Indigo Carbon is a program for growers to get paid for improving their soil health. The program compensates growers for the verified tons of CO2 stored in their soil or abated through the adoption of regenerative farming practices. In Indigo Carbon’s first 100 days, farmers submitted 10 million acres, indicating an industry groundswell towards regenerative growing practices.
How can producers capture extra premiums for their regenerative practices? What role does field data play in the future of regenerative markets? FBN has begun working directly with hundreds of producers and major food companies to bring specific premiums for regenerative ag. Producers interested in the future of regenerative premiums should attend this talk, hosted by FBN Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Charles Baron. FBN will provide an overview of specific programs and how producers can enroll.
Soil is the most critical ingredient when it comes to increasing yield and producing healthy crops. But how much do we know about our soil? By sequencing soil DNA and applying machine learning, we can have a deeper understanding of the billions of microbes that inhabit soil. This knowledge helps growers to better understand the management practices that will be most impactful. Join this breakout session to learn how soil intelligence can help you better manage disease risk and fertility on your fields.
A look at the challenges ahead for agriculture and conservation organizations as the soil health movement goes forward. This talk compares rebuilding our degraded soils to Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in Old Testament times and draws three important parallels that are just as applicable today as they were 2,500 years ago.
Justin and his family started implementing no-till and good crop rotation over 20 years ago on their central Kansas farm. Since that time, Justin has challenged himself and the family to produce better crops more efficiently. They have made incremental improvements to their soils and farm by adding more crops, cover crops, precision agriculture tools and recently integrating livestock. Justin works with Grounded Growth to create pathways for farmers between the food industry and food production companies.
Since 2013 Coffee County, TN USDA-NRCS District Conservationist Adam Daugherty has been working on transitioning long-term no till producers into dynamic managers of higher functioning ecological production systems. Along this journey many operations have made exponential strides to resource rejuvenation, while others may have not achieved the same levels of success. Adam will share through his experience that the underlying denominator was not the “how” but rather the “why’s” and how strategic ordering of these principles can lead towards or derail successes.
As stewards of the land, how can farmers protect their soil, air, water, creatures and communities and make a living? In this conversation we will explore opportunities, challenges, and creative solutions for nourishing farms, farmers and communities.
Soil microbes play key roles in preventing soil erosion, conserving water and breaking down environmental pollutants. They also capture and store atmospheric carbon — which might help fight climate change. If this were all soil microbes did, they would clearly be central to our well-being and survival on this planet. But emerging research suggests that the soil microbiome might have an even more direct effect on our health by communicating directly with our own cells and by boosting the nutrient content of our food.
The world will never run out of rule followers. What happens when we flex the rules? Several years of trial and error with polycropping have opened up many profitable possibilities breaking away from the monocrop mentality. The inputs we have to buy are directly affected by how we manage our free finite resources sunlight and water. Jason will share some of the results from innovative cropping he is trying on his farm.
Building off Biotic Farming Fundamentals, Brendon Rockey will bridge the gap between theory and practice. He will show how he successfully integrates biological diversity into his 500-acre, irrigated farming operation, confirming how cover crop rotations, livestock grazing, companion plants and insect populations come together to make a biotic farming system work. He will touch on how biotic farming affects his economics in regards to inputs and yields as well as the local and national food and farm system.
