Inspired by the farming lifestyle of his extended family, Yadi Wang was determined to become a farmer after receiving his doctoral degree in environmental science and years of practice being a chemical and process engineer. As a first-generation farmer, he is one of the pioneers on developing weed mitigation and integrated pest management methodologies using multi-species cover crops, chemical (pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, etc.) free practices, and intensively-managed, rotationally grazed sheep to steward the land at Oatman Flats Ranch, in the hottest and driest environment in the US Southwest. On the path of regeneration, Yadi strongly believes the practices and the integrated approaches must focus on the health of people and the planet.
With the realization of farming as an aging industry, where young and underserved producers have extreme difficulties to access land and capital, he co-founded Arizona SOL L3C – a social enterprise reimagining how young and underserved producers access land and capital while turning defunct land into productive ecosystems. Meanwhile, he co-founded and is the president of the Development of Regenerative Yields (DRY) Cooperative, where the team is working to enhance local and regional food ecosystem and circular economy by establishing cooperative farming structures, increasing processing and distribution capacities for small to mid-size producers in the region.
