The Soil Revolution
Digging Deeper

Brendon Rockey of Rockey Farms, Center, Colorado, is a third generation biotic specialty potato farmer teaching producers across the nation how to end their chemical dependencies. 

Brendon’s approach focuses on life. He uses biological inputs, companion crops, livestock, green manure and nectar rich flowers in place of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. His system sustains yields, has greater water efficiency and it supports a flourishing ecosystem encouraging beneficial insects, soil microbes and carbon cycling.

In addition to raising specialty fresh market potatoes, Rockey Farms also produces quinoa and a certified seed potatoes.

Brendon is a National Association of Conservation District Soil Health Champion and Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association board member. He devotes his time to many local, national and international soil health focused organizations through speaking events and workshops.

In 2014, Rockey Farms was awarded the National Potato Council Environmental Stewardship Award for its practices. In 2011, the farm was recognized with the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts Farming Division Conservationist of the Year Award.

Tim Becker is a Soil Conservation Technician for the Natural Resources Conservation Service located in Holyoke and Julesburg, Colorado. Tim graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Texas Tech University and an Associate Degree from Northeastern Jr College. He is currently a member of the Area 2 NRCS Soil Health Team. Tim has been part of a 5 year soil carbon study in conjunction with the Agricultural Research Service, where soil samples have been collected at 9 different sites in 4 counties in Northeast Colorado. Along with soil carbon analyses, the sites have had bulk density, infiltration and bio mass studies completed. In the past 2 years Tim has started using a microscope to demonstrate soil biology to local producers as well at various meetings, workshops and school classes.

Keith Bateman is proud to call himself a 5th generation Boulder County farmer. Keith’s great-great grandfather, Adolph Waneka, homesteaded in Boulder County in 1859, and his father farmed around Waneka Lake when Keith was a child. Keith’s son, Cory, now farms alongside him and he hopes his two grandsons will become 7th generation farmers in Boulder County.

Keith farms thousands of acres in Boulder County. He manages land owned by Boulder County, the City of Boulder and countless other private landowners. Along with being the largest wheat producer in the county, Keith also raises barley, corn, alfalfa, grass hay, oats, millet and cattle. He has also diversified his portfolio with the addition of 7^th Generation Farm, a market farm in Louisville selling meat, eggs, honey, vegetables and more.

Marlon earned a MS and BS degree at Utah State University in Plant Science. He grew up on a family-owned dairy farm in Dayton, Idaho, where he found is passion for life - Agriculture. He worked as a County Agricultural Agent for Utah State University Extension service for nine years in Price, Utah.

Marlon has been working for the USDA - Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) for about ten years, as Area Agronomist in Northern Utah and the State Agronomist in Idaho. Marlon currently works as the Regional Soil Health Specialist for Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Marlon and his family live on a ranchette in Casper, WY where they raise pasture, sheep, hogs, a few calves and a large garden.

Ozzie Gallegos works as the production manager for Full Circle Farm in Longmont, a certified organic farm comprised of 300 acres of vegetables and 700 acres of small grains, forages, silage and grain corn. Prior to his 10 years with Full Circle, Ozzie was the production manager for Grant Farms near Wellington Colorado, farming 1500 acres of vegetables, small grains and grain corn.

Minor Morgan is the owner and operator of a small family farm located in the beautiful Rio Grande Valley in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family farm is certified organic and grows a variety of mixed vegetables and cover crops and also has a small peach orchard.

At North Valley Organics they harvest, package and deliver all products themselves, assuring maximum quality control, cleanliness and food safety. They sell to local farmers markets, retail stores, institutions and restaurants. The philosophy at North Valley Organics is the belief that understanding and respecting the biological life in soil and plants is the driving force behind organic agriculture.

As organic farmers, they are always growing two crops: one cash crop for us and one crop that is dedicated to the soil microbes that sustain all life. Based on these principles, they have developed a living mulch, minimal till cover-crop system for growing fresh market vegetables that allows them to farm intensively while simultaneously feeding their soil. They are inspired by the writings of Rudolph Steiner and share the biodynamic worldview on agriculture. They also value the permaculture principals of holistic ecosystem management.

Their farm is irrigated from ancient gravity-fed ditches while supplementing with a very modern system of drip irrigation. They take a biological approach to solving the challenges of nutrient management, pest control and soil health by using compost teas and beneficial microbial inoculants.

Amanda Scott has a strong passion for community and food. This led her to farming after working in the restaurant industry for 15 years. That and her baby!

Now, she is the co-owner of 63rd St. Farm with her husband Brian for 9 years. They run a CSA only farm raising veggies, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and soil along with their 3 kids.

Info about Adrian coming soon…

After an “aha” moment in 2007, Michael Moss left his 20-year career in hospitality and devoted himself to finding a better way to feed his friends, family and the local community. Many years of studies and hands-on learning later, Michael created his own organic vegetable farm; Kilt Farm, which is based in Niwot, CO and consists of 30 acres of Boulder County Open space.

Michael believes that in order to create nutrient-dense food, he must start have vibrantly healthy soil. Mineral amendments, organic matter, cover crops and compost tea are just a few ways he is rapidly building soil health on his properties. His mission is to build a thriving farm enterprise which leaves the land he works with in a healthier state year on year.

John was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and raised in a Mennonite community, exposed to traditional farm practices.

He relocated to Boulder in 1976 and worked as a boat builder and carpenter. John married Felicity in 1985 and raised Kendra and Catherine on their farm in Niwot, where they lived a full immersion life style of hand craft trades, perennial gardening and farming for market.

John performed his first test with Neil Kinsey in 1998, putting into practice the principles of the progressive farm movement and traditional farm craft they inherited from their parents. Biological farm practices are not new but are being rediscovered and hold the key to profitability for all farming styles.

Matthew Wallenstein is a soil microbial ecologist who studies how microbes drive nutrient cycling, soil formation and decomposition, and affect crop health and productivity. His group has elucidated novel mechanisms by which plants control the assembly of the microbiome in their rooting zone, and has shown how this affects plant fitness. He has applied his expertise in plant-microbe interactions to develop and commercialize microbial biostimulants that increase nutrient availability.

Wallenstein is an associate professor in the department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and a joint associate professor in the department of Soil and Crop Sciences. He is the founding director of the Innovation Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the current president of the Soil Ecology Society, and the Chairman of Growcentia, Inc. He also a receipient of a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award.

Dale Strickler is an agronomist for Green Cover Seed, the nation’s leading cover crop specific seed company and a leader in the soil health movement, based out of Bladen Nebraska. He grew up on a diversified farm near Colony Kansas, then attended Kansas State university, achieving both BS and MS degrees in Agronomy. He taught agronomy at Cloud County Community College for 15 years, and has been an agronomist for Land O’Lakes, Star Seed, and Valent USA prior to working with Green Cover Seed. He also has his own ranching operation near Jamestown Kansas, where he puts his theories into practice with (usually) good results.

Jon Wicke serves as the Area Resource Conservationist for Programs for the USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), out of Greeley, Colorado. In this position he assists NRCS Field Offices within a 19 county region of Northeast Colorado to deliver and administer NRCS financial assistance programs to USDA customers. He has worked in this position for 10 years. During his career of over 34 years, Jon has served in Field and Area offices in Kansas and Colorado.

Wyatt Barnes is the Co-Owner of Red Wagon Farm in Longmont, Colorado. Since 2003, Red Wagon has farmed two locations near Boulder and Longmont. After many years as one of the top sellers at the Saturday Farmers’ Market, Red Wagon now focuses on their CSA (400 strong), wholesale and restaurant customers. Wyatt and his wife, Amy Tisdale, grow many varieties of over 100 vegetable crops and have become well-known for quality in the Boulder area.

Wyatt has put considerable effort into using cover crops to build and maintain soil fertility on his farm. In 2016, Red Wagon had 25 of their 30 production acres in cover crops over the winter. The results have varied, but Wyatt reports yields are often 30% greater on cash crops following cover crops.

While Tim is a grandson of an Illinois farmer, it was not until he became Director of Project Glean in 1982 that farming became a possible second career. As director of this hunger ministry, he met and worked with many local farmers on the Front Range. Bob Sakata suggested he go into aqua farming, but Tim asked for a Plan B and Mr. Sakata suggested raising raspberries. With the help of Dr. Harrison Hughes of CSU, and Sons Drip Irrigation, Tim began raising raspberries and then later strawberries on several leased acres.

He met his future wife Claudia and the two purchased a 40 acre farm in Brighton. Presently they raise berries, fruit trees and numerous varieties of vegetables. With the help of CSU, Adams County Extension Office and the NRCS, they have been able to put together a cover crop program unique to their farm’s needs and location.

Mark Easter is a Senior Research Associate at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. His research focuses on greenhouse gas inventories and greenhouse gas decision support systems in agriculture and forestry.

Mark contributed analysis to multiple IPCC reports on greenhouse gas inventory methods, and has contributed to national-level inventories of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and forestry in the United States, Brazil, Kenya, Jordan, India, Spain and Italy. He is currently the project coordinators for the COMET-Farm and COMET-Global projects, and the technical lead for the Carbon Benefit Project.

He also contributes to the COMET-Planner project. COMET-Farm is a web-based decision support system for assessing the field-level and livestock herd-level greenhouse gas balance of agricultural conservation practices in the United States. COMET-Planner is a three-click tool supporting conservation planning efforts in U.S. agriculture. COMET-Global extends the COMET-Farm framework to land use and management systems in other parts of the world. The Carbon Benefits Project is funded by the United Nations Global Environment Facility, and provides decision support systems for assessing the greenhouse gas benefits of sustainable land use projects in developing nations.

Mark has been working on greenhouse gas inventories and decision support systems since 1999, and it remains a principal focus in his work. He earned a M.S. in Botany with an emphasis in Physiological Ecology at the University of Vermont in 1991.

Billy Gascoigne is a Conservation Strategist with Ducks Unlimited, Inc. (DU), where in addition to conservation delivery, he focuses on emerging market opportunities, ecosystem service quantification, conservation finance, asset acquisition, and general business development. Billy leads DU’s carbon program focused on preserving grassland acres at risk to conversion that has successfully partnered with over 75 landowners, spanning 42,000 acres. He holds a master’s degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University, and resides in Fort Collins, CO.