Podcast appearances and mentions of ray archuleta

The one and only Ray Archuleta has been teaching farmers and ranchers how to heal their soil for decades and has been a pioneer in regenerative agriculture and regenerative soil practices. This is an amazing talk from the recent conference: R-Soil 2024. Learn more from Ray at his Soil Health Academy: http://soilhealthacademy.org Join us at R-Future 2025 Jan 8th for more talks on regenerative science and solutions: https://matt-powers.mykajabi.com/r-future

Can we emulate nature with our soil health-building systems? Where do local small grains fit in the soil health puzzle? Ray Archuleta of the Soil Health Academy and retired soil health educator with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service discusses why working in concert with nature is important to farming. Ray is a big proponent of no-till farming and putting life back into systems. Tillage disrupts and kills soil fungi and sets the system back. Ray sees food and the health of the soil as medicine and critically intertwined with nature. Dr. Heather Coiner of the Common Grain Alliance adds to this discussion and shares how small grain crop rotations are another essential piece to the soil health puzzle and biological pathways. In addition, a stronger local grain economy can provide multiple benefits to farmers, communities, and the overall health of people. For more information about the Soil Health Academy and Common Grain Alliance, please visit their websites at https://soilhealthacademy.org/  and https://www.commongrainalliance.org/To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are working with nature and what you are doing to know your farmer in support of local and regional agriculture.

Watch the entire interview on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/5-XmSOfjGZo Checkout more from Ray Archuleta here on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raythesoilguy1/ Get Your Copy of Regenerative Soil - Signed & On-Sale HERE: https://www.thepermaculturestudent.com/shop

In this insightful episode, host Regen Ray and the legendary soil advocate Ray Archuleta dig deep to uncover the essence of soil health and its pivotal role in our ecosystems. Join us for an enriching discussion on how to nurture the planet from the ground up! Book Tickets: https://soilrestorationfarming.com.au/sp/ray-generate-2024-event/ 

We saved the best for last this year on the Underdog Ag Podcast.I have been wanting to interview my cousin Scott Gonnerman for so long and I finally headed to the Gonnerman farm in York County, Neb., sat down at the kitchen table, and did just that.Scott Gonnerman has the kind of salt-of-the-earth common sense that can be a rare find nowadays. When Gonnerman was a child, he told everyone he wanted to be, “a farmer and a semi-driver.” Gonnerman has achieved all of these goals and much more. His farm in York County, Neb. has hosted visitors from all over the world: Australia, Russia and even Africa. Why? Because he sees change coming. While some of his farming neighbors may drive by in wonder, his national and international visitors know exactly what is going on – the soil across the earth is depleted and our freshwater resources are running dry.They want to learn how Gonnerman and others are salvaging and rebuilding their farms and ranches in a “regenerative” fashion – a phrase that has been made popular by others in this soil movement that has reached a revival-like status. But, for Scott and his wife Barb, it's simply about doing what's right for the next generation.“We bought this farm in 2004 from my Grandfather Raymond and Grandmother Evelyn Gonnerman,” Gonnerman said. Today, he said, the farm has been in the family for more than 100 years. Gonnerman grew up near Benedict, Neb. His father, Smokey, and mom, Donna, were pragmatic, hardworking people. The Gonnerman farm was not unlike the diversified farms of the past.He remembered farrowing sows with his mom and his dad going to town in the fall to purchase a straight-truck of calves to put out on the corn stalks to graze. In the spring, they would sell the cattle. The ones that didn't fit on the truck were butchered and fed the family the next winter.What separated Gonnerman from some of his other farming peers was his father's openness to learn right alongside him. As the years progressed, the Gonnermans were farming what is now coined as “conventional” like many of their neighbors. This means they were still disking the land and applying synthetic inputs.Their cropping systems were a basic rotation of corn, beans, and sometimes wheat. “But I was lucky because my dad was willing to learn and we went to meeting after meeting together. So we were learning together. That was key. My wife Barb would come along too. It's so important to have everyone involved on the same page. In order to be on the same page, you have to attend the meetings together. You have to learn together,” Gonnerman stressed over and over.Learn they did, traveling everywhere from North Dakota to South Carolina and Ohio. Some of their biggest influencers were soil health leaders Gabe Brown, David Brandt, and Ray Archuleta.However, the real game-changer came when they came across a simple, but powerful, presentation by Dan Gillepsie, a Soil Conservation Technician and No-Till Specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).The presentation consisted of boxes of various soils that had been farmed differently – from full-bore tillage to cover crops and then a final box with native prairie. Above the boxes was a hose with a head shooting down water to create the simulated rainfall effect.At the end, the boxes of soil were tipped over. Farmers were able to see the difference between tilling their fields (which destroys soil structure) and the positive impact of no-till and covering the soil year-round with living plants that creates a strong root structure underneath. “Gillespie's presentation got us started.At that time, we were still gravity irrigating dad's farm (irrigating the crops with pipe hooked together on the ground with gates that are opened to let water out into the rows on the field),” he began. Then they began to change the farm for the better. You will love hearing what they did too!Please listen and soak in Gonnerman's wisdom.--Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe.HOST: Kerry HoffschneiderGUESTS: Scott Gonnerman, Farmer --CREDITS:Mitchell Roush, ProducerBibi Luevano, Cover ArtPurple Planet Music, Theme

Promotional Links: StorySeed Marketing and Messaging Course - a comprehensive course for regenerative entrepreneurs to build and scale their message and marketing efforts. (currently at beta price) Description: In this captivating episode, we sit down with Dan Kittredge, the visionary founder of the Bionutrient Foundation, to explore his inspiring journey in regenerative agriculture and the pursuit of food quality. Dan's day, a blend of soil advocacy and paper-writing, reflects his passion for quality food. His infectious enthusiasm emanates from a deep desire to make a positive global impact. Discover how his upbringing on an organic farmstead shaped his unique perspective, offering competence and a lifelong connection to nature to his children. For those aspiring to embrace the farmstead lifestyle, Dan's invaluable advice provides a roadmap to success. He emphasizes balance and shares ways to get involved. Tune in for a journey that inspires change, one nutrient-dense bite at a time.

For this episode of the No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators Podcast, brought to you by Martin-Till, listen to No-Till Innovator Ray Archuleta's presentation from the 2023 National No-Tillage Conference, a powerful talk that earned him a standing ovation from hundreds of no-tillers. In this session, Archuleta explores the true power of biologicals in the soil and discusseshow regenerative agriculture can become more widespread.

While we continue to hear of and experience the perils of global heating and climate disruption, some of us fundamentally understand that the ecosystem is not broken. Rather it is human connection to Nature that is in dire need of a correction. Or better stated, a re-connection. According to the World's Soil Resources Report from the UN of the top 10 threats to soil, soil erosion ranks number one, because it is happening globally. Although desertification intensifies at an alarming rate, and narratives of fear and scarcity dominate, the truth is human beings can restore our ecological memory, mimic and align with Nature, and commit to making the Earth green again. It remains the best kept secret that a regenerative mindset can and will heal the world. World-renowned soil scientist and conservation agronomist Ray Archuleta, Founder of Understanding Ag [https://understandingag.com] and the Soil Health Academy [https://soilhealthacademy.org/], joins us to tap his many decades of experience working with the soil to motivate us to green the Earth once again. Regeneration requires an understanding of relationships, a willingness to learn how Nature functions, and a shift in how and what we think. By adopting an ecological consciousness of Oneness, emulating Nature and applying Nature's principles to the soil, we can once again live a balanced, interdependent and harmonious life. For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years' experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). After his retirement from the NRCS in 2017, Ray founded Understanding Ag, LLC [https://understandingag.com], and Soil Health Academy [https://soilhealthacademy.org/], to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale. Ray also owns and operates a 150-acre farm near Seymour, Missouri that he operates along with his wife and family. Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

On this week's episode of Where Hope Grows, we dive into the 6 key principles of soil health. Demonstrated by the wisdom of Mother Nature, these soil building strategies are applicable in a wide range of settings and are a guiding light for those who are wishing to move towards a more regenerative model. Inspired by the pioneer work of Gabe Brown and Ray Archuleta, these lessons are the foundation for educational workshops at ROAM Ranch as well as a pivotal methodology we reference on a daily basis. Be prepared to see soil in a whole new light! Guest: Robby Sansom This podcast is made possible by the support of Force of Nature Hosted by: Taylor Collins, ROAM Ranch, @roamranch

On this week's episode of Where Hope Grows we take you to the mainstage of our annual "What Good Shall I Do" Conference as Ray Archuleta gives a very memorable presentation on the life-giving force of plants. Through the lens of ecology, Ray preaches the gospel of collaborating with Mother Nature and farming in her architectural wisdom. Both uplifting and inspiring, Ray leaves us with a fertilized seed of hope. This podcast is made possible by the support of Force of Nature. Hosted by: Taylor Collins, ROAM Ranch, @roamranch Guest: Ray Archuleta

To learn more about Ray Archuleta, please visit soilhealthacademy.org/team/ray-archuleta/ or understandingag.com/team/ray-archuleta/.

It is a rare pleasure to speak with a person of consequence and have their undivided attention for an hour. Ray Archuleta, who needs little introduction, has been a person of consequence in the lives of Buz Kloot (Soil Health Labs at the University of South Carolina) and Tanse Herrmann, NRCS Grazing Lands Soil Health Specialist working out of Rapid City, South Dakota. In this podcast, Buz and Tanse host Ray Archuleta and catch up with him, but before that, both Buz and Tanse tell their stories of how they first met Ray and how he has impacted their lives. A theme that runs through the podcast is The Goal of farming/ranching – making money is an outcome, but The Goal is to Follow the Pattern that Mother Nature has provided. We talk to Ray about his journey since he left the USDA-NRCS (where he served for 3 decades) and what he's been up to since then. Ray now has land near Seymour, Missouri and talks about having “Skin in the Game” now that he has his own land payment and his own livestock to manage! Ray talks about having skin in the game as being a great tool to make him more empathetic to the ranchers and farmers he speaks to, and he still does a lot of that. Ray also speaks from his own experience of farming with sheep, the mistakes he has made and what he's learned in the process – infrastructure, animal safety and health, epigenetics and simplicity of design are discussed. The conversation turns to the work that Alejandro Carrillo has done on the Las Damas Ranch in the Chihuahua desert and how transformational this has been to the landscape (see the Las Damas Case Study at the end of these show notes). Ray uses the discussion about Alejandro's land as an opportunity to educate us on the principle of ecological context (often considered the 6th principle of soil health), in this case, he discusses ecological context in terms of the difference between rainfall on his land (~45” a year) versus Alejandro's (8” - 10” a year). Note that the first five principles of soil health are: 1. Minimum disturbance; 2. Cover the soil; 3. Keep a live root in the soil as many days as possible; 4. Add diversity of plants (e.g., grasses and broadleaves, warm and cool season, annuals, and perennials); 5. Incorporate livestock back to the land. The discussion of ecological context also led us to spend some time discussing the very important human dimension of rangeland and farmland management, and how people make decisions. We make a few references to Dr. Ellen Davis's Book “Scripture, Culture and Agriculture” and the work by Hannah Gosnell and others in a paper called “Transformational adaptation on the farm: Processes of change and persistence in transitions to ‘climate-smart' regenerative agriculture” where “dimensions of transformation [are] associated with beliefs, values, emotions, worldviews, structures of meaning-making, and consciousness” are discussed. See below for the links to these two references. References from the Podcast: Alejandro Carrillo: Las Damas Ranch Case Study, Las Damas Ranch, Aldama County, Chihuahua, Mexico https://understandingag.com/case_studies/las-damas-ranch-case-study/ Ray discusses infrastructure, and there is no better network on rangeland and farmland advice than the SD Grasslands Coalition Mentoring Network where mentors on fencing and water placement, among other things, are provided: https://sdgrass.org/mentoring-network/ SoilHealthLab's podcast with Shannon Kulseth-Iverson: “39 How Rangeland Health and Livestock Work to Solve Environmental Issues” https://www.growingresiliencesd.com/podcasts/episode/c506bbc6/39-how-rangeland-health-and-livestock-work-to-solve-environmental-issues Books Discussed in Podcast: Note we have links for convenience- there are other outlets that carry these books as well. André Lund. The Wonder of UHDSG (Ultra High Density Strip Grazing): Elandsfontein Beaufort West - Central Karoo South Africa. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40894069-the-wonder-of-uhdsg-ultra-high-density-strip-grazing Ellen Davis. Scripture, Culture and Agriculture. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/5941497-scripture-culture-and-agriculture Movies: “Kiss the Ground.” Understanding Ag's Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Kris Nichols, Ph.D. https://kissthegroundmovie.com/kiss-the-ground-understanding-ags-ray-archuleta-gabe-brown-and-kris-nichols-ph-d/ Recommended Podcast: The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast – hosted by John Kempf. https://regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com/ Books Recommended by Ray Archuleta (these are all searchable, some of them available in pdf format) 1) Allan Savory - Holistic Management 2) Eugene P. Odum - Fundamentals of Ecology (3rd or 4th edition) 3) David Gleissman -Agroecology by 4) Weil and Brady - Nature and Properties of Soils (15th edition I available) 5) Martin Alexander - Introduction to Soil Microbiology 6) Patrick Lavelle and Alister V. Spain - Soil Ecology 7) David Coleman, mac Callaham and D.A. Crossley, Jr. Fundamental of Soil Ecology 8) Sir Albert Howard – An Agricultural Testament 9) N.A. Krasil‘nikov -Soil Microorganisms and Higher Plants: The Classic Text on Living Soils 10) Michael John Swift and others: Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems 11) Donald Q. Innis- Intercropping and the Scientific basis for traditional agriculture 12) David Pimentel - Handbook of Energy Utilization in Agriculture (ISBN 9781315893419) 13) Ken Killham - Soil Ecology 14) David Pimentel - Food, Energy and Society 15) Richard Bardgett, Usher and Hopkins - Biological Diversity and Function in Soils 16) Bill Mollison - Permaculture: A designers Manual 17) Fred Magdoff and Harold Van Es - Building Better Soils for Better Crops 18) Richard Bardgett and others - Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services 19) Brian walker and David Salt - Resilience Thinking: sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world 20) F. Stuart Chapin and others - Principles of Terrestrial ecosystem ecology 21) Masanobu Fukuoka – One Straw Revolution

My friend Mac joins CK and I on zoom to give us an update on what weird things he's tried since we last caught up. We talk about something that's on a lot of our minds, drought. Mac talks about how he has mitigated his drought risk and recaps a field day back in May with our mutual friend, Ray Archuleta. We talk about measuring biomass, lessons from this years failures and he shares some tips on grazing math and how to figure paddock sizes. Macauley's Facebook Mac's Phone number: 417 660 9207 ----------------------- Click here for Sea-90! Phone number: (770) 361-6092 Email address: info@seaagri.com Click Here for my Website! Click here for my Patreon page! Click here for all of my links! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ranching-reboot/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ranching-reboot/support

This is the big one. Five leaders of regenerative agriculture — Rick Clark, Ray Archuleta, Mitchell Hora, Loran Steinlage and of course, Dave Brandt — talk it up in Carroll, Ohio. At 2 hours and some change, this conversation is a long one, but worth your time on a long drive or tractor ride.

After a successful career at the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ray Archuleta began preaching about soil health. Mitchell caught up with “Ray the Soil Guy” inside an Ohio seed shed. The pair talked about Ray's life and the challenges of converting more farmers to regenerative agriculture.

