Episode #78: Adam Chappell

Adam Chappell is a regenerative grower and cover crop advocate from Cotton Plant, Arkansas. Adam started growing with his dad and brother on their 7,500 acre property in 2005, but by 2009 pigweed issues alone had nearly pushed them into bankruptcy. Knowing there had to be a better way, Adam began educating himself about the power of regenerative agriculture, implementing a cover cropping strategy that he claims saved the family farm. Today, Adam’s operation grows a variety of broadacre crops and continues to make strides in ecological health and crop performance.

Throughout their conversation, Adam and AEA Founder John Kempf discuss:

• Adam’s start in agriculture and how cover cropping brought the farm “from the brink of bankruptcy to a profitable enterprise.”
•  Adam’s current methodologies for crop rotation and cover cropping.
• How the adoption of regenerative practices has contributed to improved profitability.
• Adam’s background in entomology and ecology and the shifts in insect populations he has seen over time.
• Questioning the necessity of soil testing and becoming wary of “sales tools.”
• Implementing Dr. Norman Lupo’s root intensification method and other row spacing strategies.
•  Livestock integration and the story of Adam’s first purchase of cattle.
• Why Adam’s goals for the future include “getting smaller.”