Deep Seed - Regenerative Agriculture

Let me ask you this: do you think Europe can feed itself in 20–30 years under current conditions?

In this episode of the Deep Seed Podcast, I sit down with Ivo Degn (Re:source) to unpack a reality very few people are willing to face:

Europe’s food system is becoming more fragile, more volatile, and less resilient every year.

We talk about rising food insecurity, collapsing soil health, fertiliser dependency on fossil fuels, ageing farmers with no one to replace them, and a system that was never designed for the world we now live in.

This conversation reframes regenerative agriculture from a “nice idea” to a serious response to food system risk.

Because at the end of the day, agriculture is not just another sector. It is the foundation of civilisation.

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In this deep-dive masterclass, we explore:

• Why the modern agrifood system depends on assumptions that no longer hold
• How climate volatility (droughts, floods, shifting baselines) is destabilising food production
• Why fertiliser, energy and geopolitics are tightly linked
• The hidden structural barriers blocking regenerative agriculture in Europe
• Why farmers are often trapped in a system they know isn’t working
• How soil biology, biodiversity and regenerative practices are emerging as a viable alternative
• What needs to change at a system level to unlock the transition

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If you care about food security, climate change, regenerative agriculture, soil health, biodiversity, the future of Europe, or simply where your food comes from, this is one of the most important conversations you can listen to right now.

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🎙 ABOUT THE GUEST Ivo Degn is part of Re:source, working at the intersection of food systems transformation, regenerative agriculture, and systemic change across Europe.

🌱 ABOUT DEEP SEED Deep Seed explores the future of food, farming, and ecosystems — through long-form conversations with the people shaping the regenerative transition.

👨🏼‍🌾 SOIL CAPITAL The official partner of the Deep Seed podcast. Soil Capital is a company that accelerates the transition to regenerative agriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health and biodiversity ❤️ www.soilcapital.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What if restoring our soils isn’t just a scientific challenge… but an emotional, even spiritual one? What if the future of farming depends as much on beauty, connection, and intention as it does on data, yields, and carbon?

In this powerful episode of the Deep Seed Podcast, landscape architect Marian Boswall takes us on a journey that starts with dead soil… and leads to a completely new way of seeing land, food, and life itself.

This is not your typical conversation about agriculture. It’s deeper. Slower. More human. And, honestly, more hopeful.

🌍 Why You Should Watch This Episode If you care about:
· Regenerative agriculture
· Soil health & soil microbiology
· Sustainable farming & food systems
· Biodiversity & ecosystem restoration
· Nutrient density & human health …

this episode will expand how you think about all of them. Because regeneration isn’t just about techniques. It’s about how we relate to the land... and to each other!

🧠 What You’ll Learn
· The fundamentals of soil health, composting, and the soil food web
· Why nutrient density starts in the soil (and affects your gut health)
· How biodiversity and agroecology can transform farms and landscapes
· Why beauty, design, and even energy matter in regenerative systems
· How anyone (yes, even in a city) can contribute to regeneration
· The risks of greenwashing in the regenerative agriculture movement
· Why beavers might be some of the best ecosystem engineers on Earth

🌱 A Different Perspective on Regenerative Agriculture Most conversations around regenerative agriculture focus on carbon, metrics, and productivity. This one adds something we don’t talk about enough: care, intention, and connection. Marian shares how landscapes can heal people, not just produce food. Farmers can reconnect with the food they grow Small actions (like compost or a balcony garden) can scale into ecosystem restoration

“We don’t just grow food—we grow the conditions for life.”

🎙️ About the Guest

Marian Boswall is an award-winning landscape architect, agroecology coach, and author. Her work bridges regenerative agriculture, ecology, and human wellbeing, helping design landscapes that restore both ecosystems and the people living within them.

🌿 SOIL CAPITAL

This episode was made in partnership with Soil Capital, a company accelerating the transition to regenerative agriculture. www.soilcapital.com

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What if the future of food isn’t high-tech… but ancient wisdom?

We’ve built a global food system on just four crops... and it’s starting to crack!

The real question is: what happens when it breaks?

In this episode of the Deep Seed Podcast, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali (University of Nottingham, Crops For the Future) reveals why the key to resilient, nutritious, and truly sustainable food systems might already exist—hidden in so-called “forgotten crops.”

We unpack how modern agriculture became dangerously dependent on a handful of commodity crops like wheat, rice, maize, and soy—and why this lack of diversity is driving soil degradation, biodiversity loss, climate vulnerability, and hidden hunger.

But this isn’t just a problem story. It’s a roadmap for transformation.

You’ll discover:
Why crop diversity is the foundation of regenerative agriculture and food system resilience

How underutilised crops like Bambara groundnut and fonio can outperform industrial staples in harsh climates

The hidden link between ultra-processed food, micronutrient deficiency, and chronic disease

Why global supply chains (COVID, Ukraine, Suez Canal) exposed the fragility of our food system

How indigenous knowledge and farmer-led innovation hold critical solutions we’re at risk of losing

What needs to change—from seed systems and subsidies to consumer behavior and food culture

We also dive into the bigger picture:
Can regenerative agriculture scale without cultural change?

What role should corporations, governments, and consumers really play?

