What is happening to soil today & why it matters

In this episode, Paul and Ben discuss the importance of soil health and regenerative agriculture for sustainable food production and global food security. Paul highlights that Earth’s soils contain three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and that drawing down atmospheric carbon into the soil can help mitigate climate change. He also stresses the importance of soil carbon for feeding microbiology and increasing soil moisture-holding capacity. Ben emphasizes the risk to society’s food supply due to the depleted condition of soils, and the need to rebalance CO2 in the atmosphere. He also mentions that it is possible to take us back below 300-350 parts per million of carbon ranges, and even back to 280 by 2050 and 2100 targets with today’s capabilities and agricultural properties.

The role of synthetic fertilizers in the future

According to Paul, synthetic fertilizers have played an important role in modern farming, but it is important to take a more careful approach to how they are used in the future. He mentions the concept of the “four R’s” (right source, right placement, right timing) which highlights the need for more efficient use of fertilizers. He also mentions that the overuse of tillage and lack of cover crops are contributing factors to soil depletion and that regenerative agriculture practices are being used to address these issues. Paul says, “If we get soil biology right, we’ll get plant nutrition right. Feed the soil, not the plant is basically a lot of times what you got to think about.” He also recommends reading the book, The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann, which is a debate on the role of technology in agriculture, arguing that technology can be a powerful tool but it needs to be used responsibly.

What is regenerative agriculture & its state in the world today

Regenerative agriculture is focused on restoring microbial life in soils, which is crucial for soil health. This includes cycling carbon, water, minerals, and other nutrients in order to maintain healthy soil year after year. In this context, regenerative agriculture also includes cycling salts, which accumulate in the soil when the soil microbiome is in a depleted state. The momentum towards regenerative practices is growing rapidly, with many farmers beginning to adopt these practices. However, the key challenge is to ensure that these practices can be sustained and adopted by a larger percentage of farmers, in order to have a positive impact on rebalancing the carbon in the atmosphere.

Biodel Ag, their work & Ben’s background

Ben recounts his experience visiting Australia in 2001 with an agricultural leadership group, where he witnessed the collapse of the Murray Darling River and gained insight into the effects of climate change. He became a shareholder in a farming enterprise in Australia to keep track of the region’s developments and later became involved in the algae biomass business. From 2005 to 2012, Ben established a pilot facility to commercialize algae biomass and came to the conclusion that the best use for the strains grown was as a soil amendment. In 2015, he formed Biodel Ag and developed a product called Sequester to address issues such as salinity, water conservation, and the reduction of synthetic fertilizers needed to achieve high crop yields. Ben explains 2023 will be a big year for the company to push the product into the marketplace.

The agtech market today, its potential for contributing to climate solutions & other opportunity areas

Paul states that there is a growing focus on agtech and the potential for it in the industry today. He mentions that companies and organizations are making net-zero commitments and are being held accountable for them, which is driving a lot of this growth. He also highlights that agriculture is a major source of the economy and that people are beginning to see it as a solution rather than a problem. He is excited about the potential for FinTech in agriculture, as well as the advancements in technology such as robotics, meta-genomics, and the understanding of microbiomes and plant genomics. He believes that there is a major shift coming in the next five years in the industry and that it is an exciting time to be involved in agriculture as technology is allowing for meaningful improvements in people’s lives and the environment.

Resources Mentioned

• Biodel Ag
• Sequester 
• Soil Health Institute
• Dr. Jay Golden at Syracuse University & the Dynamic Sustainability Lab
• “The Next Fintech Revolution: Agriculture Finance” by Nik Milanovich in Forbes 
• The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann
• Alternative Fuels and Chemicals Coalition

Connect with Ben Cloud & Dr. Paul Zorner

• Connect with Ben on LinkedIn
• Connect with Paul on LinkedIn

Connect with Jason Rissman

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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