Soul Soil: Where Agriculture and Spirit Intersect with Brooke Kornegay

We are coming to the end of an era that uses fossil calories to power our food production. It's going to take more than technology, more than math and science, to see us out of this predicament; it's going to take collaboration, creativity, and imagination. Born on a North Dakota farm during the Great Depression and in the grips of the worst drought in U.S. history, Fred Kirschenmann has spent most of his life working to change how we farm, as well as our relationship to the land. For more than four decades, Fred has been a champion of agricultural resilience, an articulate advocate for soil health and a pioneer of organic farming. Fred currently serves as President of the Board for the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. A long time national and international leader in sustainable agriculture, Fred is a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University at Iowa State University and a professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy. He also continues to manage his family’s 1,800-acre certified-organic farm in south-central North Dakota. His work has helped transform what was once obscure and marginal work—resilient, sustainable agriculture focused on the health and restoration of the soil—into an international movement.

Historically, civilizations that anticipated change and prepared accordingly were the ones that survived, while those who ignored all the signs eventually collapsed....what kind will we be?

• Fred's father stressed the importance of taking care of the land and how that shaped Fred's values
• How his path took him into Philosophy and Religion, academia, and back to the land--this time on the organic path
• Rudolf Steiner's influence on his philosophy of spirituality and agriculture
• For Fred, spirituality and agriculture has a lot to do with microbes!
• Putting agriculture in historical context
• Farmers who switch from conventional agriculture to regenerative agriculture have a larger profit margin and find that the old model of "get big or get out" no longer makes financial sense
• Justus von Liebig's influence on input-intensive agriculture and being
• A soil-building philosophy (using the principles of nature)
• Perennializing our food crops
• The soil microbe-gut microbe connection; the effects of foods grown in living soil on human health
• Challenges of proposing huge changes to the aging farming community, and challenges of land prices for young farmers who want to practice regenerative agriculture
• Those civilizations who anticipated changes and made preparations are the ones that survived
• It's going to take more than a steady diet of STEM courses (science, technology, engineering, and math) to solve the coming food crisis...it is going to take imagination, creativity, and collaboration.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently estimated that we have 11 years to make major changes in the way we operate before climate change becomes catastrophic

• Growing a Revolution by David Montgomery
• Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown
• Journey of the Universe by Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker
• The Land Institute (Wes Jackson)
• Farmacology by Daphne Miller
• Cultivating an Ecological Consciousness by Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann

Akiva Silver has been studying and working with nature for the past 20 years. His endeavors have ranged from primitive wilderness survival to planting and maintaining diverse fruit and nut orchards, and to running his nursery business at Twisted Tree Farm. Akiva raises tens of thousands of trees every year, propagating from seeds and cuttings. He is an avid forager and observer of wildlife. Akiva has written three books, Trees of Power, The Conversation, and The Ocean of Dreams.

In this episode...

• An approach to creating change through inspiration and alternative solutions rather than opposition...Bringing opposition to those in service only to self can interrupt their agenda, but building new and better systems lays the groundwork for change from a place of love. What we put our focus on often grows, and that includes world problems as well as alternative solutions.
• One alternative solution Akiva has been working on is cooking oil...using the oft-maligned bitternut hickory as a source of cooking oil, instead of relying on an annual monocrop like canola whose production creates a biological desert on the land.
• The story about Akiva’s experience with wilderness and survival skills, how the guilt of taking from the earth, the plant and animal bodies to fuel his own body, was transformed into gratitude, paired with a realization that we are part of nature and the carbon cycle, we have the same value and right to be here...”you are taking life to have life. Something is killed for you to have energy. When I kill a deer and eat it, I have that energy in my body. What I do with that energy matters more to me when I remember this.” You can take that energy and wallow in self pity and self doubt, or you can take that life in order to create beauty and kindness and propagate life. A certain responsibility enters the picture.
• The joy of doing work that is directed by the seasons, the patterns of nature, instead of by a human schedule.
• “Having an attitude of curiosity would lead to a totally different world”
• The best way to be mentally healthy and happy is to know that you have a purpose, know that you’re helping others...finding how you can be of service is the best thing you can do for yourself and the world.

• Twisted Tree Farm website and nursery online store
• Akiva Silver - Twisted Tree Farm YouTube channel
• Trees of Power, The Conversation, and The Ocean of Dreams by Akiva Silver
• Sam Thayer's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America; The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants; and Nature's Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
• Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden by Lee Reich
• Books by Robert Moss

In today’s episode, we talk to Coordinator Stephanie Morningstar and John Deloatch (JD) Giraldo of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. Their vision is to advance land sovereignty in the northeast region through permanent and secure land tenure for Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and Asian farmers and land stewards who will use the land in a sacred manner that honors our ancestors dreams - for sustainable farming, human habitat, ceremony, native ecosystem restoration, and cultural preservation.

Stephanie Morningstar, of the Oneida Nation, is an herbalist, soil and seed steward, scholar, student, and Earth Worker dedicated to decolonizing and liberating minds, hearts, and land- one plant, person, ecosystem, and non-human being at a time. Stephanie is the Coordinator of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust, grows medicines and food for her community at Sky World Apothecary & Farm; and mobilizes knowledge for Indigenous-led climate change and food sovereignty research projects for Global Water Futures.

