Deep Seed

A beautiful message of hope by Simon Kraemer - much needed today. As we head for inevitable climate chaos and environmental collapse, we are left with two options: 1) despair -> depression -> apathy 2) hope -> joy -> action There's absolutely nothing to gain from option 1. There is everything to gain from option 2. The regenerative movement is "the greatest seed of hope we see in the world", and the good news is: you can join too! ❤️ Don't know where to start? Here are some ideas: 1 - send me a message, let's talk 2 - watch the Biggest Little Farm and Kiss the Ground 3 - listen to the Deep Seed podcast 😇

In the latest Deep Seed episode, Simon Kraemer explained his vision for an outcome-based subsidy system using 2 key indicators:  NPP (Net Primary Production) and Soil Health. So… what is NPP? Net Primary Production describes the net carbon gain by plants through photosynthesis. In other words, it measures how much sunlight energy has been converted into biomass after accounting for the energy plants use for their own respiration. Why is NPP an interesting indicator? 🌿When plants efficiently convert sunlight into biomass, they not only boost agricultural yields but also enhance soil health and increase the land’s capacity to retain water and sequester carbon. 💦Additionally, NPP reflects how effectively plants cool and moisturize their surroundings through evapo-transpiration, thus giving us an insight into the effect of land use management on water cycles. Not bad, right!? Additionally, NPP is quite easy to measure using satellite data, which is available for free online. I have heard concerns about the precision levels of that data, but as Simon puts it “good enough for now, safe enough to try”. Would love to hear the thoughts of the LinkedIn regen community on this! What do you think? Any counterargument to this? ——— I highly recommend following the EARA | European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture page to stay up to date. I believe great things are going to be coming from them in the near future ❤️ Special thanks to the Regenerative Agriculture Series & Soil Capital for giving me the opportunity to record these conversations!

New episode 🌿 Simon Kraemer explains why changing our subsidy system might be our biggest lever for transitioning the global food system from the most destructive human activity on the planet to the most regenerative one! My top 3 insights from this episode: 💸 Performance-based: Rather than paying based on land size, imagine subsidies that reward improvements in soil carbon, water retention, and biodiversity. This shift could motivate farmers to transition to practices that regenerate, rather than degrade, our soils. 🌱 Easy indicators: Simon makes a compelling case for using Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and soil Health as simple, effective performance metrics to assess regenerative success. NPP is a reliable, cost-effective indicator that links land productivity directly to ecosystem resilience. 👩🌾Trust Farmers: once we defined the desired outcomes, we should enable the farmers to get there by providing financial incentives and agronomic advice but allow them to reach these outcomes on their own terms instead of prescribing specific practices. Listen to the full episode on the Deep Seed podcast, available everywhere online! ⎯⎯⎯⎯ This episode was made in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports the transition to regenerative agriculture by financially rewarding farmers who enhance soil health. Special thanks to the Regenerative Agriculture Series for making this interview possible and to the EARA | European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture group for their amazing work! ⎯⎯⎯⎯ You can help this podcast grow in just a few seconds: 1️⃣ follow the Deep Seed page 2️⃣ leave a 5-star review (on Spotify/Apple podcast) It makes a huge difference, thank you so much 💚 Raphael Esterhazy

