Soil Sense - SoundSage

View Details

Fertile soil is something Ukraine has always been known for. But wind and water erosion are causing a soil loss of approximately 15 tons per hectare every year. Today we’re joined by Oleksandr, a farmer in the Kiev Region of Ukraine, and Syngenta’s Valeriy Dubrovin to discuss how farmers are advancing regenerative practices even in this current challenging time for the country.

“ In the Ukraine, with the (most fertile) soils in the world, this topic should be number one in agriculture to keep our soil health to give these soils for (future) generations.” - Valeriy Dubrovin

This is a fascinating discussion about how they’re using practices and technology to improve soil health.

Oleksandr farms about three thousand hectares in the Kiev region of Ukraine. He grows sunflower, corn, barley, wheat, beans, sugarbeet and quite a bit of livestock on his operation. He’s been farming since 1995 and has implemented reduced tillage practices and incorporated manure on his operation to try to fight erosion and improve his soil health.

And also joining us is Valeriy Dubrovin. Valeriy is the soil health and carbon farming manager at Syngenta located in Ukraine. He’s been with the company 11 years now and his role is to improve services and perform training for farmers like Oleksandr on soil health. And one really cool program he’s working on uses INTERRA© Scan Technology.

Valeriy and Oleksandr also speak candidly about what’s happening in Ukraine today and what it has been like to try to farm and build healthier soils during such a challenging time for the country. They join us via an interpreter, Kseniia.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Oleksandr, a large-scale farmer in Ukraine
Discover some of the soil health challenges in the Ukraine, and what farmers are doing to deal with those
Hear how tools like INTERRA© Scan Technology are helping farmers improve soil health
Understand how farmers and their advisors are continuing to operate their farms and build their soil health during extremely difficult times for the country

Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast

This season of the Soil Sense podcast is brought to you by Syngenta. If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there!

The Soil Sense podcast is for those that believe building healthier soils is not just a prescription, but rather a pursuit. On this show, we unpack the way farmers collaborate to build healthier soils and adapt systems to work on their farm for both sustainability and profitability.

View Details

Soil health on a large scale, can really be enhanced through data and digital tools. It’s pretty incredible to hear how that is being applied to farms like the one you’re going to hear from today in Argentina. Today we’re joined by Kevin, a large farmer in Argentina, as well as Syngenta’s Catriel Pedermera and Bill Suess, to talk about leveraging technology to build healthier soils at scale.

We know soil compaction is an issue, so being able to diagnose it more precisely helps us to make the decision: okay, here we need to intervene with some vertical work maybe, and we thought this one was very compacted, but the data shows it's not that compacted. A lot of this is saving time. And also there are problems we know we have that we can work on and, save time and a lot of money like in variable rate, be more efficient in the solution, and in the resources applied to the solutions of those problems.” - Kevin, Argentine farmer

Kevin farms soybeans, corn, some cotton and some peanuts west of the Buenos Aires province. He’s the fourth generation in the family-owned business that has been there for over 100 years. He talks about the transition the family has made from a cattle farm to 100% no-till crop farm.

Kevin also works closely with Catriel, an agronomist with Syngenta in Argentina who also joins us on today’s episode. Both Kevin and Catriel are well-versed in collecting soil data and implementing precision agriculture to make the farm more productive and build soil health over time.

Also on the show today is Bill Suess, digital product manager with Syngenta Group who has an extensive background in farm management and precision ag. He works as part of a small team that is intensely mapping soils to find agronomic solutions for growers around the world.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Kevin, a large-scale farmer in Argentina
Discover some of the soil health challenges in Argentina, and what farmers are doing to deal with those
Hear how Catriel and Bill at Syngenta are working with farmers like Kevin to implement technology to improve soil health and overall profitability
Understand how Kevin is usually precision agriculture technology and other advanced tools on his farm

Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast

View Details

Farmers and agronomists have a lot on their plate just to produce a profitable crop every year. So what happens when their buyers start requesting they also change practices to move in a more regenerative direction? Today we hear Emily, an agronomist for a large farm in Alberta, Canada, and Syngenta’s Tara McCaughey, about the quest to grow a more regenerative potato.

“ It's very different from what we're used to. We have somebody who comes here, sells us a product, we see the results. It's instant ROI. With a lot of these practices, it's gonna cost you extra time and people, but you don't necessarily get that right back, that harvest. This is more of a long game. So trying to justify that when you're convincing people to make a change. I think that's an additional barrier is that you might not see your yield increase year one. And that's just a different mindset shift from what we're used to in ag I think.” - Emily, Agronomist in Alberta, Canada

Emily is an agronomist for a very large farming operation in Alberta, Canada. She’s been doing that for about five years and has an additional 15 years as agronomist, mostly working for a large french fry manufacturer. Emily recently traveled the world as a Nuffield Scholar studying regenerative agriculture practices in potato production systems.

