Ag Emerge Podcast Hosted by Monte Bottens

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Chris Jones a Retired Research Engineer from the University of Iowa and author of The Swine Republic, Struggles with Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality. Today he and Monte discuss the agricultural efficiencies and practices that we can make happen in more environmentally responsible ways. That includes a system approach to our entire management practices. Chris talks about how we can work to deploy these practices in enough areas that they can make a difference at the landscape scale. It’s a powerful conversation so let’s jump right in.

Chris Jones retired in May of 2023 as a Research Engineer from IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa, where his work focused on water quality and water monitoring in agricultural landscapes. Previous to that he worked at the Des Moines Water Works and the Iowa Soybean Association. Chris has a BA in Biology and Chemistry from Simpson College and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Montana State University.

He has authored 55 scientific journal articles, several book chapters and is author of the book The Swine Republic, Struggles with Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality. He also writes a weekly column posted on Substack at Riverraccoon.substack.com. He lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
Tell us your background and how you reached today’s line of work. I was born in Illinois and spent most of the rest of my life in Iowa and have observed firsthand how the state and its agricultural production systems have changed since the 1960s. While some things about agriculture's impact on the environment have improved, the environmental consequences of cornbelt agriculture are still severe and affect the quality of life of the region's residents. Consolidation in agriculture since that time has also had dire consequences for the prosperity and vitality of small-town Iowa. My work has focused on these consequences and how the condition of our environment can be improved within the backdrop of intense crop and livestock production.

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Pamela Tanner Boll an artist, filmmaker, writer as well as the Director and Executive Producer of several films including To Which We Belong. She is also the Founder and CEO of Mystic Artists Film Productions. We’re excited to explore her vision as she worked to, in her words, “shine a light on the amazing possibilities for restoring our lands. And how we could fix our water problems and our climate issues.” She loves farmers and all of that was what brought her to this film. We think you’ll be inspired as you listen to the stories and vision not only from the film but from the possibilities and hopes we have to address the challenges in agriculture we are facing today.

Pamela is the Co-Executive Producer of the Academy Award-winning documentary, Born into Brothels. Pamela has executive produced the following film projects: Living in Emergency: True Stories of Doctors Without Borders; In a Dream; Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence; Our Summer in Tehran; Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields; Close to the Fire; She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry; E-Team; Teen Press; Obit; Navajo Nation; and Storm Lake.

Pamela directed and produced Who Does She Think She Is?, a feature-length documentary film that follows five women who are mothers and artists. Pamela also directed A Small Good Thing, a film that asks the question, how can we live in a better way? She is currently working on a new film project, To Which We Belong, highlighting farmers and ranchers who are improving the health of their land with regenerative practices and helping to reverse climate change.

Pamela grew up in Parkersburg, WV. She received a BA in English from Middlebury College and a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies from Lesley University. Pamela raised three sons in Winchester, Massachusetts, and now lives in Boulder, Colorado.

https://www.towhichwebelong.com/

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Kevin Helash to the podcast. Kevin is the CEO of Biotalys an AgTech company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for crop and food protection. Listen in as he and Monte discuss these exciting advancements in science and the technology.

Kevin has a 30-year career committed to supporting the agriculture industry and its most innovative advancements. Kevin is passionate about the future of sustainable agriculture. I think Kevin said it best when he said the most valuable asset a farmer has is their soil.

From growing up on a farm in Manitoba, Canada, to a 30-year career committed to supporting the agriculture industry and its most innovative advancements, Kevin is passionate about the future of sustainable agriculture. In his new role, his focus will be on accelerating the development and global commercialization of the company’s breakthrough protein-based biocontrol solutions for crop and food protection.

Kevin Helash said: “I am excited to begin my journey with Biotalys and was delighted to meet the team in Ghent, Belgium, this week. With Biotalys’ groundbreaking technology platform and a diverse group of skilled professionals, I am confident we will be able to materially contribute to a more sustainable agriculture.”

“At the same time, I want to warmly thank my predecessor Patrice Sellès for where he has brought the company during his leadership over the last four years, as we are moving closer to entering the market with our first protein-based biofungicide, Evoca. I am grateful that Patrice will support me during the initial phase, before taking the well-deserved opportunity to spend more time with his family, as was his wish.”

Kevin Helash’ experience will be instrumental in leading the acceleration of Biotalys’ development. He is a results-driven corporate executive who brings more than 30 years of international experience in agriculture and biological products to Biotalys. His experience spans commercializing numerous breakthrough technologies in the agricultural industry on a global scale, including in positions as CEO of EnviroKure, Marrone Bio Innovations - previously listed on Nasdaq - and Agrinos. He built his career at Agrium (now Nutrien) where he became vice president and corporate officer. Kevin Helash grew up on a farm in Canada and his family was active in farming until a couple of years ago.

https://biotalys.com/
https://biotalys.com/media/news/kevin-helash-commences-role-chief-executive-officer-biotalys

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Dr. Steven Chen, Chief Medical Officer of Alameda County Recipe4Health, an award-winning “food as medicine” model that intentionally brings together health care, food systems, and agriculture to improve food/nutrition insecurity, chronic conditions, and health/racial equity, while leading the scale and spread of Recipe4Health (R4H).