Farmers risk losing everything 🥺 WHY? Decades of intensive industrial agriculture have left soils heavily compacted and depleted of organic matter. This has weakened soils’ ability to infiltrate and hold water effectively. SO WHAT? When it rains a lot 🌧️ Soils quickly become saturated. Excess water runs off into nearby rivers, often taking nutrient-rich topsoil with it. Oxygen becomes scarce for roots, causing plants to struggle. Yields drop. When it doesn’t rain ☀️ The small amount of water stored in the soil depletes quickly through evapotranspiration. Roots can’t access enough water, plants suffer, and yields drop. BAD NEWS The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to increase steadily over the coming decades. Farmers, already surviving on razor-thin margins, are squeezed by rising input costs, low commodity prices, and an increasing risk of crop failures. If we continue down this path, many farmers will go bankrupt. Goodbye farmers, hello food insecurity. GOOD NEWS By transitioning to regenerative systems 🌾, farmers can sustain productivity, lower costs, and improve soil organic matter, water infiltration, and water-holding capacity. As Michael Kavanagh points out in this video, by raising his soil’s organic matter by just 0.75%, he’s able to retain an additional 100,000 liters of water per hectare – and it makes all the difference! CONCLUSION It’s a no-brainer. If we want to save our farmers and ensure the future of agriculture, regenerative practices are 100% the way forward! ❤️ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ 🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Michael on the latest Deep Seed episode. Shout out to Soil Capital for their support - to The Green Farm Collective for their admirable work - to Paula Vonhof for the video - and to Alica Parkes & Regenerative Agriculture Series for the invitation!

This 15-minute conversation with Michael Kavanagh will brighten up your day 🌻 He brilliantly demonstrates that Regenerative Agriculture works on every possible level: · Increased yields with less inputs · Increased biodiversity & ecosystem health · Increased resilience to climate change · More carbon in the soils = happy farmer & healthy planet ❤️ We have an opportunity to transform the 5 billion hectares used today for agriculture from a destructive force to a regenerative one 😍 That's huge news! We need to stop wasting time and go all-in on this. Let's freaking go!? ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ This is the first episode of an exclusive mini-series, recorded live from the Regenerative Agriculture Summit Europe in Amsterdam (back in September)! Huge thanks to Regenerative Agriculture Series and Soil Capital for inviting me to the event, to Paula Vonhof for the video, to Lily M. from Commonland for co-hosting the interview with me 🥰 And of course to YOU 🫵 for listening to the Deep Seed . Much love, Raphael Esterhazy

Have you heard about the Great Green Wall of Africa? We need more positive stories, more examples of the beautiful future we could create for humanity and the planet ❤️ This is one of them and it doesn't get talked about enough! Listen to my conversation with Patrick Worms on the Deep Seed podcast to learn more. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ If you are interested in supporting or donating to organisations actively working to make this beautiful project come to life, here is a selection: Global Environment Facility : Provides grants for land restoration and sustainable agriculture projects in the Sahel to support the Great Green Wall’s goals. SOS SAHEL International France: Focuses on community-based projects to combat desertification, improve food security, and enhance livelihoods in the Sahel. IUAF International Union for Agroforestry: Promotes agroforestry practices to increase biodiversity, regenerate degraded lands, and support local farmers in the Great Green Wall region. Justdiggit : Specializes in regreening and water conservation techniques to restore degraded lands in Africa, particularly in the Sahel. Sahel Eco : Works to empower local communities with natural regeneration and sustainable agroforestry to combat land degradation in Mali. Tree Aid: Supports local communities in the Sahel with tree planting and agroforestry projects to boost resilience and food security. CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research - CIFOR-ICRAF : Conducts scientific research and community-driven projects to promote sustainable land use and forest restoration in the Sahel. Reforest'Action : A social enterprise that engages in reforestation projects to restore biodiversity and combat desertification in the Great Green Wall area. WeForest : Focuses on forest landscape restoration in countries like Ethiopia and Senegal, contributing to the broader goals of the Great Green Wall. With love, Raphael Esterhazy

What if the walls of your next building could store carbon, reduce emissions, and be 100% recyclable? That’s exactly what Earth Plus and Elena Doms are doing with their hemp-based sandwich panels! 💡 What are they? These panels are made from hemp wood on the outside and mycelium-based insulation on the inside. They’re stronger than traditional wood, fully circular, and grow in just 4 months! 🌿 The benefits? These hemp-based panels are carbon negative, capturing CO2 and making construction a part of the climate solution. They also generate zero waste—at the end of their life, they’re fully repurposed or recycled, leaving nothing behind. This innovation makes sense on so many levels, and I just love it 😍 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Listen to the full episode of the Deep Seed podcast with Elena Doms to learn more about the amazing potential of hemp as a climate solution… and much more!

