My big takeaway from Eco-Ag 2025: the farmers who will survive are those who can create a functioning soil microbiome capable of producing demonstrably nutrient-dense food
The Acres U.S.A. Eco-Ag conference this past December was my first. As such, there was a lot to take in, and I tried to be as observant as I could.
I arrived late on Tuesday evening after driving from North Dakota, so I didn’t get in on any of the evening activities, but I was up for coffee with John Kempf on Wednesday morning. Then I was able to listen to the keynote addresses and attend talks by Gary Zimmer and Dr. James White, do a book signing, and take in the rest of that day’s activities. On Thursday, I sat in on coffee with Gabe Brown and listened to Dan Kittredge’s and John Kempf’s presentations, which were followed by the panel with Rick Clark, John Kempf, and Gabe Brown, and then Gabe’s closing keynote remarks. I also wandered through the tradeshow and had a number of conversations with participants along the way.
Looking Back to Look Forward
The Eco-Ag conference reminded me of the years I spent back in the 1980s through the early 2000s as an adviser with the Manitoba–North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association. It was at those conferences that I was introduced to folks like Dr. Kris Nichols and Dr. Jill Clapperton, who taught me a great deal about soil microbiology. I got to know many producers who relayed their experiences of not only learning how to farm without tillage, but how their soil health improved in the process. The association’s workshops examined everything from ecology to economics and evolved beyond simply addressing soil erosion to building soil health (what we now refer to as “regenerative agriculture”). It was my time spent with these sorts of folks that put me on a path of understanding soil health.
I was impressed with the wide diversity of producers at Eco-Ag, from organic vegetable growers to those producing mainstream agricultural commodities on a large scale, all of them interested in learning how to restore their soil to its full functioning capacity. Many were still looking for ways to deal with the usual suspects of agriculture — weeds, insects and diseases — while trying to remain economically viable.
In my book, A Soil Owner’s Manual: How to Restore and Maintain Soil Health (the second edition of which was recently published by Acres U.S.A.), I describe four principles of restoring soil health: less soil disturbance by physical, chemical, or biological factors; more plant diversity in the cropping sequence or pasture; maintaining living roots in the soil for as much time as possible; and keeping the soil covered with plants and/or their residues all of the time. These principles are focused on creating the best habitat in the soil for all of the microscopic and macroscopic organisms that should be living there. It is these foundational principles that guide the restoration of soil health no matter where you are in the world. Once soil health is restored, weeds, insects and diseases become less of an issue as the balance of nature is reestablished.
In my discussions with folks at the conference, we often recognized which of the soil-restoring principles they may not be adequately addressing in their production systems. Some are doing too much tillage, applying too many inputs, leaving their soil uncovered too much of the time, or not growing a great enough diversity of plants. I realized that growers were often too focused on tools and inputs and not focused enough on how they might use tools or inputs to effect regeneration of their soil.
There was some talk about how no-till has failed to restore soil health, and I pointed out that no-till planters or drills are tools, not systems of production. Successful systems that utilize little soil disturbance (such as no-till) will also include a great deal of plant diversity in both the cropping sequence and the use of multispecies cover crops. Systems using no-till that I have seen fail did not include enough plant diversity and often relied on only one or two species in the cropping sequence.
I have also observed some of the worst soil health in my experience on organic operations that placed too much emphasis on tillage and inputs that met the organic standard and not enough attention on understanding the biology of the soil. Someone once told me that the only difference between humans and other animals is that we use silverware when we eat. As a species, we are obsessed with tools because that is what sets us apart from other life forms. Since the beginnings of agriculture, we have used our tools to degrade the soil out of ignorance about how soil functions as a biological system. But now that there is so much knowledge and understanding about the soil microbiome, we must harness it to make progress in restoring soil health.
Overall, the most encouraging part of the Eco-Ag conference was everyone’s eagerness to learn how they can now restore what has been lost from their soil: biology.