Tara has been with Syngenta for a number of years in various capacities, but currently she is the Head of Technology Solutions in Sustainable Ag Function. So her team ensures that technology, including chemistry, biological crop input products, as well as digital ag solution technologies are market-ready and supported once they're in the market with farmer customers.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Emily, an agronomist in Alberta, and Tara McCaughey, Head of Technology Solutions in Sustainable Ag at Syngenta Canada
Discover what’s working when it comes to implementing regenerative farming practices in potato cropping systems
Consider why building soil health is a long term investment instead of a product that can offer clear and instant return on investment (ROI)
Listen to how agronomists like Emily work with other stakeholders to find prudent ways to implement changes

Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast

Thank you to Syngenta for sponsoring this season of the Soil Sense podcast. If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there!

View Details

In order for soil health to go from words and ideas to actions and outcomes, there needs to be support at the farm level - whether that’s a corn farmer in the U.S. or a peanut farmer in rural Northeast China. Today we talk to two farmers in China who are embracing new ideas for their farms, improving their soil, and helping their communities to see the value in building healthier soils.

” I do believe that soil health is an issue for the whole mankind, for the whole world. And thus when I came back home, I wanted to share with, my community about how we can handle the land and also soil better so that our after generations would also be able to enjoy these healthier soil.” - Xingjia, Chinese Peanut Farmer

Today we hear from two farmers, Chi and Xingjia, who farm in the Liaoning Province of northeast China. These two say they have had some big challenges with soil in their area, including erosion and lack of fertility. Xingjia and Chi got involved in a Syngenta program called Hope Soil Health, which provides training that they say they’ve been able to implement on their farms.

Fang Yao of Syngenta also joins the podcast to share more about that Hope program. All of today’s guests provided their answers through an interpreter.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet farmers Xingjia and Chi, as well as Syngenta’s Fang Yao
Understand some of the challenges and solutions farmers are working with in rural northeast China
Discover the Hope Soil Health program and how it’s providing training for farmers
Explore the impact of innovative farmers and well-researched training

Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast

View Details

Costa Rica is home to an incredible amount of natural biodiversity. But it’s also an ideal spot to grow some of the world’s favorite crops, like coffee. How can farmers conserve biodiversity while still meeting global demand for coffee?

Today we hear Mariano, an agronomist and coffee producer from Costa Rica, and Javier Peris from Syngenta, about the dynamic relationship between agriculture and biodiversity.

”When you plant a coffee, you spend. 20, 25, 30 years or more with the coffee plant. So that allows you to be part of the ecosystem for all those years. So it's easy to think (in terms of) long term, relationships with the local ecosystems. For example, conservation soil techniques is one of the things that we are doing, and maybe is the main technique or strategy to increase biodiversity and resilience in the local ecosystem that you are producing coffee.” - Mariano, Costa Rican Coffee Farmer

Mariano is an agronomist whose family has grown coffee in Costa Rica for almost a hundred years. In the past decade, they’ve really focused on transitioning to more regenerative practices. He explains how they’ve moved from conventional coffee farming methods to more ecologically-conscious solutions, and what this means for his business and his soil health.

Alongside Mariano, you’ll hear from Javier Peris, a biologist at Syngenta. Javier has worked with Syngenta for the past ten years, mostly in research and development, but he has recently transition to a new role in sustainability where he is a nature specialist. He describes Syngenta’s “Living Grow” program which promotes biodiversity and soil health in agricultural ecosystems while maintaining agricultural productivity.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mariano and Javier Peris and learn about how coffee farms can embrace regenerative practices
Discover the Living Grow program in Costa Rica and the collaboration taking place to help farmers boost productivity while conserving biodiversity
Explore why Javier calls Mariano’s farm “like another world”
Understand the connection between soil health and overall biodiversity

View Details

Oftentimes soil health practices may be thought of as “one more thing” to incorporate on the farm. But in this episode, producer Matt tells us that it would be very difficult for him to farm as much land as he does without soil health practices in play.

In fact, soil health practices are what allowed his farm to grow significantly over his career which started in 1988 on just 400 acres. Matt farms with his wife and three sons in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas in the United States. They grow corn, wheat, soybean and cotton on over 20,000 acres and have a black angus cow herd. They utilize soil health practices like no-till, cover crops and terracing to manage their system in their hot and dry climate.

We are also joined by Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomist. Craig has been with Syngenta for 33 years and works with large growers who often farm in multiple states in the US.

