Join 350 Colorado’s Regenerative Agriculture and Local Food Committee on Wednesday, February 17th at 7:00 PM to discuss the future of corn in a regenerative food system. Our panelists — Phil Taylor, Nick DiDomenico, Daniel Mooney, and Mary Purdy — will guide us in exploring the role of corn in Colorado’s future from the perspectives of a regenerative agriculture specialist, an agroforestry expert, an agricultural economist, and an eco-dietician. We look forward to seeing you there!
Our lineup:
Phil Taylor. Philip Taylor, Ph.D. is executive director of Mad Agriculture, which he co-founded with his life partner, Nicole Brinks, to create a culture that loves and restores our relationship to the land, sea and one another. Mad Ag’s work spans the story, community and practice of creating a beautiful food system. Among the programs, Mad Ag helps develop holistic carbon farm plans with ranchers and farmers to help producers transition to a regenerative economy by providing financial and technical assistance, as well as access to new markets. Philip is a global ecologist that specializes in ecosystem and soil carbon cycling. He teaches the Future of Food as an adjunct professor at CU Boulder. He has international work experience in both private and public sectors, and has led research and outreach campaigns throughout Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, including an exploratory private equity fund for accelerating renewable energy in the global south.*
Nick DiDomenico. Hailing from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Nick is a regenerative designer, farmer, and builder. While exploring the vast ecosystems of the Peruvian Amazon, he discovered Permaculture design and regenerative agriculture working to establish food systems in an off-grid community. Inspired by indigenous culture and ancient farming practices, Nick is working passionately to design the future of living systems. In 2015, he began restoring a dry and barren parcel of land north of Boulder, Colorado, now Elk Run Farm and Homestead. Named the 2019 Permaculture Project of the Year in Colorado, Elk Run has become the pilot research project for Drylands Agroecology Research 501(c)3 (DAR), founded by Nick and his partner, Marissa Pulaski. By researching and documenting regenerative practices such as intensive animal management, drylands agroforestry, earthworks and water management, Nick is developing innovative solutions for ecological restoration and regenerative farming specific to our bioregion. Over 1,400 fruiting trees have been established in the drylands agroforestry systems without any supplemental irrigation using techniques developed by the nonprofit, while also growing drylands corn and other traditional staple grain crops in contour alley systems. By partnering with other land stewards, Nick and the DAR team are actively consulting and designing regenerative systems locally, with the aim to proliferate the process of regenerative design. Nick resides at the homestead with Marissa, where they offer classes on forest gardening, regenerative agriculture, herbal medicine, fermentation and other holistic living practices.
Daniel Mooney. Daniel Mooney is an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist in Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University. His research and outreach interests in the field of applied microeconomics include household, farm, and firm-level decision-making; agricultural business management; production and supply analysis; technology evaluation and impact assessment; and agriculture, resources, and the environment. He is currently focused on problems related to sustainable crop production, agricultural technology adoption, livestock enterprise management, and food systems development. At the undergraduate and graduate level, he teaches courses related to agricultural business management and applied production analysis. Prior to joining Colorado State University, he gained extensive experience in domestic and international agriculture through work and educational opportunities in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan, Panama, and Ecuador.**
Mary Purdy. Mary Purdy, MS, RDN is an Integrative Eco-Dietitian with a Master’s Degree from Bastyr University where she is currently adjunct faculty. She has been in clinical practice for over 12 years using a personalized medicine and functional nutrition approach. She has given over 100 nutrition workshops and webinars, speaks regularly at nutrition conferences and was the keynote speaker at Bastyr University’s Commencement Ceremony 2019. Additionally, she hosts the podcast “The Nutrition Show”, authored the books “Serving the Broccoli Gods” and “The Microbiome Diet Reset “, and consults around creating a sustainable and resilient food system that supports our environment and helps to mitigate climate change.
Dina has been investigating design priorities that architects and urbanists establish when proposing sustainable forms of human communities. She is seriously concerned with a narrow narrative around rapid urbanization. Dina’s intent is to guide productive conversations that lead to productive landscapes. She has a penchant for zeroing in on conditions that are in plain sight and ubiquitous. She wonders: biodiversity and distribution are top attributes of regenerative food systems — how do they play out in a conversation highlighting corn?
*Bio courtesy of Regenerative Rising
**Bio courtesy of Colorado State University