Tag: crops

Fireside Chat with John Kempf & Koen van Seijen @ Groundswell ’24

Ever wondered how podcasting can transform the field of regenerative agriculture? This fire side chat with John Kempf and Koen van Seijen, hosts of the most followed and longest existing podcasts in the regenerative agriculture and food space, was recorded live at Groundswell 2024.

This is an intimate conversation where we dive deep in the the long-term dedication needed to engage an audience genuinely, the nerve-wracking journey of publishing the initial episodes and the relentless effort required to build a loyal listener base. We highlight the importance of mentors, the art of storytelling and how digital platforms can amplify critical ideas and drive change.

We uncover how the overuse of nutrients like nitrogen and potassium can actually harm crops, making them more susceptible to diseases and pests, and ultimately reducing yields. We explore the research on plant nutrition, plant health and fertilizer use and questions traditional agronomy practices. John shares about Advancing Eco Agriculture’s fundraising experience within the farming community and the strategies for reaching wider audiences, including turning our podcast episodes into books. Plus, a sneak peek into the shared upcoming projects focusing inputs from innovative companies.

Dan Kittredge – Local, regenerative and organic have no connection to nutrient density, soil health does

A long-overdue check-in interview with Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association. We discuss their involvement in the revolutionary beef study, all the research they have been doing and where they have been showing absolutely no connection between the labels, local, organic, regenerative, farmer’s market, etc., and nutrient density.

What has been shown is a correlation between soil health and nutrient density. All the claims about regenerative agriculture that leads to more nutrient-dense food, they are only true if it leads to healthier soil, and in some or many cases, it actually doesn’t. It all starts with the soil. Plus, very interestingly, the potential of nutrient density: most of the crops they researched scored very very poor compared to what they could have scored. The pessimist would say: look at the empty crops we are eating depleted of nutrients, the realist would say look at the amazing potential. Crops could be (on certain aspects) 10x or 20x more nutrient dense. Let’s get to work!

Boris Spassky on building the biggest organic almond farm in France and making it investable

Boris Spassky, cofounder of Greenpods, joins us to talk about the critical role of project developers, creating bankable investable projects, the funds being raised and the missing deal flow.

Paul McMahon on building a 250M climate positive portfolio of tree crops in Europe

A check in interview with Paul McMahon, co-founder of SLM Partners, to discuss their current focus and investment strategies in Australia, USA, and Europe. 

Robin Saluoks and Kristjan Luha on how to start paying 1500 grain farmers across 1M hectares for soil carbon

A check in interview with Robin Saluoks and Kristjan Luha, co- founders of eAgronom, a platform that enables farmers to manage and oversee their entire farm, employees, and fields. We discussed their current fundraising for their series A.

Thekla Teunis and Gijs Boers, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of regenerative agriculture

An interview with the founders of Grounded, Thekla Teunis and Gijs Boers, founders of Grounded ― a company whose goal is to restore landscapes by giving power to farmers and consumers. We already interviewed them 4 years ago.

Soil Builders, 40M for carbon farming in AU and transitioning a 1000a farm using regenerative approaches

A check in interview with Lachy Ritchie, co founder of Agtalent and Carbon Farming Foundation plus an update with Tyler and Tim Nuss of The Modern Acre.

Chuck de Liedekerke – We need more regenerative and financially literate farm managers

Chuck de Liedekerke, co-founder of SoilCapital, on why we need more regenerative and financially literate farm managers.