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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Over his decades of farming and ranching, Gabe Brown has noticed a troubling trend: the conventional farming techniques he used were degrading the soil and ruining crops. He shares how his family farm turned things around by adopting regenerative agricultural practices - and shows how the wider food system can use these same methods to improve food quality and revitalize the land. (Recorded at TED Countdown Dilemma Series: Food on June 6, 2024)
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Just like to say Gab Brown was at our Native American Tribe speaking about Regenerative Ag 5 years ago and it changed my life and others ,now we practice regenerative ag on the land and I'm seeing a change now, I'm a bee keeper on tribal lands and have seen a big change in the honey bees with bigger yields and less CCD during the growing season, thank you Gab for spreading the word on Regen Ag
That’s fantastic news. You are reaping the rewards of a change of mindset. If ever I get to the states again, I’d like to see areas where these practices have proven successful.
It is become my humble conviction that our native ecosystems, human cultures that depend on local food webs, and all global ecosystems across our planet is all an ecosystem unto itself.
@@rypatmackrock the practice is complex; especially until satisfactory method is simplified with thorough explanation. Dennis
@@denniskemnitz1381 for me, it all comes down to understanding the principles of natural ecology, how and why plants and animals were domesticated, and how to reintegrate an ecosystem around your agriculture operation.
I’ve taken notes of the six principles outlined in the video that are as follows.
Your local ecosystem context, n
No chemical inputs, and as little disturbance as possible,
Always having soil cover to retain water and prevent erosion,
Natural or integrated biodiversity with the understanding of what the plants and animals do to keep pests in check,
All year round, perennial crops, or plants,
And insect and animal integration. Praying mantises as insect predators, birds, to be insect predators and possible poultry meat, or whatever your context requires.
It all goes back to your personal context and adapting otherwise.
Regenerative, agriculture and holistic management is the framework or perspective of approaching agriculture and the management of natural or agrarian ecosystems.
It starts with your local native ecosystem, it’s natural history as guidance, and working from there.
I am an organic farmer far from your place. I am from Sri Lanka. I was just about to go for synthetic fertilizer. Because since I started my 5 acre organic farm , still no profit even after 3 years. I am slowly introducing animals such as chickens.
Thank you for your inspiration.
I’ll hold on to my organic.
Hope one day I’ll make a difference.
Where in Sri Lanka are you from?
You are doing the difference! Bravo
@@maxdeacon1 it’s in Kurunegala district, village is called Bihalpola. I am building a farm house now, so people from cities can come on Friday satay the week end at my farm and leave on Sunday.
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis, Gabe. Thank you for all you do for spreading the word.
Go carnivore for optimal healing
@@audreysuter4315 I Was thinking the exact same thing - the moment he mentioned it
I have been applying regenerative principles to my own garden. Gabe Brown in his book, Dirt to Soil, helped me recognize the importance of my own soil. I hope we can move away from conventional farming to help heal the planet.
Dirt to soil is a very/great textbook...Dennis
HOW DOES THIS NOT HAVE MORE VIEWS???? This is crucial information! While I don't have a farm, I actively seek out pasture raised animal products from local farms (I'm lucky that way!). We live in a time where the monoculture crops that are used to make food that is unfit for human consumption (refined grains, refined sugars, and industrial seed oils) get more government subsidies than fruits and vegetables. My hope is that this next administration can make some changes to this and incentivize farmers to use regenerative agriculture to heal the soil, have higher yields, more profits, and healthier food for all of us!
@@TheHokieDoke take away ALL taxpayer funded subsidies and a host of problems would disappear. Subsidies fund imitation "foods" for critters and people, as well as inefficient energy...
Did-it-done-it..at Nabisco and-COORS..retired to dirt farming now..DENNIS
Doesn’t seem like it. He’s about ripping as much from the land as possible. “Drill, baby, drill”.
@@ignas358 "drilling" seed into the soil is poking seeds into holes. Think: a line of super-duty straws that stick into the soil, blow a seed into the soil (like a spit ball or bullet through a barrel), seeder pops out of the soil and then a spatula that pushes a little soil onto the hole to cover the seed. Tilling the soil to plant RIPS up a lot of soil. After reading Dirt to Soil, my gardener mother, lightly rakes loose soil to plant seeds that are sprinkled OR pokes individual seeds in with a hole made by stick. She no longer asks for the garden to be plowed. My father and brothers have NOT plowed fields to plant crops in many years. The NO TIL drills do not disturb the cover crops. The goal is to maintain LIVING roots in the soil as close to 100% of the time as possible to avoid soil loss due to wind or water errosion.