“ A lot of our growth has been with either families that have wanted to invest in land, institutional investors, or farm management companies. And they came to us because we’re no-till. They will not let other people operate their land unless they are no-till regenerative and taking care of the soil and improving it.” - Matt

As farmers look to improve their operations, many are turning to soil health practices. Craig shares that tools like cropwise imagery and cropwise financials allow producers to monitor successful practices to further understand the impact they are having on yield outcome.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Matt, a producer working over 20,000 acres in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, and Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomist
Explore how economics drove Matt to incorporate soil health practices into his operation and the many benefits he has experienced through their use
Discover the analytics being used to precisely calibrate rates of seeding and inputs for the best yield outcomes across large operations

View Details

Despite a lot of exciting momentum behind regenerative agriculture, it remains necessary that that enthusiasm reaches farmers and leads to real outcomes. But how does that information get shared in a county like India with several million farmers? In this episode we are joined by Subhadra Gupta, the regional field sustainability lead for the Asia Pacific region based in India, and Gaynor Pais, the executive director for International Resources for Fairer Trade (IRFT). We talk about how the soil health conversation is only valuable if a farmer sees how it can fit into their own unique operation. This is a big enough challenge in a place like the United States with major established infrastructure and lines of communication, but imagine building farmer networks in a place like India that has several million smallholder farms that are spread throughout the entire country.

“ The kind of engagement and the kind of partnership and the kind of trust that we have been able to build, and we are still building with our farmers when it comes to enhancing soil as a primary and a very, very significant aspect of smart agriculture practices. I think we are very much on the right track. Every year we can see slowly, and I think this is a journey.” - Subhadra Gupta

Together Gupta and Gaynor discuss the very important topic of farmer outreach and engagement when it comes to sharing information about soil health practices. It's critical in conversations about the science and economics of these soil health practices, that we don’t forget the human component in adopting and implementing them.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Subhadra Gupta, the regional field sustainability lead for the Asia Pacific region based in India, and Gaynor Pais, the executive director for International Resources for Fairer Trade (IRFT)
Discover the value and strategy in creating farmer engagement with new soil health practices in India
Learn about the cultural challenges and the social impact soil health practices can have on the Indian agricultural producers
Explore the collaboration between Syngenta and IRFT to provide training on regenerative practices and create more equitable supply chains

View Details

For a long time, Europe has had very high standards for environmental sustainability and is really concerned about biodiversity. So how does a multi-generational family farm accommodate these interests while still running a profitable and sustainable farm business?

We're joined today by a farmer from Germany, Hans Heinrich. And Syngenta's Sebastian Funk to talk about cross-generational farming and trying new ideas across a large operation.

”We often try something and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. That's normal. But this idea of rebuilding the soil, I guess that's the most important thing we can do for this generation and for the next generation. “ - Hans Heinrich

Hans Heinrich Farms with his wife and his son in eastern Germany. He and his son are constantly dreaming up new ideas and approaches for the farm, and bringing in new equipment from across Europe to implement practices like strip till. They grow corn and potatoes as their main crops with some small grains in rotation on occasion as well.

Joining Hans Heinrich is Syngenta's sustainable farm manager for Germany, Sebastian Funk. He grew up on a family farm and is now based in Frankfurt. He works alongside dozens of farmers across the region on sustainable practices, biodiversity research and implementation of digital tools.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Hans Heinrich and Sebastian Funk and learn more about agricultural soils and systems in this region of Germany
Discover the collaboration that takes place between farmers like Hans Heinrich and his family and partners like Syngenta
Understand the importance of biodiversity research and what is being discovered about biodiversity on farms in Germany
Explore some of the digital tools used in farming and soil health

View Details

In this episode of Soil Sense, co-hosts Tim Hammerich and Dr. Abbey Wick explore how Brazilian farmers, like Cézar, and Syngenta's Grazielle Parenti, are innovating soil health practices in tropical environments.

The discussion focuses on Brazil's potential to double agricultural production without deforestation through initiatives like the Reverte Project. Parenti talks about Syngenta's collaboration with farmers to restore degraded pasture lands into productive farmland. Cézar details his experiences and methods in advancing soil health on his expansive farm, emphasizing the critical role of technology and sustainable practices. Together, they highlight the synergistic efforts in Brazil to boost soil health, create economic benefits, and sustain agricultural productivity.

00:00 Introduction to Brazil's Agricultural Potential

01:20 Meet the Hosts and Guests

01:54 Cézar’s Farming Journey

03:30 Soil Health Practices in Brazil

06:02 Challenges and Innovations in Tropical Agriculture

16:00 The Reverte Project: Transforming Degraded Lands

23:13 Technology's Role in Soil Health

31:13 Future of Brazilian Agriculture

38:33 Conclusion and Takeaways

View Details

Introducing: season eight of Soil Sense! Co-hosts Tim Hammerich and Dr. Abbey Wick are excited to bring another season to the show, this time sponsored by Syngenta. Season eight explores soil health at scale, featuring farmers from all around the world.