Bales Farms is a special place for local food in Tennessee that boasts owner/operators including a cookbook author, a 15-time Grammy winner, and the most caring CEO (Chief of Egg Operations) you've ever heard of. Enjoy this episode of More Than a Mile as host Nick Carter talks with Aliceson and Barry Bales. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): My guests today are Barry and Aliceson Bales. And I am really excited to talk about farming and food. And also to fanboy out a little bit because I understand that I'm in the presence of a celebrity. Barry sounds like you've got a little bit of a background in Nashville and then Aliceson you've released a cookbook with quite a forward, right? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Guilty on all counts. Yeah. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Let's start with you Aliceson. So Dolly Parton is hosting the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards this coming March in Vegas, but she also did something pretty cool with your cookbook. Is that right? Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): She did. She's so lovely and kind. And so when we were writing this cookbook this past year we were wondering who we could get to write some blurbs for us. And so Barry has over the years recorded with Dolly and he said, let's give it a whirl and see if she would write something. So we sent something to her, he sent something to her and she so graciously said yes, but she wanted to see the book. So we printed off a copy, a real rough draft and sent it to her. And... Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Well, we didn't have the book together. Right. Of course. So we were like, okay. So had to run up to the printer with a PDF on a zip drive and was like can you print this off real quick? Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): Right. So she looked through it all and wrote us this sweet letter and then said you can use whatever you want, however you want. But we don't edit Dolly. And so every syllable, comma, and period. So yeah, she was so kind and so generous and she is the busiest person that anyone knows. We say, no matter what you've done today, she has done more. And you know, she just came out with a novel and then she wrote an album to go with the novel and she's hosting the ACMs next month. And she is, I don't know if you've heard about Dollywood, but it just came out, was it yesterday, that on day one, if you are an employee of Dollywood, whether you're full-time, part-time, or just seasonal, you get college tuition paid 100%. Isn't that unbelievable? She is amazing. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): She is. She is. I remember learning about -- some of the book programs that she's done in Sevier County [Tennessee] and the graduation rates that she's driven there. It's just phenomenal what she does. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah. The Imagination Library. She yeah. She sends how... Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): It's every month. So your child gets a book every month from birth through kindergarten. It's amazing. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): And that's statewide in Tennessee and they've just recently expanded to Kentucky. Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah. Unbelieveable, every month. And they're really good books. I mean, it's like, classics, you know, it's The Little Engine That Could, and then at Dollywood in the summer you can go have the Ping One Playhouse and she's written plays to go with each book and she's written the songs and she is on the screen, performing the songs with the little ping one players that are out there. It's so sweet. She's amazing. Amazing. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yeah. Now you must have a pretty amazing cookbook because she read it, liked it, wrote the forward for it. So what's the inspiration that you came up with Aliceson for this cookbook, where does it come from? Are they family recipes? Are they things you've created, a mix of both? Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): A mix of both probably. I wanted this cookbook to inspire other people to cook for the people that they love. I am a really strong believer that food brings us together. And like you say, in your intro, it's more than just something that we eat. I mean, it is the fabric that can bring people together. And I just feel like over the past few years we've gotten kind of disjointed and, and we're so isolated and separated from other people. And I want to remind people and encourage them and inspire them that you can make great food for the people that you love. And you can sit around a table and you can enjoy people of all walks of life. It doesn't just have to be the people that are nearest to you, either in ideology or, or what or location, but you can bring people to you and, and open your world and open your heart to people. Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): And I think it makes a huge difference when you are feeding people, something that you've made and you've put your heart into, and it doesn't take a lot of time. Lots of effort. It doesn't have to, but that's so much more meaningful than going through a drive-through or swinging through to pick up pizza. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but you can also incorporate homemade, wholesome, whole ingredients that have been raised, you know, for the meat that's been raised with care and respect and, and love, and it's not hard to do. And so that's what I wanted to inspire people to do and just remind them of that. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): So that's really cool. You, so it's family-style cookbooks. It's things that you, your desire is that these recipes are used to bring people around a table. I do. I think you're exactly right. I think it's, it's really fascinating how every culture throughout history and across the world right now, you can identify by their food. You know, we, we can build restaurants around, we can go to Indian food, but my wife and I travel to India a couple of years of go. And we, the, one of the one things that our hosts there wanted to show us was their food. And it was all about the dishes and, and the recipes that they had. And what are Americans known for? Fast food, right? And we invented that you can sit by yourself in a car or you can eat it on the way to soccer practice. And, and we lost something there. We lost something, our family, we nearly every evening, if there's not something really special going on, we, the five of us sit down and around a table with our three kids and we eat dinner together. And I just love it. I cherish that time. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Absolutely. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Well, thank you. I can't wait to get my hands on it and to read every word and syllable from Dolly in the front, and then to use some of the recipes. Barry, you've got a career as a musician, as well as a farmer. What, what percent gimme a percentage are, are you half musician, half farmer? Do they blend together? Can you not identify the two? How much, how would you say it? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Well, I would say right now, I'd say in the last couple of years, because of the situation we're in with COVID and whatnot 95 plus percent farmer. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yeah. Did you tour, or are you a studio musician or both? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Both. And that's really the only music I've been doing the last little bit is recording. Particularly. I've got a set up here at home and people send me stuff by email and record on it, send it back. You know, it's kind of been, the music has been decreasing and the farming has been increasing. The farming kind of has been sort of a long-term exit strategy from touring, or at least from, you know, to get to the point where I don't have to, I can pick, be more choosy on, on what I do. You know, I mean, I've been, I've been a professional musician for 31 years, so, and I still love it. I love the people that I get to work with I love the music. But, you know, after that long—hotels and airports and suitcases kind of get a little old, I thought, well, you know, this would be cool to—besides the thing, which we might get into about our son—but I just thought, well, you know, it'd be great to have something like this, that I can sort of transition off the road. And... Nick Carter (Market Wagon): The white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold. Is that what they say? I said, the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah. Something like that. Yeah, absolutely. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): So, yeah, it's mostly, mostly farming these days. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Good. So tell me a little history of, it's Bales Farms, right, in East Tennessee. And it's a century farm. Can you tell us some of our listeners what that means and gimme a little bit of a history. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Okay. Yes. In the state of Tennessee, there's a program called the Tennessee Century Farm Program. And it's just a kind of a little historical recognition and compilation of information of all the farms that have been in continuous agricultural production for at least a hundred years in the same family. And this, this family's been in, or this farm has been in my family since 1882. And our son Marshall is the sixth generation here. So I kind of, sort of grew up here. My mom was born and raised here when she got to be grown and got out of high school, she moved up to Kingsport and took a job and stayed up there. That's where I was born, but I spent every spare second I had down here with my grandparents, you know, they were my heroes and they would come and pick me up at school the day it let out for summer. And they'd take me back the day before it started back in the fall. So I feel like I grew up here as, at least as much, if not more than I did, you know, where I was actually born in Kingsport, which is only about an hour away. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Well, my family farm comes from originally, not too far from you. My great-grandfather, he moved to the flatlands of north central Indiana to start the farm where I would've been the fourth-generation farmer. He moved there from the Blue Ridge Mountains just south of you. And he always joked that he moved up here because he was tired of his cattle falling outta the pasture. So, and I think it's funny. So you're, you're raising beef and pork, right. Out on pasture, a hundred percent grass. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Yep. Completely grass-fed, grass-finished, beef, pastured pork. We do pastured poultry and our son Marshall, who's 14, he's the head of the egg operation. He's got he's down, down right now. But last summer, I think at the height, he had about 400 layers on pasture. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): And he's how old? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): 14. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): 14 years old, he's got 400 layers and he's pasturing them. So for some of our listeners who don't know how that works, you've got a chicken tractor essentially, right. It's on wheels or mobile. And so he drags that thing around what, every two or three days he's gonna move it to a new spot. Right? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Every day. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Every day he moves it to a new spot. Well, then I was a lazy chicken tractor driver. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): He's, he's got an egg mobile you know, on we built it on a car haul or trailer. And so he just moves it. He'll set up a big paddock, you know, with poultry netting, but he moves the tractor itself one length every day within that paddock, just because, you know, there's so much manure, it falls that it just creates a hot spot real quick. But, but yeah, he, he gathers the eggs, washes, em, packs 'em, you know, the whole deal. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Where does he sell them? Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): We do is drive. Is we deliver them? Yeah. For him. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Fourteen's not too young to drive [laughing]. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Just not on the road. Yeah. Yet. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): That, that you'll, that you'll record audio and, and have published right. There we go. Yeah. I think I was 12 the first time I was hauling wagons from one field to another, from my dad's grain operation. So does he sell his eggs on Market Wagon or anywhere else? Does he have a farm stand or does he set up at any farmer's markets? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): We do. No, we don't do farmer's markets. We do we've got twice a month pick up locations around the area and then and then on Market Wagon, and then people can come to the farm and, and pick up if they'd like, we've got a, a store on our website. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): That's fantastic. Now we've already touched on little pieces of it. And I wanna make sure that some of our listeners who don't necessarily know the makeup, chicken manure and chicken tractor and why you would move 'em around every day. I want you to tell me a little bit in your own words about like, what, what sustainability means for you on your farm, how you're stewarding the land, how you're taking care of the soils and just walk us through some of that, because you've at beef pork and chickens. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah, absolutely. And, and this is, it's kind, it's been a, has been a, a big learning curve learning experience and, and of course ongoing, but, you know, when I was growing up, we had beef cattle here and they just had run of the farm, you know, it's, it's, they just went wherever they want, as most people do, and didn't think anything about it. And the more I've gotten into it and the more I've of course gone to different conferences and listened to, of course, now we have the internet and YouTube and all that kind of stuff. We can hopefully learn things quicker. You know, I'm like a lot of people, I'm a huge disciple of Joel Salatin, Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, all those guys. And through that have learned a lot more about sustainable agriculture, regenerative agriculture. So just kind of in a nutshell, what that entails, at least as it relates to our farm is we rotate our cattle. Rotational grazing is the term. And we'll set up a temporary paddock with a temporary electric fence and try to just give the animals, you know, there's various formulas for figuring out how much grass they need and whatnot, but basically, we try to give 'em enough grass for one day. So in that area, they're in, and then the next day we come along and we move 'em to the next paddock, and we continue that all the way around the farm. And hopefully, they don't come back to that first paddock that they grazed on for at least 30, 45 days or more to give it a chance to regrow. And the reason that we do that is I was using this as an analogy, the other day—you know, if you tell your 10-year-old, Hey, go in the kitchen and fix yourself some supper, well, they're gonna go straight to the freezer and get out the ice cream. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): And, you know, that's kind of what cattle do, you know, they'll go straight to the really good stuff like the clovers and the orchard grass and Timothy. And they just keep—if you don't rotate them, they just keep going back to it and hitting it as it regrows and eventually kill it out. And the less desirable stuff comes along. So that all that helps your pasture. It helps your grass for that reason. And also you are more intensively distributing the manure, which is fertilizer, and you get a much more even spreading of that. We've not—golly it's been 10 or 15 years since I've bought chemical fertilizer. And you know, the hoof action too, you know, you've got your, your seed bank with the seeds in there that last for, you know, years and years and years and years. And as that is disturbed by the hooves you know, you get more regrowth of that. And then we follow along with the chickens behind that. And you get more manure from that, the chickens scratch in the cow manure, and that you know, that helps cut down on your fly problem. You know, they get in there and eat the eggs that the flies lay. We also rotate, rotate our pigs, you know, they're in the woods right now this time of year, but we also rotate them through the pasture and, you know, pigs, as you know, but some listeners may not, pigs will graze grass, just like cows will. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yep. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): You know, you don't have to have pigs in a small little pig sty as it were, you know, pigs are not inherently nasty. They just, unfortunately, get kept in bad spots, a lot of times. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): They also tend to really like what's under the grass more so than what's on top of it sometimes. So do you let, 'em turn over a pasture every now and then, and really work it down and destroy it and reset it? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): I don't let, 'em go too intensively. I could probably stand to let 'em do more, but I just—I tend to move the pigs through pretty fast. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): We had a paddock at dad's farm. We raised very similar pasture-raised beef in north central Indiana. And he hadn't had hogs for about 20 years. The hog market crashed in 97. That's when we got outta hogs. About four years ago, he got back into it, but pasture-raised and there was a paddock that was pretty much useless to the cattle by that point—it had been overtaken by calamus, which is a very invasive species that just keeps spreading through its roots. And so he just put the hogs on there for a solid summer, and they just destroyed the whole root system. I mean, the place looked like a mud pit, but then the next year, what came back from that seed bank was actual grass and clover and what cattle would actually eat. So it was kind of a reset button for that pasture. Yeah. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah. And that's the thing is, is using, you know, that's the whole idea. I think, the two main ideas behind regenerative ag are you're focusing on growing better grass through taking care of your soil—soil health—and using the animals as tools to that end. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): I think one of the quotes I've remembered from Joel Salatin is, "On our farm, the animals do the hard work." Yeah. Turning stuff over, doing the plowing. What's the future of Bales Farms. Talk to me. Where, where do you see this going? You've been you're the sixth generation to farm on it. What's that mean to you? And, and how important is it to think about what comes next? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): That's, you know, if, if you gotta take it with a grain of salt, because for me, especially, you know, something like that, you can kinda let it get in your head and be like, wow, that's some serious pressure. But, you know, with Marshall, I'm trying to, that's kind of how we got back into this. You know, I was touring so much that I didn't have time to farm. Didn't have time to keep animals. And once he was born, I thought, you know, I'd really love for him to have at least a little taste of what I had growing up to learn where his food comes from, have chores to do, that kind of thing. And it just kind of snowballed from there. So, you know, he, he may or may not take up the reins and, you know, come back here and farm for a living. But if he's got, you know, he will definitely have the tools he needs and the life experiences to be a success, whatever he does. And, you know, if that happens as a result of what we're doing now and where he's living and the responsibilities he has, then you know, this farm will have been a success. And I would like to think, you know, if nothing else, it'll always be here to come back and bring the grandkids and fish and, you know, whatever else. But for me personally, from a, from a next step farming thing, we just want to continue to grow and, and try to do it better. And, and we're constantly thinking how to grow the business, how to grow the brand, how to leave this place better than we found it. You know, that's a, that's a big thing I'm, I'm always researching and trying to figure out, okay, well, how's a better way to do this. What am I doing wrong? You know, we're really getting into cover crops now. And, and just a lot, you know, lots of different things. I, I definitely want it to keep going and to grow, but in a lot of ways, if it doesn't do anything more than what it's done now, it's, it's still a success to me. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yeah. I would agree. I think it's a raging success. I think the experience you're creating for Marshall is you can't get that anywhere else other than a farm. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): I told him the other day there's some friends of mine that we all grew up together and we were on a daily text thread together. And a couple of 'em are engineers. One of 'em is a chiropractor. And something was said, one of 'em was complaining today about some of the potential employees that they had coming in, you know, and I told this to them, but I also told it to Marshall. If I was in any kind of a position, non-agriculture, to hire somebody and a resume came across my desk from somebody that grew up on a farm, I think I'd probably hire 'em sight unseen. You know. Because they're probably already so far ahead. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yeah. They've been driving for 20 years already, so well [laughing]. We're sitting here talking about your farm and helping to share your story and your passion. And I appreciate you, you letting us know about it. What is it—how important is it to you to be able to connect directly with the people that are eating the eggs off of your farm and the beef off of your farm. And to know that you're feeding your community? Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): That's really important to us. You know, when you, when you think about it, we can't, we can't beat Walmart with price or with convenience. But it is very important. I tell people this a lot, I'm very passionate about knowing where your food comes from, whether you get your food from us or from somebody else, whether you are, you know, a customer of Market Wagon—you all make it so easy for people. You know, they just open their door on Thursday and there, it says it's so, or in Knoxville anyway, but you know, once a week you open the door and everything that you ordered is there. And so whether or not you, wherever you get your food, wherever you get it, you need to know where that food has come from. You need to know if you're if you're eating beef, or chicken, or pork, you need to know the life that the animal lived, that it is important. You need to know if you're eating a carrot, you need to know the soil that it was raised in. And I, I'm not saying you need to be organic, or you need to be, you know, one label or another because labels can be very confusing, but you need to know how the animal was raised, how the plant was raised because it's important. And, you know, I heard you talking with I think it was Nate [Parks], a few podcasts ago about—that it takes time and it takes money to invest in doing it the right way. And so sometimes, yeah, it's a little bit more expensive at the front end, but it's so much better for you that you're saving money throughout the process. And that's important. And you don't get that if you go to Walmart and buy your eggs, you know, but if, but Marshall's customers who buy his eggs, you know, they can see him. And they can see him on social media and he loves his chickens. And sometimes, especially when we used to go and help him a little bit, some people would get a little side-ways... Barry Bales (Bales Farms): I'd be trying to get him, you know, I'd be out there humping it and trying to get the paddock set up and all this. And I'm like, where is Marshall? What is he doing? And I'd look over and he'd be, have a chicken up hugging and kissing, all that stuff. [Laughter] Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): But, you know, that's, that's important. And you, it should be that way. It should be that way that the farmer is taking steps to ensure that that animal is raised the way that God intended that animal to be raised. And that we're just really passionate about it. It's very important to us. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Well, as you alluded to with the fast-food comment early on, you know, it's gotten somehow or another, it's gotten so backward. I mean, there's very few things, more important to life than food, but we've gotten to where it's become just a disposable for lack of a better term. You know, nobody thinks anything about it. You know, you go through and I, you know, I get it from a financial standpoint, but that's a whole nother conversation about how it got to be that way. But, you know, I know a lot of people are like, well, why wouldn't I just go through the drive-through and get a value meal for $3? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): But there's so many, it's just, it's so frustrating for me because we do put such care and such love in raising our animals and taking care of this farm. And it's very personal to us, you know? So we, it is very important for us to, to deal with the customers one on one and let them see. And that's, you know, you know, this, this part of the business, it's all about relationships. You know, when we kind of started getting back into it more and more, I got hung up there for a while on, okay, well, people want this adjective and this descriptor and this, and, you know, they don't really care. At least our customers don't, they know us, we've, we've been at it long enough and have developed relationships so that they know us. They know how we do things and that's all they need to know. So that's gigantically important to us. Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): And they know us and they have had a relationship with us, which was the original question, sorry. But this relationship that we have built within, they know that we are transparent and authentic and trustworthy. And so when you have that relationship with people and they know, you know, they've been here, they've been on this farm. And so they've seen, oh, they've seen Marshall move that chicken tractor, or they've seen us feed the pigs. They've gotten in with us while we feed the pigs and the pigs eat from our hand and eat from their hands, or, you know, they've gone with us when we move the steers. So when you have that kind of a relationship with people, they know that they can trust you and they value that, and we value them. And so it's all about a relationship. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Wow. I couldn't have said it better. I think that your customers, you're doing your community, a service and your customers appreciate it, and they see what you're doing for 'em. How can aside from finding you on MarketWagon.com and following you there and learning about your farm and buying your products, how else can our listeners learn a little bit more about you? Follow you, find you on social media or online? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): We have a website, BalesFarmsTN.com. Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): And we're on Instagram. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): We're on Instagram @BalesFarms. We're on Facebook—Bales Farms TN, and we're on YouTube. We've got a lot of recipe videos on YouTube and different things, fun things around the farm. Aliceson Bales (Bales Farms): Yeah. Barry just did smash burgers for the Super Bowl. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): On your YouTube or Instagram channel. Could we hear any of Barry plucking at an upright bass by chance? Barry Bales (Bales Farms): I've got some, yeah. I mean, I do some of the background music for our little videos. Yeah. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): I thought you might. Cool. Well, it's been a pleasure being able to talk with you and connect face-to-face here and on this recording and people want to hear your story about Bales Farms and thank you so much for the care that you put into the land that you've been given to steward from six generations back. I think that's just amazing. Barry Bales (Bales Farms): Thanks. Thanks for having us. This has been a lot. It's been a pleasure. Nick Carter (Market Wagon): Yeah, it's been my pleasure. All right. Well, my guests today have been Barry and Aliceson with Bales Farms and you can learn about Bales Farms on MarketWagon.com—get those eggs and you'll keep a 14-year-old employed and happy and hens happy.