And why “cheap food” might be the most expensive mistake we’ve ever made

This conversation sits at the intersection of agroecology, climate change, nutrition, and food sovereignty—and challenges everything we think we know about what we should grow and eat.

Because the future of farming might not be about producing more…
…but about growing differently.

“We cannot fix the food system by tweaking it. We have to transform it.”

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🌿 SOIL CAPITAL - this episode was made in partnership with Soil Capital 
www.soilcapital.com

❤️ Episode hosted by Federica Urso

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What happens when a farmer publicly admits that modern agriculture might be broken?

In this episode, British farmer David Wheatley joins the Deep Seed Podcast to share the unfiltered reality of modern farming. After losing almost everything in a devastating farm fire and facing years of financial losses during COVID, David started posting honest videos about life on his farm — and unexpectedly built an audience of millions.

Today, his content offers a rare window into the real economics of agriculture: volatile weather, rising input costs, global commodity markets, and the constant risk farmers face every season.

David is a fourth-generation farmer from Cambridgeshire, UK, managing around 450 acres of arable crops, orchards and flowers. In this conversation we go beyond the viral videos to explore the deeper forces shaping farming today — and the new opportunities emerging through direct-to-consumer food systems, social media, and regenerative agriculture.

You’ll hear:

• how David nearly lost his farm after years of financial losses
• why many farmers feel trapped in a system where “the more you grow, the less you get paid”
• how social media unexpectedly became a lifeline for his farm
• why he sells flowers and apples directly to consumers instead of supermarkets

We also discuss David’s heritage orchards with over 250 apple varieties, why he refuses to certify them organic even though they are grown without sprays or fertilisers, and how customers are rediscovering what real food tastes like.

The conversation also explores David’s first experiments with regenerative agriculture, cover crops, direct drilling, biodiversity and diversified farming systems, and the real risks farmers face when transitioning away from conventional agriculture.

This episode is for anyone interested in:

• regenerative agriculture
• sustainable farming
• soil health and biodiversity
• the future of food systems
• farm economics and agricultural policy
• food security and resilience

At its heart, this conversation reminds us that the future of agriculture may depend on rebuilding the relationship between farmers, land and the people who eat the food.

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👨🏼‍🌾 About the guest

David Wheatley is a UK farmer, flower grower and orchard keeper known for sharing the unfiltered reality of modern farming with hundreds of thousands of followers online. His work highlights the economic pressures farmers face while exploring new ways to produce and sell food outside the traditional agricultural system.

Instagram: @petitepeonys
Website: petitepeonys.co.uk

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🌿 This episode was made in partnership with Soil Capital
www.soilcapital.com

❤️ Special thanks to Federica Urso for the research and preparation of this episode.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What happens when a former hedge fund trader walks away from finance… survives a near-fatal accident… and rebuilds his farm using regenerative agriculture?
In this episode of the Deep Seed Podcast, James Butcher shares how he transformed his Suffolk farm from a high-input, chemical-dependent system into a diversified regenerative farming model using:

Companion cropping

Livestock integration

Agroforestry

Reduced synthetic nitrogen

Biological soil health principles

And here’s the kicker:
He slashed growing costs from £1,500–£2,000 per hectare to under £600 per hectare — while increasing resilience and, in some cases, yields.
Including one wheat field that yielded 2 tonnes per hectare MORE after being grazed by sheep.

Yes, really.

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🌱 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

Why regenerative agriculture may be LESS financially risky than conventional farming

How companion cropping reduces disease pressure without fungicides

The economics of cutting synthetic nitrogen by more than 60%

Why grazing sheep on standing wheat can increase yield

How agroforestry improves biodiversity and long-term farm resilience

The real psychological barriers preventing farmers from transitioning

Why lower input costs = lower financial risk in volatile markets

If you care about soil health, biodiversity, food systems, climate resilience, carbon farming, or the future of sustainable agriculture — this conversation is for you.

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🐑 The Regenerative Practices James Uses Today

Wheat grown with clover, vetch, peas or beans

Legumes fixing up to 100 kg nitrogen per hectare

No insecticides

No fungicides

No seed treatments

Home-saved seed

Grazing sheep across winter cereals

Red Poll cattle mob grazing

2,500+ trees planted in an agroforestry system

Fruit, nuts, coppice biomass & biodiversity strips

This is regenerative agriculture in practice — not theory.

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🌍 Why This Conversation Matters

Global food systems are under pressure:
Rising fertilizer costs

Commodity price volatility

Climate-driven droughts

Soil degradation

Biodiversity collapse

James’ story shows that regeneration isn’t just environmental — it’s economic.

As Wendell Berry said: “The soil is the great connector of lives.”
And rebuilding it may be the smartest financial decision a farmer can make.

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👤 About James Butcher

James Butcher is a regenerative farmer in Suffolk, UK. After starting his career in finance, he returned to his family farm and led a full-system transition toward regenerative agriculture, agroecology, livestock integration, and agroforestry.

His work focuses on soil health, biodiversity restoration, economic resilience, and long-term farm viability.

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🌿 SOIL CAPITAL - this episode was made in partnership with Soil Capital
www.soilcapital.com

❤️ Special thanks to Federica Urso who did all the research for this episode and helped me craft the questions

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.