• Will Harris – Why one of the largest pasture raised company in the US doing really well but still barely making any money
• Clint Brauer – After an investment of Chipotle, ready to scale his robots to weed hundreds of thousands of acres
• Yasmine Cathell on nutrient quality bio stimulants, microalgae and other random but world changing regen trivia
• Zuzanna Zielińska – Women’s hormonal health starts with regenerative agriculture and the focus on quality and nutrient density food

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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.