Discovering creative solutions for regenerative apple growing | Kyle Rasch, Tom Rasch & Son Orchards

It's what brought me back to the farm really is that excitement and that creative solution. Rather than just a point and shoot solution. There's something more resonating for me anyway to be able to listen to the plants and the whole system and try and find a solution that really is getting to the root of the issue. When you can be passionate about coming to a solution and do that through nutrition and more creative solutions, it adds a lot more joy to farming. I'm Kyle Rash, a third generation apple grower in Michigan. My grandfather started the farm over 60 years ago. We grow 130 acres of apples, 100 of that is conventional, and 30 acres is on the way to being certified organic. Our vision is to have the whole farm become regenerative certified organic. And we'll be one of the first fruit farms in the nation to be certified regenerative organic. The ways AEA has helped us to, to get closer to that goal is really the knowledge base and just the incredible wisdom within the company. Without that, that knowledge base, it'd be really, really challenging to make those steps towards regenerative organic without having a real solution. Working with aea, we've had a lot of options for data. Looking at the data with SAP testing has been critical. Looking at data just at what to do for certain pests and diseases. I mean, they have access to some very novel research as well as some very old literature about trying to find a creative solution to some of these pests and really dive into the data and the science behind it. Not just the commonly understood conventional science, but also the actual solutions. The consultants really are a great resource and it's really good to have somebody to talk to that resonates a lot with what your vision is for the farm and is able to help you come to solutions that don't compromise on that vision. We're looking to create that healthier food system and having solutions that are actually coming to a solution and not just having things that are band aiding over the problems. It's been a great pleasure working with Kyle because he's extraordinarily motivated about figuring this stuff out. He never had the attitude that it's going to, you know, it's not going to work. He just decided to figure out how it's going to work. And so the effort and work that has been put in and all the explorations and trials has really made it possible to get to a model that I think is going to be something worth sharing here in the Midwest. Regenerative agriculture as a whole, I see as a as the direction that most farms have to go if we want to continue having successful agriculture. Really, I think that's what it's all about for us at the end of the day, is making sure that we can create the healthiest fruit and get nutritious fruit to people. I think that's been huge. And knowing and confidently knowing that we're putting our best effort into creating the healthiest fruit for people and AEA is a big part of that.