Science and innovation have unlocked incredible gains in agricultural productivity and sustainability over the years. But there's still so much potential out there, especially if we're able to leverage a better understanding of soil science. We're joined today by Syngenta CEO, Jeff Rowe, and chief soil scientist, Dr. Matt Wallenstein. They challenge us consider the art of the possible when it comes to the future of soil health.

“ For most farmers, a lot of farmers in the world, the land is their most important investment. And in some ways, historically, it's been what we understood the least.” - Jeff Rowe

Jeff Rowe is the CEO of Syngenta group based in Basel, Switzerland. But the other hat he wears is that of a family farmer. These two vantage points, as an agribusiness CEO and a farmer, make him an excellent guest to kick off this season.

“ Because we hadn't given as much attention to the soil, that now represents the biggest opportunity we have to increase productivity and sustainability in the next decade.” Matt Wallenstein, Ph.D.

Dr. Matt Wallenstein joined Syngenta with a background in research at Colorado State, and as an entrepreneur. He launched a startup to commercialize some of this research. He was recruited by Jeff to lead the company's soil health efforts.

Jeff and Matt discuss the potential for soil health to advance agricultural productivity and sustainability.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet farmer and Syngenta CEO Jeff Rowe and chief soil scientist Dr. Matt Wallenstein
Explore how scientific advancements in soil science can lead to opportunities for farmers
Consider the importance of resilient soil, the balance of traditional and modern farming methods, and Syngenta's commitment to supporting soil health globally

View Details

In this episode we wrap up season seven of the soil sense podcast with a well known and well respected farmer and long-time soil conservationist, Barry Fisher. Barry recently retired from his career at the USDA, where he most recently worked in the soil health division. In that capacity he met and spoke with farmers about soil health throughout the central part of the US. Since retirement, Barry manages his family farm in Greencastle, Indiana and has a consulting business where he does training and soil health education for organizations through Fisher Soil Health LLC. Barry discusses soil health principles, important considerations for transition to regenerative practices, and the essential role of a knowledgeable advisor.

“If you really think about it, our current crops are only feeding the biology June, July, a little bit of May, and maybe a little bit of August. That's a very small percent of the total year… We did a lot of talking about no till as far as protecting erosion, but when we added cover crops to it, that was a game changer in that now the cover crop immediately fed more biology longer. That biology immediately started providing aggregate stability which absolutely helps the surface infiltration of soil, the aeration of soil. You know you start getting better structure to the surface of the soil and that can happen in as little as one season when we add cover crops.” - Barry Fisher

One visual Barry has used to help demonstrate soil health to producers is what he has called the “fence row effect.” Previous fence rows can illustrate the value and yield potential when incorporating the four principles of soil health. There is a reduction in disturbance, added diversity of plant life, maintained living roots in the soil and because of that the soil is kept covered. These four principles can allow producers to see a bump in yield in these areas. Barry goes on to explain how to generalize some of those principles on an operation-wide basis.

“Generally there's some farmer in the front row that says, “Okay Fisher, that's great, but, my landlord wants me to farm the whole farm, not just the old fence rows.”... I can show those aerial photos where management on one farm had the four principles kind of in place and the management on the farm right next to it did not. And the aerial photo is very telling that yes, we can manage beyond the fence row. We can get that fence row effect across the entire farm.” - Barry Fisher

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Barry Fisher a current Indiana farmer and retired USDA soil conservationist
Explore what Barry calls the “fence row effect” and how that can be applied to demonstrating the four principles of soil health
Discover Barry’s recommendations in transitioning tillage and cover crop practices

If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there. Check out the Farmers for Soil Health website at FarmersForSoilHealth.com.

View Details

Throughout this series, we have featured a lot of large scale commercial farming operations, but soil health is just as important to farms that operate on smaller acreages as well. Mike Lewis is a farmer, military veteran, and the senior manager for the National Center for Appropriate Technologies. Mike farms in southeastern Kentucky on a small farm in the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. His farm consists of 126 acres, 12 of which he uses to grow fresh market vegetables and the other 114 is a forest-based pasture system where he raises cattle, pastured pork and pastured poultry.

