As Shay puts it,

"It is so easy — so easy — to set yourself apart in a world where nobody wants to do the hard things, in a world where people don't want to show up on time, in a world where people lack the commitment. Veterans have a tremendous opportunity from the basic level of discipline and structure that you went through in your lives."

In this episode, listen closely for a few key threads: first — how a Ranger Regiment deployment to Afghanistan taught Shay a leadership lesson he applies daily in agriculture; second — why he believes the family farm succession crisis is less a structural problem and more a people problem, driven by avoidance and a failure to have hard conversations; and finally, how he's spreading 150% of his time across a seed business, a farm, and a consulting practice — and why delegation is the only way out.

This one is part combat story, part business school, and part straight talk on what it actually takes to build something that lasts in agriculture.

Enjoy!

David spent his career in security forces before a series of back surgeries brought his military path to an abrupt end. Nicki served in communications and later became a nurse. Neither of them grew up farming, nor had they planned to, but when a neighbor knocked on David's door and said "good — you have no bad habits I have to break," something clicked.

What started with a backfield, a craftsman lawn mower, and a favor for a sick neighbor has grown into a direct-to-market operation raising cattle, chickens, and turkeys — built on non-GMO feed, regenerative grazing, and a stubborn commitment to doing things differently.

As David puts it,

"The farming community, regardless — big AG, regenerative, whatever — just seems to be a community that reminds me of the military. You need help, they show up. You got a question, you call, you ask, you get their perspective."

In this episode, we talk about what it actually looks like to build a farm from scratch — the financial risk, the YouTube rabbit holes, and the patient, unglamorous work of improving land one season at a time. We also get into why David and Nicki made the leap to sell direct to their community, and why transparency in how their animals are raised is a reflection of the values they carried out of uniform.

This is a real grassroots story. No shortcuts. No fancy equipment. Just two veterans figuring it out as they go — and finding purpose in the process.

Enjoy!

Peter Byck is a Professor of Practice at the Schools of Sustainability and Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, President of Carbon Cowboys, and documentary filmmaker.

Peter’s work sits at the intersection of military readiness, national security, and regenerative agriculture.

His journey involving the military and agriculture started with a simple question: why are we putting our military in harm’s way to protect resources we could be producing differently at home?

That led him from documenting renewable energy at forward operating bases to his latest work: a four-part docu series called Roots So Deep You Can See the Devil Down There, which documents a multi-million-dollar research project comparing conventional and regenerative grazing.

But Peter’s story doesn’t stop at the farm gate. In his newest film,  camp AMP, he follows US Army Major Eric Czaja and wife Angela, as they show how regenerative grazing inside a military installation can improve mission readiness while simultaneously creating pathways for veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

In this conversation, we talk about how regenerative agriculture connects to military preparedness, why well-fed populations create more stable societies, and how scaling these practices across the military isn’t just good for farming – it’s good national security strategy.

Enjoy!

As Alicia puts it,

“Food security is national security.”

In this episode, we talk about why resilient food systems matter for military readiness, how agriculture fits into broader national security conversations, and why veterans are uniquely positioned to see those connections.

Alicia shares how her experience in uniform shaped the way she approaches agriculture—not just as production, but as infrastructure that supports communities, installations, and the nation as a whole.

This is a conversation about preparedness, risk, and responsibility—about why food deserves a seat at the national security table, and why veterans belong in that conversation.

Enjoy!

Matt spent his time in uniform working in highly technical, high-stakes environments where mistakes weren’t an option. And while we do touch on his experience as a nuclear specialist, the real value of this conversation is how that kind of training reshaped the way he sees agriculture.

As Matt puts it,

“What the military really taught me was systems thinking… When I got into agriculture, I realized it’s the same exact thing.”

In this episode, listen closely for a few key threads: first - how military systems thinking applies directly to soil health and farm management; secondly - why agriculture punishes shortcuts the same way the military does; and finally, how Matt’s transition forced him to slow down, filter noise, and focus on what actually drives outcomes on the land.

This is a wide-ranging conversation, but at its core, it’s about interconnected systems and why veterans often see agriculture differently once they step into it.

Enjoy!

1840 Farm Foundation - https://www.linkedin.com/company/1840-farm-foundation/

Elm Spring Farm - https://elmspringfarmco.com/

Nate spent 14 months in Baghdad during the 2007 troop surge, watching chaos unfold from a screen thousands of feet above, feeling both omniscient, at times, and impotent. He came home carrying a weight of the war he didn't know he had, spent nine years writing a book to process it, and took five months to hike the Appalachian Trail to figure out who he was after the uniform came off.

