Episode 115: Covering Ground: How Cover Crops Can Change Your Farm with Brian Magarin
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast
AEA Marketing
4.7 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 25 April 2024
⏱️ 80 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Brian Magarin has a background rooted in farming, spanning over a decade. Brian's journey has been shaped by hands-on experience and a commitment to sustainable farming methods after first starting in a conventional setting. Through years of trial and error, he has gained valuable insights into soil dynamics, irrigation techniques, and the impact of cover crops on crop and soil health. Brian manages 9,000 acres for Belltown Farms and grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa. He also operates his own farm, growing organic corn, soybeans, and small grains.
In this episode, Brian and John discuss:
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The importance of understanding soil dynamics
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Experimenting with strip-till and no-till management
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Challenging traditional chemical-centric practices
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The processes and challenges of using roller crimpers
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The benefits of cover crops in maintaining weeds and moisture
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The impact of cooler temperatures on crop growth and productivity
About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.
Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.
Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.
AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.
Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.
Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com
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VIDEO: To learn more from John Kempf about regenerative agriculture, watch this conversation between John and three AEA grower partners about how regenerative agriculture is changing lives and conventional farming: https://youtu.be/n9U6GwbYPDk
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi friends, welcome to the regenerative agriculture podcast. This is John, and before we dive in, |
| 0:06.8 | I want to let you know that you have until Friday at midnight to invest in our public crowdfunding |
| 0:12.7 | campaign at WeFunder, where we are raising investment funding. You can join over 500 people who have |
| 0:19.5 | invested some over $2 million in AEA at this point. |
| 0:23.2 | So I want to invite you to participate in that if you are so inclined. |
| 0:27.1 | It's going to be a lot of fun here at AEA the next couple of years, |
| 0:31.9 | and we want to welcome our farming community to be a part of that. |
| 0:35.2 | So thank you all to you who've invested so far. |
| 0:39.0 | I've been looking forward to the conversation today for quite some time. I've met Brian McGarren |
| 0:44.0 | a couple times at a couple of different conferences. We had several very interesting conversations. |
| 0:49.5 | And I get asked a question quite regularly about how is it possible for us to farm without Roundup? |
| 0:59.0 | How is it possible for us to farm without glyphosate? |
| 1:01.0 | And there is this kind of this perception that if we want to grow crops on a broad acre commercial scale, |
| 1:08.0 | then doing so without Roundup while maintaining yields is just a non-starter. |
| 1:15.3 | And I don't believe that that's the case, and Brian is one of the examples for why I believe |
| 1:20.9 | that to not be the case. But I'll let you hear directly from the man himself. |
| 1:26.9 | Brian, thank you for being here and for agreeing to share your experiences. |
| 1:30.3 | Tell us a little bit about the context of your operation and your journey, what you've been working on and where you are now. |
| 1:39.3 | Well, thanks for having me, John. I appreciate the opportunity here. |
| 1:43.3 | I've been farming for about 20, |
| 1:47.3 | I guess 24, 25 years now. Started out in the conventional world, moved over into the organics |
| 1:53.6 | about 12, 13 years ago now and then slowly been moving into the regenerative side more and more. |
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