Dr. Steven Chen is Chief Medical Officer of Alameda County Recipe4Health, an award-winning “food as medicine” model that intentionally brings together health care, food systems, and agriculture to improve food/nutrition insecurity, chronic conditions, and health/racial equity. While leading the scale and spread of Recipe4Health (R4H), Dr. Chen and his team successfully implemented one of California’s first Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition services as a covered Medi-Cal (Medicaid) service in California.

His experiences as a son of immigrants and a 2nd generation Taiwanese American have informed his commitments to better serve vulnerable populations. He developed integrative medicine services to offer acupuncture and osteopathic manipulative medicine services in Federally Qualified Health Centers. As a former Medical Director at Alameda Health System trained in LEAN process improvement, he led the design of a state-of-the-art clinic replete with a teaching kitchen, group rooms to support group medical visits, and pod-based care teams.

Dr. Chen serves on the Board of Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US), is active on California’s Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition Steering Committee, helped craft two bills for the California legislature, and given testimony to the U.S. Congressional House Rules Committee Roundtable on Food as Medicine.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University and Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Chen is a board-certified family medicine physician who completed his residency training at UCSF-San Francisco General Hospital. He completed additional fellowship training at the University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, leadership training through the California Health Care Foundation’s Leadership Program, acupuncture training through the UCLA-HMI Physicians’ Medical Acupuncture program, and advanced training in osteopathic manipulative medicine.

Recipe4Health Website
https://recipe4health.acgov.org/

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, Founder and Director of the Ecdysis Foundation and Director and CEO of Blue Dasher Farm. Jonathan was one of our speakers at the very first AgEmerge event and his presentation was so powerful.

Watching the work that he and his whole team are doing at Ecdysis and Blue Dasher Farm inspires us to continue to learn and understand the biodiversity necessary to nurture our land. In this episode of the podcast Jonathan says, “you know those entomology problems, those insect pest problems? The reason we don't solve them is because they're not entomology problems, they're soil problems. And until we heal the soil, we’re just going to continue to have problem after problem after problem.” Take a listen as he and Monte talk about their research, discoveries and passion to solve those problems.

Dr. Lundgren is an agroecologist, Founder of the ECDYSIS Foundation, and CEO for Blue Dasher Farm. Lundgren’s research program focuses on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for sustainable food systems. His ecological research focuses heavily on conserving healthy biological communities within agroecosystems by reducing disturbance and increasing biodiversity within cropland.

He received his PhD in Entomology from the University of Illinois in 2004 and was a top scientist with USDA-ARS for 11 years. Lundgren’s research and education programs focus on assessing the ecological risk of pest management strategies and developing long-term solutions for regenerative food systems.

Ecdysis Foundation & Blue Dasher Farm as a research foundation as well as training ground for future scientists and farmers. He is an Agroecologist, Farmer, Rancher, and Beekeeper.

ECDYSIS
https://www.ecdysis.bio/

Blue Dasher Farm
https://www.bluedasher.farm/

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us! Today we welcome Dr. Don Reicosk. Dr. Reicosky is a retired Soil Scientist for the USDA-ARS, North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, MN, and Adjunct Professor in the Soil Science Department, University of Minnesota, St. Paul.

He has an exciting discussion with Monte about the foundational research he conducted back in the late 1990’s finding that tillage releases carbon into the atmosphere in sudden rushes of CO2 as the soil is opened up. And now, more than ever, Dr Reicosky uses his time to help growers know this critical information, whether it's conservation, agriculture, regenerative agriculture or soil health farming, he says we’ve got to adopt these practices so we don't destroy all of our soil resources. It’s a great conversation so let’s jump right in!

Early research involved describing crop response and water use on conventional till and no-till systems with and without irrigation and later focused on tillage and crop biomass management as related to global change issues with emphasis on measuring carbon dioxide and water losses following intensive tillage with a portable chamber.

The short-term tillage-induced gaseous losses of carbon were related to the volume of soil disturbed in the tillage operation and help explain the long-term decline in soil carbon associated with intensive tillage agriculture. These results suggest need for improved Conservation Agriculture Systems for enhancement of soil resources and environmental quality that resulted in numerous international invitations. In retirement, he continues to write about Conservation Agriculture Systems, soil carbon management and environmental issues and to travel and talk about carbon cycling and carbon management in agricultural production systems.

Research and articles by Dr. Reicosky:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Don-Reicosky?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

https://www.jswconline.org/content/70/5/103A?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

https://www.jswconline.org/content/78/5/105A?mc_cid=a3d5482833&mc_eid=UNIQID

Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast?
Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you.