As Nate says,

“I called it the Bagdad hangover. I lost a decade of my life to it.”

His path into agriculture wasn't some romantic calling—it was practical advice from his dad during the Great Recession and a college program that didn't require calculus.

But somewhere between a Monsanto internship at an Idaho phosphate mine, graduate research on a selenium-accumulating plant that killed livestock, and learning hydroponics in a Bob Marley-playing, barefoot California office, Nate found something he didn't expect:

Purpose through Science.

Now he's at Apogee Instruments in Utah, working with researchers and growers who are trying to do everything from grow plants in space to monitor the distribution of light in their greenhouses. The company was founded by his former graduate advisor, Dr. Bruce Bugbee, who's been manufacturing high-fidelity environmental sensors for nearly 30 years.

In this conversation, we get into:

• The moral weight of remote warfare
• Leadership failures that push good people out, and
• Why the precision of measuring photons matters when you're trying to feed people

Nate doesn't sugarcoat the hard parts, and he's not interested in wrapping his military service in nostalgia. He's just trying to do work that matters.

Enjoy!

Robin’s story is part kitchen, part battlefield – not one of dirt and distant lands, but a battle for her father’s health. Her early years were spent in the family’s garden, followed by a career in food and restaurants, and then a seismic moment when her father’s hospital experience forced her to rethink what we call “hospital food.”

That led her from the kitchen to product development and ultimately to building shelf-stable meals designed with service members and high performers in mind.

As Robin says:

“These guys, especially when they were deployed, they need a taste of home. They need to feel like this just came off their loved one's stove.”

This episode isn’t about miracle cures or grand claims. It’s about how a daughter’s experience with her father—about family meals, advocacy, and seeing what people are actually fed when they’re at their most vulnerable—became the engine for a company trying to reconnect service members to real food.

We dig into product development, sourcing from regenerative farms, the procurement challenges with the military, and the practical reasons why a “taste of home” matters for health, performance, and morale.

Enjoy!

As Angela puts it: “I saw, even in North Carolina, just this passion that Eric [her husband] had for livestock… this spark about him whenever he was around the livestock… That was just a really special place for him.”

That spark eventually became one of the most unconventional, disruptive, and frankly needed ideas to hit the national security space in decades: using regenerative livestock management as a tool to harden military installations, restore degraded training lands, and create meaningful pathways for transitioning service members.

Angela joins us today to give the inside view—not the thesis version, not the policy deck, but the family-level, marriage-level, move-across-the-country-three-times-with-kids-in-tow version—of what it really took to build what is now the Regenerative Grazing Open-Air Lab at Camp San Luis Obispo.

In this conversation, you’ll hear how a dairy-farm kid from Wisconsin ends up shaping one of the most interesting ag-meets-national-security projects in the country… why livestock became a lifeline of purpose during her husband's transition from the Army Special Forces… and how their family’s faith, resilience, and service-driven mindset turned a wild idea into a model the Pentagon is now watching closely.

You can also watch the short documentary produced by Peter Byck on YouTube here.

Enjoy!

Karl’s story is a powerful reminder that the transition from military service to farming isn’t just about changing careers; it’s about finding a calling that brings deep satisfaction and a sense of duty to something greater than oneself.

As Karl puts it, “Being able to figure out how to feed people nutritious food gives a lot of job satisfaction whereas some of my peers end up doing other jobs that pay a lot more, but don’t give that kind of sense of meaning and purpose. And if I had to choose one, I choose the one that I have right now.”

Have a listen as we dive into Karl’s journey, his intentional approach to farming and grazing, and the lessons he’s learned along the way about purpose, service, and the enduring connection between veterans and the land.

Let's get into it!

Today, Juan is on a mission to transform how we steward 26 million acres of Department of Defense land.

Juan isn’t just talking about giving veterans a hobby farm or a soft landing. As he puts it, “we don’t just need to bring young people into agriculture. You need to bring in young people that can actually get the job done.”

In this episode, you’ll hear how Juan and his team are building partnerships with base commanders, regenerative producers, and veterans to regenerate rangelands, feed troops from local installations, and develop the next generation of “regenerates” – veterans trained and equipped to manage the land regeneratively.

This is a bold vision for national security, rural revival, and veteran opportunity – all rolled into one.

Lets get into it!

James isn’t here to play it safe. He’s here to talk about what it really means to hit rock bottom—and climb back out with purpose. From surviving suicidal ideation to managing 800 acres of rotationally grazed livestock in Mississippi, his story is proof that healing can happen on the land—but only if you’re willing to do the work.

As James says:

“I’m not chasing my dreams. I’m walking in my purpose.”