John Deloatch Giraldo is an Earthworker that focuses on connection to the land, healing with the land and education of how natural systems work. He is guided by Freedom Loving Plants, also known as weeds, and the stories of ancestral plants. His dream is to have green spaces where people can pass on family and cultural traditions as well as create new experiences. He believes it’s critical to have spaces where people can pass on their stories and ways of being in respect to Mother Nature, especially for people who are migrating from different Mother Lands to those who are being raised here so they can maintain a sense of culture, tradition and sovereignty.

Resources

• https://nefoclandtrust.org/
• Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman
• Lilith's Brood: The Complete Xenogenesis Trilogy and Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
• The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer: The Ultimate Guide to Producing High-Quality Herbs on a Market Scale by Jeff and Melanie Carpenter

To learn more about the Grow and Glow package mentioned in today's episode, visit https://www.soulsoilpodcast.com/offerings/grow-and-glow-package

To learn how to become a Patreon and support the show while getting extra resources and support, visit https://www.patreon.com/soulsoil

David O’Carroll has been educating growers in the United Kingdom in Korean Natural Farming methods for the last 6 years at Ballagh Micro Farm, based in Devon, where beneficial microbes are being used to create healthy soil through powerful natural fertilizers. Having used Korean Natural Farming for a number of years on a smaller scale, such as establishing an agroforestry project and learning centre, he combined Korean Natural Farming and other methods of natural farming to accelerate the change in soil biology to showcase how healthy soil can be created. Working closely with many United Kingdom Hemp farms both locally and nationwide he has developed both organic pest management solutions, and adoption of Korean Natural Farming practices, in addition to further product developments within the hemp industry.

In these episodes...

• Korean Natural Farming is a path for those who are put off by the high cost of outside agricultural inputs; KNF offers a local, renewable, sustainable source of fertility that aims to build soil that mimics a forest ecosystem
• KNF has allowed David to diversify his farm products and give him a revenue stream year-round and increase his resilience and small-farm sustainability
• Do as nature does (her methods are inexpensive and easy); understand the good and the bad are one (values are relative)
• The benefit of collecting indigenous microorganisms within the local vicinity (a 50 mile radius is a good reference point); microbes will teach each other how to adapt to different conditions
• I and others are one (understand crops by understanding your own body); you are what you eat, eats
• Applying KNF principles and techniques for waste management at large gatherings and festivals
• Lactic acid bacteria is the emergency response team that can correct both soil and gastrointestinal imbalance
• How the COVID lockdowns are affecting the way people think about food, farming, and gardening
• Indigenous microorganisms for no-smell compost toilets and hog operations
• Looking for the different phases of plant development in order to supplement the needed nutrients: leaf growth, root and flower, seed and fruit
• Utilizing KNF techniques in the developing world using locally available rice, sugar, fruit, plant matter, animal bones, and dairy or bean milk, and some form of alcohol
• Oriental Herbal Nutrient: a tincture of fermented garlic, ginger, cinnamon, licorice, and angelica
• Natural pest management

• David’s website: https://www.ballaghbotanicals.co.uk/ for access to a free online course in how to make Korean Natural Farming preparations
• The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka
• Sepp Holzer's Permaculture: A Practical Guide to Small-Scale, Integrative Farming and Gardening by Sepp Holzer
• Cho’s Global Natural Farming
• An Introduction to Korean Natural Farming
• Chris Trump
• Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels
• What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses by Daniel Chamovitz
• Creating a Forest Garden: Working with Nature to Grow Edible Crops by Martin Crawford
• Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible by Jorge Cervantes

It's a dream farm story...Holly and Andy met on a farm, were married on a farm, started a family on a farm and make their living on a farm. When Holly and Andy purchased land in 2013 to begin their dream farm, they realized that the initial focus was going to be rehabilitating the soil. They decided that biodynamic agriculture would be the way they would address their soil building needs, and went on to create a vibrant farm system that nourishes so many in the community.

Holly Whitesides, along with husband Andy Bryant, and their two daughters, farm on 35 acres in western NC, where they raise certified Biodynamic and Organic vegetables on about 2 acres of crop land and Animal Welfare Approved pork, chicken, beef and turkey on the rest. Holly and Andy have been studying and practicing Biodynamic agriculture since 2013 and feel passionate about raising nutritious food for their community.

"No matter how small your property is, you can engage with it in a co-creative way...a way that builds relationship and allows you to be a voice for your farm."

In this episode...

• About Against the Grain Farm
• What led Holly to embark on the farming journey
• Why biodynamic?
• Early challenges, how our values inform our actions
• Being fully present while working the land
• Nourishing the local community
• High-quality, nutrient-dense food is a basic human right
• What surprised Holly about this work

Resources

• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall B. Rosenberg
• The No-Till Market Farmer Podcast Jesse with Farmer Jesse
• Online Biodynamic courses taught by Cory Eichman
• Spikenard Honeybee Sanctuary
• Earth Legacy Agriculture
• Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamics