The Peter Byck Show

We met regenerative rancher, consultant, and entrepreneur Silas Hedley-Lawrence after he found himself in an online debate with journalist George Monibiot - who believes animal agriculture must come to an end no matter how the cattle are raised.

Our community knows cattle raised through AMP grazing are actually a benefit to the world, and Silas has seen the power of these regenerative practices first-hand on his farm and the farms of his clients.

We hope you enjoy this conversation about the data of regenerative agriculture, Silas' experiences teaching these practices to farmers all over the world, and the development of the first regenerative Smash Burger!

To learn more about Silas, check out the following sites:

Grassfed Farmer: https://www.grassfedfarmer.com

Cotswald Cattle Company: https://www.cotswoldcattle.com

Old Salt Co-Op: https://www.oldsaltco-op.com

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

Author, professor, and leader Fred Provenza has been studying how animals balance their own diets when given a choice. Over the course of 300 research papers, he has helped illustrate the fact that everything is connected - from the health of our soils to the health of plant life to the health of livestock to human health. 

He has authored three books, including “Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom”, “Foraging Behavior: Managing to Survive in a World of Change”, and “The Art & Science of Shepherding: Tapping the Wisdom of French Herders” - we encourage you to look them up! It is a joy to see the world the way Fred does.

In this wide ranging conversation, Fred and Peter discuss the importance of soil health, the connection between the health of our foods and our own thriving, and the challenges facing a world that overlooks how interconnected things truly are.

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

In our third drop-in for The Peter Byck Show, Peter and Russ Conser discuss Russ’s epiphany around soil health after meeting Peter over a decade ago. 

As Russ said then, AMP grazing is like an oil well in reverse. Instead of extracting and burning carbon, regenerative grazers draw down carbon and incorporate it into the soil system. As Russ says “putting it back to work, investing it in the business of life.”

After a long career in the oil and gas industry searching for carbon-rich “source rocks” that indicated rich deposits, Russ immediately saw the correlation between those ancient deposits and the carbon-rich soil of AMP grazers. 

As Russ says, “this is the way nature works!”

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

We already know regenerative practices work all around the globe leading to healthier food, better farmer finances, stronger local communities, and a brighter future. But what about the animals? Are they better off?

In this episode of The Peter Byck Show, Peter catches up with “Roots So Deep” science team member Dr. Janice Swanson. Dr. Swanson has provided scientific service to government, industry and scientific animal welfare advisory committees including: the United Egg Producers, McDonalds, Food Marketing Institute, Bob Evans, Darden, Leprino Foods and Tysons. She was co-chair of the scientific revision leading to the third edition of the Federation of Animal Science Societies Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching, chairs the taskforce charged with the annual review and revision of the Michigan Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices for the Care of Farm Animals administered under the Michigan Right to Farm Act, and recently served as the scientific co-director of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply Project.

As a Co-Principal Investigator for our Roots So Deep research team, Janice observed the animal welfare on all five of our farm pairs - and discovered yet another benefit to AMP grazing: healthier, happier animals. When livestock are allowed to live lives in harmony with nature,  we can all feel better about where our food is coming from.  We’ve even heard from vegans that say this kind of animal agriculture is something they can support!

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

Way back in 2023, CNN's Bill Weir reported on the launch of the Hometown Roadshow. As the chief climate correspondent, Bill had heard lots of folks claim cows were "eco-villains." 

Luckily, he was open minded enough to listen to the most recent research. Over the years, Bill has been a consistent champion of regenerative agriculture - even including it in his book "Life As We Know It (Can Be)."

We often hear the question "how do we make regenerative agriculture mainstream?" We think voices like Bill's, supported by serious science and storytelling, is a big part of that puzzle.

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

James Rebanks loves small farmers, and the struggles they face break his heart. That’s why he wants every farmer to know the incredible benefits of AMP grazing.