In this episode, you’ll hear how James went from rock-bottom to running Etta Hills Farm alongside the son of regenerative ag specialist Dr. Allen Williams. We dig into soil, business, faith, and why teaching ag to kids might be one of the most powerful things we can do for the next generation.

Let’s get into it.

In Part 1, we covered Allan’s military background, his early ecological work in Africa, and the institutional resistance he faced when challenging deeply held beliefs in both science and policy. Today, we pick up with the practical side of his life’s work—how livestock, when properly managed, can regenerate land, restore biodiversity, and stabilize food systems.

As Allan said in our conversation:

“If your toolbox is empty, what are you going to do? There is nothing else in the human toolbox to reverse desertification other than properly managed livestock.”

We’ll talk about what holistic management really means, why rewilding isn’t enough, and how large-scale land restoration is not only possible—it’s happening.

You’ll also hear Allan’s thoughts on how military veterans can play a pivotal role in this movement, and why institutions—military, academic, and environmental—need to be radically restructured to meet today’s ecological challenges.

Let’s get back into it—Part 2 with Allan Savory starts now.

Allan Savory is a legend in the regenerative agriculture world—founder of the Savory Institute, developer of the holistic management framework, and a lifelong challenger of convention.

From growing up in war-torn Rhodesia to commanding combat tracking units, and later reshaping global agricultural theory, Allan’s story is as unconventional as it is urgent.

As Allan says in today’s episode:

"Without agriculture, you cannot have a choir. You cannot have a church. You cannot have a university. You cannot have an economy. You cannot have a government. You cannot have an army. You cannot have anything. It is the very foundation of civilization."

In Part 1, we cover his early military service, his time as a young wildlife ecologist tasked with protecting massive swaths of African rangeland, and the origin of holistic management—how it was born not from theory, but from a lifetime of ecological and military observation under fire. We also dive deep into how institutional ego, flawed beliefs, and academic dogma continue to stand in the way of solving global desertification and food insecurity.

This isn’t your typical ag conversation—and it’s not meant to be. It's bold, unfiltered, and driven by a mission that started decades before most of us ever heard the word “regenerative.”

Enjoy Part 1 with Allan Savory.

In this episode, I sat down with Tom Gauthier, a former nuclear, biological and chemical specialist with the US Army and the CEO of AgTechLogic.

Tom doesn’t just talk about precision spraying trends or sugar coated aspects of entrepreneurship —he pulls back the curtain on what it's really like to build a mission-driven agtech company from the ground up, while staying grounded in both his military roots and a practical, field-based understanding of farming.

In this episode, we break down how Tom and his team are combining chlorophyll fluorescence sensors with real-time data capture and AI-enhanced analytics — not just to spot-spray weeds, but to identify things like standing water, detect disease early, and even feed actionable intel back into the supply chain.

We get into questions like:

1. How did Tom’s prior work as a chemical engineer with Proctor and Gamble influence his path into agtech?
2. Why won’t cameras alone be sufficient for addressing a growing host of weed and disease related problems?
3. Can chlorophyll fluorescence sensors do more than just detect green weeds against a brown, dirt background?

You’ll hear how AgTechLogic’s precision spraying systems are helping producers save hundreds of gallons of crop protection products per application.

This is a candid conversation about earning trust, staying adaptable, and leading with humility.

Let’s get into it.

Today’s episode is Part 2 of our conversation with retired Army Sergeant Major Kara Rutter.

In Part 1, Kara shared her unexpected journey through military service—from insisting on becoming a cook, to cooking for Secretary Rumsfeld, to representing the U.S. military overseas in some of the most strategically important regions of the world. We left off as Kara and her husband Matt had just found their 20-acre farm in Aiken, South Carolina and were beginning to turn their post-military life into something new.

In Part 2, we pick up with a powerful discussion on food systems, national security, and what it could take to localize protein sourcing for military bases. Kara shares her thoughts on decentralizing food supply chains, the vulnerabilities exposed during COVID, and why she sees food as a matter of strategic defense.

We also dive into the creation of Project Victory Gardens, their nonprofit focused on helping veterans become farmers, the success of their “farmer boot camp,” and a deeper look at their new agritourism incubator program.

If you're interested in how veterans are reshaping agriculture—not just for themselves but for their communities—this episode is for you.

Enjoy!

