113 AgEmerge Podcast With Eric Fuchs - Understanding Ag Consultant by Ag Emerge Podcast published on 2023-06-26T17:54:31Z Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Eric Fuchs, a consultant for Understanding Ag. Eric’s work and experience make for a great conversation. He lives in Southeast Missouri on a diversified livestock operation where they raise hair sheep and contract graze cattle. He’s been using Holistic Planned Grazing for over eight years and has had a managed grazing system on his operation for more than 20 years. In addition to that, Eric also works in the water and wastewater industry as a source water protection technician. He works with small and large small communities and with agricultural producers to help ensure community water protection. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover so let’s jump right in. Eric Fuchs lives in Southeast Missouri on a diversified livestock operation where he raises hair sheep and contract grazes all classes of cattle. He has been using Holistic Planned Grazing for over eight years and has had a managed grazing system on his operation for more than 20 years. Eric also works in the water and wastewater industry as a source water protection technician. He works with small and large small communities and with agricultural producers to help ensure community water protection. His efforts help save millions of dollars in costly water treatment system upgrades while also negating the need for long-term regulations. He has seen firsthand the problems with agriculture land use and its effect on drinking water. Eric’s journey into regenerative ag began on his own operation when he discovered how soil health focused practices could benefit water resources. He also realized that more regulation is never the answer but that the solutions for clean water are easily attainable by changing how we operate. Graduating from the University of Missouri in 1994 with a degree in agronomy, Eric served in the U.S. Air Force for five years, during which time he received a master’s degree in human resource development. I began my farming career as a conventional grazing and livestock owner, which I quickly realized was not profitable or sustainable for our environment. When I started my career in source water protection, I quickly realized the problems created by conventional agriculture were rampant. Most problems I saw with poor drinking water quality could be attributed to agriculture. I had been using regenerative techniques on my own operation for many years but when I saw how these could also save our waterways and provide clean safe reliable drinking water, it became a passion of mine to let others know there were practical solutions to these problems. It was apparent that the same techniques used to make my own operation sustainable and profitable could be used on a large scale to clean up our drinking water. My passion now is to share with others the solutions to these problems. Through my experience as a regenerative farmer and source water specialist, I bring an understanding to a range of groups on the current and future scene of pending regulations. Additionally, I can work with communities, businesses and individuals to improve drinking water quality, AND save money and mitigate the need for additional burdensome regulations. www.understandingag.com Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to kim@asn.farm we’d love to hear from you. Genre Agriculture