Panel Discussion with Dr. Elaine Ingham, John Kempf, Nicole Masters and Colin Andrews
In this panel discussion, John Kempf, Nicole Masters, Elaine Ingham, and Colin Andrews share their thoughts on the future of Regenerative Ag. They answer audience questions regarding bringing these approaches to urban environments and school grounds.
Speakers
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Colin AndrewsChair of TiyeniColin was brought up in many countries and had lived in 18 different homes before he left home. Starting his career in surveying in Iceland, he trained in Estate Management and became a Chartered Surveyor and later a member of the Australian Institute of Valuers. In Australia he worked on a number of farms and on return to the UK became a partner in an established firm of Chartered Surveyors which specialized in Estate and Farm management.
His interests focus on biodiversity with particular interests in insects, wildflowers, and trees and their effect on farming. He is married with 4 sons and lives on a smallholding on the edge of the ancient and biodiverse New Forest in Hampshire UK. He joined Tiyeni in 2013 and became Chair of the Board in 2017.
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Dr. Adrienne GodschalxSoil Food Web School Mentor and ResearcherDr. Adrienne Godschalx studied chemical ecology at Portland State University and conducted her PhD research on nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and how a plant’s belowground symbiosis can affect leaf chemistry, and as a result, the plant’s relationship with insects, both herbivore pests and beneficial predators. She pursued her research further as a postdoc at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where she investigated the volatile organic compounds plants emit as signals to microbes and insects. When Adrienne started working as a Mentor for the Soil Food Web School, she was bewildered by the potency of the soil food web in plant health and plant-insect interactions: that leaving the harmful -icides aside and restoring the soil food web can nourish nutrient-rich, naturally-defended plants. Adrienne is thrilled to have a tangible way to engage in symbiosis with the beautiful wild world.
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Dr. Elaine InghamFounder, Soil Food Web SchoolDr. Ingham has advanced our knowledge about the soil food web for over 4 decades. Widely recognized as the world’s foremost soil biologist, she’s passionate about empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life.
Dr. Elaine’s™ Soil Food Web Approach has been used to successfully restore the ecological functions of soils on six continents. The courses offered by Dr. Elaine’s™ Soil Food Web School have been designed for people with no relevant experience – making them accessible to individuals who wish to retrain and to begin a meaningful and impactful career in an area that will help to secure the survival of humans and other species.
B.A., Biology and Chemistry, St. Olaf College
M.S., Microbiology, Texas A&M University
Ph.D., Microbiology, Colorado State University -
John KempfAuthor, Podcast Host and Agriculture Entrepreneur Founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture & KindHarvestJohn Kempf is an entrepreneur, speaker, podcast host, and teacher. He is passionate about the potential of well-managed agriculture ecosystems to reverse ecological degradation.
John believes regenerative agriculture management systems can:
– Regenerate producer profitability and create economic incentives for producers.
– Produce crops that are inherently resistant to possible infections by insects, bacteria, fungi, nematodes and viruses, eliminating the need for pesticides.
– Produce food that can regenerate public health, with an elevated content of immune compounds that transfer plant immunity to livestock and people, providing food as medicine.
– Rapidly sequester carbon, build soil organic matter much faster than commonly expected, restore hydrological cycles, cool the climate, and reduce the water requirements of a crop.All of these benefits and more can be achieved simply by managing soils and crops differently, in a manner that enhances rather than suppresses biological function.
It is John’s mission to have these regenerative models of agriculture management become the mainstream globally by 2040. In addition to being a grower, John is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, Crop Health Labs, Ozadia, and the Regenerative Agriculture Academy. He hosts the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, where he interviews top growers and scientists about the principles and practice of implementing regenerative agriculture on a large scale.
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Nicole MastersIndependent Agroecologist, Pattern Thinker, Author and EducatorNicole Masters is an independent agroecologist, pattern thinker, author and educator. For nearly 2 decades, Nicole has been recognized as a knowledgeable and dynamic speaker on the topic of soil health. Her experience has spanned diverse sectors from community gardens and horticulture, to vermiculture, compost tea production and diverse multi-species livestock systems. Her company, Integrity Soils, delivers coaching and educational programs to producers and organisations spanning over 24 million acres. In 2021, Integrity Soils shifted away from in-person consultancy, to focus on training the next generation of coaches. Her book titled For the Love of Soil: Strategies to Regenerate our Food Production Systems showcases examples of the tools and principles producers are using to regenerate their soils. It describes a triage procedure of actions, so that you too can regenerate your land. When the roads are good, you’ll find her traveling in her Ford 350, horse trailer in tow, working alongside producers to build soil and sink her carbon emissions.