AEA Grower Highlight - Kyle Spowart

Hi friends. Welcome to our webinar this afternoon. It's a beautiful day on January 30th. We've had winter, a good old fashioned Midwestern winter so far this year in the winter of 24 and 25. Really delighted to have all of you joining us today. We're going to have a conversation with Jeff Claypas and Kyle Sport. Kyle, I should have asked you before we started this broadcast about how to properly pronounce your last name. But the reason, the reason for this conversation and the reason I wanted I invited Kyle on and invited Jeff on is as I've been traveling across the country visiting with growers, I've been at lots of conferences and lots of events the last two months and there's still another couple of months of lots of events coming up. And we have, we're working with a lot of new growers this year and we still have a lot of people calling us who want to work with us, which we're quite excited about. And there's this recurring question of what does the relationship with advancing eco agriculture really look like? And it's these relationships are something that it's very important to me. I want to advancing eco agriculture not just to be a company that does regenerative, but a company that is regenerative and has it that that aspect of regenerating relationships hardwired right into our DNA and how we show up in the way that we interact with the people we do business with. And of course, when you do that, that means you have a relationship that is not transactional and that's not extractive, as is so common with so many input providers. And so there's a lot of questions like, all right, we know what a relationship might look like with a mainstream agronomist that's associated with a fertilizer co op, but what does that relationship look like with aea? And so for that reason, I wanted to have this conversation, just to have a discussion around what does that look like, what does the experience look like and what should you be able to expect. So within that framework, Jeff, I'm going to ask you to go first. Can you tell our audience a little bit about your background, the scope of your work and what's brought you to this conversation?

Sure, I appreciate that question, John. So I'm, I'm a certified professional agronomist, which is a fairly recent category out of the Certified Crop Advisor program. So you know, that pretty much in its own right tells the story that I went the traditional agronomy route from bachelor's degree in agronomy from Texas Tech and then working the whole central US market in various capacities over the last 20 years. And the last two now going on three have been with AEA. And like John said, it's a completely different culture, different environment, way of doing things, which as an agronomist is very refreshing because I definitely feel that I'm able to, to provide growers like Kyle a much more intimate recommendation and be a part of their, their farm and, and with the, you know, mutual agreement that we're trying to, to build something not just for Kyle, but for his children and grandchildren, God willing that it gets that far. So it's been a pleasure to, to be in Kyle's agronomist and here with, with aea.

Thanks, Jeff. And now Kyle, you're going to be the star of this conversation. So thank you for being here. Thank you for being willing to, to share what your experience has been, give us a little bit of context of your personal story, your operation, what's the scope of your operation, and then you can tell us a little bit about what it's been like to work with Jeff. Sure stuff. Because I need ammo for Jeff.

Yeah, everybody does. Right. Well, thanks for having me on.

Pleasure to be here.

My background is I've been started out in Knoxville, Iowa. Graduated high school down there. So there is a Knoxville in Iowa and it's not in Tennessee, but we actually started out in high school working on the retail side in grocery. My dad worked for a local company for 42 years. Met my wife in college and then she drugged me to the farm. We've been farming with my mother in law and father in law and her side of the family for 12 and a half years now. We have three children and just love every minute of it. Love running the big equipment. Can't get enough of it. Spring can't come quick enough. So working with aea, it was honestly, it's, it's what draw me, drew me to AEA was it's a systems approach. Just, just doing some research. Different companies this, that and the other thing. You guys had some corn protocols, Bean protocols. That's mainly what we do here in Iowa. Corn and bean operations, row crop operations. And what intrigued me, I discovered a.

Decade and a half ago I went to, I think I spoke, I did a keynote at Practical Farmers of Iowa. And I discovered that alfalfa is considered a specialty crop in the state of Iowa.

It's around, yes.

All right, sidebar. Sorry to interrupt.