@@TheHokieDoke BIG Ag wants regen ag burried. Regen ag will restore small, family farms and their nearby towns.
We love you Gabe. Your legacy reaches far beyond your land. I continue to share your videos with whom ever will listen. Thank you
This is an honest farmer, I love this talk. My heart goes out to him, my family were Oklahoma farmers back when, befor the bankers got their land.
Dear Gabe! You say "the ecosystem started healing itself." Wow!
You are part of the ecosystem and maybe you can heal yourself, too! I am full of gratitude! I send you a lot of strength and hugs from Germany.
Unfortunately it’s much more complicated for us humans.
We need more Earth heroes like Gabe! Thank you for spreading the word and making a huge difference in the farming industry.
It took him 30 years to find out. Thank you for sharing this good thing to communities.
Natives allways knew.
Yeah "we" always knew... just the corporations and the "social engineers" have gotten the best of us for quite a while. But not anymore. The truth, including ancient cultures and wisdom we always knew, is coming out.
I only hope that people with this information reach Bill Gates. (and no don't tell me he won't do it, as anyone can be convinced with the right rhetoric and support.)
1998-1983=15 years; not 30.
@@Marilou-g5the didn’t say earth years
Love this. Excellent talk. Thank you for your insight and sharing your experiences. Hope regenerative agriculture becomes the norm very soon.
@@taracmonroe get your friends to buy from local regen farmers, vote with your dollars!
Go Gabe Brown !
I have been tuning into your talks since 2008-2007.
Hoping your ambassadorship for Mycorrhizal Fungi runs for a long as you choose.
Be well, from Boston
God Bless You Gabe! My home state of Illinois is black, actually brown because of soil degradation. As Leopold said “ Rich Land, Poor Country. We harvest less that 30,000 wild pheasants now, we used harvest over a million. I hope regen ag is the future.
I began learning about regenerative agriculture about 5 years ago. I grow as much as I can on 1/3 acre, apx. 300+ s.f. growing space. This year, harvested 350-400# of food. I just became the Garden Project Manager at our Elementary School, so I am looking forward to teaching our next generation's the value of RegenAg.
As a horticulturist, thank you! All those years of experience to find out how to treat our soils! I’ve always had a feeling about soil and no tilling and using cover crops. I’ve never had prior knowledge but it just made sense to me. I hope to have my own farm one day and maybe own multiple so I could help practice these methods and heal the soil for future generations.
I am working on adding these principles to my gardening practices on the porch of my apartment. He did a great job adding a lot of context to a complicated goal 👊🏻🌻👊🏻
Bless you, Gabe Brown. I show Kiss the Ground education video and your testimony in that movie has reached so many students from a rural background that regenerative agriculture is THE answer for modern society to draw down carbon from the atmosphere. You are a bold and brave soul, sir.
Thank you Gabe Brown! Truly hope your experience, shared so sincerely will help convert more minds towards regenerative farming.
@@ving1389 vote with your dollars
Gabe, a 'terminal' diagnosis is a dangerous curse by irresponsible people, it should never be accepted. Spirit is above matter, break the spell and invite the miracles that happend to others into you own life! Your great food is a soure of health. You have initiated to change the world and we want you around! Please decide to stay as part of principle 1. Myself and many others send you love and healing from Germany!
Thank you. One of the best and most important video I have ever watched.
If you are new to regenerative agriculture, here is your list of videos to watch:
1. the legendary TED-talk of Allen Savory (kinda inventor of all this)
2. several TEDx-talks of Gabe Brown and Joel Salatin
3. check out the YT-channels of Gabe, Joel and Greg Judy (the third Guru of reg ag). They have tons of howTo-videos showing how it is done in much detail. Especially if you are a (wannabe) homesteader.
Also Dr. Allen Williams
Farmer Jesse of @notillgrowers
@@cuck4billionairesI was going to comment the same thing! Also, on the same topic, Dr. Christine Jones, Nicole Masters, John Kempf. The lost goes on! ❤
@@lenayeagle9650ya wanna get them on the list.
@@lenayeagle9650why the lost...it is a list.
