California Ag Network

Tag: Soil Health Academy

  • Soil Health Academy Selects New Board Member, Executive Director

    The Soil Health Academy has announced that Kent Donica has been selected as secretary/treasurer of the non-profit regenerative agriculture education organization. SHA also announced that Doug Voss has been selected as SHA’s first executive director.

    Donica is a fourth-generation rancher from southern Oklahoma and a consultant for the regenerative agriculture consulting firm Understanding Ag, LLC.

    “Discovering and experimenting with soil health-focused regenerative ranching principles and practices made my ranching operation more profitable and changed my outlook and my family’s future for the better,” Donica said. “As an SHA board member, my goal is to help guide this amazing organization so others can also discover and profit from these transformational soil health and adaptive grazing principles.”

    Voss is a third-generation “farmer-turned-AMP-grazer” at his family operation near Paynesville, Minnesota, where he and his wife Beth are raising their family of five boys. A previous SHA board member, he also serves as a consultant with Understanding Ag.

    In his new role as executive director, Voss will oversee the implementation and evaluation of the Soil Health Academy’s strategic plan and will seek funding to enable the organization to achieve its short- and long-term strategic goals and objectives.

    “I’m excited to build upon the past successes of the organization and to further expand the reach and impact of SHA by developing relationships with donors, sponsors, and grant-making organizations,” Voss said. “All of our efforts are focused on helping farmers, ranchers and consumers more fully realize the power of regenerating the health of our soil, farms, food and futures.”

    In its eighth year of operation, SHA provides education through its on-farm schools and workshops across North America to help agricultural producers successfully and profitably apply lower-input, regenerative agriculture principles and practices in their respective operations.

    SHA president Kim Barmann said SHA’s latest personnel selections will help take the organization to the “next level” in delivering world-class soil health education to wider audiences.

    “I’ve served on the board of SHA since its inception eight years ago, and I’ve never been more excited about the organization’s future,” Barmann said. “I’m confident Doug’s and Kent’s leadership skills, regenerative expertise and organizational knowhow will help SHA more effectively deliver education that empowers regeneration—well into the future.”

  • General Mills’ Grant to Soil Health Academy Provides Scholarships for Community Leaders

    The non-profit Soil Health Academy announced the availability of educational scholarships for leaders in indigenous and underserved communities, as well as agriculture education professionals to attend one of SHA’s three-day, on-farm soil health and regenerative agriculture schools. In addition, the grant will provide ag educators with free access to the regenerative agriculture online course, Regen Ag 101.

    The scholarship and online training support is made possible thanks to a grant from global food company General Mills.

    Farmers and educators can apply for scholarships to attend any of the remaining scheduled SHA regenerative farming schools in 2023, including…

    • “Regenerating Profits Through Adaptive Grazing” May 30-June 1 in Cimarron, NM;
    • “Transforming Your Dairy,” June 20-22 in Cold Spring, MN;
    • “Regenerate Canada,” July 4-6, Tuffnell, SK;
    • “Regenerative Farming and Ranching,” July 18-20 in Redwood Falls, MN;
    • “Adaptive Grazing,” July 25-27 in Hope, MI;
    • “Implementing Regenerative Principles in Corn/Soybean Rotations,” August 1-3 in Cambridge, IL;
    • “Regenerating Profits Through Adaptive Grazing,” Sept. 19-21, Holton, KS; and
    • “Regenerative Dairying,” Oct. 3-5, Hoosick Falls, NY.

    “The grant from General Mills will provide scholarship support to educators and underserved and indigenous community leaders to learn the principles and practices of soil health-improving regenerative agriculture from the world’s most experienced farmer/rancher-instructors,” SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz said. “We know from our more than five years’ experience in delivering regenerative agriculture training that lives, farms, ranches and communities are transformed through the SHA school learning process.”

    In addition, Breitkreutz said SHA provides on-going follow-up support and education, as well as access to a network of like-minded regenerative farmers, ranchers and educators to school attendees.