The Link Between Soil and Nutrient Density
As I listened to each presentation at the conference and engaged in various discussions, I looked for a common thread that would connect the dots of what we should now devote our attention to in agriculture. For me, that common thread was the linkage between healthy soil and nutrient-dense food.
Folks like Gabe Brown, Joel Salatin, Dr. Arden Anderson, Nasha Winters, Dan Kittredge, and others have clearly demonstrated and documented the linkage between healthy soil, healthy food, healthy livestock and healthy people. Of all of these, Dan Kittredge’s message — “It is not possible to produce nutrient-dense crops in anything other than soil with a functioning soil microbiome” — struck me the most. If what Dan is saying is true, and I believe it is, then any farmer who has not restored their soil health will not be producing anything worth consuming. Once we have better tools to analyze nutrient density — in the near future — simply stating that you are farming in a regenerative manner or meeting the requirements of organic certification will not be good enough; you will have to prove that your products are nutrient-dense and came from soil with a functioning soil microbiome.
To have a properly functioning soil microbiome, you will have to manage your soil in a way that creates suitable habitat to support a soil microbiome that can support nutritious plants. Producers won’t be able to sell their products based simply on applying certain practices that might be recognized as promoting soil health; they will have to literally create healthy soil or be left out of the marketplace.
The information presented by Dr. James White only reinforced what Dan Kittredge pointed out: the soil is a biological system. There should be no doubt left in anyone’s mind that nearly all of the important functions soil performs are carried out by the relationships between plants and soil microbes. If you are not managing your soil so that it is good habitat for soil microbes, you will not be able to produce nutrient-dense crops.
The common thread continued with John Kempf’s point that context is important in developing a management system that actually restores soil health on each farm. Every producer has a different context in which they operate — different soils, workforce, equipment, budget, and more. Thus, each producer will have to determine how to implement the principles of restoring soil health on their own farm. We can all learn from others’ experiences, but ultimately we each have to create our own.
John Kempf also mentioned that with an adequate food supply, the soil microbes that associate best with plants will ultimately dominate the soil microbiome. This emphasizes how important it is to have living roots in the soil. Exudates from living roots are the primary source of nutrition for soil microbes. Decaying plant material also contributes to feeding and building soil, but not to the extent that root exudates do. These substances feed soil microbes, which in turn feed plants what they need most at the time they need it for growth and development. In this way, plants farm microbes by feeding them so the microbes can feed the plant.
This is how plants can save water and energy while developing the highest molecular-weight compounds that translate into nutrient-dense tissues for us or our livestock to consume. As consumers of these plants, we are particularly sensitive to the high molecular-weight compounds that we perceive as desirable flavors and aromas.
No Time to Waste
This brings me to my personal takeaways from the Eco-Ag conference: We now know how to create soil habitat that supports a healthy soil microbiome, and a healthy soil microbiome is the only means we have to produce nutrient-dense food that the marketplace will demand. Developing and maintaining healthy, functioning soil is the only path we can take in agriculture to reduce input costs and produce what the marketplace demands. The farmers who will survive into the future are those who not only grasp the concepts of soil health but who can implement them to create a functioning soil microbiome capable of producing demonstrably nutrient-dense food.
There is no time to waste. Technologies that allow us to understand both the biology of the soil and the nutrient density of the foods produced on our soils are advancing quickly. The time is near when healthy soil and the healthy food it can produce will be in the greatest demand. I encourage everyone who attended Eco-Ag to compare their production systems with the principles of restoring soil health to identify any weak links in creating suitable habitat for the soil microbiome. Once you have identified what needs improvement, develop an approach to make a positive change.
You must try new things to make progress. The worst thing you can do is nothing. Make a change for the better, even if it is on a small, experimental scale so you can learn and build on it. Rick Clark encouraged us in his presentation to “embrace change; you’ll like how it feels.”
I wish you well as you create both change and healthy soil on your farm in 2026.
