John Kempf, Melissa Werkema, and Kevin Elmy on Regenerative Economics
GTF Productions Live Briefing, in partnership with Sask Soils | August 5, 2026
17,000 farmers registered for a national program teaching cover cropping,
nitrogen management, and grazing. 10,000 are actively engaged. When
surveyed, 89% said they had already implemented, expanded, or enhanced
one of those practices. The holdup was never belief. It was cost, cash
flow, and not knowing the ROI.
This briefing puts three specialists on that exact question, w...
John Kempf, Melissa Werkema, and Kevin Elmy on Regenerative Economics
GTF Productions Live Briefing, in partnership with Sask Soils | August 5, 2026
17,000 farmers registered for a national program teaching cover cropping,
nitrogen management, and grazing. 10,000 are actively engaged. When
surveyed, 89% said they had already implemented, expanded, or enhanced
one of those practices. The holdup was never belief. It was cost, cash
flow, and not knowing the ROI.
This briefing puts three specialists on that exact question, with the
economics front and center the whole way through.
What's Inside
- John Kempf's nitrogen protocol: ammonium and nitrate ratios, replacing
25% of your first 100 units of nitrogen with sulfur, and why foliar
urea outperforms soil-applied nitrogen 4 to 1
- The trace minerals, boron, manganese, cobalt, and molybdenum, behind a
claimed 25 to 30 percent yield bump
- Why the form of a nutrient matters more than the amount on your soil
test, and how sap analysis catches what a standard report misses
- Cover cropping as functional plant groups, and the economics of
building soil through custom grazing
- Why ruminant manure, bison and cattle specifically, builds soil biology
that cold-climate soils can't get any other way
- What actually triggers a producer to change practices, and why it's
rarely curiosity
If you want more on tissue and sap testing, look for the Late Crop, Right
Call and Tissue Testing episodes in the GTF Podcast back catalog.
Resources Mentioned
Advancing Eco Agriculture
Cover Crops Canada -- Kevin Elmy's consulting practice, author of Not Just Dirt
Sask Soils (Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association)
Farmers for Climate Solutions, FARM program -- funding partner behind this briefing
Rangeland Bison -- Dean Andrus
Connect with John Kempf
Advancing Eco Agriculture
Connect with Melissa Werkema
Future Analytics -- Red Deer, Alberta
Connect with Kevin Elmy
Cover Crops Canada
Connect with Sask Soils
sasksoils.ca -- annual conference February 10-11, 2027 in Regina
(Sask Soils' 40th anniversary), cover crop workshops this fall
Connect with Growing the Future
Website: growingthefuture.ca
YouTube: Growing the Future
Instagram: @growingthefuturepodcast
LinkedIn: Growing the Future
Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.
