We’re only a few months away from the 47th annual Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show! Our annual event will take place Dec. 5-8 this year in Covington, Kentucky – just across the river from beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio. Past attendees know that the Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show is a great place to learn from top-notch industry experts as well as to connect with farming peers from around the country and the world.
One of the unique aspects of the Eco-Ag Conference are our all-day Eco-Ag U Workshops. These workshops offer attendees a chance to dive in-depth into important topics with the experts in a small-classroom environment.
This year, our Eco-Ag U Workshop lineup features some great experts with a lot of practical, applicable knowledge to share.
Monday Workshop: A Dynamic Duo
This year, agronomy expert John Kempf is teaming up with no-till farmer Rick Clark to deliver a fascinating all-day Eco-Ag U Workshop experience. These two experts will discuss The Foundations and Practice of Biological Farming Systems on Monday, Dec. 5. (Register here.)
Meet John Kempf
John Kempf is a leading crop health consultant and designer of innovative soil and plant management systems. John is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, a crop nutrition consulting company, and a managing partner at Zeno Capital Partners — an investment fund working in the areas of agriculture, food production, medicine and clean energy. John grew up on a fruit and vegetable farm in northeastern Ohio, is a member of the Amish community, and now lives in Middlefield, Ohio.
More from John Kempf:
- Book: Quality Agriculture: Conversations about Regenerative Agronomy with Innovative Scientists and Growers – In Quality Agriculture, John interviews a group of growers, consultants, and scientists who describe how to think and farm differently in order to produce exceptional results in the field. Their remarkable insights will challenge you, encourage you, and inspire gratitude and joy for the rewards of working with natural systems.
- Podcast: Tractor Time Episode 11 – Acres U.S.A. GM Ryan Slabaugh sits down with John Kempf in this podcast episode from the archives.
- Article: Carbon Cycling, Carbon Building – “In this article I hope to provide some ideas concerning carbon cycling and how to effectively build soil carbonic organic matter.”
- Article: Organic Foliar Applications Accelerate Growth – “Properly designed foliar applications are one of the most effective tools to rapidly build soil organic matter and regenerate soil health.”
Meet Rick Clark
Rick Clark is a fifth generation farmer from Williamsport, Indiana. Rick’s main goal on his farm is to build soil health and achieve balance with natural systems. Rick has developed and is constantly improving a systematic approach to regenerative farming. He strives to be a low-cost input producer, while maintaining an increase in yield year after year. The farm is 100% non-GMO, 100% no-till, and 100% cover crop. Rick is currently transitioning all acres of the farm to organic, and is most proud of developing a system of organic farming that utilizes no tillage and suppresses weeds with cover crops. Rick cares deeply about human health, as it is one of the main drivers behind his innovative farming system, which our keynote speaker believes will be viable and sustainable for generations to come.
More from Rick Clark:
- Podcast: Tractor Time Episode 65 – In this episode, Rick Clark discusses soil health, cover crops and no-till techniques.
A Workshop with the Professor
Over the years, Dr. Don Huber has consistently delivered an Eco-Ag U Workshop experience packed full of incredible, useful and detailed information. This year, he’ll be presenting on Plant Disease and Mineral Nutrition on Monday, Dec. 5. (Register here.)
Dr. Don Huber, professor emeritus, Purdue University, has filled classrooms for years at Eco-Ag conferences. Attendees will learn from his 55 years of researching the epidemiology and control of soilborne plant pathogens with emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, nutrient-disease interactions, pesticide-disease interactions, physiology of host-parasite relationships; impact of GMOs and pesticides on soil, crop, animal and human health; and techniques for rapid microbial identification. He is author or co-author of more than 300 journal articles and three books.
A Perennial Expert
Mark Shepard is a consummate expert in all things perennial. His knowledge of applicable permaculture techniques and methods have kept students returning again and again to his Eco-Ag U Workshops and conference sessions. This year, Mark will be presenting on Integrating Annual Crops into Perennial Systems on Monday, Dec. 5. (Register here.)