“For me, soil health is the most critical thing to the success of our operation… One of Wendell Berry's quotes is, “What I stand for is what I stand on.” And I think that soil is what we all stand on. And it's the foundation for all life and sustenance on this planet. So there's nothing more important than healthy soils.” - Mike Lewis

As the senior manager in the sustainable agriculture and rural communities division of NCAT Mike focuses on building resilient communities and supporting farmers in sustainable production systems. The Armed to Farm and Soil For Water programs are two of the many programs he contributes to. Mike also opens up his own family farm to other producers to demonstrate some of the soil health principles he has incorporated on his operation.

“I think that one of the things that we're really focused on is being able to have a place where we can show other producers other alternatives to production, right?

We open our farm up three or four times a year for other producers to come on and look at our hog production system and to learn how we've reduced our feed inputs by timing of our farrowing and our pasture management skills.” - Mike Lewis

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mike Lewis, a Kentucky farmer, military veteran, and the senior manager for the National Center for Appropriate Technologies
Discover Mike’s journey from the farm to the military and back to the farm to raise his family
Explore the Armed to Farm and Soil For Water programs and the opportunities they offer producers

View Details

Eisenhower famously said “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.” That resonates with a lot of farmers who know the theory of farming doesn’t always directly translate to the practice. Farmer and agronomist Frank Rademacher joins us to talk about what’s working on his farm in East Central Illinois, and the work he does as a conservation agronomist with The Nature Conservancy. Frank discusses the theory vs the practice when it comes to soil health, what has worked and what hasn’t worked on his farm, how they’ve arrived at some of their current practices, and a little bit on Frank’s work with retailers on behalf of The Nature Conservancy.

“What we kind of found is we were doing diverse mixes, kind of buying into some of that messaging that diverse mixes are always best. And again, I think that's kind of where the theory versus in practice discussion happens because we would have some harsh winters and no snow cover. And so some of those species would not overwinter. And so, we start off on a bad foot if we're really depending on cover crops and we can't get the consistency. So what we've really tried to build over time is a portfolio of cover crops that perform consistently.” - Frank Rademacher

Frank found a passion for agronomy while in college, and started helping his father implement some conservation practices on their farm. Over the past 10 years, Frank and his father have gone 100% no-till and insecticide-free on their 600 acre farm. They’ve also ramped up their cover crop program which includes using a roller-crimper and high biomass cover crops. Frank also works as a conservation agronomist with The Nature Conservancy, where part of his focus is working with ag retailers and other farmer advisors to add conservation advice to their business models.

“I understand what some of the environmental goals that Illinois has set out are and I also understand that some of these things are difficult to do at the farm level. And so, how do we scale conservation? That's a lot of what we look at now is not only shaping that cover crop mix to be a little bit more flexible, depending on spring weather, but also just understanding the operation as a whole.” - Frank Rademacher

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Illinois farmer and conservation agronomist Frank Rademacher
Explore the balance Frank is finding between operational success and incorporating conservation practices

View Details

When you think about soil health, you might picture a soybean field or a corn field.

It may not be immediately apparent how many other industries rely on soil health, like pork. National Pork Board Chief Sustainability Officer Jamie Burr joins us to share about the importance of soil health, conservation, and sustainability to the pork industry. He’s been in this particular role for about six months, but has spent most of his life in the pork industry.

“The reason that the pork board is so involved in that is if you look at all of our footprints, whether it be carbon, land or water, a vast majority of our footprint has to do with making feed. So those crops are as much as 60 to 70 percent of each one of those footprints.” - Jamie Burr

Prior to the pork board, Jamie spent almost 24 years at Tyson Foods in various environmental and sustainability roles, most of which were on the live production side in both pork and poultry. Jamie shares how he defines sustainability, why the pork board prioritizes soil health for people, planet and pork, how the industry is striving forward in key areas of sustainability and conservation, and how they’re leveraging data to tell that story to consumers.

“The goal that we have as a pork industry is a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. And that's the farm gate emissions. So that would be from the time the grain is grown til the pigs leave the farm gate…So we have stood up a platform to begin collecting that data so that producers can enter data and then we can start publicly reporting on those metrics from a transparency perspective. Without that data, it's hard to tell a story.” - Jamie Burr

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet National Pork Board Chief Sustainability Officer Jamie Burr who shares about the importance of soil health, conservation, and sustainability to the pork industry
Explore the sustainability priorities of the Pork Board and the oversight they offer producers

View Details

There is a lot more information about soil health available today than there was a decade ago, but it’s still up to each individual farmer to figure out what works best for their operation. Delaware farmer Jay Baxter grows soybeans, corn, sweet corn, and lima beans on Baxter Farms. Jay is the fourth generation to do so along with his sister who farms with him as well as some other family stakeholders that include his 93 year old grandmother who is still engaged with the farm. In addition to the crops, they have eight chicken houses. At any one time they have about 225,000 broilers on the farm. That’s enough to keep anyone busy, but Jay and his wife have also started a couple side businesses: a greenhouse company growing contract potted flowers for a wholesale distributor, and a custom cover crop application business. He shares about the cover crops, equipment, biosolids, and poultry manure that are part of his operation.

