California Ag Network

Tag: SHA

  • Non-profit Soil Health Academy Announces New President, Board Members

    The non-profit Soil Health Academy recently announced that Kim Barmann has been appointed president of the regenerative agriculture education organization. Barmann, who previously served as vice president, is a managing partner at CS Ranch in Colfax County, New Mexico. She replaces Dawn Breitkreutz who recently stepped down as president of SHA after serving for two years in that position.

    In its seventh year of operation, SHA provides education and practical, on-farm schools and workshops throughout the country to help farmers and ranchers successfully and profitably apply lower-input, regenerative agriculture principles and practices in their respective operations.

    Barmann’s family ranch has become a popular and effective SHA “outdoor classroom” for teaching ranchers how to implement profit-improving, drought-resilient regenerative ranching principles and practices. The ranch has employed holistic management principles since the mid-1980s and has made regenerating the health and function of the ranch’s soils the cornerstone of improving production and profitability.

    In addition to announcing Barmann’s selection, SHA also announced that Eric Fuchs and Doug Voss have been appointed to its board of directors filling the positions of vice president and secretary/treasurer, respectively.

    Fuchs owns and operates a diversified livestock operation in Southeast Missouri where he raises hair sheep and contract grazes all classes of cattle, using holistic planned grazing and implementing a managed grazing system for more than 20 years. A former wastewater industry water protection technician who worked with communities to help protect their drinking water resources, Fuchs is a consultant with Understanding Ag, a regenerative agriculture consulting company.

    Voss is a third-generation “farmer-turned-AMP-grazer” at his family’s operation near Paynesville, Minnesota, where he and his wife Beth are raising their family of five boys. The farming operation features custom grazing on owned land and public land to achieve ecological goals. Voss also serves as a consultant with Understanding Ag.

    “I’m delighted to lead SHA on its critical mission to help our fellow farmers and ranchers successfully and profitably transition from conventional to adaptive grazing and less chemical-dependent regenerative agricultural principles and practices,” Barmann said. “With experienced regenerative farming practitioners like Doug and Eric on the board with me, I am excited about taking our organization to the next level, and I look forward to serving SHA and its diverse clientele well into the future.”

  • SHA Scholarship Fund Honors Regenerative Ag Pioneer, Co-Founder David Brandt

    Regenerative farming pioneer David Brandt, who passed away recently from complications resulting from an automobile accident, will be honored with his name’s addition to the Kendra Brandt scholarship fund, the Soil Health Academy.

    In 2020, shortly after the death of David’s wife, Kendra, SHA established a fund in her name that provides SHA school scholarships to women and beginning farmers who are committed to growing the regenerative agriculture movement by implementing regenerative principles in their own operations or through regenerative agriculture education, outreach or policy advocacy.

    In a series of interviews for the Soil Health Academy in 2022, David recalled how his wife of 55 years, helped him focus and kept him from “jumping off the deep end” through his many cover cropping experiments and challenges.

    “As regenerative farming partners in life, we thought it fitting that David and Kendra be partners in the continuation of that legacy by having both of their names associated with this important and empowering scholarship fund,” SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz said.

    The scholarships will provide partial tuition funding for recipients to attend a three-day SHA regenerative ag school. SHA on-farm schools feature instruction by Understanding Ag, LLC’s world-renowned farmer-instructors, and other technical consultants, all of whom are widely considered to be among the most preeminent pioneers, innovators and advocates in today’s soil health and regenerative agricultural movement.

    Breitkreutz said that with today’s announcement, the non-profit organization hopes to honor, in perpetuity, the regenerative pioneering and teaching legacy of the couple who focused much of their efforts in life providing support and encouragement to women and beginning farmers in their regenerative journeys.

    “All of us are still mourning David’s sudden and unexpected passing, but we’re heartened to know that David’s and Kendra’s legacy of teaching, giving and caring will continue to positively impact the lives of the next generation of soil health-improving regenerative farmers and ranchers through this scholarship fund,” Breitkreutz said.

    To learn more about the David and Kendra Scholarship Fund, to contribute or to apply for a scholarship, visit https://soilhealthacademy.org/scholarships/ .

  • Soil Health Academy Marks Five-Year Anniversary, Looks to Expand Future Efforts

    It started with a vision to share the hope in healthy soil. On August 22, 2017, the Soil Health Academy (SHA) kicked off its first, three-day, regenerative farming school at soil health pioneer Gabe Brown’s ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota.

    Today, the non-profit organization is celebrating its fifth year of operation while also announcing plans to expand its efforts to help farmers and ranchers successfully and profitably apply nature’s time-proven, regenerative agriculture principles and practices in their respective operations.

