The Whole Farm Podcast

What if growing the farm isn’t the same thing as growing the profit?

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast, Michael and Les sit down with fourth-generation Arkansas farmer Adam Chappell, who learned that lesson firsthand.

At one point, Adam and his brother were farming more than 11,000 acres. Like many growers, they believed thin margins meant they needed more acres to make the numbers work.

Eventually, Adam went the other direction.

He downsized to roughly 2,500 acres, focused on his most profitable ground, reduced overhead, and began questioning assumptions about ev...

Agriculture has never stopped changing.

From the transition from horses and mules to tractors, to decades of consolidation across the agricultural industry, farmers have continually adapted to new technology, new markets, and new pressures. Today, agriculture finds itself in another period of significant change, and Gary Black believes the lessons of the past can help farmers prepare for what comes next.

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast, Michael Pisciotta sits down with Gary Black, longtime agribusiness leader, farmer, former Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, and advisor to CHONEX.

Gary frames the conversation...

For most consumers, agriculture is experienced at the grocery store—not in the field.

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast, Michael Pisciotta sits down with CHONEX marketing team member Laura Tippett for a different kind of conversation about agriculture. Laura joins the show not as a grower or agronomist, but as a marketer, consumer, and mother of three trying to make informed food choices for her family.

Laura shares how her personal experiences with food-related health concerns led her to start reading labels, researching ingredients, and asking more questions about where food comes fr...

After more than five decades in agriculture, Mississippi farmer and cotton industry leader Sledge Taylor is still asking questions, testing new ideas and changing the way he manages his farm.

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast, Les Riley talks with Sledge about his family’s farming history and the journey that led him from conventional production to no-till, cover crops and a deeper interest in soil biology.

Sledge has farmed for 53 years, raising cotton, corn, soybeans, peanuts and wheat alongside cattle, pasture and timber. His concern about erosion first pushed him toward conservation pr...

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast presented by CHONEX, Michael sits down with Christie Apple, an agronomist, soil health advocate, and founder of Crop Scout Christie, for a powerful conversation about the role ag retail plays in the future of soil health.

Christie shares how she found her way into agronomy after starting in business administration and quickly realizing that the intersection of soil, biology, chemistry, and plant performance was where she was meant to be. Now in her 18th season, she works across the Great Lakes region helping retailers, agronomists, and farmers translate complex...

In this episode of "The Whole Farm Podcast," Michael Pisciotta and Les Riley sit down with Russell Hedrick, a first-generation farmer from Hickory, North Carolina, and one of the most progressive young farmers in the country.

Russell farms JRH Grain Farms, LLC, where he has built a reputation for challenging conventional assumptions about yield, soil health, nutrient management, and profitability. His operation includes corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, pasture-raised beef and pork, and several value-added ventures, including Regen Mills, Heritage Ground, Soil Regen, LLC, Revolution Drones, and a partnership with Foothills Distillery to produce the first bourbon in...

In this episode of the Whole Farm Podcast, Michael sits down with Oscar Ruiz and Lizzie French of Waypoint Analytical for a practical conversation about soil health testing, CEMA 216, Haney testing, and soil microbial analysis.

Oscar and Lizzie explain how newer soil health tests can work alongside traditional testing methods like Mehlich-3, rather than replacing them. They break down what these tests can reveal about nutrient availability, carbon, microbial activity, aggregate stability, and long-term soil function.

The conversation also covers what growers should know before getting started, including how to think about sampling, why consistency...

In this episode of the Whole Farm Podcast brought to you by CHONEX, host Michael Piscotta sits down with regenerative citrus grower Herb Young for a deep, practical conversation on soil biology, organic citrus production, microbial inoculants, cover crops, and nutrient density.

Herb shares his unique journey from a 38-year career in the pesticide industry to becoming a certified organic and certified regenerative citrus grower in South Georgia. What began as an economic experiment in organic citrus turned into a full transformation in how Herb views farming, soil life, plant health, and food quality.

Throughout...

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast, presented by CHONEX, we welcome back Dr. Tom Dykstra for Part 2 of our conversation on plant health, Brix, and insect resistance. In this episode, Dr. Dykstra walks through his leaf Brix insect chart and explains how different Brix levels relate to plant health, insect feeding behavior, disease pressure, and crop resilience. 

Dr. Dykstra explains why he focuses on leaf Brix rather than fruit, stem, or root Brix when evaluating plant health. He breaks down what different Brix ranges can indicate, from plants that may require “force feeding,” to plants begin...

In this episode of the Whole Farm Podcast, Michael Pisciotta and Les Riley from CHONEX sit down with Dr. Tom Dykstra to explore the connection between plant health, Brix levels, and insect behavior.

Dr. Dykstra breaks down what Brix really measures and challenges the common belief that insects avoid high-sugar plants. Instead, he explains how pests are drawn to unhealthy crops with incomplete proteins, and how Brix can serve as a simple, real-time indicator of plant health in the field.

This conversation reframes insects as indicator species and shifts the focus from spraying pests to...

What if the biggest lever for healthier vines, better fruit quality, and more resilient vineyards is belowground?

In this episode, microbiologist and Napa Valley vineyard consultant Misha Vandal shares results from multi-site vineyard trials focused on soil health, vineyard management, and rebuilding microbial communities. We dig into how shifting the soil microbiome can support nutrient cycling, reduce fungal disease pressure, and even improve yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN)—a key quality metric for winemaking.

Misha also explains why compost teas can work but often don’t scale, and what makes a broad microbial community approach more cons...

What does real soil health look like under the microscope — and how can farmers use biology to improve nutrient efficiency, crop yields, and resilience?

In this episode of The Whole Farm Podcast by CHONEX, we feature a deep dive into soil health with Lynn Rogers, CEO & President of Microbial Matrix Systems Inc. With more than 23 years of experience working alongside farmers and biological manufacturers, Lynn breaks down the science behind soil microbiology in a practical, field-ready way for farmers and agronomists.

You’ll learn how specific microbial functional groups influence nutrient cycl...

What’s driving the rapid growth of biologicals, and how can farmers and agronomists determine real performance? 

In this webinar replay, Dr. Pam Marrone, Co-founder and Executive Chair of Invasive Species Corporation, and advisor to CHONEX, breaks down the biofertilizer market, the overlap with biostimulants, and the data standards needed to evaluate products confidently.

You’ll learn why biologicals are expanding fast, how microbes support soil health and nutrient cycling, what’s changing in U.S. regulation and standardization, and how tools like AI, machine learning, and soil microbiome testing are accelerating discovery and on-farm decisio...

Join CHONEX for a practical, whole farm-focused discussion on modern nutrient management. This session brings together Jackson Stansell from Sentinel Ag & Jack Washburn from Cultra to discuss nutrient management planning and EQIP 590 funding with precision nitrogen application and digital tools that help farmers organize their soil & plant analysis data.

Our guests will do an overview for their solutions but will focus on 4 major topics:

Presented With: 

...