960: Regeneration and Innovation: The Future of Farming

Don Tipping's Legacy of Regenerative Farming

In This Podcast: Greg reconnects with returning guest Don Tipping to explore nearly a decade of evolution at Seven Seeds Farm and Siskiyou Seeds. The conversation dives deep into regenerative farming, bioregional seed stewardship, on-farm ecology, and the long arc of plant breeding as climate adaptation. Don shares practical insights from 30 years of full-time farming, from pest resilience without chemicals to compost, livestock integration, and the vision for a decentralized bioregional seed bank. The episode emphasizes patience, systems thinking, and seed saving as both a practical skill and a cultural act.

Guest Bio: Don has been farming and offering hands on, practical workshops at Seven Seeds Farm since 1997. Seven Seeds is a small, certified organic family farm in the Siskiyou Mountains of SW Oregon that produces fruits, vegetables, seeds, flowers and herbs, while raising sheep, poultry and people. The farm has been designed to function as a self-contained, life regenerating organism with waste products being recycled and feeding other elements of the system. Lauded as one of the best examples of a small productive Biodynamic and Permaculture farms in the northwest by many, Seven Seeds helps to mentor new farmers through internships and workshops. In 2009 they began Siskiyou Seeds, a bioregional organic seed company that grows and stewards a collection of over 700 open pollinated flower, vegetable and herb seeds and is constantly breeding new varieties.

Key Topics & Entities

1. Don Tipping
2. Seven Seeds Farm
3. Siskiyou Seeds (Siskiyou Seeds)
4. Regenerative agriculture
5. Bioregional seed stewardship
6. Open-pollinated seeds
7. Seed saving
8. Garden ecology
9. Plant breeding
10. Permaculture systems
11. Compost and soil fertility
12. Livestock integration
13. Climate adaptation
14. Cascadia Seed Bank

Key Questions Answered

How has Don’s farm and seed work evolved over the last nine years?

The seed company has grown into the core of the farm’s work, with most annual and perennial crops now grown specifically for seed. Don has shifted toward contracting with a wider network of growers while focusing his own energy on plant breeding, research, and education.

What makes bioregional, farmer-grown seed different from industrial seed?

Unlike industrial seed—often brokered globally with little transparency—bioregional seed is selected under local climate, pest, and disease pressures. Over time, this results in crops that are better adapted, more resilient, and better suited to regional food systems.

Why doesn’t Seven Seeds Farm rely on row covers or chemical inputs?

By allowing natural selection to occur—such as letting cucumber...