As we prepare for Climate Correction 2022, we are revisiting the popular Regenerative Soil & Agriculture Panel from last year's event. Ray Archuleta is one of the world's preeminent experts, pioneers and advocates in today's regenerative agricultural movement. Through years of practical experience on his own farms and ranches, and by learning from other experts and researchers across the globe, he's learned how to successfully farm and ranch in nature's image—to grow healthier soil, food, farms and profits. And he's dedicated his life to teaching others how to do the same. Join VoLo Foundation for the 4th Annual Climate Correction™ Conference in Orlando, FL on March 17-18, 2022. This two-day event will focus on food systems and the agricultural processes that will not only feed populations into the next generation but provide ecological solutions to our climate crisis.  

I feel pretty comfortable saying that most of us who are listening to this podcast are soil health focused! That's great and you'll love this episode and probably listen to it a few times! In this interview with Ray Archuleta, we discuss the current status of our agricultural soils, what that means to us and how we as farmers and ranchers can continue to improve the vitality of the soils on our farming operations! Happy Grazing!! Find out more about the South Poll Grass Cattle Breed at southpoll.com Visit us on Facebook at the South Poll Grass Cattle Association page or the South Poll Grass Cattle Forum page If you have any ideas or requests for the podcast please reach out to us at southpollmedia@gmail.com

Kevin Van Trump & Jordan Van Trump sit down with Rick Clark, Owner at Clark Land and Cattle; Mitchell Hora, Founder & CEO at Continuum Ag; Ray Archuleta, Founder of Soil Health Academy; Cristian Barcan, VP of Sustainability & Industry Affairs at Rabo AgriFinance; Melissa Nelson, Owner at Field Scientist at Performance Crop Research & Co-Owner at South Bend Industrial Hemp; and Todd Loechler with The Van Trump Report to discuss everything surrounding regenerative agriculture, reducing input costs, and the… Continue Reading ›› The post The REAL Scoop on Regenerative Agriculture… from REAL Producers Making it Work and Banking Good Profits! appeared first on FarmTank.

On this special episode, we talk with Ray Archuleta, Soil Health Pioneer, and our keynote speaker for the Farm and Food Symposium! The Farm and Food Symposium is a two-day event where farmers, ag industry professionals, conservation partners and consumers will gather to gain a deeper understanding of the ecological practices and economic incentives of regenerative farming. Ray talks to us about his extensive background in agriculture and the subjects he plans to bring to the conference on November 5th and 6th 2021 here in Spokane, WA.

Welcome to the 9th of the monthly expert panel discussions. As I mentioned before, each month I'll be hosting discussions and debates between some of the most prominent voices in regenerative agriculture, soil science, restoration land management and more. In this session I hosted a discussion on regenerative arable farming with my friends and colleagues at Climate Farmers, a non-profit organization working to build the infrastructure to scale regenerative agriculture in Europe.In this panel I invited three of the most experienced and influential educators in the field of arable farming from the USA, Brazil, and England. Arable farming is often the first agricultural practice that comes under fire with criticisms about industrial ag, the troubles of monocropping, tillage, chemical use, and many of the other management methods that need to be abandoned are most closely associated with large scale grain and legume production. Yet cultivation of annual crops, especially grains, are some of the oldest cultivars from the dawn of agriculture itself. Though it's still common practice to destroy the ecology of a piece of land to produce these products, there's still potential to regenerate that ecology if we can move beyond the paradigm of recent decades and learn from natural biological processes. Don't forget that if you want to hear the full, unedited version of this interview with the entire Q&A session at the end, be sure to check out the different subscription options on the Regenerative Skills Patreon page.Since these discussions are longer than the regular weekly episodes, I'll keep the intro short and jump right into the introductions for our panelists. Links: https://soilhealthacademy.org/ https://groundswellag.com/speakers/ademir-calegari/ https://www.regenben.com/ https://treeyopermacultureedu.com/chapter-6-trees/alley-cropping-and-silvopasture/ https://www.agroforestry.org/the-overstory/337-overstory-261-alley-cropping https://regenerativeskills.com/eric-toensmeier-outlines-the-roadmap-to-implementing-the-carbon-farming-solution/

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years of experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). During his tenure with the NRCS Ray served in New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina. He is often referred to as the "Minister of Soil" and was the star of our feature-length documentary film. Please enjoy this episode.