10:57 Amazing the statistics on profit 😮! This is the kind of information that could change the way we do things for a richer future.
I've read papers about these performances but few read them. Sharing them through these means facilitates the transformation.
Congratulations! 👏🏻
This was an amazing lecture and watch. Thank you for featuring this!
I have a small organic regen farm, which I'm trying to do between my regular job. the problem is it's impossible to make a living when distribution is controlled by a handful of corporations, who set the prices on everything. huge corporate farms want to keep us priced out of the market, and its done by choking our access to consumers. a bunch of kale is $4 in the store. the buyers want to pay 50 cents. corporate farms will break laws and pay fines to make themselves profitable, because it keeps the market cornered. meanwhile, the general public really has no idea how bad their food quality is.. so they'll buy what ever is in front of them.
Sell produce at farmers market. Dennis
"KEEP ON TRUCKIN AND MOST OF ALL IT SEEMS COMPLICATED" for a long time. Dennis
If you are in New York, then do a little Google search on small farm cooperative networks New York. There are Reeses from Cornell University as well as independent resources like, farmland for new generation. ❤
I am small pastured poultry producer, it’s all about quality and uniqueness of your product. You must own your distribution. Grow things that people can taste the difference and own the supply chain all the way to the consumer. Start small, but never sacrifice direct consumer access, because then you might be able to charge $7 a head of kale and the consumer will thank you for it. (I recommend CSA or pre-allotted delivery or distribution, helps you plan your growing season and communicates the farm’s production to consumers). If you’re selling to a grocer, no one will be able to know the difference between your product and the industrialized agribusiness product next to it. Hang in there, and never give up access to the customer.
An excellent talk, I hope more people will listen to It and follow the good ideas.
A wonderful presentation. We are using these principles and hope to regenerate our land too. We’re already seeing improvements in the soil and biodiversity.
Sir, you are an inspiration.
Thank you Gabe for sharing your experience. Listening to your struggles and successes fuels me to keep learning and better practice regenerative gardening for my home and taking care of my soil. The wheels are turning now to animals. What animals can we incorporate into our home?…Thank you again.
More than just putting the food in the lunch room at school we need to start teaching cooking & food awareness in school & at a much younger age. So many kids are just eating corn dogs, fries & chicken 'nuggies' because their parents haven't taught them that nutrition is key to growing up & staying healthy in life. We can fix this in the ways outlined in this video.
God bless you Gabe!
Very inspiring!
Love the Work and Talk.
Thank you for sharing Gabe!
I always had some intrigue into soil. Like life just springs out of it, yet its something so overlooked. Soil is alive, just like the planet itself.
Humbling, beautiful, absolutely necessary!
Thank you!
Love his book...love that TED had him do a talk.
Thank you. We need more people joining the movement to save our soils.
Well spoken sir! Thank you.
Fantastic inspirational talk.
That was fantastic! Truly an inspiration. I will be incorporating those ideas into my large veggie garden.
Sorry about your diagnosis. Perhaps you can heal yourself like you healed your soil.
Gabe is an inspiring figure.
beAuTiFuL 💚
Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that. So sorry Gabe 😢
This guy is very informative and has a great sense of humour.
Well said and inspirational.
Amazing talk! Fantastic job leading the way on this! We strongly believe in the power of regenerative farming at scale!
Well done! So hard to break with convention, especially when you’re in trouble
Thank you. 🇧🇷
I'm doing this in my garden and seeing a big difference in less than 2 years. Adding compost and using compost extra and worm castings. Looks like I may be using less water to grow a crop. The plants look a lot better and have no bugs or fungus.
I have the same results on a new 20x40 foot garden that was a patch of weeds on ground that could not be dug into with a garden fork. Using only horse manure, compost and winter cover (no synthetic fertilizer and no pesticide) after 3 years I get a huge harvest from amazingly healthy plants and absolutely zero pest problems. My soil is great as deep as I want to dig it and now I can practice completely no-dig gardening. My water consumption is way less than in previous gardens, I don't have to pay for fertilizers, etc and I don't have to dig or till. .
Great talk about diverse farming, well spoken from real experience.
Thanks people like you sir.
For home gardeners, too. I'm growing a cover/green manure crop for my new garden beds for trees, shrubs, perennials and vegies. Puts organic matter and nutrients into the soil.
