From Our Experts

A Real Solution to the Cattle Industry’s ‘Methane Problem’

The headline in The Washington Post article, published August 25, 2024, proclaimed “Scientists may have found a radical solution for making your hamburger less bad for the planet.” The article, written by Shannon Osaka and Emily Wright, examined research currently being conducted at the University of California-Davis using gene editing techniques on rumen microbes to […]

Part 2 Erosion: How Much is it Costing YOU?

In part one, I outlined some of the societal challenges linked to soil erosion and poor soil function. Now let’s take a look at some of the economic costs and benefits of addressing erosion on farms and ranches. To determine the cost of erosion, first we must assign a value to soil. In truth, topsoil […]

Part 1 Erosion: How Much is it Costing US?

Soil erosion has been one of the most persistent challenges humanity has faced since the advent of agriculture over 10,000 years ago. Loss of productive capacity of the supporting land base contributed to the collapse of numerous civilizations during that time. Poor grazing practices and tillage were the main causes of land degradation historically and […]

A Better Way to Grow Agave Leads to World’s First Certified Regenerative Tequila

Life is short so embrace change.” That’s the “distilled” philosophy Rodrigo Mestas brings to his tequila business, his regenerative agriculture management style and his outlook on life. In the acres he’s transitioned to regenerative agriculture, Mestas allows naturally occurring cover crops to emerge between the rows of the agave, and then grazes livestock- including […]

A Satellite Image Exposes the ‘Bare Facts’ About Conventional Ag

I pulled this image up on GoogleEarth yesterday. The photo below shows an area 12.5 miles wide, by 6.5 miles vertically, much of it in Rock Dell Township, Minnesota where our farm is. Hayfield is in the upper left-hand corner. The green area in the middle is along Hwy 30, and at the top is […]

From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 5

In Part Four, I discussed the importance of keeping living roots in the soil and avoiding overapplication of nutrients at the wrong time. In this final post I will examine nitrogen sourcing options and how plants acquire nutrients in a healthy soil. To understand what the ‘right source’ of nitrogen is, we first need to […]

Will I Really Benefit from Grazing My Cover Crop?

God designed the world to function as a perpetual motion machine. If done right, it should always be building fertility, not extracting it. But you have to understand the principles of soil health, and the four ecosystem processes, in order to achieve that outcome. While many individuals are content with simply “growing a cover crop” […]

From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 4

In Part Three, I reviewed the concept of using marginal nitrogen use efficiency and zero N check strips as tools to evaluate application rates. Now I will shift the focus to problems with overapplication, how to determine the right timing for application, and the consequences of not doing so. The fastest way to diminish the […]

From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 3

In business, it all comes down to profit. In farming, profit comes down to things we can’t control like the weather and the markets, and the things we can control like our management decisions. One of those key management decisions is determining how much nitrogen to apply to our crops. In part two of this […]

From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 2

In part one of this series, I briefly discussed the importance of education for understanding how soil function and ecosystem processes play a critical role for water quality. Now let’s turn our attention to determining the “right rate” for nitrogen. Nutrient management plans focus heavily on nitrogen because it is critical for plant growth and […]

From Symptoms to Solutions: Addressing the Underlying Causes of Water Quality Degradation – Part 1

Poor water quality has been a persistent challenge in agriculture, particularly due to sediment and nutrient loss from farmland. It is considered a “wicked problem” with conflicting social, political, economic, and environmental aspects that prevent solutions. In this blog series I will challenge the notion that degraded water is something we all have to live […]

WEATHER OR NOT?

Most of us have heard the old sayings regarding weather and farming including, “Don’t plant until the barn swallows return,” and “Wait until the oak leaves are as big as a squirrel’s ear.” These, and many other sayings, were tied to observations and farming in sync with what Mother Nature was telling us in terms […]

U.S. Army Captain Prepares for Second Career of Service – as a Regenerative Farmer

Pictured here is the De Leon family: Gil and Holly, with children Emanuel, Iliana, Celina, Christian, Valentina and Mariana. For Gilberto (Gil) De Leon, life is all about “service.” A U.S. Army Captain (promotable) with more than 17 years in military uniform, and multiple tours as a combat arms officer in Afghanistan and Iraq with […]

Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 3

The Three Rules of Adaptive Stewardship TM have been proven to work in every region of North America and in many other parts of the world. Results are similar relative to differences in soil type, precipitation, temperature, and other environmental differences. The KEY to successful adaptive grazing is KEEN OBSERVATION. Since adaptive grazing is not […]

Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 2

It is important to note that every living cell and organism has a memory and responds to prior experiences accordingly. So, soil microbes have a memory and respond to prior grazing or other management practices. Plant cells have a memory. Animal cells have a memory. If similar practices are employed year after year, then the […]

Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 1

The Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipTM are: Rule of Compounding Rule of Diversity Rule of Disruption The Rule of Compounding follows the concept that every management decision or practice applied creates a series of compounding and cascading effects that are either positive or negative in nature. There never are any singular impacts and they are […]

Nutritional Comparisons Between Grass-Fed Beef and Conventional Grain-Fed Beef

Research performed by Dr. Stephan Van Vliet, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, Utah State University, and the Bionutrient Food Association, found that grass-finishing, compared to conventional grain finishing, increases a wide variety of health-promoting compounds in meat and improves animal health. Phytochemical richness of meat is directly related to the finishing diet of […]

Part 2: Becoming Observational and Being Intentional

In my previous post, I discussed building soil aggregation and how this can help to address some of the problems growers face today. Those stable aggregates are created by living plants that release root exudates to feed a diverse quorum of microbes in the soil. The more the diverse the living plants are, the more […]

Part 1: Becoming Observational and Being Intentional

When many people think of cover crops on their farms, their initial thoughts circle around soil erosion, either via wind or rain. Many of the programs through the NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation Districts that have anything to do with cover crops pertain to erosion problems as well. But those who have been using […]

Milking its Multiple Benefits: Part 2

In our previous article, we provided an overview list of the many potential benefits dairy farms are observing as they move into regenerative agriculture. Dairy farms are uniquely suited to the principles of adaptive management because they have multiple livestock classes that can utilize a variety of feedstuffs. This provides opportunities for greater plant diversity […]

Milking its Multiple Benefits

Farmers often ask, “How can my farm benefit from moving to regenerative agriculture?” We most pointedly hear this from dairy farmers. With a seven-day-per-week workload, dairies have developed schedules designed around getting all the chores done. They feel that unless something offers the promise of additional milk or crop/forage yield, they struggle comprehending how to […]

A Compelling Case for Local Ag

For the past several decades, the food industry has experienced significant consolidation. This is especially true with the meat processing sector. According to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, about 85% of all fed cattle are purchased and processed by the largest four beef packers in the U.S. That leaves only 15% of the fed cattle […]

“Growing Hope and Possibility”

In my last post, I wrote about regenerative agriculture’s Christmas gift for all and how the hope of regenerative agriculture provides “Common Ground for Common Good.” I genuinely believe that in this New Year, and on this common ground, sprouts real hope and possibility-IF we resolve to grow regeneratively together. I believe this because every […]

“Common Ground for Common Good”

It is depressing to listen to the news these days. All we hear is stories of how tough things are today. From inflation to supply chain issues, to racism to immigration, to crime, society is being torn apart. You would think nothing positive is occurring. We, at Understanding Ag, believe otherwise. We believe that most […]

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