No, that's fine. So you guys have protocols outlined on your website. And that's really what drew me to the AEA products. Send an email via the anonymous website app. And then Jeff called me, I think literally a day later, wanting to get to know how he could help on the farm. And then ever since then, I feel like Jeff and I have had a pretty good relationship. I know we talk at least every month, if not every two weeks, especially here in the last, I'd say three to four months. Just as we really start to set up. Okay. We're going to transition the farm to all AEA products just based off of what we're seeing during that first year on the trial fields that we saw.

So, Kyle, tell us a little bit. You just mentioned you started with some trial fields. And this is interesting because we see some growers that just want to go all in and do things on their entire farm and others that want to start with a trial area. Obviously, it depends on probably what they've seen in the area, in the neighborhood, and their familiarity. But what has your thought process been like in starting with trials and then expanding?

So we're a small farm operation, 325 acres of row crop. So we need to make sure we're making the right decision for the operation going forward. We committed. We are committing five years of AEA product to just strictly one field. And then within that field, we're also doing calibrations where we're not putting down any additional fertilizers, we're using just AEA products. And then we're also not even using any additional products other than just planting the. Planting the corn in the ground.

Yeah. And how rapidly are you expanding and scaling that up?

So this year we're going to use all in furrow product. We've put soil primer on all of our fields. Last fall, we put a half rate on of soil primer what Jeff's recommendations were. And then in the spring, we're going to go back and we're going to go apply that additional half rate of soil primer. And the reason for that is we sprayed it on top. We're applying cover crops to those fields. So we're spraying it over the top, incorporating cover crops and getting that soil, soil primer incorporated into the soil. And then once we come back, it's like you say in a lot of your podcasts, how do we surround that seed with all the goodness and greatness of the microbiology and all the micros and macronutrients that it needs to get its life going to off to a Good start.

Yeah. So, yeah, Kyle, I'd. I'm going to ask you one more question that I'm going to bounce things back over to Jeff, but as you described briefly, the frequency of the interactions that you've had with Jeff and what that frequency of interaction has been, but as you were exploring the possibilities of using the AEA products and working with that system approach, what did the initial conversations look like in terms of the conversations you had looking at agronomic data, making recommendations? What was that process like?

It was pretty easy, honestly. We would have a lot of zoom calls, send Jeff files of what we currently have done for recommendations as far as nutrient applications. It was really just a back and forth process. I honestly thought it was very great. Jeff was very open and willing to listen to see what our goals were. And that's, I think that's what everybody has to do is set goals, set a timeline as to how much you're going to be committed to a change. Change doesn't happen overnight. You have to commit to the change.

What thoughts did you have? Sorry, I said I'm going to go to Jeff with the next question, but I changed my mind. I'm still coming back to you. What was the scope of the information that Jeff was looking for and how was it different from what you might have experienced in the past?

So what we had done before, before we had met Jeff is we were kind of getting into the. We wanted to dive into the soil health side of the field, so total nutrient digestion test, PLFA tests, and then we were also starting to get into the Haney test. So all that information went directly over to Jeff and it was, it was seamless because he's, he's an agronomist. He knows what he's talking about. Right, so he knows how to read those tests? No, he's. He's very knowledgeable in those tests and how to read those tests. And, and then once we got into the. We committed the one field to AEA products. The SAP testing was. It's a different cadence and it, I think, I hope we do better with it this year, but it's a different cadence, and you've got a few podcasts out there on how to try and get that cadence going. Since the corn and bean growing season is so short, and if you get behind on it, it's not scary, but you just have to keep up with that regular cadence.

If you think the corn and soybean season is growing short, well, let's not get started growing spinach.

Yeah.

Yeah. Thank You, Kyle. So, Jeffrey, I'd like to get your perspective on when you, when you begin working with a new grower such as Kyle. What's the scope of the information that you are looking for and that you need to make recommendations that you have confidence in?