Today’s conversation is a special two-part series featuring retired Army Sergeant Major Kara Rutter. From her beginnings as an Army cook—despite everyone telling her not to take the job—to working in the Secretary of Defense’s mess, and later serving as part of the Defense Attaché system in Ukraine, Kenya, and Namibia, Kara brings a unique and strategic perspective to both military service and food systems.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Kara walks us through her journey from enlisting in the Army to traveling the world in high-level diplomatic roles. We talk about what it was like to cook for Secretary Rumsfeld, sit as a fly on the wall as strategic decisions played out in the early days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and see firsthand how global policy is shaped. Kara also shares her transition out of the military and how she and her husband landed on a 20-acre property in Aiken, South Carolina—fencing pastures, collecting “practice animals,” and building a new chapter on their farm.

This episode sets the stage for a larger conversation about national food security, agritourism, and veteran-led farming. In Part 2, we’ll pick up with Kara’s take on using cattle and local food systems to support military bases, and how that led to the founding of Project Victory Gardens and the creation of veteran-focused boot camps and agritourism incubators.

For now, settle in for Part 1 with Kara Rutter—it's a story of service and the earliest seeds of something much bigger.

Lets get into it.

In this episode, I’m joined by Charley Jordan, a retired US Army aviator and Special Operations veteran who has channeled his military experience into a thriving career in floriculture and veteran mentorship.

Charley shares his journey from flying MH-47 Chinooks with the 160th Special Operations Aviation unit to building Jordan Farms in Tennessee, where he grows specialty flowers for his community. We talk about the challenges of transitioning out of the military, the importance of mentorship, and how programs like TN AgVols are helping veterans step into agriculture with confidence.

If you’re a veteran looking to carve out your place in agriculture or just want to hear an inspiring story of resilience and reinvention, this episode is for you. Let’s get into it

In this quote, our guest is referring to their livestock collars as tools that allow producers to zoom out from the day-to-day operations and understand their herd in a more intimate way.

Justin Wells, a former US Marine, is the US Country Manager for Halter – a New Zealand based animal tech company specializing in virtual fencing and pasture management solutions.

In his role, Justin leads Halter’s expansion into the US market, focusing on establishing market presence, building partners, and leading their sales efforts. Halter’s system utilizes solar-powered collars to enable producers to virtually fence their pastures and monitor their livestock through audio cues and data analytics.

Our conversation picks up with Justin describing his early upbringing in a small town in Michigan and what originally drew him towards the Marine Corps.

In this quote, our guest is describing his life-changing experiences with the US Army in Syria and how that gave him the confidence he needed to jump into agriculture full time.

Brice Myers is a soon-to-retire US Army 5th Group Special Forces solider turn rancher. He was recently appointed the Veteran Outreach Coordinator for an AgVets grant awarded to the state of Tennessee - Ag VOLs. In this capacity, he’s responsible for assisting veterans with educational opportunities, multi-day workshops, and helping them find resources to start their own farms or agribusinesses. On their own family farm outside Nashville, Foggy Meadows Farm, they primarily bale hay and raise feeder pigs, goats, and a variety of poultry species.

Our conversation picks up with Brice talking about a program he participated in turning his military transition called the Honor Foundation and why the venture capital space wasn’t where he wanted to be long term.

If you're interested in learning more about Tennessee AgVOLs, please reach out to Brice on LinkedIn, by email (info@agvols.org) or connect with them on their Facebook page.

This quote from our guest this week is referring to the early struggles of biologicals where it was extremely difficult to consistently produce a product with a living organism as the primary benefit.

Our guest this week is Eddy Mejia – CEO for Earnest Ag – an ag biotech startup developing a variety of organic microbial products that help farmers provide plant nutrients and protect against disease. Eddy is a US Army telecommunications veteran with a background in computer engineering who managed to find his way into the niche world of microbials after meeting his co-founder at a university startup program. This type of business partnership is not uncommon in the world I frequent, where veterans find the right sources and partners and build something with a bigger purpose in mind.

Have a listen as this young man from the suburbs of Chicago with parents from the agricultural epicenter of Colombia makes his way into the world of microbial production, how their product is attempting to standout in a saturated market, the logistics of keeping a living organism alive on a seed as a coating, and how COVID turned out to be good timing for Eddy and his team.

Our guest this week is Eric Fuchs. Eric is a US Air Force veteran and consultant with Understand Ag. In this capacity, he works specifically with all aspects of the drinking water industry with an emphasis on source water protection and the agricultural community. Eric and his wife also own a livestock operation in Missouri where they use regenerative techniques with holistic grazing and soil health practices. Eric’s earlier quote gives us some insight into how he thinks about change and where it can originate from.

Eric was one of the few who was able to purchase his own farm, while still in the Air Force, and make it work as a business over the next 20 years. Eric is a great storyteller and this episode takes listeners through how he did this, how practices and conversations have changed drastically in the last 5 years around regenerative ag, and what the future could looks like between Understanding Ag and the military veteran community.