“We're starting to understand what different cover crops do to our soils, and we're starting to understand what different mixes and how different cover crop species mix together, how they interact with one another, and what they can do to benefit us on our farm and our particular soils. And what they can kind of bring to the table and help us to utilize some of our, well, our number one resource, which is our soil.” - Jay Baxter

One interesting thing about Jay that is unique is that he has included hairy vetch in his cover crop mix for about 20 years. He has heard all of the concerns others have about hairy vetch, and says for him every year is different, but they’ve learned to manage the cover crop in a way that has been very beneficial to their operation. His unique techniques have paid off in the past specifically with his lima bean practices.

“Because they were sitting on top of a mulch, as opposed to sitting on top of bare soil, they had no blemish on them, and therefore were A grade beans, and that's what the processor really wanted. So we immediately became no till and cover crop farming lima bean growers.” - Jay Baxter

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet fourth generation Delaware farmer Jay Baxter who shares about his operation including cover crops, a greenhouse company growing potted flowers, a poultry operation and a custom cover crop application business
Explore the many facets of Jay’s operation and the trials and successes he has found over the years
Discover the regulations of using biosolids and waste water on a farming operations

View Details

When it comes to sustainability, it’s hard to argue with results. For Virginia farmer Susan Watkins that means seven generations and counting of stewarding highly productive farmland. In this episode we get to talk about that rich history and the soil health building practices that she is implementing on her operation. We talk to Susan about their legacy of caring for the soil, how they transitioned to no-till over 20 years ago, how they incorporated cover crops about 15 years ago, and what she’s looking forward to next.

“We farm Five Forks. So Five Forks was pretty instrumental towards the end of the Civil War. And we actually farm on that original land too. The house is still standing. The owners of the house still have the portraits from their ancestors and it has slash marks through the portraits where the soldiers came in and slashed them. So yes, a lot of rich history here.” - Susan Watkins

Susan farms in Dinwiddie County along with her husband Maxwell and her son Cody. She grows soybeans, corn and wheat on about 3500 acres. A lot of that ground is rented, but they still farm some of the original land that was granted by the king of England to the Watkins Family, at least seven generations ago. More recently though they have been exploring biological inputs on their operation alongside their no till practices and cover crops.

“We're all farmers. We all want to preserve our lands and pass it along to our children if possible. And that's the goal of everyone. But the margins are so slim. We have to be conscious of new technologies, new ideas and adapt to those. We can't stay stuck in one era. We have to keep moving forward.” - Susan Watkins

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet seventh generation Virginia farmer Susan Watkins
Discover the rich history associated with the Watkins family farm land
Explore the crops and practices they are using on their operation to improve soil health and yields including no-till, biological inputs and cover crops

View Details

Fine-tuning any system that involves biology and mother nature is going to take time, especially when all of those changes have to happen while also running a business. Nebraska farmer Ed Lammers has spent over 30 years implementing new practices and business models on his farm. He joins the show to talk about cover crops, incorporating livestock, and embracing technology to build healthier soils. In this episode we talk about cover crops, incorporating livestock into the operation, technology, and Ed’s desire to start raising some rye for seed.

“I’m trying to improve my soil health in any way I can. Being open to changes is crucial, but the economics to allow you to be open to those experimental challenges or changes are crucial also.” - Ed Lammers

Ed has been farming for 35 years and has tried a lot of different practices over that time. In addition to row crops, Ed and his son raise about 200 cow/calf pairs, and market the beef farm-to-table. He said that business has really grown since his son took it over, and they are now able to sell around 40% of their beef through that channel.

“The animal nutrients all go back into our soils. It's a big part of our input costs and just being a good sustainable farmer..” - Ed Lammers

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Nebraska farmer Ed Lammers
Discover Ed’s journey into cover crops and incorporating livestock onto his operation

View Details

It’s always neat to hear of farms that have been with a family for generations, but is it still possible for a first generation farmer to get started? Ryan Bivens is proof that it is possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. First generation Kentucky farmer Ryan Bivens talks about his path to getting started in farming, why wheat is his favorite cover crop, and how he manages 88 different landlords in his area of central Kentucky.

