Future-Proof Your Farm: Innovative Soil Health Strategies

Gus Plamann is a technical agronomist for Biome Makers, a global ag tech company on a mission to empower farmers and improve soil health worldwide. Biome Makers has pioneered soil biology testing technology that leverages a combination of microbial genomics and machine learning to provide insights on soil biological functions relevant to agriculture. Gus interprets biological soil test results and educates clients to help them optimize regenerative management practices and better understand how ag inputs impact soil health. After beginning his career in natural resource management, Gus found himself drawn to agriculture by the industry’s unique intersection between natural ecology, human health, and sociology. Prior to joining Biome Makers, he obtained his MS in Agriculture and Environmental Science from University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley and worked as a laboratory manager at the University of Florida supporting organic and integrated specialty crop research. With family roots in the Midwest farming community and an upbringing steeped in lessons from mother nature, Gus enjoys studying the connections between agronomy and natural ecology.  He aspires to help agricultural professionals develop an ecological lens and build systems-based crop systems that sustain productive yields in harmony with natural processes.

Taniell Liepner is the business development associate for the Western region of Northern America. With a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology obtained from Stellenbosch University in South Africa, Taniell is dedicated to helping growers, retailers, and input manufacturers find the best placement of Biome Makers BeCrop Technology. Drawing from firsthand experience gained at a regenerative farm in Corralitos, CA, she grasps the pivotal role of soil health in agriculture and the daily challenges confronting the biological industry. Merging her academic experience and practical fieldwork, Taniell recognizes the significance of optimizing nutrition programs and employing proactive measures to monitor and mitigate disease and stress, thereby averting yield and quality losses.

In 2000, Steve Brazeel founded SunTerra Produce, which has grown from a one-person produce brokerage firm into an industry-leading, full-service platform handling sales, marketing, farming, food safety, harvesting, storage, and distribution activities for specialty crop producers on over 10,000 acres throughout the US and Mexico. Born out of SunTerra‘s participation in the USDA’s ground-breaking Farmers to Families Food Box program, Project FoodBox was launched in 2020. Since the program’s inception, the SunTerra/Project FoodBox teams have delivered over 85 Million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to communities in need through its network of food banks, community organizations, and health care plans.

Elevated Foods, founded by Mr. Brazeel in 2020, was recently awarded a $20M grant as part of USDA’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program. Elevated was formed to bring more profit to farmers by incentivizing the adoption of new technologies & practices and providing technical support to help make them more efficient and resilient.