    “Regenerative agriculture is a journey based on constant learning, sharing and improving,” she said. “Having other farmers and ranchers to stay in touch with after the SHA school is a valuable part of the experience and facilitates regenerative agriculture success—and more often than not, it also results in new and lasting friendships.”

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

  • Case Studies Provide Operational, Profitability Insights into Regenerative Ag

    The non-profit Soil Health Academy has published detailed case studies examining the operational, production and profitability details of five regenerative farming and ranching operations across the country, SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz announced today.

    According to Breitkreutz, the project is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and is designed to provide strategic and tactical insights to help guide farming and ranching enterprises as they transition from high-input, chemically dependent conventional agriculture to lower-input, more profitable regenerative operations.

    “Each farm and ranch featured in this series represents a unique business enterprise with unique production and operational challenges and opportunities,” Breitkreutz said. “But the common thread for each is their use of soil health-focused regenerative agricultural principles and practices to create profitable businesses, many of which are providing local employment and generational succession opportunities that otherwise would not exist.”

    While peer-reviewed studies provide useful data relative to the profitability of regenerative ag systems in aggregate, Breitkreutz said the academic research process is protracted and frequently yields limited actionable information for agricultural producers and their businesses.

    “Because farmers and ranchers face soaring input costs and shrinking profit margins today, they need practical business and operational information today,” she said. “SHA’s case studies provide useful information in detail, including what worked, what didn’t work and the lessons learned along the way by the farmers and ranchers featured in each case study. We’re very grateful to these farm families for sharing their insights and experiences so other regenerative farmers and ranchers can benefit from their expertise.”

    The first five case studies are available at www.SoilHealthAcademy.org/case-studies/ . An additional five case studies will be added to the website in the coming weeks.

  • Regen Ag 101’s’ Virtual Learning Course Now Free to FFA Advisors, Vo-Ag Instructors

    Vocational agriculture instructors and FFA advisors for grades 7-12 will be provided free access to the regenerative agriculture online course, Regen Ag 101, the non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA).

    Thanks to a grant from global food company General Mills, SHA is providing the course on a first-come, first-serve basis.

    “Most of SHA’s educational efforts in the past have been focused on helping farmers transition from conventional to soil health-improving regenerative practices,” SHA President Dawn Breitkreutz said. “By providing vo-ag instructors and FFA advisors with Regen Ag 101’s soil health educational resources, we hope to have an early and positive regenerative influence on the next generation of farmers.”

    An online, self-paced, interactive media experience, Regen Ag 101 contains video lectures, case studies and supporting research gleaned from the best of Soil Health Academy live workshops across the U.S.

    “The online course provides a comprehensive look at how regenerative agricultural principles and practices affect ecosystem function, the nutrient density of food and other wide-ranging benefits,” said Shane New, a managing partner with the Soil Health Academy’s education partner Understanding Ag, LLC. New is also a co-creator of the Regen Ag 101 course.

    “As a former FFA member, I appreciate the role FFA advisors and vo-ag instructors play in establishing an educational foundation for our future farmers,” New said. “This grant provides a tremendous opportunity for these middle school and high school ag educators to gain deeper insights into soil health-focused regenerative principles and practices.”

    In addition, General Mills is providing scholarship funding for middle and high school ag educators to attend, tuition free, one of SHA’s three-day, on-farm schools in 2022—also offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

    “The Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag remain key partners in our efforts to educate and support farmers as they adopt regenerative agricultural principles,” said Mary Jane Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer, General Mills. “In addition to our ongoing, on-farm regenerative ag work with the Soil Health Academy and Understanding Ag, these education grants represent an opportunity to inform and inspire ag educators and students about the hope in healthy soil—and to establish an educational foundation to grow the next generation of successful regenerative farmers and ranchers.”

    Ag educators and advisors interested in registering for the free on-line course or in attending a three-day SHA school tuition free, can visit SoilHealthAcademy.org.

  • 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.