    Founded by Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown, David Brandt and Allen Williams, SHA’s world-renowned instructors have conducted scores of three-day schools and specialty workshops across the country, teaching hundreds of farmers, ranchers and educators from around the globe the transformative power of soil health-improving regenerative agriculture.

    “Since its first school five years ago, SHA has been at the forefront of providing practical, on-farm education and support to producers so they can grow healthier soil, profits, food and futures,” said SHA President Dawn Brietkreutz. A U.S. Air Force veteran and regenerative farmer, Brietkreutz and her husband Grant operate Stoney Creek Farm near Redwood Falls, Minnesota, which has been the host site for numerous SHA schools and workshops throughout the past five years. She is also an original member of SHA’s board of directors.

    “Transitioning from chemical- and tillage-dependent conventional farming requires farmers and ranchers to possess a significantly higher level of understanding of soil health-improving regenerative farming principles,” Breitkreutz said. “Knowledge, observation, understanding and problem-solving skills are key to the successful application of regenerative agricultural systems—and SHA’s schools have a proven track record of helping producers achieve those objectives.”

    In its most recent poll, more than two-thirds of SHA graduates reported experiencing both positive soil resource and economic improvements while transitioning from conventional to regenerative agricultural practices. More than a third of its graduates reported reducing synthetic fertilizer and/or pesticide use by 30 percent or more.

    Brietkreutz said today’s “five-year regeneration celebration” also represents an important opportunity to scale up the transformative power of farming in nature’s image.

    “During the past five years, producer interest in regenerative agriculture has grown considerably, as has the community of generous individuals, corporations and NGOs who continue to partner with SHA to expand and accelerate our education and farmer-support operations,” Brietkreutz said. “In addition to developing new learning opportunities and expanding SHA school and scholarship programs, we’re also looking to reach consumers, educators and policy makers through additional outreach and educational platforms in the near- and mid-term,” she said. “So, in addition to helping ensure on-farm regenerative success, we want to help drive consumer awareness, interest and demand for regeneratively grown products, in the months and years ahead.”

    Even as the organization marks this historic milestone, co-founder Gabe Brown will be busy hosting another three-day, regenerative farming and ranching school during the week of SHA’s fifth anniversary. According to Brown, these practical, on-farm schools remain the most effective education delivery method to ensure regenerative producer success.

    “From the outset, we recognized that producer success was dependent on individuals understanding the six principles of soil health, the three rules of adaptive grazing and the four ecosystem processes,” Brown said. “Understanding how to apply that knowledge within the context of producers’ operations remains the foundation of SHA’s teaching and learning model.”

    According to Brown, the future of regenerative agriculture is bright, thanks to all those who represent and support the regenerative farming movement.

    “I’m proud of the incredible success of SHA and its graduates over the past five years,” Brown said. “The tireless dedication of SHA’s instructors, staff and board of directors has no doubt played a key role in that success. With continued support from donors and through the on-going hard work of our regenerative farming and ranching community, I know the best years of SHA lie ahead. And that’s great news for the future of our family farms, our food security, our health and our planet.”

  • Scholarships Offer ‘Pathway to Freedom’ from Record-Breaking Fertilizer Costs

    Farmers and ranchers are facing record-breaking synthetic fertilizer costs heading into the 2022 growing season, compounding already challenging economic conditions for producers throughout the country.

    In response, the non-profit Soil Health Academy today announced it is expanding the organization’s scholarship program so more farmers can attend its on-farm schools and learn how to significantly reduce fertilizer use by implementing low-input, regenerative agricultural principles.

    “Thanks to generous donations from a number of our donors, we’re further expanding our scholarship program so more farmers and ranchers—many of whom were already struggling economically— can benefit from SHA’s regenerative agriculture schools at this critical time,” SHA president Dawn Breitkreutz, said. “We know from SHA’s surveys and from the letters we receive from our graduates that the principles and practices we teach in our on-farm schools reduce reliance on synthetic inputs, especially synthetic fertilizers. Reducing these costly inputs translates into improved farm profitability.”

    North Dakota farmer Brandon Bock is one of those graduates.

    “Cutting back on inputs, in particular, has put us in a better financial place than if we hadn’t attended a Soil Health Academy and gone down the regenerative path,” Bock said. “In the old model, we were constantly working harder and harder, spraying more and getting the same or less net revenue. Now if the price of fertilizer or herbicide goes up, I say, ‘Who cares? We don’t need as much of it. We can adapt to less.’”