🌱 Hemp is truly amazing! And here’s why… In my latest episode with Elena Doms, we dive into how hemp is being used not just for regenerative agriculture, but also to clean up toxic chemicals like PFAs (Forever Chemicals) from our soils! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Planting Hemp: Industrial hemp acts like a “giant pump,” absorbing PFAs from contaminated soils and storing them in its leaves. It grows super fast—up to 4 meters in just 4 months! 2️⃣ Processing the Leaves: Once hemp does its magic, the leaves—where the chemicals concentrate—are processed at high temperatures to destroy these pollutants. 3️⃣ Circular Products: The stems (they're fully clean from chemicals) are then used to create bio-based construction materials— both regenerative and circular! And did you know? 🤔 Hemp also: • Boosts soil health by breaking up compacted soil and improving fertility. • Sequesters carbon by locking away CO2 for decades. • Supports a circular economy by being 100% usable from seeds to fibers! 🌿 To learn more, listen to my conversation with Elena on the latest Deep Seed podcast episode ! (link in comments below)

Forever Chemicals (PFAS) are all around us: in our clothes, food packaging, cleaning products, cosmetics, and even electronics like laptops and phones. The problem is… These chemicals spread into every part of our environment—contaminating soils, water, the food we eat, and eventually, our bodies. 😵 Once in our system, PFAS are linked to a range of serious health issues, including cancer, liver damage, immune system suppression, and developmental problems. This is obviously a massive problem that requires action. There are two critical steps to address it: 1️⃣ Close the tap: Make PFAS illegal to produce and use! Sounds simple, right? So why hasn’t it happened yet? Unfortunately, it’s the usual story: corporations that profit from using these harmful chemicals are actively lobbying to prevent meaningful regulations from being enacted. Let’s be clear, this isn’t just unethical—it’s criminal. Thankfully, organizations like the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), and ChemSec are pushing back! The EU is currently negotiating a comprehensive ban under the REACH regulation, with a decision expected in 2025. We need to send a strong message that living in a toxic environment is not acceptable! 2️⃣ Clean up the mess: This is where leaders like Elena Doms and her team at Earth Plus+ come in. They’re proving that it’s possible to clean up PFAS and regenerate polluted soils using nature-based solutions like hemp cultivation—a powerful and inspiring approach. I strongly recommend checking out my conversation with Elena in the latest Deep Seed episode! (link in the comments below) Much love 🧡 Raphael Esterhazy

New Episode 🌿 Elena Doms, co-founder of Earth Plus , shares how she’s using hemp to clean up Forever Chemicals (PFAs) from the environment while creating bio-based construction materials that are regenerative and carbon negative. I loved talking to Elena, she incredibly inspiring! This is a must-listen if you care about the future of agriculture, the environment, and innovative solutions to clean up our planet ❤️ My key takeaways: 🫧 Cleaning PFAs: hemp absorbs Forever Chemicals in the soils and brings it to its leaves. The leaves can then be processed at high temperature to destroy these chemicals. 🌱 Regenerating Soils: hemp has deep roots and is great at breaking up compaction, soaking up moisture, improving soil structure and increasing fertility! 🏗 Eco-products: harvested hemp can be used to create a wide range of eco-friendly products: building materials, textiles, paper, biochar, superfoods and more! 🔄 Carbon sequestration: Hemp doesn’t just clean soils—it locks carbon away for hundreds of years, helping combat climate change while regenerating land. Special mention to the people and organisations mentioned in this episode: Erik De Bruyn - Frederik Verstraete - C-biotech - Alfonso Chico de Guzman - Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe - Boyan Slat - Rich Stockdale PhD and everyone working on amazing solutions to regenerate our planet ❤️ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ This episode was made possible thanks to Soil Capital, a company supporting #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health and enhance climate resilience. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ Help this podcast grow in just a few clicks: 1️⃣ Follow Deep Seed for more inspiring stories 2️⃣ Leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform 🌟 Your support means the world! 💚 Raphael Esterhazy