Soil health, regenerative practices,  emerging technology, grower insights, and research — 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.

Jay Brandt is a fourth-generation farmer in Ohio, who, along with his family, is passionate about soil health and producing nutritious grains. The Brandt family is on a mission to share how they’ve diversified their income by growing, milling, and selling heirloom grains directly to consumers. Listen in as we talk with Jay about his family's farm and how they're building a more sustainable and profitable future. Jay farms with his wife Ann, and their two grown children Christopher and Isaac. The Brandt Family Farm is located in central Ohio, just southeast of Columbus. The Brandt Family has been farming in the area for four generations and produces corn, soybeans and wheat. Their farm hosts Walnut Creek Seeds, a dealer of cover crops and forages, and participates as a regenerative grain hub, providing seed cleaning and flour milling for ancient, heirloom and landrace grain. Their current operation has been focused on education of conservation practices, with an emphasis on cover crop adoption, for the last 30 years. Jay’s father, David Brandt, has been coined the godfather of the soil health movement and is world-renowned for his passion for soil conservation and the use of soil health principles to reduce reliance on synthetic inputs and farm in nature’s image. And if you’d like to learn more about how Ag Solutions Network is working with growers to implement a systems approach to diversity and soil health, check out our website at www.asn.farm, and there you can find ways to connect and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. There are a lot of great things happening and there is always something to learn. https://www.regengrain.com/ https://www.walnutcreekseeds.com/ https://localmillers.com/ https://fieldsofsinsinawa.org/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082845193929 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.

Ladd Wahlen is a fourth-generation Idaho potato farmers with a passion for regenerative agriculture and sustainable practices. Ladd, along with his wife Zoey, returned to their roots in 2015 to start their own farm, growing potatoes, wheat, and alfalfa. They took their love for farming a step further by founding Roots Potato Chips, a company dedicated to creating healthier snacks while positively impacting consumers, the community, and the soil. Ladd and Zoey share their unique perspective on regenerative agriculture, recognizing the importance of context in farming. We'll explore how their approach to farming and their focus on diversity and soil health has transformed their operation. Ladd studied general business and agronomy in college where he met his wife Zoey. Zoey and Ladd came back to the family farm and started their own family farm operation back in 2015. They mainly grow potatoes, wheat, and alfalfa. They both have a passion for agriculture and to continually add value to the farm. Roots Potato Chips is owned by Ladd and Zoey and processes some of the farm's potatoes. The mission of the potato chip company is to provide a better-for-you snack that has a positive impact on the consumer, the community, and on the soil. https://rootschips.com Don’t forget to like and share us on your favorite social media platforms! Do you 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.

If your passion lies at the crossroads of food, human health, and soil health, you’re in for a great episode. AgEmerge Podcast 144 features Jimmy Emmons, Senior Vice President of Climate-Smart Programs at Trust in Food, and Erin Martin, President of the Tulsa Urban Ag Coalition, Director of FreshRx Oklahoma, and co-lead of Oklahoma's Food is Medicine Policy Coalition. They’re not just talking about change—they’re leading it. From regenerating soils to cultivating nutritious food and promoting human health, these two are at the forefront of a movement that’s turning vision into reality. Get ready to be inspired as we dive into a conversation that’s reshaping our food and soil systems. Erin Martin's journey serving others commenced at the age of fifteen when she began assisting older adults. Now, holding a master's degree in Gerontology from the University of Southern California, renowned as the premier institution in this field globally, Erin boasts extensive experience across all facets of long-term care. In 2021, she initiated FreshRx Oklahoma, a pioneering produce prescription program, in collaboration with primary care clinics, sourcing from local, regenerative farmers. Nationally and internationally, Erin provides consultancy on leveraging food as medicine, aiding communities in the establishment and expansion of their own programs, emphasizing the vital connection between soil and human health. Certified in Regenerative Soil Advocacy, she ardently advocates for soil health's impact on human well-being. 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. Follow Jimmy and Erin’s work here: https://www.trustinfood.com/tif-staff/jimmy-emmons/ www.freshrxok.org https://www.tiktok.com/@foodasmedicine?lang=en https://erinwmartin.com/ https://americasconservationagmovement.com/ Previous AgEmerge Podcast Recordings: Jimmy Emmons https://soundcloud.com/agemerge/122-agemerge-podcast-with-jimmy-emmons-sr-vp-for-trust-in-foods-climate-smart-commodities-connected-ag-project https://youtu.be/1w3ausiWfF0 Erin Martin https://soundcloud.com/agemerge/086-agemerge-podcast-erin-martin-conscious-aging-solutions-founder https://youtu.be/fAIr5GyUSgU AgEmerge Soil Health Human Health Connection https://soundcloud.com/agemerge/124-agemerge-podcast-soil-health-human-health-connection https://youtu.be/jthNraGP1SY Linkedin Erin: https://www.linkedin.com/services/page/768451314855699587/ Jimmy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-emmons-921b7673/ Stay connected: Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Peter Donovan founded the Soil Carbon Coalition. Learn about his inspiring journey and experience in holistic management, decision making, rangeland monitoring, and community development. Peter is a passionate advocate for collaborative learning where farmers and ranchers are sharing knowledge and experiences. His rich background in forestry, farming, and ranching has facilitated his understanding of natural systems and how to skillfully manage those natural resources. Join us as we explore Peter's remarkable work and his unwavering passion for the land while engaging the people and animals that call it home. His first effort in sharing what he was learning about ecosystem process and function was reporting on holistic managers in the 1990s (see managingwholes.com). In 2007 he founded the Soil Carbon Coalition. This second effort was traveling around the continent for a decade measuring soil carbon change, with open data. Peter was spread too thin, not a good context for sharing or fostering a shared intelligence on the circle of life. Without a coherent group, the context of this work was vague and unfocused. Much of the conversation and buzz about soil carbon quickly turned to the commodification of soil carbon as "offsets" which to him was the wrong question—for both our intentions, and our ability to implement them. (Vandana Shiva observes that the financialization of nature equals the rape of the earth.) soilhealth.app is the third try: can this help locally driven efforts to ask better questions, and engage more people in asking and answering? https://soilcarboncoalition.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.