I'd say every situation is different. I think that's one thing that's really critical to look at from the start. And I think it's also something that allows AEA in general, you know, someone in my position to consult with someone on the southern tip of Texas or someone in the middle of Iowa like Kyle. But, you know, I, and this is, I think, also partly just because of the way I was trained locally as an agronomist. We didn't rely on soil tests and things nearly as much as even some of the conventional areas and other parts of the state and country. But we never talked about SAP testing, we never talked about total nutrient digestion testing and just the whole scope of things that, that, you know, we look at here at aea. And you know, the one thing I like to do right off the bat when, when talking to a grower that first time is just get a good overall sense of their farm, what their goals are, and see, you know, initially if they're even a good fit to work with AEA and vice versa, if we're a good fit for them because we do do things so much different than what, you know, mainstream agriculture is used to. But, you know, once we get past a whole series of conversations there, then start collecting that data like Kyle was mentioning, so that we can start having real conversations about how to achieve those goals.

All right, Jeff, I'm, you mentioned something. I'm going to put you on the spot now. What makes a grower a good fit to work with AEA or not?

You know, that's a excellent question. I don't know if I've got the right answer. I think the answer could vary to some degree.

Oh, depends on the answer.

The biggest thing for me is just having an open mind and being able to look at things differently and, and not by the textbook that we were all taught by 20 years ago. Because I don't care if you're a farmer or an agronomist that's been doing this for 20 plus years. We're all a product of what, what we were taught, whether that be right or wrong. And, you know, I'm humble enough to admit now that after seeing everything the last five plus years, even before working at aa, that we don't necessarily need all those Things we were taught 20 years ago in agronomy. And I even was curious enough to look at what the course description and coursework is now at Texas Tech for an agronomy degree. And there's actually biological classes being taught as part of that degree, just as the basic degree plan, which was not something that we were, was included when I went through the program. So things are changing slowly.

Yeah. Well, I think, Jeff, the point that comes to mind based on what you just said is open mindedness and curiosity, but also for us, like our nutritional protocols at AEA look different today from what they did even five years ago. And I sure hope they look different again in another five years from now because if they don't, if you don't keep progressing, then you get to rapid stagnation. Yeah, yeah. So Kyle, coming back to you, you had spoken, you spoke a little bit about your SAP analysis and getting into the cadence of that a little bit more. So you are coming at this. You've not used SAP analysis historically. What has been your experience or. Yes, experience, but also what do you think the SAP analysis did for you this last year? What benefits did you see from showed.

That you can really adapt to what the crop is actually doing. One thing that stood out to us last year and we didn't have any SAP data with the soybeans we planted, but the. One of our local retail agronomists told us that we didn't have the aphid pressure, the nematode pressure that a lot of the surrounding areas did. And I do truly think that is because of the products that we applied. We just kind of went towards the backside of the soybean protocol that you guys have. And. But I guess getting back to it, what does a SAP do for us? It really opens your eyes and you can, you can adapt to what the crops doing. If it's short on nitrogen, if it's short on boron, sulfur, those different things, you can really adapt and react to that.

Would you say that the SAP analysis gave you more confidence in what you were doing?

Yes.

Yep.

It tells the story of what the plants are actually seeing and what they're feeling, what they, what they need. Right. So we're giving them that, that direct shot of the nutrient that they're lacking for that time period. And then you can see that react on the SAP test that you take later in the season.

Yeah.

And Jeff, I'd like to direct a similar question to you. How does you know it's tempting to think of SAP analysis as an agronomic tool that it helps us to manage the nutrition of the crop both in this season and the future seasons. But I'm actually coming to the conclusion or to the perspective that it is, it is a confidence tool as a psychological tool, as much or more as an agronomic tool. Because when you are taking a very different approach, system approach, you're looking at bio, you're looking at nutrition and agronomy from the perspective of biology first. Instead of biology being ignored, all of a sudden it's, that's a whole new Pandora's box, if you will, of okay, is this actually going to work? Does it actually work? Does the plant actually? There's, there's all of a sudden there's a whole world of unknowns because we've not experienced it before. And I'd love to get your perspective, your experience. You came from very mainstream agronomy and now you're doing very biology centric agronomy. What's been your experience with SAP analysis and how do you utilize it on growers that you're working with?

