Acres USA https://www.acresusa.com/ North America's oldest publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming. Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:10:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.1 https://www.acresusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/acres-logo-1-1.png Acres USA https://www.acresusa.com/ 32 32 Stephen Lapp https://www.acresusa.com/stephen-lapp/ Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:10:12 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=14112 Stephen Lapp is a farmer from West Central Ohio. After 26 years of dairying, he began to concentrate on rotational grazing and organic crops. Stephen’s interest in regenerative agriculture increased with knowledge about tillage practices, cover crops and soil health. Stephen completed Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web course of study. Stephen continues to develop […]

The post Stephen Lapp appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Stephen Lapp is a farmer from West Central Ohio. After 26 years of dairying, he began to concentrate on rotational grazing and organic crops. Stephen’s interest in regenerative agriculture increased with knowledge about tillage practices, cover crops and soil health. Stephen completed Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web course of study. Stephen continues to develop a regenerative approach to agriculture particularly focused on biology and microbes.  This past summer, Stephen partnered with John Wong to test TLC products in the field.  Results and learnings will be shared with attendees.

The post Stephen Lapp appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> John Wong https://www.acresusa.com/john-wong/ Fri, 13 Oct 2023 04:16:05 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=14020 John attended Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University, with degrees in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, and received an MBA. John is the founder and CEO of TLC Products, in Cleveland, OH.  TLC Products, Inc was visited by Karen Mills, member of President Obama’s cabinet, and presented with the US Small Business Administration 2013 […]

The post John Wong appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> John attended Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University, with degrees in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, and received an MBA.

John is the founder and CEO of TLC Products, in Cleveland, OH.  TLC Products, Inc was visited by Karen Mills, member of President Obama’s cabinet, and presented with the US Small Business Administration 2013 District “Exporter of the Year” award. During Mills’ visit, she praised TLC Inc. for job growth and export success by a small USA business.

TLC Products was recognized by Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management as one of the regions 100 fastest growing companies, on a 5-year moving average basis.

TLC Products, Inc:

Manufacturer and marketer of live bacterial products for use in commercial agriculture and water purification,

Primary Inventor of these US Patents:

  • United States Patent US 2022/0071200 A1, “Methods of Pest Control”, Granted in USA and over 25 other countries, non-toxic biopesticide for commercial agriculture, fungicidal and nematicidal efficacy.

•              United States Patent 4,673,505.  Wong, et al.  June 16, 1987.  Wastewater treatment bacterial additive

•              United States Patent 5,284,587.  Wong, et al. February 8, 1994.  Bacteria-containing polymer gel for waste water treatment

•              United States Patent 4,882,059.  Wong, et al. November 21, 1989.  Solubilization of organic materials in wastewater treatment

The post John Wong appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Greg Pennyroyal https://www.acresusa.com/greg-pennyroyal/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:28:44 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13973 Greg Pennyroyal’s focus is on the relationship between healthy ecosystems, and healthy communities. He is following a family tradition of medicinal plant farming from his mother, an herbalist in Norway who was trained by Helga the Witch, to his current position as Vineyard Manager of Wilson Creek Winery and Professor of Viticulture in Southern California. […]

The post Greg Pennyroyal appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Greg Pennyroyal’s focus is on the relationship between healthy ecosystems, and healthy communities. He is following a family tradition of medicinal plant farming from his mother, an herbalist in Norway who was trained by Helga the Witch, to his current position as Vineyard Manager of Wilson Creek Winery and Professor of Viticulture in Southern California. He is the founder of the Small Winegrowers Association and is the lead developer of the regenerative curriculum and campus at Mt San Jacinto College. Previous experience as manager of Trout Lake Farm, medicinal herb farm, Director of Botanical Research at Leiner Health, a researcher with the National Institutes of Health, 10 years on the United States Pharmacopeial Convention developing medicinal plant standards. and work with the Global Institute for Tibetan Medicine has reinforced an evolving respect for the power of science coupled with the wisdom of nature in allowing a positive future that wants to emerge.

The post Greg Pennyroyal appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Dr. Laura Kavanaugh https://www.acresusa.com/dr-laura-kavanaugh/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:49:21 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13931 Dr. Laura Kavanaugh is an engineer, scientist and entrepreneur. She has degrees in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and holds a Ph.D. from the University Program in Genetics and Genomics from Duke University. She has had a varied and extensive career which includes over 13 years working in the Space Shuttle Mission Control […]

The post Dr. Laura Kavanaugh appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Dr. Laura Kavanaugh is an engineer, scientist and entrepreneur. She has degrees in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and holds a Ph.D. from the University Program in Genetics and Genomics from Duke University. She has had a varied and extensive career which includes over 13 years working in the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center in Houston, TX and over 10 years working for Syngenta Biotechnology in Research Triangle Park, NC, working on bioinformatics, DNA sequencing, and soil microbes. She founded Genome Insights LLC which applies the latest DNA sequencing technologies to enhance regenerative farming and large composting operations. She also oversees the compost and liquid biological amendment operations for Union Grove Farm Vineyard in Chapel Hill, NC. She is also the Chief Science Officer for Advancing Eco Agriculture.

