Tribute to David Brandt
The Brandt Family farm has operated since the 1965’s. The farm operation has transitioned from conventional agriculture through the introduction of No-Till conservation practices in 1971 and the adoption of Cover Crops in 1978. Most acreage on the farm has not seen any tillage operation in over 40 years. Erosion has been reduced from 6 ton per acre to less than 100 lbs per acre. Commercial fertilizer use has been reduced to half rates without reduction in crop yields. No insecticide has been used in over 10 years and the majority of planted seeds have no fungicide treatment. An USDA ARS insect population study performed in 2015 identified over 3000 different insect species on the farm, 90% of which are beneficial to crop production.
Local Outreach
David Brandt has always been involved in the local and state agriculture community. David was past president of the local Young Farmers organization, the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio No-Till Council and is currently Chairman of the Board of the Soil Health Academy and co-owner of Walnut Creek Seeds, LLC. David was also a state technician for SCS (NRCS) in the 1980’s and established a majority of the farm plans based on no-till adoption in the state. David worked closely with the two local school district FFA programs at Bloom Carroll and Liberty Union Schools. He planted and harvested their crops, allowing students to operate the machines, broadening their experience as many of them have no farm background. David has worked with Chevron Chemical, Monsanto Chemical, BASF companies to instruct farmers in optimizing the use of herbicide in the No-Till practice. David has been recognized in 2011 by the Ohio State Senate for conservation practices in reducing erosion and improving water quality. The Ohio NRCS recognized David in 2012 with a Conservation Partnership Award. David was recognized by the by The Ohio Farmer publication as an Ohio Master Farmer in 2017.
National and International Outreach
David has been an active promoter of No-Till and conservation practices, especially including cover crops for the last 50 years. He has spoken in several states including Canada and France. David was invited to France by the then Minister of Agriculture to speak about how conservation practices capture carbon and reduce the impact of climate change to the assembled multinational group as part of the COP21 conference and to introduce the 1 per 1000 concept for Carbon Sequestration. David was a recurring speaker at the national conventions, The National No-Till Convention and No-Till on the Plains. The Brandt Farm was selected by Federal NRCS to launch the National Soil Health Movement in 2016. The Brandt Farm has hosted all new NRCS employees for conservation training from 2013 through 2019. The Brandt Farm has hosted dignitaries from Canada, Mexico, ElSalvador, Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, China, Taiwan, Africa and Australia. David's talks at various field days and conventions can be found on YouTube, and had participated in several Podcast episodes..