I think number one as an agronomist, it keeps you honest in your recommendations. And the reason I say that is I'll just use a grower without giving their name off. They know who they are if they're listening. But a west Texas grower that good friends with their local chem rep like most farmers are, you know, nothing wrong with that. But the very first time I took a SAP test at their farm, I'm literally reading it the day that he's on the sprayer spraying foliar nitrogen that is the go to application in that area. And they have not ideal levels of nitrogen, not luxury levels of nitrogen, but excessive levels of nitrogen in that field, yet they're spending money on more nitrogen. So you know, you look at commodity prices today, why do those types of things? I mean that's one of the simplest things that, that a grower can not just save money, but redirect those dollars into something else that's going to help that plant out and get them more bottom line. And you know, John, you've been around these fields enough to know that this isn't the norm. But where we did that side by side trial where we were looking at those SAPs and I took SAP on both his conventional and the AA side of the field, but we were able, just by reducing stress and getting the right nutrition of that plant, we saw a 2x yield increase. Which you know, I hesitate sharing that a lot of times because I don't expect that kind of increase. But that shows the power of what SAP can do just by getting the right nutrition into that plant.

Yeah. Kyle, what was, what was your. What, what did you see with the SAP analysis results that was different from what you expected?

The nitrogen levels were lacking in the first application and then obviously we over applied probably with the second application. And it's like what Jeff said. We have to know our budgets this year. It's really tight this year. You've said it multiple times that it's a great, might be a great year to start using AEA products while we're backing off some of the other fertilizers. But knowing your economic data and then how we're actually reacting to that and then like Jeff said, increasing the bottom line.

Yeah. I think more specifically, Kyle, to what you just said, I think it's a great year. Like if biological microbial inoculants, specifically, specifically microbial inoculants thrive in environments where there isn't surplus and luxury amounts of nutrients being applied. And so if growers are considering moving back, there's no better time or opportunity to test the performance of biologicals. Yeah, yeah. So Jeff, when you think about the relationship that you've had with Kyle and working together, I asked you the question earlier about what makes a good grower to work with you. You answer that question of being open minded and being curious. But as you've worked with Kyle, what has, what has gone particularly well, that is you, you suggested that we have this conversation with Kyle. Why? Why Kyle?

Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me and you know, Kyle has been in the system a relatively short time compared to others, yet you know, I thought he is a perfect person to talk to on this because, you know, I saw him come in with this curiosity, like I was saying at the beginning, and that willingness to change, wanting to learn and you know, I think the biggest thing is, Colin, I have had really good communication. I think communication is key on how successful these programs can be because you know, when you're looking at the way AEA does things from afar because we're not on that farm every single week, like the local co op or whoever might be consulting is the communication is one of the biggest key things that I think. Kyle and I have had really good communication. He shared what's worked, he shares what doesn't work. We go back to the drawing board where we need to. I was able to make a farm visit during the growing season last year and see some of the things in person. So, you know, I think those, when we do get to the field, those help. But I think the biggest thing is I see Kyle's drive to improve his operation and he pushes me to be a better agronomist.

So you just preempted the next question I was going to ask, which was about the frequency that you've been out to the field. So you've been to Kyle's farm once. And other than that it's been completely remote consulting.

Yes.

What has that been like for you, Kyle, as a grower? Ideally, it seems like the ideal would be to have people with boots on the ground more often. And yet there's. I know with our team at aea, we do a lot of consulting that is almost entirely remote and we're on the field only very occasionally. But what's your experience been like with that?

It's been great. It was scary at first because like Jeff said, you're not a local co op that's 10 miles down the road that can come look at my disease pressure, my nutrient deficiencies in the plants. Right. But I think it also paints a good story of you guys have such a good handle on what, what the SAP analysis, what the Haney and the PFLA tests are showing you. The num from the number side, you can go out and manipulate our plants, our soils from, from a distance. And from that standpoint, it's been great. I completely have full trust in what Jeff is doing for us.

