Roy will be sharing about his regenerative farming practices and his innovation with dryland farming practices.

Biography

Roy Pfaltzgraff and his parents operate a 2200 acre dryland family farm, Pfaltzgraff Farms, LLC, south of Haxtun, CO, where he was born and raised. Roy's father has always had a pioneering vision and spirit, but he could never imagine the farm as it is now. Roy’s dad planted crops with no-till practices in the 80’s, but when Roy returned to take over operation six years ago, the changes really took root. The farm has evolved from raising two to three crops a year to twelve crops this last year and the current count is at least ten for 2024. While continuing to use commercial chemicals and fertilizers, they have also created a diverse cropping rotation that minimizes these inputs at the same time maximizing the benefits from inter-cropping, increased soil health and biodiversity. Roy has integrated new techniques from seeding through harvest that minimizes specialty equipment while doing everything possible to increase soil health, while conserving residue and moisture. The efforts have started to reap rewards, the farm is producing near average yields in drought years with no loss in quality and is able to handle the extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent. Their inputs have dropped over seventy five percent which has a major impact to both bottom line and the farm's carbon footprint. Roy has been able to see improvements in the soil, the most notable is raising organic matter in the top ten inches of his fields from the area's average of less than 1% to a farm average of 2.5%. They have started direct marketing of some of the farm's products sold under Pfz Farms which are found online and in farmer's markets along the Front Range of Colorado.

Roy’s new methods have caught the attention of others in the agricultural industry. He has been interviewed for regional and national publications, including DTN Progressive Farmer, Denver Business Journal, Edible Denver and most recently in the Farm Journal being called the most unconventional farmer in the United States. He has also been invited to many speaking engagements including being a featured speaker at National No-Till and a guest lecturer for HarvardX courses in soil health and has developed a marketing workbook for farmers looking to step outside of the traditional marketing system. Roy also serves on the board of Colorado Conservation Tillage Association which is an organization that promotes soil health practices.