The problem is a lot of farming now done as mega commercial farms and they are all about profit now and don’t care about the fields 50 or 100 years from now. It’s all done with big equipment and chemical fertilizer, and herbicides, pesticides. We need more small farms, that unfortunately struggle to compete with mega farms.
Very insightful.... Thank you so much for this piece of vital advice
If only the world would focus on this
Healthy microbiology works like a sponge absorbing minerals into rootzones and holding moisture there too.
Activated char is like little sky scrapers for microbiology.... if you have any live stock, add some char to their feed it will get activated while inside, and they will spread it. Activated later for you unless you keep them contained and spread their excrement yourself...
Can you direct me to those studies. I have/not looked for them/so haven't found them Dennis
At/idea makes sense. Have you/noticed/any/research proving it. If so please/send/any references. Dennis
@denniskemnitz1381 Dr. Elaine Engram is a renowned soil biologist and a wealth of knowledge.
This guy is an American hero
Really nice to hear about the concept and its importance. Thank you for that. It would be more helpful if you explain how to do it practically to understand better
Gab Brown is an American hero.
Thank you 🎉
🎯💎🏆 Great insightful & fruitful video 🏆💎🎯
लोकः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु
( May all beings lead prosperous life across Globe 🌍 )
11:37 you could almost say that there is only 1 sample of soil in this picture as the other sample is just dirt. An amazing difference between the two
Excellent
Thank you
Brilliant, and vitally important points made. One day all farms will be like this.
One day . . .
Let us continue working toward that day.Dennis
Grazing ruminants and other grazing animals promote soil life, biodiversity and keep carbon in the soil. I really think this is an idea worth spreading. Thank you, Gabe Brown, for your work!
I've known about these methods for about 20 years, I've been applying them for 10 years, and yet I don't see a change in the methods of corporations and large farms in the world!
I recommended and showed the neighbors the differences in results plus the fact that I work less, it seems everyone understands but very few try permaculture methods and are reluctant.
Near the end, He quotes “ground-breaking studies” to prove the beneficial results of not continually breaking the ground. Interesting word choice.😊
I'm very glad Gabe and others are having success with regenerative farming. I discuss a variety of sustainable farming practices with my environmental science students every year. I'm genuinely curious though, according to Gabe's chart at 11:40, these methods are WAY better for the soil/ecosystem and lead to a 929% profit compared to conventional farming. So why aren't more farmers switching to regenerative practices? Is it just a lack of education? Is there an up-front cost barrier? I'm asking because there might be more people willing to give it a try if we could help them over that first hurdle.
They more or less have to continue with previous knowledge and experience until change is possible on their operation. Change takes time experience and lots then more experience. Dennis
It’s more complicated than people think, especially when the norm is to till heavily, apply fertilizer, seed, and spray pesticides. To practice regenerative agriculture takes a lot of learning, and trial and error and it really hasn’t been scaled and tested to produce the same amount of food that conventional farming has.
@@MarginalFarming sure, but you still need to produce about the same amount of food. As the world has become globalized, farmers don’t just feed the local population, they feed the world. I have yet to see a working large scale farm implement these practices. I understand that it works, but I’ve only seen it being tried with smaller farms. With the amount of people that we need to feed, farms need a ton of output. Many can’t afford to let a field be grazed by cattle or let nature do it’s thing for even one season. I have hopes that we as humans can figure out a way to do this sustainably, but it won’t be easy.
@@MarginalFarming I think if a large corporate farm, or whomever with a lot of acreage (or hectares for you outside of the USA) can implement this practice and prove it is financially viable and sustainable, I think we will see a change. I mean, it is already changing (sort of). I live in the Central Valley of California and I am seeing a bit of change lately revolving around these regenerative practices. Mostly in letting animals graze underneath orchards, and adding compost made by the local landfill instead of using chemical fertilizers. But I would say most farms are still very much old school around here.
@@nickbono8 Ideally a large industrial operation that makes changes would have an impact on other operations.
My trials have proven better results with water efficiency and particularly quality.
However YIELD is what they get paid for and Nitrates are used to produce size and weight at the detriment of nutrition and soil health. ( You also get more pests with nitrates - hence fungicides and pesticides)
The latest practice employed is FUMIGATION - which is basically gassing the soil with MethamSodium. prior to planting.
The company has to provide people living in proximity with hotel accommodation for up to 21 days while the chemical is active.
It is not rocket science to understand that these practices will eventually put these companies out of business in a couple more years..
