Internationally recognized regenerative agriculture educator, scientist, and engineer Jairo Restrepo is on a tour of three Midwestern states. We are pleased to co-host his two-day workshop with Sobremesa Farm in Bloomington, IN!

The immersive workshop is focused on soil health, plant nutrition, and ecological farming systems. Designed for beginning farmers, gardeners, incubator participants, and community food leaders, this hands-on training will provide practical tools for building healthy soils, producing nutrient-dense crops, and reducing reliance on costly external inputs.

Participants will explore the biological, mineral, and ecological processes that support productive farming systems while learning how to produce their own high-quality agricultural inputs using locally available materials. Through a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on activities, attendees will gain the knowledge and confidence to improve soil fertility, enhance plant health, lower production costs, and increase farm resilience.

Topics include soil biology, mineral nutrition, bokashi production, liquid biofertilizers, beneficial microorganisms, disease and pest management, and the efficient use of local resources. Participants will leave with practical recipes, management strategies, and a deeper understanding of how healthy soils contribute to thriving farms and communities.

Please note that this workshop is in Spanish with English translation. 

Presenter: 
Jairo Restrepo Rivera - Agronomist, Agricultural Engineer, and worldwide lecturer, with over 40 years of experience and a trajectory that has spanned more than 30 countries, giving workshops, conferences, and private consultancies.

Born in Colombia and naturalized in Brazil, Jairo has had a critical impact worldwide, in the development of organic agriculture in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. Focusing mainly on the development of innovative techniques that recover traditional rural knowledge, emphasizing fertilization and nutrition techniques, recovery and conservation of soils, diagnosis of the soils, and the planning of transition processes for chemically treated farms that want to evolve towards organic agriculture.

Jairo has published 11 books in Spanish and sold over 30.000 copies worldwide.
 

Schedule of events:

Day 1:  Foundations of Soil Health and Biological Fertility

8:30 AM – Registration and Welcome

9:00 AM – Introduction to Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture

10:30 AM – Break

10:45 AM – Plant Nutrition and Mineral Balance

12:00 PM – Lunch

1:00 PM – Introduction to Biological Fertility

2:30 PM – Hands-On Demonstration: Bokashi Production

4:00 PM – Group Discussion and Questions

5:00 PM – Adjourn

Day 2: Farm-Made Inputs and Ecological Crop Management

9:00 AM – Review and Discussion

9:30 AM – Liquid Biofertilizers and Microbial Preparations

11:00 AM – Break

11:15 AM – Beneficial Microorganisms and Soil Inoculants

12:30 PM – Lunch

1:30 PM – Mineral Preparations for Disease and Pest Management

3:00 PM – Farm Walk and Field Applications

4:15 PM – Developing a Soil Health Action Plan

5:00 PM – Closing Discussion and Workshop Conclusion

Additional information:
If you have any questions about the event, please reach out to Sofia Caracci at  [email protected] or 888-906-6737 Ext. 721.