FT. PAYNE, Ala. — The regenerative agriculture consulting firm, Understanding Ag (UA), LLC, today announced that Felicia Bell of RD & S Farm, and Fred Provenza, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University, have been added to its expanding cadre of technical advisors.
“Felicia has been involved in agriculture all of her life and has taken the concept of ‘helping your neighbor,’ and combined it with her science and research background to create new methods and techniques that introduce regenerative principles and practices to small-acreage farmers like herself, helping them stay viable during economic hardships,” said UA managing partner David Kleinschmidt.
Bell is a former board member and officer for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and the Mississippi Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, the latter of which gives voice to African American small farmers and gardeners.
“Like all of us at UA, Felicia believes that everyone deserves access to healthy food, and with the collective effort of small, regenerative farmers across the country, we believe this can become a reality,” Kleinschmidt said.
Provenza’s work has put a spotlight on the food industry’s shift away from phytochemically and biochemically rich plant and animal foods to processed foods, which has enabled 2.1 billion people to become overweight or obese and increased incidence of diet-related disease.
“Fred is an advocate for regenerative agriculture because it represents the best prescription for our health and for the planet’s health,” Kleinschmidt said. “He believes that we can enable human and planetary health by forsaking processed foods and by sourcing, growing and eating wholesome foods. Through his work, we can all better understand why, by nurturing nature’s communities can, we nurture ourselves.”
According to Kleinschmidt, these latest additions to UA’s technical advisor cadre exemplify the firm’s mission of restoring soil, profits, farms and futures—through education and understanding.
“Felicia and Fred bring a wealth of practical experience and knowledge to our firm,” he said. “We look forward to tapping into their expertise to design and deliver even more effective programs and services to our expanding and diverse regenerative agriculture clientele.”
–Understanding Ag, LLC