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years of experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). During his tenure with the NRCS Ray served in New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina. He is often referred to as the "Minister of Soil" and was the star of our feature-length documentary film. Please enjoy this episode.

Soil health cheerleader Ray Archuleta and Iowa farmer Mervin Beachy talk about taking agroecological innovations from the “excitement stage” to the “action stage”…and the importance of aha moments. • For more information on how to build soil health profitably, check out LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network page. • Check out this LSP blog on Red Rooster…  Read More → Source

Soil health cheerleader Ray Archuleta and Iowa farmer Mervin Beachy talk about taking agroecological innovations from the "excitement stage" to the "action stage" ...and the importance of aha moments.

This Spring into early Summer, Scottish farmers have been challenged by the elements. The land has gone from dry to extremely wet to dry in a matter of weeks. How do we learn to adapt to these challenging conditions? Many of the answers lie beneath our feet with soil structure and soil biology influencing water retention. Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America. Ray founded Understanding Ag, LLC, and Soil Health Academy to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale. By applying the principles of regenerative agriculture in Scotland, farmers can emulate the natural biology and systems to improve soil functionality, reduce inputs and improve profitability. 

Ray Archuleta has had a long career in the world of agronomy and promoting healthy soils. Starting out with the NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Services) to now serving as part of the Soil Health Academy that helps educate farmers and landowners on promoting healthy soils. This has been a long time coming to bring Ray into our Soil Health Series and we couldn't be more excited! Soil Health has become a concern for many people in the food plot world but it's important we don't chase fads, product endorsements, and nonsensical practices. Let's face it, food plotters, like ourselves like to play farmer. Ray is a consultant dealing with farmers day in and day out, and is a farmer himself. The clear line between the ag world and recreational hunting land is farmers are relying on their practices to make an income, hunters aren't. With that being said we found it important to go straight to one of the most recognized agronomists in the world today to discuss soil health. We get his answer on many practices for soil health including, grazing, perennial versus annual,  monoculture versus diversity, and why we should be focusing on all of our land not just areas of crops or food plots. It's a very interesting discussion so dive in with Ray "The Soil Guy" Archuleta. #Forloveoftheland Land & Legacy is Powered by Simplecast

Ray Archuleta has had a long career in the world of agronomy and promoting healthy soils. Starting out with the NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Services) to now serving as part of the Soil Health Academy that helps educate farmers and landowners on promoting healthy soils. This has been a long time coming to bring Ray into our Soil Health Series and we couldn't be more excited! Soil Health has become a concern for many people in the food plot world but it's important we don't chase fads, product endorsements, and nonsensical practices. Let's face it, food plotters, like ourselves like to play farmer. Ray is a consultant dealing with farmers day in and day out, and is a farmer himself. The clear line between the ag world and recreational hunting land is farmers are relying on their practices to make an income, hunters aren't. With that being said we found it important to go straight to one of the most recognized agronomists in the world today to discuss soil health. We get his answer on many practices for soil health including, grazing, perennial versus annual,  monoculture versus diversity, and why we should be focusing on all of our land not just areas of crops or food plots. It's a very interesting discussion so dive in with Ray "The Soil Guy" Archuleta. #Forloveoftheland Land & Legacy is Powered by Simplecast

Ray Archuleta is one of the world's preeminent experts, pioneers, and advocates in today's regenerative agricultural movement. Through years of practical experience on his own farms and ranches, and by learning from other experts and researchers across the globe, he's learned how to successfully farm and ranch in nature's image—to grow healthier soil, food, farms, and profits. And he's dedicated his life to teaching others how to do the same. Soil Health Academy Sustainable Agriculture is a Win-Win Climate Change Solution

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Martin Industries, we chat with soil health experts Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown and Russell Hedrick at a Soil Health Academy training seminar held in Watertown, Wis. They talk about how regenerative agriculture is different from traditional conservation farming techniques, that can help farmers make more money and reduce inputs, why they like the Haney soil test and much more!

Today's guest is Ray Archuleta. He is on a great, big, bold, important mission to save our planet by healing the soil and from the documentary Kiss The Ground. Find all the great work Ray is doing: No till on the plains | Soil Health Academy | Kiss The Ground Happy Living is on a Mission to Improve the Happy of the World, One Person at a time at, please visit our website Happyliving.com for more Happy content and find out how Happy you are with our Happy Quiz. Today's Sponsor: *Save $100 on Mr. Happy Living's New eCourse. Promo Code: WYTV7* --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/happy-living/message

Have you ever wished you could have a cup of coffee or a cold beverage with leading soil health and regenerative ag thinkers? Well that’s just what we made possible for you as we recorded our live Q&A session from our AgEmerge event where our speakers, Ray Archuleta, Rick Clark, Loren Poncia, and Tommy Fenster join Monte Bottens and Dawn Bull in an engaging conversation of Scaling up Regenerative Ag. This year's AgEmerge event was a lot different because it was virtual. We missed the buzz of morning conversations at breakfast, the great ocean views and delicious food. But what remained the same was powerful content presented by thought leaders, delivering challenging and motivating ideas, real time practices and progressive research that created that itch to think differently about our farming practices. In this episode, our speakers will share and build on one another’s experiences to help you move the needle on adopting these game changing practices. So grab that favorite beverage and listen in ...

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). During his tenure with the NRCS Ray served in New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina. Ray received his AS degree in Livestock Science from Northern New Mexico College and a BS degree in Agricultural Biology plus 30 hours of graduate work in soil related courses from New Mexico State University. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in Guatemala as a Livestock Specialist. After his retirement from the NRCS in 2017, Ray founded Soil Health Consultants, LLC, and Soil Health Academy, LLC, to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale. Ray also owns and operates a 150-acre farm near Seymour, Missouri that he operates along with his wife and family. Slake test video - https://youtu.be/9_ItEhCrLoQ Understanding Ag - https://understandingag.com/ Soil Health Academy - https://soilhealthacademy.grazecart.com/

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist, and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). During his tenure with the NRCS Ray served in New Mexico, Missouri, Oregon, and North Carolina.Ray received his AS degree in Livestock Science from Northern New Mexico College and a BS degree in Agricultural Biology plus 30 hours of graduate work in soil related courses from New Mexico State University. He served in the Peace Corps for two years in Guatemala as a Livestock Specialist.After his retirement from the NRCS in 2017, Ray founded Understanding Ag, LLC, and Soil Health Academy, to teach Biomimicry strategies and Agroecology principles for improving soil function on a national scale. Ray also owns and operates a 150-acre farm near Seymour, Missouri that he operates along with his wife and family.Learn more about Ray and Regenerative Agriculture:https://soilhealthacademy.grazecart.com/homehttps://understandingag.com/https://kisstheground.com/Connect with Jacob:InstagramFacebookWebsiteSupport AAA:ListenRate / Subscribe / ReviewWatch / Subscribe on YouTubeDonate PayPal / VenmoShop through our Amazon PortalSubscribe on PatreonMusic by Jacob Gossel:DPLVSolar BodyCults & CommunitiesBiker BarBig CandyVirgoLJC

Get 20% off the Nuss Farms Squash Box! Gabe Brown is one of the pioneers of the current soil health movement which focuses on the regeneration of our resources. Gabe, along with his wife Shelly, and son Paul, own and operate Brown's Ranch, a diversified 5,000 acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. He is a partner, along with Ray Archuleta, Shane New, and Dr. Allen Williams, in Understanding Ag LLC. He is also an instructor for Soil Health Academy, which focuses on teaching others the power and importance of healthy functioning ecosystems. In this episode you will hear more about Gabe's journey to discovering regenerative agriculture, how context is key to a successful transition, and why regenerative ag is reaching a tipping point. We we're honored to have Gabe on the show and you won't want to miss it! Show Notes: https://themodernacre.com/149

Finean Makepeace - Kiss the Ground Movie - Y on Earth Community Podcast The post Episode 91 - Finian Makepeace, Co-Producer, Kiss the Ground Movie first appeared on Y on Earth Community.

