263. Advancing Eco Agriculture | Where Plant Health Builds Soil Health | CEO John Kempf

https://www.advancingecoag.com/aboutSo excited because my guest today has this amazing green future grower story I KNOW listeners are going to absolutely love! So if you’re driving don’t worry I’ll make awesome SHOWNOTES because I know we are going to have a million golden seeds dropped with this amazing interview. CEO of Advancing Ego Agriculture, John Kempf is on a mission to “produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and consistently higher yields!”What I love about his story is how he started out and I can’t wait for you to hear it too! His passion for growing healthy soil and healthy plants for profit is contagious! Tell us a little about yourself.I love what I do I have fun!I grew up in a family vegetable farm in snow-belt south of Lake ErieSmall scale market ~ fruits and veggies for wholesale marketsearly 2000s we had 3 consecutive yearsintense diseasewe lost majority of crops to a variety of disease and insectsIn the 3rd year in 2004, we observed thatplants which were grown on healthy soilbetter biologywere very disease and insect resistantcantaloupe resistant to powdery mildew that was side by sidesoil with he previous pesticide exposure for the prior decade of growing vegetables we lost the majority of the crop to powdery mildew, 80% of leavesThe new soil didn’t have pesticide exposure didn't have any powdery mildew. Not 5-10% you couldn't find any! ZERO! There was a knifelike effect right down the field.really a major turning pointwhat was the difference between those two plants resistant to powdery mildew when the next plant 2 feet away was susceptible. asking that question and the things I learnedplant science and agronomy from asking that question were what led to foundingAdvancing Eco Agriculture (AEA)in 2006AEAWas the idea that we can grow plants that are completely resistant to diseases and insects based on how we manage nutrition.where we identified plants that are healthynot only are theyresistant to diseases and insects but they regenerate soil health at the same timeprocess of this journey I was fortunate to be guided byUSDA expertsland grant universitiesall over the worldrealized this exceptional info that very wise people had was scattered all over the placedifficult to findnot recorded at allsome experiences were not being transferredLed me to starting the Regenerative Ag Podcastwith the intention and goal of interviewingleading farmersleading scientistssharing their information with other professional agronomists and growers who wanted to produce in a regenerative agriculture context!Tell me about your first gardening experience?I grew up even from before I remember, we always grew our own food.appreciate it as an adultThere were many years my parents purchased salt and pepper and spices and that was just about itmaple syruphoneysteviasweetenersgrew many of our own herbs2 farmed ponds where we raised fishraised poultrygrass fed beeffamily dairy cowgrew a large gardensmall orchardLived an incredibly rich life from a food quality...