    Farmers can apply for scholarships to attend any of the eight scheduled SHA regenerative farming schools in 2022, including “Regenerative Farming and Ranching” in Chico, California, March 15-17, and “Cropping Success Through Regen Ag,” in Kenansville, North Carolina, March 29-31.

    Like the on-farm school Bock attended, SHA schools feature instruction from a cadre of world-renowned experts who provide a mix of demonstrations, expert presentations and hands-on experience—all of which are geared to help producers quickly and practically restore soil health, reduce synthetic inputs, improve nutrient cycling and increase net per-acre profits.

    “While SHA places an emphasis on providing scholarships to assist historically underserved groups, women, military veterans and new and beginning farmers, we’re stepping up our efforts to help any farmer—especially those facing financial hardships,” Breitkreutz said. “As a farmer myself, I can attest to the transformative power SHA schools offer, and I encourage more producers to take advantage of these expanded scholarship opportunities.”

    For more information about SHA’s upcoming schools and to apply for a school scholarship, visit www.SoilHealthAcademy.org.

  • Grant to Provide On-Farm School Scholarships, Develop Economic Case Studies

    The non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA) today announced it has received a $200,000 grant from financial services company Wells Fargo to further advance the adoption of soil health-focused regenerative agricultural principles and practices throughout the nation.

    The grant will fund 100 scholarships for women, veteran, new and beginning, and historically under-represented farmers and ranchers to attend SHA’s upcoming, on-farm regenerative agriculture schools.

    Featuring instruction from a cadre of world-renowned regenerative farming and ranching experts, these three-day events feature foundational and practical regenerative agriculture education, including access to the on-line Regen Ag 101 course and post-school follow up and support, from the instructor cadre.

    In addition, a portion of the grant funding will be used to collect farm financial, production and soil health data that will be used to develop relevant case studies examining the correlation between soil health and farm financial health.

    “We’re increasingly seeing anecdotal evidence linking soil health, farm resiliency and improved profitability,” said SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz. “Along with providing in-person education, this grant will allow SHA to collect, analyze and share on-farm data via case studies that will further quantify the economic resiliency generated through the application of regenerative agricultural principles and practices. We’re excited and grateful to partner with Wells Fargo in this important endeavor.”

    According to Jennivine Kwan, strategist with Wells Fargo’s Institute for Sustainable Finance, the grant to SHA represents an opportunity for Wells Fargo to help improve the financial health and quality of life of farmers and their communities, empower diverse entrepreneurs and small business, and promote greater adoption of regenerative farming practices that can also bring about significant positive environmental outcomes.

    “We are proud to support the Soil Health Academy in their efforts to bring the environmental, social and economic promise of regenerative agriculture practices to women, veteran, new and beginning, and historically under-represented farmers and ranchers across the country,” Kwan said. “This exciting initiative aligns well with Wells Fargo’s commitment to advance community resiliency and adaptation efforts, empower diverse entrepreneurs and small businesses, and accelerate a just transition to a low-carbon future.”

  • New platform connects consumers, food processors with regeneratively grown products

    The non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA) announced today that it has launched a web-based platform to connect its regenerative farming and ranching graduates with a growing base of consumers, food processors and retailers interested in purchasing regeneratively grown products.

    “The ‘Shop Regen Foods’ platform will allow consumers and others to search by location, by pasture-raised products available and by delivery and shipping options,’” said SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz. “And because an increasing number of producers are entering the regeneratively grown space, shoppers will know that the farmers and ranchers featured on our platform are producers who have attended SHA’s three-day, on-farm schools—producers who are committed to continuous soil health improvement through their regenerative ag journey.”

    Breitkreutz said that while SHA does not verify the practices used on the featured farms and ranches, the platform provides links to the websites of the participating producers so consumers can research on their own to learn what soil health principles and practices are being utilized in the production of the food they’re interested in purchasing.

    “This platform provides a way to connect consumers with regeneratively grown products and it allows consumers to learn more about the farm families growing their food,” she said. “I believe the more consumers learn about the soil health principles and practices SHA graduates are using, the more they’ll value the products they’re purchasing and appreciate the added connection with the farm families producing those products.”

    Breitkreutz said consumer interest in purchasing food grown in ways that protect the environment and enable ecosystem diversity has been steadily growing, boosted by the popularity of the Netflix documentary, “Kiss the Ground,” released earlier this year. The movie, narrated by Woody Harrelson, highlighted the many benefits of soil health-focused regenerative agriculture, including improved nutrition.

    SHA’s new “Shop Regen Foods” platform provides a way to connect consumers with regeneratively grown products and it allows consumers to learn more about the farm families growing their food.

    “We know from experience that foods grown using soil health principles are more flavorful, which is something we all value,” she said. “And increasingly, research is pointing to the health benefits of consuming pasture-raised, nutrient-dense protein products.”

