Episode 132: Diverse Cover Crop Systems with Keith Berns

Regenerative Agriculture Podcast

AEA Marketing

Earth Sciences, Science, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 546 Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2024

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Keith Berns, co-founder of Green Cover Seed, is a key figure in the regenerative agriculture movement. Raised on a farm in South Central Nebraska, Keith was a teacher for 10 years before returning to the family farm in 1998, where he and his brother Brian adopted no-till techniques. In 2006, they got introduced to multi-species cover crops, which transformed their farming approach.

Inspired by the positive effects of diverse cover crops on soil moisture retention, plant health, and livestock, Keith and Brian co-founded Green Cover Seed in 2009. The company has since grown significantly, now providing seed for over a million acres annually and playing a pivotal role in promoting regenerative farming practices across the U.S.

In this episode, John and Keith discuss:

Experimentations that led to diverse cover crop systems
Moisture efficiency in multi-species cover crops
Weed management through cover crops
Increased livestock performance with diverse pasture
Nutrient cycling with broadleaf cover crops

Additional Resources
To learn more about Keith and Green Cover Seeds, please visit: https://greencover.com/

To download Green Cover's Soil Resource Guide, please visit: https://greencover.com/freeguides/

To learn more about AEA's seed treatment products, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/seed-treatments/

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

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, friends. Welcome to the regenerative agriculture podcast. I'm here today with a guest who I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Keith Burns from Green Cover Seed.
0:10.1	Keith, when I look at the landscape of the people who have facilitated adoption of regenerative agriculture and who have freely shared their knowledge.
0:21.6	There are many people who have done and continue to do amazing work, but there aren't many
0:26.6	who've had the level of impact and have helped as many people as you have.
0:31.6	I've really respected the events that you've hosted and the way that you've shared, freely
0:36.6	shared your information.
0:38.7	What was it that originally inspired you to go down this pathway?
0:42.2	What has your journey looked like?
0:43.8	Well, thank you, John.
0:44.7	It's a thank you for those kind words.
0:46.8	It's a pleasure to be on the podcast, and I've always considered you a great friend
0:51.8	and a great leader in the movement as well. So my brother and I have been
0:56.2	farming here in South Central Nebraska, really all our life. We grew up on the farm there. I did teach
1:02.8	school for 10 years. I taught agriculture and computers for 10 years after I graduated from college.
1:09.0	My brother Brian came back to the farm when he graduated from
1:13.2	college. So I taught for 10 years. I've got an education background, you know, have seen the
1:19.9	importance of, you know, teaching people early on how to do things for themselves. And so I moved back to the farm in 1998 and we pretty much adopted
1:33.0	full-blown no-till at that time. And we were very involved in the no-till organizations. Brian was on
1:39.6	the board of no-tale in the planes. I was doing their website and doing a lot of their technical work.
1:45.0	So we were both very involved in No Tell in the Plains. And then in 2006, a man named
1:50.6	Adimir Caligari from Brazil was invited to No Tell in the Plains. And he came and was one of
1:56.5	the keynote speakers. And he was showing pictures and telling stories and testimonials from
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from AEA Marketing, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of AEA Marketing and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.