This quote from our guest this week was just one of the many times during the interview he mentioned an instance where things that just seemed normal to him in his everyday job of managing cattle using adaptive grazing methods was producing results that were shocking to his colleagues and producers who have seen cattle graze this same land for decades before.

That guest is Eric Czaja. Eric is an active-duty US Army Special Forces Major serving as a full-time faculty member with the Naval Post Graduate School. Based in Camp San Louis Obispo, California, Eric is leading a ground-breaking proof of concept program with the US Army specializing in the implementation of regenerative agricultural and grazing practices aboard a military installation. The program is called Regenerative Grazing Open Air Lab, or R-GOAL for short. This proof of concept is designed to enhance soil health, improve land management, restore ecosystem functions, and increase DoD installation resiliency.

In this episode, we dive immediately into the details of this proof-of-concept program, how they’ve trained the animals, why the DoD is interested in these practices, the near-immediate benefits they’ve seen in the cattle’s grazing and behavior habits, and Eric’s plan for this program to expand and outlive him.

Enjoy!

The quote from our guest this week, James Clement, is referring to the carbon credit market. He’s honest about the wild west nature of the space right now, but also realistic about the benefits certain regulation could bring.

James is a seasoned rancher and innovative leader in agtech, currently serving as Senior Vice President of Grass and Rangeland at EarthOptics. James’s family have nearly 400 years of combined family ranging experience, including operations like Beggs Cattle Co and King Ranch. He also founded his own cattle company in Kingsville, TX called Bloody Buckles Cattle Co, a hat tip to the 28th Army Division. James is currently still in the Marine Corps reserves with more than 17 years of service.

Like most competitive brothers, James still wanted to join the Marines to follow his brother, but he enlisted in the reserves while his brother pursued the officer route through the Naval Academy. Fortunately or unfortunately, James ultimately ended up as a Marine officer, which set off one of the more interesting military careers I’ve heard of:

- Afghan deployment from 2012 - 2013 - Military Transition Team (MTT) in South America training seven different Latin American countries forces' infantry tactics -Another MTT to train Mexican Marines in reconnaissance and amphibious operations - Afghan refugee camp outside Fort Pickett, Virginia for 3,000 refugees.

Have a listen as James and I weave our way through this fascinating military career and end up at his current position with EarthOptics. The work they’re doing with soil health monitoring and their use of a variety of different technologies to gather this data is quite differentiated in this space.

Enjoy!

This quote from our guest this week, Juan Whiting, may be true in that there are not many professionals who want to take on this task, but it can be a necessary and prudent decision for an early-stage company or growers/ranchers to access capital without giving away equity.

Juan Whiting is the owner of a consultancy called Stray Acres - a grant writing consulting company that develops tailored funding strategies and grant proposals for high-impact agricultural projects around the world. Juan also serves as an agricultural specialist with the US Army Civil Affairs department as a subject matter expert. He recently authored a book titled The Holistic Funding Approach: Powerful Techniques and Strategies to Put Millions of Agricultural Grant Funding in the Right hands”.

Right after high school, Juan’s path led him into missionary work with the LDS church in Kenya. He was immediately exposed to a civil war and food insecurity. This began to cement in his mind the importance of agriculture. Following some training with the US Marine Corps and graduate schooling, Juan found his way back into Africa, this time into Rwanda, for the next 6 years working on ag impact investment projects for a foundation before returning to the states to start Stray Acres.

This episode is all about Juan’s fascinating journey into agricultural farm management in a developing country, the US Army’s modern day Monument’s Man program, the nuances of grant writing, and much more.

Enjoy!

James “Jeff” Jeffers is the co-founder of a non-profit based in Dallas, TX called F.A.R.M. – Farmers Assisting Returning Military. Jeff and the team at FARM are dedicated to providing military veterans with internships, educational opportunities, and hands-in-the-dirt experience through a variety of agricultural settings.

Jeff grew up outside Indianapolis playing in the woods and eventually falling in love with the outdoors through hunting and fishing. After high school and a brief stint working in Florida, he fell victim to one of the Army’s 1990s “Be All You Can Be” television advertisements and literally signed up the next day.

This began a multi-year, multi-deployment experience in the US Army infantry starting before 9/11 and encompassing several deployments to Iraqi during the height of the fighting. After several close calls with enemy grenades and a car bomb, Jeff was medically retired with a traumatic brain injury and began the uncertain journey of building a life outside the Army.

This episode is all about that journey and Jeff’s passion today for helping veterans in agriculture. He provides some of the most practical and down-to-earth advice for military veterans looking to get involved in ag I’ve ever heard. If you’re interested in getting started in farming after the miliary, then this episode is a must listen!