“Just because somebody says you can't do that.…Try it yourself. Do it on a small basis. You have to figure out what can and cannot work for you. You can't break the bank doing it. If you're gonna screw something up, do it on a small trial. Try it out there. And who's to say, if it works, then next year expand it but you know what's best for your own soils.” - Ryan Bivens

Ryan farms soybeans, corn and wheat on about 7600 acres, 1200 of which he owns and the remaining he leases from 88 different landlords. Ryan grew up around agriculture and started farming in FFA. After college his wife took an ag teaching job in the community they now live in so he had to start over. He searched for farmland to rent through an ad in the local newspaper and built from there. Ryan shares how he got his start, his approach to soil health, and a whole lot more.

“We can't tell each other how to farm. There is not one right way or wrong way to do it. Everybody has to know their own land, they have to know their soils, and they have to know what works for them. If I don't go out and learn something every day, that's the day I need to hang it up and quit. Because that's the day when you're done as far as I'm concerned.” - Ryan Bivens

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet first generation Kentucky farmer Ryan Biven and discover his unique path to farming
Discover his business model including both owned and rented land and explore his approach to soil health on that land
Explore Ryan’s practices with rotation and his experiences with cover crops

View Details

Sometimes in agriculture we are so consumed by work that needs to happen on the farm that we don’t get much of a chance to share what we’re doing or visit others to see what’s working for them. Kansas Soil Health Alliance Coordinator Jennifer Simmelink is helping to make this communication happen more frequently. Jennifer grew up surrounded by agriculture in York, Nebraska. Although she didn’t grow up on a farm, she studied Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Kansas State University. It was there that she met her now husband, which led her to settling down on his family’s farm in North Central, Kansas. We asked Jennifer to wear both hats today as a farmer and the coordinator of the alliance to share her journey to spreading soil health awareness.

“We talk about the impact that water and wind erosion and things can have on your communities. Whether it's cleaning out ditches or cleaning out contaminants in drinking water. To go out and be able to be a part of that and to help meet others where they're at to take their step forward. It's a complex process.” - Jennifer Simmelink

The Kansas Soil Health Alliance is a 501c3 organization that is producer led with the mission of improving and protecting Kansas soils through farmer and rancher led education. Jennifer spends a lot of her time traveling throughout the state coordinating field days and working alongside farmers and other organizations to provide educational opportunities for both current and future farmer generations.

“I think that's what we all want to do is we want to give the next generation better than what we had. Not easier. We're not trying to pave things down, but can we give them a good start? We want to improve on things. So you can tell them this is for you. This is why it should matter to you.” - Jennifer Simmelink

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Kansas Soil Health Alliance Coordinator Jennifer Simmelink and learn about her job spreading soil health awareness through producer led events and education
Discover the many efforts of the Kansas Soil Health Alliance and the programs and events they have going on

View Details

One of the valuable aspects of this series is that it has given us a chance to talk to farmers at all different stages of their soil health journey. It’s particularly inspiring to talk to someone who has been at this a long time and is really seeing the benefits of some of these practices. New York farmer Donn Branton discusses how decades of experimenting and learning has led him to develop his system of growing no-till non-GMO corn and soybeans with practices like cover crops and bio strip-till in Western New York.

“The water infiltration, the earthworm activity, those are the biggest things. Drove around with one of the soil water technicians one winter day and I said, you see that brown snowbank there? Yeah. Drive up the road a little further next to our field. What color is that one? It's white. What's going on? I said, it's wind erosion. You know, some things like that are so obvious when you're keen to it.” - Donn Branton

Don has a really interesting story that led him into farming on his own in 1979. Since that time he’s often been ahead of the curve with everything from reducing tillage to adding cover crops to embracing variable rate technology to planting corn into biostrips.

“One of the biggest things when we first started doing reduced till, heavy rainfall come through. Neighbors would have standing water, we wouldn't. Okay, what's going on? Well, we got water infiltration and had earthworm middens.” - Donn Branton

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet New York farmer Donn Branton and discover his long term efforts towards soil health on his operation
Explore Donn’s different soil health practices, the many benefits he’s observed and the additional revenue he’s enjoyed

View Details

Advancements in ag research and technology not only help farmers produce more with less, but also have had a big impact on their ability to build healthier soils. John Butler is the CEO of Agricenter International and a 5th generation farmer from Northwestern Tennessee. Before joining Agricenter International about seven years ago, he worked on his family farm for about 25 years and had a career with Cargill where he worked across multiple geographies in North America. He shares his unique perspective as someone who has worked in agribusiness, operated a more traditional farm, and now is running an urban farm and research hub. He shares his take on soil health, how they adapt principles to their local context of the Mississippi Delta Region, the impact of their research and education efforts, and new technologies as well.