In this episode of the podcast we are honored to have as our special guest Ray Archuleta, regenerative agriculture/soil health expert, former NRCS soil scientist, and star of the recent film "Kiss The Ground."   Ray talks to us about soil health and regenerative agriculture, his experience working with farmers and ranchers and what he sees on the horizon for production agriculture.

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John interviews Dr. David Johnson, a New Mexico State University research scientist, Adjunct Professor for the College of Agriculture at Chico State, and Faculty Affiliate for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. His research clearly outlines the importance of managing the ratio between fungal and bacterial populations in the soil for plant productivity and carbon sequestration. During his research on the salinity of manure compost, Dr. Johnson and his wife, Hui-Chun Su, developed the BEAM Soil Compost Bioreactor which develops compost with high fungal populations. John and Dr. Johnson discuss carbon cycling and the capacity of biology to sequester carbon and build soil organic matter. The conversation provides a fascinating look at the role of carbon dioxide in agriculture and the environment, how the ratio of fungal to bacterial populations in the soil are key to carbon cycling, and the methodology growers can employ to actively increase soil organic matter while decreasing costs.  Carbon Sequestration (00:02:00)Dr. Johnson explains that high concentrations of carbon dioxide are problematic due to the impact on the climate, increasing the global temperature, rather than the impact of CO2 on plants, which like high concentrations of carbon. Due to those effects, carbon sequestration must be part of sustainable agriculture. John mentions that he has seen organic matter gains in the fields of half a percentage point per year, a very rapid improvement. Dr. Johnson believes that rate is possible, but only with cattle or other grazers in the system. In his experiments based solely on biology, he sees a little over a quarter of a percentage point per year increase in soil organic matter, or 10 tons of carbon per hectare.  The Microbial Community (00:08:00) In order to realize these significant results in building soil organic matter, Dr. Johnson says the microbial community must be balanced. The microbes cycle carbon, improve carbon use efficiency, and create a healthy soil system. Plowing and the use of biocides destroy fungal populations, so those need to be restored in order for soils to function appropriately. John references a slide in one of Dr. Johnson’s presentations comparing fungal to bacterial biomass ratios and the partitioning of the photosynthates. The explanation is based on an experiment with compost made in the BEAM bioreactor, where fungal dominant soils were shown to utilize five times the amount of carbon in the plants than bacterial dominant soils. An average of 11% of carbon captured by a plant goes into the root, shoot, or fruit of the plant in most agricultural systems today, but in a fungal dominant soil, 55% of the captured carbon can be partitioned into the plant rather than into the soil. This can dramatically affect plant productivity and growth. Maximum productivity and carbon capture happen when the fungal to bacterial ratio is one to one, which also causes soil respiration to decrease. There can be increased crop biomass as well as more organic matter in the soil. Dr. Johnson notices that as fungal populations in the soil are restored, farmers are often happier. About 60% of a crop must be left to effectively rebuild the soil even after the soil microbes are in balance, rather than 100% removal.  Balanced Systems (00:27:00) Dr. Johnson explains that having the right microbes is a necessary first step towards building soil health, but is not the complete solution. The compost his team uses as an inoculant has over 2,500 species of bacteria and over 400 species of fungi, archaea, viruses, and more. That is a balanced community of varied microbes. The energy flow and carbon flow is also critical, and the photosynthetic rate must be increased. All of those work together to make a much more efficient, restored system. When the soil biology is in balance, the microbes can make the elemental nutrients available for the plant. That takes out the human guesswork of trying to figure out how much of each nutrient is needed. In a corn trial, the amount of applied nitrogen was decreased to 15%, or about 37 lb. per acre, and two lb. of compost per acre were added. The result was a small decrease in productivity in the first year and $80 more an acre in profits. Although only 37 lb. of nitrogen per acre were applied, 261 units of nitrogen were measured in the soil, compared to the control of 256 lb. of nitrogen. The nitrogen was made available from the soil system rather than as a purchased input. Dr. Johnson believes that healthy soil biology leads to a resilient system. He has seen dramatic changes in water absorption and retention when cover crops are used and soil biology is improved. In compacted soil, it took 10 minutes for an inch of water to infiltrate, and it now takes only seconds for that same inch of water. The first 1% increase in soil carbon is associated with a five times increase in the amount of water the soil can hold. Agriculture currently uses 70 to 80% of the freshwater on the planet, but utilizing these methods can double crop productivity and save water. Importance of Observation (00:43:00)Dr.  Johnson explains that the information he has discussed so far was not the primary goal of his research. He was seeking a way to compost dairy manure, and his research serendipitously led him to this information. He believes that holding on to traditional methodologies is an obstacle, and that the farming of the future must be based on regular observation and be open to change. Farming for 40 years provides 40 different experiences, so paying close attention is the best way to improve. Resources he recommends include Chico’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, John Kempf’s blog, Gabe Brown, Ray Archuleta, Allen Williams, and Will Harris. His final thought for listeners is to look at soils as a living organism, pay close attention to biology, utilize observation, and to transition to a system of regenerative agriculture to rebuild the soils. Dr. Johnson has seen that it’s possible to rebuild soils and that it has the ability to make farming fun again.   Resources: Dr. Johnson’s Bio Chico Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems John Kempf’s Blog Gabe Brown’s Ranch Understanding Ag, Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown, Allen Williams  Will Harris Dr. Johnson’s Research Paper “Development of soil microbial communities for promoting sustainability in agriculture and a global carbon fix” Dr. Johnson’s Seminar at Chico State with referenced slide at 23:00

Welcome back everyone to another episode in this ongoing series on regenerative agriculture. Before we get started today I want to give a quick shout out. Before starting this series I've been in contact with a listener of the show named Nick who has been incredibly generous and helpful in sending me links and information about other practitioners in the field that I should check out. I've learned so much from the ideas he's sent me so I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thanks to Nick for all his help and guidance.  Today's interview comes from one of the people that Nick pointed out to me and who I've been following and listening to ever since. John Kempf is a regenerative agricultural consultant, entrepreneur, speaker, teacher and podcast host who is passionate about the potential of well managed agriculture ecosystems to reverse ecological degradation. He is also the author of  the new book titled “Quality Agriculture” where he highlights important interviews with prominent farmers and researchers on the cutting edge of ecological farming. He states that his personal mission is to have these regenerative models of agriculture management become the mainstream globally by 2040. In this interview, John speaks with me about the incredible growth of regenerative and ecological farming practices in just the last few years and what is behind this trend. He also gives great insights about what he sees as a future where industrial and regenerative agriculture merge to leverage the best parts of both worlds rather than continuing to be at odds. We also cover the real drivers of change in the agricultural sector and how the new generation of young farmers are innovating and reshaping the future of this industry.  I really liked the straight forward and pragmatic approach that John takes to these important questions. Many voices calling for a change in agricultural practices that I've heard in the past do a great job of idealizing a world of healthy environmental interaction but fall short when it comes to supporting evidence and case studies, but John does a great job about focusing on the realities of the world we currently have and how we can look to tangible examples of practices and methods that regenerate our damaged ecosystems while respecting the context of the globalized industry that farming is these days and what farmers themselves need to make their businesses work. I also highly recommend his show, The Regenerative Agriculture Podcast for people who want to hear from scientists, researchers and producers in the field who are making incredible advances for the ecological health of their land. I especially enjoyed a recent interview he did with Ray Archuleta, and his short video series on the five core concepts of regenerative agriculture on the advancing regenerative agriculture youtube channel, both of which I've linked to in the show notes for this episode. Resources: Get the book "Quality Agriculture" https://johnkempf.com/ https://www.advancingecoag.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRApdrU3BA0Pzo6MNWTD2jg Ray Archuleta episode