    For SHA’s graduates, Breitkreutz said the platform provides another marketing venue to help regenerative family farms improve their profitability.

    “Many of our graduates are already doing a great job of marketing their regeneratively grown products to local markets,” she said. “’Shop Regen Foods’ is another ‘store front’ for our graduates to expand their direct-to-consumer sales and to potentially connect with food processors and retailers interested in sourcing regeneratively grown products.”

  • Regenerative Farming School Focuses on ‘Keeping Dollars at Home, in Local Communities’

    Dan DeSutter is a farmer and a numbers guy. With an advanced degree in finance and decades of agricultural production experience, he understands the value of soil health-focused regenerative agriculture and what impact it has on his Attica, Indiana farm’s bottom line.

    He knows a lot because he’s seen a lot, including what he describes as “The good, the bad and the ugly of regenerative organic farming.”

    “Dan’s leadership, experience and success in the soil health movement, coupled with his organic regen-erative and grass-fed production operation, combine to make his farm the perfect outdoor classroom for the Soil Health Academy’s (SHA) upcoming school,” said SHA instructor David Kleinschmidt.

    In addition to Kleinschmidt, the three-day SHA school, Aug. 3-5, will feature instruction by Ray Archuleta, Doug Peterson and other technical consultants, all of whom are widely considered to be among the most preeminent pioneers, innovators and advocates in today’s soil health and regenerative agricultural movement.

    For his part, DeSutter will share how he has been able to practically apply soil health-improving regenerative principles in his farming operation—techniques that have generated numerous benefits.

    “If we invest in regenerating our soil, we can keep a lot of input dollars at home and in our local community,” DeSutter said. “The ultimate objective of regenerative farming is to have soils that can work for us instead of relying on us to provide for plant needs. Reducing those inputs translates into improved net profitability and positions regenerative growers to better connect with consumers seeking healthy, nutrient-dense food.”

    According to Kleinschmidt, the Attica SHA school will offer a mix of demonstrations, expert presentations and hands-on experience—all of which are geared to help producers quickly and practically improve soil function and increase net per-acre profits.

    “Students will learn regenerative farming techniques for weed and pest control, nutrient management, organic, no-till and how to design cover crop mixes to address resource concerns,” Kleinschmidt said. “From small-scale to large-scale producers, everyone who attends this school will see how to put regenerative agriculture principles to work for healthier soil, food and profits.”

    For more information about the school, visit www.soilhealthacademy.org.

  • Poll Reveals Regenerative Farming Practices Yield Benefits Early, Increase with Time

    A recent poll of the Soil Health Academy’s (SHA) 2019 and 2020 school graduates indicates a majority are realizing resource and profitability improvements as they transition from chemically dependent conventional farming practices to soil health-improving regenerative practices.

    The poll of more than 130 graduates reveals those improvements are even more pronounced among producers who have been implementing regenerative practices for more than a year.

    For example, 56 percent of respondents who attended an SHA on-farm school in 2020 reported a decrease in the use of synthetic fertilizers, while more than three-quarters (76 percent) of graduates attending an SHA school in 2019 reported a decrease in use. Nearly a third of all SHA graduates indicated their synthetic fertilizer use decreased by more than 30 percent.

    Similarly, 53 percent of 2020 graduates reported a decrease in the use of pesticides and herbicides, while 70 percent of 2019 graduates reported a decrease. A quarter (25 percent) of all graduates indicated their synthetic fertilizer use decreased by more than 30 percent.

    Two thirds (66 percent) of 2020 graduates realized improvements in their soils’ water infiltration while 76 percent of 2019 graduates reported improvements. For graduates grazing livestock, 63 percent of 2020 graduates reported biomass increases, while 90 percent of 2019 graduates reported increases.

    Input decreases, coupled with increases in cropping diversity, enterprise stacking, and direct-to-consumer marketing activities translated into increased per-acre net profits for 37 percent of 2020 graduates, while 60 percent of 2019 graduates reported increased profits. Of all SHA graduates, 15 percent indicated their net-acre profits had increased by more than 10 percent.

    “The survey confirms that many producers experience financial and resource improvements early in their respective regenerative farming and ranching journeys, but those benefits increase the longer producers apply soil health-improving principles in their operations,” Brandt said. “The survey also reaffirms that education, understanding and technical support activities—like those provided by SHA—are key in improving positive regenerative farming outcomes.”

    For more details on the poll, visit www.soilhealthacademy.org .

    Sixty percent of SHA graduates implementing regenerative ag practices for more than a year reported higher per-acre net profits.