Author, farmer and consultant Mark Shepard is the CEO of Restoration Agriculture Development, Forest Agriculture Enterprises and runs New Forest Farms, a 110-acre perennial agricultural savanna, one of the first of its kind in the United States. He has been designing and installing farm and ranch-scale rainwater management systems since 1995. He is the author of two books published by Acres U.S.A., and has been speaking at the Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show for more than a decade.
More from Mark Shepard:
- Book: Restoration Agriculture – This book, based on real-world practices, explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs — in your own backyard, farm or ranch.
- Book: Water for Any Farm – What you will read in this book is a distillation of over 25 years of on-the-ground experience working with and modifying the Yeomans’ Keyline Plan.
- Podcast: Tractor Time Episode 10 – Mark Shepard sits down with Acres U.S.A. GM Ryan Slabaugh to discuss water on the farm in this podcast episode from the archives.
A Healthy Outlook
It’s no surprise nearly every seat is filled in the sessions taught by Dr. Nasha Winters – or that her book signing line can stretch across the room! She has consistently provided Eco-Ag Conference attendees important information related to human health over the years. In 2022, Dr. Winters will present her Eco-Ag U Workshop on Life Cycle of Health from Humus to Human, on Tuesday, Dec. 6. (Register here.)
Dr. Nasha Winters’ specialty is Preventative Health. Dr. Winters is an adored part of the Eco-Ag Conference community, not only due to what she knows, but the time she gives the audience on site. Dr. Winters is a sought-after luminary and a global healthcare authority in integrative cancer research and consults with physicians around the world. Based on a personal journey with cancer, Dr. Nasha is on a mission to educate and empower the nearly 50 percent of the population expected to have cancer in their lifetime. Dr. Nasha is also a bestselling author.
More from Dr. Nasha Winters
- Book: The Metabolic Approach to Cancer – This is the first book to offer a comprehensive, nutrition-focused protocol to managing cancer. Naturopathic, integrative oncologist and cancer survivor Dr. Nasha Winters and nutrition therapist Jess Higgins Kelley identify the ten key elements of a person’s terrain, as they relate to the cancer process.
- Book: Mistletoe and the Emerging Future of Integrative Oncology – Mistletoe therapy has long been considered a viable treatment for cancer by the European medical community and is beginning to gain recognition in North America, as well. The mistletoe plant possesses many remarkable properties.
- Podcast: Tractor Time Episode 15 – Dr. Nasha Winters sits down with Acres U.S.A. GM Ryan Slabaugh to discuss her book The Metabolic Approach to Cancer in this episode from the archives.
An Expert Approach
Dr. Kris Nichols has been a respected speaker for both the Eco-Ag Conference and Acres U.S.A.’s summer event – the Healthy Soil Summit. In 2022, Dr. Nichols will be presenting her Eco-Ag U Workshop on Managing Soil Biology for a Profitable Farm on Tuesday, Dec. 6. (Register here.)
Dr. Kris Nichols, an experienced speaker and teacher, is a leader in the movement to regenerate soils for healthy food, people and a planet. Her current focus is to address current and future agricultural needs by exploring the similarities between the soil and gut microbomes by looking at the carbon key. Dr. Nichols was the chief scientist at Rodale Institute for 3.5 years, and is now the founder and principle scientist at KRIS (Knowledge for Regeneration and Innovation in Soils) Systems Education & Consultation and a sub-contractor with Soil Health Consulting, Inc.
Join us at the 2022 Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show
We hope you’ll join us for this year’s Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show – including one or two of our Eco-Ag U Workshops! There is so much to learn – you can’t afford to miss it! Learn more or sign up today.
2022 Eco-Ag Conference & Trade Show
Dec. 5-8, 2022 – Covington, KY
Learn more at EcoAg.AcresUSA.com or Register here.
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