Monday Jul 08, 2024

Chris Kornacki: Discovering Relationships in Silvopasture

In today’s conversation I chat with Chris Kornacki, a small-scale regenerative agriculturist from South West Ontario. I first learned about Chris’s work through his presentation at Forest Ontario’s annual conference, where he presented on silvopasture, something I’d never heard of before. Needless to say, Chris’s presentation was captivating, he unpacked so much knowledge in a short period of time. I knew getting him on the podcast would be a great show.

Chris is from Toronto and grew up in the city, but after having some health complications as a young man, he turned towards nutrition and fitness to remedy his health. Through his journey as a successful trainer and gym manager, he studied regenerative agriculture books and learned of the connecitons between food production and food quality, especially related to nutrients. Chris took the dive into his own farming adventures just about 10 years ago and has been growing his practice ever since.

Chris now runs a successful and extremely healthy farm that produces some of the finest pork, beef and chicken you can find anywhere in Ontario thanks to his dedication and care for his animals and land.

Chris’s passion and drive to learn is contagious, he shares some of his most valuable resources and many wise words along the way. I really hope that you enjoy today’s conversation. I learned a lot, editing the show and listening through again because there are so many tidbits of information that apply to more than practices on the farm. There are a lot of good life lessons in here.

So I hope that you have some time to sit down and enjoy the conversation and what Chris has to say.

Show Notes:

4:24 - Alan Savory: Holistic Management

11:01 - Systems Thinking

14:32 - competency epiphany

16:21 - Starting property

20:00 - Cultivation Opportunity

23:34 - Challenges of starting a Farm

31:45 - Relationships and Mentors

36:11 - Silvopasture

51:54 - Key Principles of Chris’ Farming

Alan Savory - Holistic Management