From Our Experts

The problems of many current conventional grazing systems can be avoided by ecologically sensitive management of ruminants across the landscape. Wild ruminants, by the hundreds of millions, have existed for millennia on the North American landscape and are responsible for the tremendous fertility and soil carbon that amazed our ancestors as they moved across this […]

How the Weedkiller Glyphosate is Destroying Our Health by Stephanie Seneff Introduction Glyphosate is the most common herbicide in the world. The United States has been using glyphosate in agriculture since 1974, and it is also popular as the formulation Roundup to control weeds in residential maintenance of lawns. Starting in the late 1990s, a […]

Sara Keough MS, CNS, LDN – Integrative Eco-NutritionistUnderstanding Ag, LLC Technical Advisor “I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time.” -Bill Gates, 2021 Six years prior to the quote […]

Written by Ron NicholsPhotos by Ernie Friessen During a Soil Health Academy School in Chihuahua, Mexico, Gabe Brown handed Ernie Friessen a copy of his book, “Dirt to Soil.” The 29-year-old farmer took it home where he and his wife, Aracely, began reading it. They were engrossed by the book’s storyline of crop failures from […]

Within Understanding Ag, we teach what we term Adaptive Stewardship. We believe this to be an integral part of regenerative agriculture because without a good understanding of stewardship, we cannot be good practitioners of regenerative principles. The dictionary defines stewardship as “the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and preserving” or […]

In my last article, I wrapped up 2020 with a synopsis of major events that affected both farmers and consumers. This month, I want to focus on what the 2021 food scene will look like and how it may impact pastured protein producers and regenerative farmers. 2021 Food TrendsIn December 2020, Food & Wine magazine […]

August Horstmann began his farming career following the scholarly prescriptions he was taught by his animal science professors at the University of Missouri (Mizzou). Following those prescriptions nearly ended his full-time farming dream. On his family’s 1,000-acre farm in Owensville, Missouri, the then 19-year-old Horstmann used registered bulls for breeding, fed his herd grain, included […]

The Hidden Dangers of Processed Plant Proteins Sara Keough MS, CNS, LDN- Integrative Eco-Nutritionist Understanding Ag, LLC Technical Advisor While animal products have been routinely vilified and branded as promoting heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases, it turns out there is no solid evidence to support these claims. Yet, mainstream restaurants and supermarkets continue […]

What would a world without context be like?  Navigating a world without context is like trying to find your way out of a dark room. It’s disorienting, confusing and problematic.  Information is important, but knowledge is “information in context,” giving us a way to accurately and effectively “connect all of the dots” in any given […]

Plant-based meats.

It’s a phrase likely to evoke controversy and contention among a wide array of consumers depending on their dietary preferences, environmental concerns, ethical issues with meat consumption and knowledge of the food industry. Enthusiastic proponents of plant-based meats insist that they’re a more nutritious option than meat and reduce the environmental impacts driven by animal agriculture. Some consumers are on the fence, feeling conflicted about the ostensible health benefits of meat substitutes, yet accepting them as an eco-friendlier alternative.

For Brandon Bock, it was a crisis of conscience.

“I saw all of those grasshoppers at the edge of my spring wheat field. I knew I shouldn’t apply an insecticide, but it ran counter to everything I had done before,” the 37-year-old farmer from Foxholm, North Dakota, says.  “The spring wheat was starting to flower and normally would get sprayed with a fungicide and insecticide in one pass around this stage.”

Confounding Economics: The Farm Income Mirage and How to Prepare for the Future Allen Williams, Ph.D., Understanding Ag, LLC Recent articles have left me scratching my head about the state of U.S. farm economics, especially looking at conflicting titles like, “Farm Income to Hit 7-Year High, Thanks to Record-Setting Aid” and “Farm Cash Receipts Forecasted […]