The post Dr. Laura Kavanaugh appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Will Harris https://www.acresusa.com/will-harris/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:37:10 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13925 Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in Bluffton, Georgia in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia’s School of Agriculture. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle […]

The post Will Harris appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Will Harris is a fourth-generation cattleman, who tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in Bluffton, Georgia in 1866. Born and raised at White Oak Pastures, Will left home to attend the University of Georgia’s School of Agriculture. Will graduated in 1976 and returned to Bluffton where he and his father continued to raise cattle using conventional methods. He became disenchanted with these methods and in 1995, Will made the audacious decision to return to a regenerative farming system like his grandfather had 130 years before.

Since Will has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability. Will is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics. He is the Beef Director of the American Grassfed Association and was selected 2011 Business Person of the year for Georgia by the Small Business Administration.

The post Will Harris appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Jason Mauck https://www.acresusa.com/jason-mauck/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:18:56 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13919 Jason is obsessed with narrowing the gaps of agriculture. An apostle of relay cropping, Mauck, is blazing a new path using cash and cover crops in unison. One middle at a time, the maverick grower is uncovering clues and running wide open toward greater farming efficiency. Jason works 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat, […]

The post Jason Mauck appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Jason is obsessed with narrowing the gaps of agriculture. An apostle of relay cropping, Mauck, is blazing a new path using cash and cover crops in unison. One middle at a time, the maverick grower is uncovering clues and running wide open toward greater farming efficiency. Jason works 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat, in addition to 25,000 hogs per year. His company, Constant Canopy, is developing cutting edge farming methods and currently holds the Indiana state record for the highest yield per acre for soybeans and has developed scalable systems for corn yields that surpass most high-test plots. He looks at agriculture through a different lens with the next generation in mind.

The post Jason Mauck appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Rubén Parrilla https://www.acresusa.com/ruben-parrilla/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:08:36 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13911 Rubén Parilla (he/him) is the Soil Technical Coordinator and Education Director for NOFA/Mass and trained in microscopic soil microbial identification through the Soil Food Web School. He is a Certified Lab Tech and studied Environmental Design at the University of Puerto Rico. Rubén has 15 years’ experience working at different capacities in the environmental laboratory […]

The post Rubén Parrilla appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Rubén Parilla (he/him) is the Soil Technical Coordinator and Education Director for NOFA/Mass and trained in microscopic soil microbial identification through the Soil Food Web School. He is a Certified Lab Tech and studied Environmental Design at the University of Puerto Rico. Rubén has 15 years’ experience working at different capacities in the environmental laboratory industry. He has been performing soil carbon proxy testing, soil health assessments, soil chemical analysis, and soil microbiological evaluations for NOFA/Mass over the last three years and has extensive experience farming and working with farmers, including beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. Rubén performs soil health-related outreach and education events for NOFA/Mass by leading monthly farmer learning calls, providing hands-on workshops and instruction at soil health education events, and networking with farmers and individuals in the agricultural industry. He is a fluent and native Spanish speaker and fully English/Spanish bilingual.

The post Rubén Parrilla appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> John Duke https://www.acresusa.com/john-duke/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 04:00:30 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13906 For the past 24 years, John has been living on the unseated land of the Pokanoket Wampanoag in the town currently called Mattapoisett.  He grew up in north central Massachusetts during the 70’s and then went to the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1987 to study Geography.  After graduating and spending some time in Oregon, […]

The post John Duke appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> For the past 24 years, John has been living on the unseated land of the Pokanoket Wampanoag in the town currently called Mattapoisett.  He grew up in north central Massachusetts during the 70’s and then went to the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1987 to study Geography.  After graduating and spending some time in Oregon, he returned to Massachusetts in 1994.  For the next seven years, John grew produce for farmers markets and restaurants, grew Shiitake mushrooms, moved to Mattapoisett, worked at Westport River’s Winery, Jonathan Sprouts, Plymouth County Conservation District, and then in 2001, became an electrician.  Sometime in 2017, he began his online training with Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web school which involves gaining an understanding of how the soil food web works and assessing that functionality through microscopy.  For the last three years, he has been applying that knowledge to the land that he lives on, farms and gardens in Southeastern Massachusetts, and teaching microscopy through the Northeast Organic Farming Association / Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass), of which he is a board member.  