In this episode of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, John Kempf interviews Ray Archuleta, an outspoken proponent of healthy soil systems and the founder of Understanding Ag and the Soil Health Academy. Ray has spent decades working in conservation agriculture and, in this episode, he describes his journey from seeing nature as a competitive entity, in which all else should be killed in order for the desired crop to survive, to his understanding today that nature thrives on diversity and collaboration.  Ray describes how new science and technology have identified many examples of collaboration in agroecology, like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which share water resources and transport energy and nutrients from organism to organism. Even under stress conditions, these microbes provide water to the plant, an example of nature sharing resources rather than competing. He provides examples of research that illustrate fields with a diversity of species showing greater resilience and yields than monoculture plantings. Ray attended graduate school at New Mexico State University, after which he served as a livestock specialist in the Peace Corps and then as a conservation agronomist with the NRCS. During Ray’s early years working in conservation agriculture, he started asking difficult questions: “Why is sediment the number one water quality problem in the nation? Why does it take so many acres to make a living?” Through these questions and more, reading books such as Allan Savory’s Holistic Management, and coming to Gabe Brown’s ranch in 2007, Ray had revelatory moments, realizing that robust soil ecology is the key to solving many of the challenges plaguing farms today. On Gabe’s farm, Ray observed an ideal example of a thriving ecology. When he realized the crops had received no support from nitrogen or chemical fertility applications, he began to dig deep, looking for research that would explain how this ecosystem was working. What he found was that nature thrives when collaborations between compatible organisms are fostered, illustrated not only in agronomic studies such as Brown University’s paper on Stress Gradient Hypothesis but also in the real-world operations of early-adopting farmers. John and Ray describe the collaboration taking place between plants, microbes, and bacteria in a healthy ecosystem as descriptive of a larger collaboration between farmers who are practicing these methods and sharing their information with other growers. Ray describes his own journey from viewing farming as drudgery to learning how the relationship between the living organisms works and feeling like he was a part of that relationship.  The conversation takes a deep dive into this farmer-soil-plant relationship, providing growers with the history of the soil health movement, the roles that policy, society, and agriculture play in the broader global health context, and the encouraging view on the vast gains that have been made in the field of soil health since the beginning of Ray’s career as a soil conservationist thirty years ago. Resources: Understanding Ag The Soil Health Academy The Stress Gradient Hypothesis Holistic Management by Allan Savory Gabe Brown’s Ranch

In this episode of the No-Till Farmer podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, we share a Q&A interview conducted at the Understanding Ag and the Soil Health Academy, featuring certified professional soil scientist Ray Archuleta; farmer, rancher, author, and speaker Gabe Brown; and first-generation farmer and field consultant, Russell Hedrick.

Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with 30 years experience working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Since retiring, Ray founded Soil Health Consultants to help spread what he has learned about what true regenerative farming practices are. Ray speaks to us about some of those principles.

The future of life on earth may hinge on society embracing, supporting and promoting resilience in our soils. That is why Resilient Agriculture is  becoming one of the most important food and farming topics. Researchers, policy makers, farmers and the public are sobered by the challenge of feeding billions of hungry people in a rapidly changing climate. Ray Archuleta, alias “The Soil Guy” and Tim LaSalle of Chico State Regenerative Agriculture Innitiative joined Rodger Wasson at Eco Farm to talk about regenerative agriculture in a previously released podcast.  Since embracing Regenerative Agriculture  can be a critical step that society or individuals  can take to address climate change by how they farm or eat, we revisit this important discussion with Ray Archuletta and Tim LaSalle. Ray Archuleta is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist with the Soil Science Society of America and has over 30 years of experience as a Soil Conservationist, Water Quality Specialist and Conservation Agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  After retirement from the NRCS, Ray founded Soil Health Consultants, LLC and Soil Health Academy LLC.  He also owns and operates a farm in Missouri with his wife and family. Tim LaSalle is a regenerative agriculture leader from Chico State University and the Chico Regenerative Agriculture Initiative. Tm has served as the first CEO of Rodale Institute, Executive Director of the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, consultant, advisor, and research coordinator for the Howard Buffett Foundation in Africa on soils and food security for smallholder farmers. He is Professor Emeritus of California Polytechnic State University, and former President/CEO, of the California Agriculture Leadership. Regenerative Agriculture is the primary theme of the 2019 Eco Farm. www.ecofarm.org

I am so excited to tell you about this awesome Soil Health Summit that my past guest from episode 253  (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/253-no-till-farming/) put together with over 25 Expert Farmers and Gardeners talking about how to care for our soil! (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) Soil Health Summit (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) We’ve spent the last 3 months interviewing top experts  all over the country! Experts talking about Seeds adapted to area microbes –  within both our soil and our bodies edile landscapes A lot of people coming together and sharing their experience not just for soil health but a lot of things that they have done around the country that all ties back to the soil! It all starts with the soil! They talk about how they maintained and restore soil health and keep their projects going! Awesome! Well let’s give listeners some specifics! Because quite a few of the people that are going to be there have been guests on the show like (https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/185-hidden-half-of-nature/) Productive agriculture Probably one of the highlights, I’m connected to productive agriculture 4 guys traveling the U.S. on a pretty massive scale! These guys have been 20-30 years of soil health on their farming and ranching operations. But in addition to that they do gardening on a massive scale! (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) A True No Till Pioneer (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) 14 acres market gardening at one time! That’s massive. Him and his wife did that, he talks about how they put that all together.   Ray Archuleta  (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/)  a soil extension person. (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/)  has a ranch in South Georgia integrating livestock in with that which will help with people who are Homesteading as well who can take that and use that. he talks about the systems he does. There’s two-three calls with homesteaders, including one that talks about a couple that came out 30 years ago out from Chicago! It was pretty rough when starting out, 30 years of mistakes, they share those mistakes so people can avoid them in case people can do it or are dreaming about it.   Dreaming about it favorites (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) is actually at 7200 feet, sounds like it was a steep rocky mountainside. He’s been up there for 30 years he used to market garden as well. He moved to Colorado moved steep rocky mountains and built this climate geenhouse thing high tunnels put together a climate battery system Kalispell in a school up there. Huh, I wonder if they did it at Olney Bisell, I’ll have to look into that? He talks about that in his call as well, he actually grows Bananas at 7200 feet and lots of other trees and plants he grows all year round! It gets pretty cold there. It’s pretty amazing what he does! We have some things on  seeds too! (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) familiar with Bill as well. Both these people work in this heritage seed thing, bringing seeds to people!   (http://soilhealthsummit.tabletopfarmer.com/) more Bill McDorman talks about adapting seeds to area is so crucial! Looking for that seed! You might be looking for as well. With your short growing season and you shared some things with me about growing in your shaded areas. It might not seem so intuitive but it’s all about the seed! I certainly get that. This is adapting seed just by growing it. Bill told me I think he did a workshop somewhere around Pheonix before our call, and he sold loads and loads of seed at Support this podcast

Ray Archuleta makes a passionate pitch for treating soil like a living, breathing part of the ecosystem. Source

In our ninth episode of the Strip-Till Farmer podcast brought to you by Blu-Jet, we welcome Ray Archuleta for part 1 of a 2-part discussion on how strip-tillers can increase soil health and reduce chemical dependencies by embracing the concept that the plant and the soil are one.

NRCS soil health evangelist Ray Archuleta shares his passion for "farming in nature's image." Source