Episode 53 - Adapting coffee farms to prepare for the future – A Conversation with Moises Herrera from Finca el Puente

About this episode

Tim Wendelboe interviews Moises Herrera about adapting coffee farms for the future amidst climate challenges.

In this episode, I am in Marcala, Honduras, visiting Finca El Puente to sit down with Moises Herrera. Moises and his wife, Marysabel Caballero, are world-renowned producers we have worked with since 2010. Their operation is incredibly professional, as they manage every step of the process, from the seed to the final export bag, through their own wet and dry mills. In our conversation, Moises shares the harsh realities of the last two harvests. The 2025 crop was severely affected by frost, which damaged about 50% of the coffee of some farms and forced them to sort the beans up to ten times to maintain quality. We also discuss the first year of our TW Biological Project on their land. Moises explains the mental shift required to move away from farming with agro-chemicals and synthetic fertilizers toward biological solutions working with shade trees and soil micro organisms. Looking ahead, Moises and Marysabel are focusing on consolidating their cultivars and increasing shade tree populations on their farms. They are now planting around 10,000 shade trees per year to protect the coffee from stress and support local wildlife. A process that requires patience but is necessary for the…

People in this episode

Host: Tim Wendelboe

Guest: Moises Herrera

Topics covered

• coffee farming
• sustainable agriculture
• climate impact
• biological solutions
• shade trees
• coffee production

Keywords

• coffee farms
• agro-chemicals
• sustainability
• shade trees
• crop management
• Honduras coffee

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Finca El Puente

Places: Marcala, Honduras

More episodes of Tim Wendelboe Podcast

• Episode 56: Evolution, Genetics, and the Future of Coffee – A Conversation with Professor Andreas Tribsch. · June 5, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Episode 55: Ranked No. 2 in the World – Exceeding Guest Expectations with Stephanie Dawn Holm · May 21, 2026 · 54 min
• Episode 54 - The Future of Honduran Coffee: The Biofilia Transition - A conversation with Benjamin Paz · April 28, 2026 · 15 min
• Episode 52 - Transitioning to Biological Farming – A Conversation with Diego Baraona · March 24, 2026 · 27 min
• Episode 51 - Purchasing coffees in Kenya - Live from the cupping lab · February 11, 2026 · 40 min
• Episode 50 - 2025 – A Coffee Year in Review · December 29, 2025 · 1h 41m