The post John Duke appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Keith Berns https://www.acresusa.com/keith-berns/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 01:33:27 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13882 Keith Berns combines over 20 years of no-till farming with 10 years of teaching Agriculture and Computers. In addition to no-tilling 2,500 acres of irrigated and dryland corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, sunflowers, and buckwheat in South Central Nebraska, he also co-owns and operates Green Cover Seed, one of the major cover crop seed providers […]

The post Keith Berns appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> Keith Berns combines over 20 years of no-till farming with 10 years of teaching Agriculture and Computers. In addition to no-tilling 2,500 acres of irrigated and dryland corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, sunflowers, and buckwheat in South Central Nebraska, he also co-owns and operates Green Cover Seed, one of the major cover crop seed providers and educators in the United States. Through Green Cover Seed, Keith has experimented with over 120 different cover crop types and hundreds of mixes planted into various situations and has learned a great deal about cover crop growth, nitrogen fixation, moisture usage, and grazing utilization of cover crops.

Keith was honored by the White House as a 2016 Champion of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture. Keith also developed the SmartMix CalculatorTM one of the most widely used cover crop selection tools on the internet. Keith has a Masters Degree in Agricultural Education from the University of Nebraska and teaches on cover crops and soil health more than 30 times per year to various groups and audiences. Keith also was appointed by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts to be part of the Nebraska Healthy Soils Task Force and had the privilege of serving as the chairman.

The post Keith Berns appeared first on Acres USA.

]]> In Focus: Cover Crops https://www.acresusa.com/in-focus-cover-crops-2023/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.acresusa.com/?p=13560 Looking to learn more about cover crops? Find a list of useful resources here!

The post In Focus: Cover Crops appeared first on Acres USA.

]]>

This month, we’re focusing on the topic of Cover Crops. Learn more about the intricacies and benefits of cover cropping with these resources – from free podcasts to educational book titles and more!

Best Books on Cover Crops

  • Book of the Month: Crop Rotation & Cover Cropping by Seth Kroeck – Addressed are many of the possible variables in forming the rotation as well as where to find room for compromise between the “perfect horticulture” model and day-to-day logistics. 
  • Growing Life: Regenerating Farming and Ranching by André Leu – This book explores the fundamentals of regenerative agriculture, including specific, proven steps designed to grow healthy food, while protecting our natural resources like clean water, soil and air.
  • Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown – When North Dakota farmer and rancher Gabe Brown switched to no-till planting, started planting diverse cover crops mixes, and changed his grazing practices, he transformed a degraded farm ecosystem into one full of life―starting with the soil and working his way up, one plant and one animal at a time.
  • Roller/Crimper No-Till: Advancing No-Till Agriculture by Jeff Moyer – Combining the best aspects of no-till with recent innovations in equipment design and in-field research, the system laid out in this book “provides great potential for agricultural change,” Moyer writes, “through the use of cover crops and reduction of synthetic herbicides, while giving organic farmers what they need in terms of weed management and soil building practices.”
  • Advancing Biological Farming by Gary Zimmer – This book offers invaluable scientific support for committed organic farmers as well as conventional farmers who’d like to reduce chemical inputs and use natural processes to their advantage.

Learn in Person

“A cover crop, as any other good practice, must be a part of a total system and not just an unrelated single-shot input,” writes Schriefer in Eco-Farm. The 2023 Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show this Dec. 5-8 in Covington, KY, will bring together hundreds of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals to learn from the experts.

Every year, we set a new standard for innovative and practical learning in modern agriculture. Learn from top-notch speakers about tactics that build soil biology, balance chemistry, improve structure and integrate biodiversity like livestock, companion crops and cover crops. 

You can learn from:

  • John Kempf
  • Dr. Don Huber
  • Rick Clark
  • Jesse Frost
  • And more!

Take the next step in your soil health education and join us for the 2023 Eco-Ag Conference this year! See speakers, the full agenda and more at EcoAg.AcresUSA.com.

Best Free Articles on Cover Cropping

Our free website, www.EcoFarmingDaily.com, is a great resource for in-depth articles on all kinds of topics related to organic, eco-agriculture. Some of our popular articles specifically about cover cropping include:

Find more great articles in the Grow Crops section of EcoFarmingDaily.com

Learn Online

If you aren’t able to travel for soil health education this year – we’ve got you covered! Our Eco-Ag U Online courses are virtual classrooms where you can download important lessons from experts and learn at your own pace.

The 2021 Eco-Ag Conference Replay is a great place to get a vast variety of knowledge, including cover cropping, from a large number of experts at once. Check it out here or browse our whole virtual catalogue at Learn.AcresUSA.com.

Stay Up to Date

Want free information delivered directly to your inbox each week on topics like building soil health, growing nutritious crops, and more? Sign up for our weekly Acres U.S.A. newsletter right here!

The post In Focus: Cover Crops appeared first on Acres USA.

]]>