Well, and the other perspective is we have such awesome technology today that we can capture high resolution photos and share them back and forth on it. That wasn't even possible to. Certainly not to the degree that it is today, even five years ago, but for sure, 10 years ago, you guys.

Should start flying over our fields. That way you can check them every, every other day.

We'll just send our satellites over.

Yeah. You know where our fields are, you just go look at them.

John, I think it's important to, you know, Kyle's been gracious in his comments towards me in my ability, but I think it's important for us to also mention that it's not just me that you get when you're working with a. It's me talking to our vast team and coming up with a solution together. Poor Kyle.

Yeah, Jeff's the cotton boy. Right. He's in Texas. We've talked to Jason and we've also had conversations with David Miller and all the other people. So he's been great too. So it's not just Jeff. He's just the face of the brand right now. For Me?

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Kyle. That's such an important comment. It's such an important moment because I think one of the things that we've come to realize as a company is when we think about regenerative relationships in an ecosystem, in a field context, it's never between two specimens, between two organisms, there's always a community. And so how do we work together as a team and as a community? And I think within our team at aea, we have really started focusing on having every one of our growers being supported by a team and not by individuals because it's so much more powerful.

Yep. Yeah, it really is.

Yeah.

Well, Kyle, what. What closing thoughts do you have for people listening? Is there anything that you particularly would like people to know about or to be thinking about if they're considering working with aea?

Make small changes. Don't bet the whole operation on it. I know some people want to go whole hog on it, but in saying that, I feel like from my perspective, I would have the confidence in moving more acres towards the AEA type of regenerative farming that we're doing. Do what you can with what equipment you have. Don't go out and spend a bunch of money on Inferrow2 by two different banding solutions. Work with your local neighbors that are right down the road. If they have something that you don't, you want to try something, work with them and see if they'll work with you. And I'm sure they will. They're our neighbors. Right. We all work together and then just make small changes to your equipment as you go along. We've had quite a few learning experiences just with the AEA products themselves. And one of the biggest things is you got to keep it agitated. Buy the mixers before you go out putting planter solution in, especially in the, in the spring. It's like a chocolate milk consistency. It needs to be agitated, mixed along with the rejuvenate. Accelerate as well. But take your time. You're not going to go out there your first time applying these products and think you're going to mix a tank up like us. We started small, right? And it took us three hours to make the first planter solution batch before we go plant. So take your time. Understand that it's going to take some time to work with the product, especially if you're just getting into it. And then as you progress into having more of the systems to handle it and keep things flowing, that was probably the biggest learning experience for us last year.

So.

Yeah, thank you, Kyle. I think part of the your comments on suspension, I think that's true of many products that contain biology and the contain biologicals. And on our end we're continuing to make progress on making products easier to use so that there's not any issues with application. So Jeff, I'd ask the, I'll ask the same question of you. What is it that you would like growers to be thinking about if they're considering working with us?

Yeah, I would say number one is don't be scared of change. You know, I think the biggest thing when you look at conventional versus regenerative is that it is a change in philosophy. But trust the system. Understand it's not necessarily going to happen overnight. It can in some cases, but every, every field within the same farm can be work a little bit differently. So, you know, give yourself an opportunity to let the system build out through three to four years and get that full, full impact. You know, with that said, I always tell a first year grower we don't expect to go backwards. So, you know, if we're going backwards in a regenerative system, we're doing something wrong. So, you know, we definitely need to look at the whole picture. But like Kyle said, start small because probably the, the one place where I see if a grower fails with me in a regenerative system, it's because we tried to make too many changes at the same time. So start with the Bio Coke Gold Planner solution, something small if you're not confident and then we can always expand from there.

Yeah. Wonderful. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you Kyle. Thanks for being here, for being willing to share your wisdom and your experiences and best of success in the upcoming growing season. Let's chat again soon. Thank you all for being. Thank you everyone for being here and for listening, for chiming in.