The Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast

Fred Provenza is a researcher in behavioural ecology who has carried out fascinating research on the nutritional wisdom of animals, on their ability to select their diet and learn. We explore with him the practical implications of his research. He explains why a biodiverse landscape is crucial to animal health and what tools we have to favour such a foraging environment...

Federico San Bonifacio is the owner and farm manager of a 30ha farm in the plains of Verona, Northern Italy. For 12 years he has been engaging in an agroecological transition where trees and shrubs play a fundamental role. Breaking the monotony of the surrounding corn and soy plots, he has planted hedges in long strips to provide the ecosystem services that support his grain production...

Today I talk with Kaitie Adams, she leads the Savanna Institute's Illinois Demonstration Farm program and helps build community through agroforestry education across the state and beyond. Kaitie and I explore together how they build relationships with different stakeholders to make agroforestry projects become a reality in the mid-west. We engage with themes such as cultural perceptions of agroforestry and the multiple ways the Savanna Institute is leveraging change...

Scott and Sandy Williams got involved in farming after acquiring 500 acres of productive land in Illinois, USA. After meeting the Savannah Institute, they were inspired to transition their land towards conservation agriculture, with a keen interest in agroforestry systems...

Eric Toensmeir is the author of The Carbon Farming Solution among other great books on agroforestry and perennial crops. The first part of the interview is focused on understanding the carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry, focusing especially on silvopasture. We then move on to discussing the challenges we are faced with to shift towards a more perennial diet...

We have the pleasure of welcoming back Brett Chedzoy on the podcast. While last time we dedicated much of the conversation to transforming woods into a productive silvopasture, this time we focus on planting trees into pasture. We go into a lot of depth into the design of such plantations as well as their management implications...

Francis Bucaille is a leader in the field of agronomy. Farmer, consultant, educator, author and owner of Gaiago, he has built a reputation nuancing some of the commonly held beliefs of regenerative agricultural practices. As a soil expert he talks about the key principles of agroecology, why fungi and lignin are so important, and how trees can help farmers improve their soil. This interview contributes to our ongoing investigation as to how trees can be an agronomic tool for farmers...

Dr Lindsay Whistance is a Livestock Researcher at the Organic Research Center in the UK. Through her extensive knowledge of silvopasture, she enables us to see agroforestry from the animal’s perspective. Trees can provide livestock with shelter, food, medicine and even encourage social interactions between animals...

After many years of experimentation, Jaime Elizondo is scaling his leucaena silvopasture system in order to increase his stocking rate from 3 to 6 cattle units per hectare: doubling his profitability.

This bold statement has been made by one of the most experienced regenerative graziers we know of, and shouldn't be taken lightly...

Ben Raskin is Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association. He is also working at Eastbrook Farm in the UK, where he is overseeing the implementation of various agroforestry systems over the last few years, mainly focused on silvopasture. Ben gives us some detailed feedback on these first years on the farm : the design of the different fields, what species they have chosen and why, as well as how they approached weed control and tree protection from livestock...