263. Advancing Eco Agriculture | Where Plant Health Builds Soil Health | CEO John Kempf
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https://www.advancingecoag.com/about
So excited because my guest today has this amazing green future grower story I KNOW listeners are going to absolutely love! So if you\\u2019re driving don\\u2019t worry I\\u2019ll make awesome SHOWNOTES because I know we are going to have a million golden seeds dropped with this amazing interview.
CEO of Advancing Ego Agriculture, John Kempf is on a mission to \\u201cproduce healthier soil, stronger crops, and consistently higher yields!\\u201d
What I love about his story is how he started out and I can\\u2019t wait for you to hear it too! His passion for growing healthy soil and healthy plants for profit is contagious!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I love what I do I have fun!
I grew up in a family vegetable farm in snow-belt south of Lake Erie
Small scale market ~ fruits and veggies for wholesale markets
early 2000s we had 3 consecutive years
intense disease
we lost majority of crops to a variety of disease and insects
In the 3rd year in 2004, we observed that
plants which were grown on healthy soil
better biology
were very disease and insect resistant
cantaloupe resistant to powdery mildew that was side by side
soil with he previous pesticide exposure for the prior decade of growing vegetables we lost the majority of the crop to powdery mildew, 80% of leaves
The new soil didn\\u2019t have pesticide exposure didn\'t have any powdery mildew. Not 5-10% you couldn\'t find any! ZERO! There was a knifelike effect right down the field.
really a major turning point
what was the difference between those two plants
resistant to powdery mildew when the next plant 2 feet away was susceptible.
asking that question and the things I learned
plant science and agronomy from asking that question were what led to founding
Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA)
in 2006
Was the idea that we can grow plants that are completely resistant to diseases and insects based on how we manage nutrition.
where we identified plants that are healthy
not only are they
resistant to diseases and insects but they regenerate soil health at the same time
process of this journey I was fortunate to be guided by
USDA experts
land grant universities
all over the world
realized this exceptional info that very wise people had was scattered all over the place
- difficult to find
- not recorded at all
- some experiences were not being transferred
Led me to starting the Regenerative Ag Podcast
with the intention and goal of interviewing
- leading farmers
- leading scientists
sharing their information with other professional agronomists and growers who wanted to produce in a regenerative agriculture context!
Tell me about your first gardening experience?
I grew up even from before I remember, we always grew our own food.
appreciate it as an adult
There were many years my parents purchased salt and pepper and spices and that was just about it
- maple syrup
- honey
- stevia
- sweeteners
- grew many of our own herbs
- 2 farmed ponds where we raised fish
- raised poultry
- grass fed beef
- family dairy cow
- grew a large garden
- small orchard