Episode 150: Grazing Beyond the Mainstream with Jim Elizondo

Jim Elizondo is a trailblazer in regenerative agriculture, supporting his accounting degree and agronomy engineering training with hands-on experience. He spent 20 years as a dairy nutritionist and managed a grazed dairy for 28 years, shaping his unique perspective on grazing management. 

Jim’s work centers on revolutionizing grazing practices to enhance soil health and livestock productivity. He developed the Total Grazing program, which emphasizes non-selective grazing to prevent overgrazing and build long-lived soil carbon, drawing from his observations across climates from Florida to New Zealand. His insights challenge conventional wisdom, advocating for adaptive genetics in livestock and stockpiling pastures to boost soil fertility naturally.

In this episode, John and Jim discuss:

• How Total Grazing minimizes overgrazing

• Why selective grazing leads to soil compaction and loss of long-lived soil carbon

• How stockpiling pastures for over six months shifts root exudates from sugary to fatty

• "Happy plants" are perennials that grow larger leaves without seeding

• Using adaptive genetics in livestock to improve land health, mimicking the role of extinct megafauna

• The importance between “recovery time” and “rest time”

Additional Resources
To learn more about Jim and his work, please visit: https://www.rwranching.com/
To take Jim’s Total Grazing course, please visit: https://www.rwranching.com/enroll
Jim’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realwealthranching/
Jim’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@realwealthranching

About John Kempf
John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.

Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.

Support For This Show & Helping You Grow
Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture. 

AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA’s science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.

AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.

Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.

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