Regulation costs might effect some change.
But meanwhile, these large companies are making themselves bankrupt anyway.
So it is just a waiting game...
Cheers ..
Great video
I love this man speech
Gabe is my superhero!!! 😍😍😍
"Climate change is about soil degradation Gabe said.. AMEN
Impressive performance on this so very important topic of regenerative farming!!🙏🇩🇪
I have cover crops in a garden plot. I have nine types of plants, most being nitrogen fixers. Thet are all doing well most over 3 feet tall
Mid-February I plan to mow it down. If I do not till how does this green manure get mixed into the soil?
First time I came across this information was Save Soil initiative by Sadhguru. ❤ and TH-cam led me to Gabe. He is so helpful and caring.
This man is a genius!
Great. The content is useful and intriguing ❤
Well spoken and good arguments. We can’t take risk with our soil. The risk is just too big for our health.
God bless you in your fight against ALS. Your legacy on earth, however, will be eternal.
So after watching this video i have a question
Can i use regenerative method on my 3 acre land while all neighboring land is on conventional agriculture??
yes you can
Of course, once fully established, you have bench marking in place. You can compare your block to your neighbours
Sure, and when your land is not flooded or in drought like the plots around some will start asking you...😀
Дякую за це відео.
The great new principle #1 "Know your context - inner conection and stewardship for the land" should be expanded to be concious about and to assure a full flow of the vital energy plasma. It is THE key factor for growth. Love and care suports it, but most land needs concious energetic clearings and getting rid of the parasitic energy suckers as a constand bus simple task of etheric hygiene.
Gabe Brown shares his journey from conventional to regenerative agriculture, highlighting how it revitalizes soil, increases biodiversity, and improves food quality. He outlines six ecological principles and four ecosystem processes that guide regenerative farming practices.
He has cracked the code and has the experience to communicate- listen up farmers ( and vegans!)
It's a great presentation with some solid ideas isn't it? One of the key advantages of plant based diets is that we can rewild the agricultural land currently used grow feed for livestock and reintroduce roaming herds of ruminants to it. At around 40% of all agricultural land globally this is a none trivial figure and would make a huge difference to the climate crisis in the ways that Gabe pointed out. Of course the plant-based diet is never going to be adopted by everyone and these great ideas point to a better more sustainable way and I'm totally behind that.
Please share and like this video ! ❤
I hope Americans pay attention more to this!
We won't. Too many are fully attached to "conventional ag" as part who they are.
@@TheHonestPeanutonly certain people
My biggest problems in South Louisiana are fire ants and mosquitoes. I understand I won’t have too much luck getting rid of all the mosquitoes, but how can I stop the spread of fire ants? They love the mounds of composted materials
🔥🔥🔥
Too bad its too expensive for young people to buy land and start farming.
Finally
Every American should know this information.
Who do you not use monoculture and grow wheat? Or any grain?
Can regenerative farming produce the same outputs as industrial farming? I’m all for it but hear some farmers say it’s not a viable solution to feed the country/world. Just want to know if there is any truth behind that or whether it’s just Big Ag scaremongering? Thank you.
If everyone did it we would surely produce less food until the soil recovered. Without the high cost of fertilizer, pesticides and big farm equipment the cost should be less. Healthier people eating healthier crops and animals.
Big ag and big pharma will fight against this.
Plus we waste almost as much food as we produce.
NORTH DAKOTA WASSUP 😎
Amazing! 📚🧠🙏💚
10:55 how does the soil make such a difference in profit? 17 $ in 1993 and 158 $ per acre profit in 2023, crazy difference
The Natives always knew. Yall just had to Manifest your Mechanical technological desntiny and destory the future for all organic life.
“The soil was healing itself” - I’m not crying, you’re crying
BRILLIANT SO COOL GUYS😊😅😢❤
A fascinating and informative presentation. I’m not a farmer but have long believed in the need to return to a form of agriculture that takes care of the soil and biodiversity. Yet whenever I have discussed with others the response is always that it would not be possible to feed the world if everyone farmed in this way. Personally, I am sure this is a ‘lie’ promulgated by Big Ag but know of no study or research that proves it to be misleading. Does anything exist that busts this position?
Sure...catch the regenerative wave beginning with Gabe and quite a few more teachers. Dennis
Many studies and proof in action. This speaker being one of them.
nice