James' books "The Shepherd's Life", "English Pastoral", and "The Place of Tides" have encouraged farmers from all over the world to consider working with nature. But did you know he counts legends like Allen Williams, Greg Judy, and Gabe Brown as his mentors?

As a multi-generational shepherd from the UK raising cattle and sheep on his ancestral land with new techniques, James has become a powerful champion of AMP grazing all over the world.

During Peter's conversation, James shares his passion for rural communities, the challenges we face spreading our shared message of hope, and just how incredible life can be when you work with nature instead of fighting it.

NOTE: We had a few production hiccups, so you may see a few jump cuts within the video version of this podcast. Thanks in advance for being forgiving!

Enjoy this episode? Be sure to check out the rest of the series here on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9sL-T7FNhj0jVKYlwbbDidIIS0MzIEX4

Join our community on Discord! https://discord.com/invite/VWQHSzkJXS
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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

In a noisy market, what will actually lead to farmer wealth and soil health?

In our second drop-in with “Roots So Deep” science team member Russ Conser, Peter and Russ discuss the difference between outsets and insets in carbon markets as the world works to value and support better agricultural practices. 

You can learn more about Russ and the rest of the “Roots So Deep” science team on our website! https://rootssodeep.org/amp-research/science-team

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

Last Spring, Greg and his wife Jan invited Peter to screen “Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there)” near their home in Missouri, and Greg took the time to record a podcast all about Greg’s childhood growing up on the farm, his passion for new farmers making the leap to regenerative practices, and the stakes we face if we don’t improve our food systems.

Peter met Greg over ten years ago at the Grassfed Exchange in 2014 during a field day on Green Pastures Farm - Greg and Jan Judy’s farm in Northern Missouri. 

As a disciple of Ian Mitchell-innes and early adopter of Teddy Gentry’s South Poll cattle breed, Greg has been working to educate farmers and ranchers about the benefits of working with nature all across the nation from his wildly successful Youtube channel.

Through in-person field days and in-the-field instructional videos, Greg has inspired farmers and ranchers all around the world to step out of the debt trap of conventional agriculture and build successful businesses through healthy soils. We hope he inspires you too!

Be sure to follow Greg on his YouTube channel if you aren’t already: https://www.youtube.com/@gregjudyregenerativerancher

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

Between longer episodes, we'll be sharing some shorter thoughts from great folks with interesting things to say.

Our first drop-in is, as Peter says, "perfect because it's Russ Conser. Russ and I have known each other since March of 2013. If you've seen “Roots So Deep”, if you've seen the science in that, Russ is a key key key person in making that all happen. Russ is my science whisperer. "

Here, Peter and Russ discuss the idea of carbon flow.

As Russ says, "the people who think carbon is a pollutant, and other people who think carbon is plant food, they're both right. And so how do we bring that together?"

You can learn more about Russ and the rest of the “Roots So Deep” science team on our website! https://rootssodeep.org/amp-research/science-team

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."

In Episode 2 of The Peter Byck Show, Peter sits down with Gabe Brown, the regenerative farming legend, co-founder of Understanding Ag, and star of “Kiss the Ground” and “Common Ground”, to discuss the need to regenerate - not just sustain - our soils, all over the world, at scale.

Peter and Gabe first met when filming "soil carbon cowboys" in 2013 - the first of the original 10 carbon cowboys short films Peter made on AMP grazing.  

All 11 - including new short “camp AMP” -  are now available free on YouTube on the carbon cowboys channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9sL-T7FNhj1Qpo2ewfDV8rnex7dbKegU

As Gabe says in the interview,
“’Soil carbon cowboys’ put me on a whole 'nother level... It really, for the first time, brought a number of us who are going down the same path, so to speak, together." 

Now, over a decade of friendship later, Peter met up with Gabe to discuss what he's now focused on, the state of our food systems, the importance of community, and the health implications of modern farming.

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"When you stand on healthy soil, there's a universe beneath your feet."