“I can't farm the way I farm today if I had the same tools I had in the 80’s. What's allowing me this flexibility is the chemistries that we have, the fertilizers that we have, and the equipment that we have. On our AgriCenter research plot last year, we flew fungicide with the drone over our corn crop. I mean, I don't know if I would have said that five years ago. I don't know if I would even have known to have said that five years ago. So it's a pretty cool space. We're evolving significantly.” - John Butler

Agricenter International was founded in 1979 as a joint effort between Shelby County and the state of Tennessee which set aside 1,000 acres to operate an urban farm. Today, the nonprofit organization is an education, agribusiness, research and agricultural hub of the Mid-South. They have over 1.5 million visitors annually, and partner with around 80 companies every year to conduct research that includes over 20,000 replicated plots on around 700 acres of land. The breadth and scale of the organization is impressive enough, but the diversity is also remarkable, including row crops, specialty crops, tree crops, and a wide range of new products and growing practices.

“Our mission is to advance the knowledge and understanding of agriculture. And so we do that through a lot of different lenses and some of it's very, very intentional. And some of it is not so intentional… We have a commercial kitchen. We have canning classes through extension. Everything you can think of from A to Z. And so, because we have so many resources here on campus, we have about 40 companies that are located here…. It's really an opportunity for both consumers and producers to connect.” - John Butler

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet John Butler, the CEO of Agricenter International and a 5th generation farmer from Northwestern Tennessee.
Discover the opportunities Agricenter International offers the agricultural industry and visitors alike to experience and learn

View Details

Fifth generation farmer Ryan Britt talks about the practices he’s combined over the years and the results he’s seeing in North Central Missouri. Ryan has been a full time farmer of soybeans, corn and wheat alongside his father ever since returning after college about 23 years ago. Ryan shares the journey he and his father have been on to transition their farm to no-till, add more cover crops, plant green, and incorporate livestock into their row crop operations. We also talk about various incentive programs that Ryan has been able to take advantage of, and how their soil health practices set them up for the drought conditions they’re currently experiencing.

“Between the no till practices, the cover crop, and the terraces, we've actually greatly minimized some of our nutrient runoff concerns and our erosion concerns. So you kind of have to keep stacking all those things together. It's not one particular practice that makes a significant change, it's the whole system. We've seen that through the course of time, through stacking all those together, we're actually seeing some improvement in some of our land.” - Ryan Britt

Ryan has become very involved in volunteer leadership positions, including his current role as an Executive Board Member for the National Association of Conservation Districts where he represents the north central region. He’s also the immediate past president of the Missouri Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and a former Randolph County Farm Bureau President, among other service positions. He says these roles have exposed him to how other farms operate and given him countless lessons that he’s been able to bring back to his farm for conservation, efficiency, and profitability.

“My father and my grandfather always encouraged me to try to improve things, to try to leave it better than you found it… As I got to seeing the different things that actually had lasting impacts, conservation and specifically soil and water programs are one of those things that I felt was a great investment and I feel like we're able to continue. And it's something that I feel like my kids will be able to be proud of or at least get some of the benefits from.” - Ryan Britt

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Fifth generation farmer Ryan Britt who shares the soil health practices he’s combined on his operation and the results he’s seeing in North Central Missouri.
Discover Ryan’s journey to soil health and the organizations he participates in to promote its practices
Explore Ryan’s recommendations for introducing soil health practices to any operation

View Details

Farmer Joe Rothermel joins the show to talk about cover crops, strip tillage, and experiments he’s trying on his farm in East Central Illinois. Joe is the fifth generation to operate his farm and he is someone who loves new ideas and approaches and is always experimenting with new ways to improve his farm. He is motivated to find ways to lower his inputs while maintaining profitable yields.

“I have an air seeder where I can plant twin rows in between the bean rows. So then we went in and planted various clover mixes. So, what I'm going to try and do is modify the platform so it pushes down the cover crops in between the bean rows so we can cut the beans and leave the cover crop. We're just trying to have our cake and eat it too. That's basically what we're trying to do. I don't know if this is going to work. It all depends on the weather, just like anything else in farming, but... if we could get 30 bushel beans and 75 pounds of nitrogen I think that'd be kind of cool.” - Joe Rothermel

Joe originally thought he wanted to be a crop duster. He ultimately decided he didn’t quite have the right personality for it, but it led him into a career in the aerospace industry. In the mid 1990’s he came back to the family farm and took over which is where he has been ever since. At that time his father had been incorporating no-till practices for years and in his retirement he continued to encourage Joe to pursue soil health with cover crops. Despite some early mistakes, Joe continued these efforts and has found some real success.

“My goal has always been to try and minimize inputs, chemicals, fertilizer, and trying to at least maintain yield. I'm not trying to be a corn yield champion or anything like that. I would like to maintain yields and reduce input costs.” - Joe Rothermel

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet East Illinois farmer Joe Rothermel and explore his use of cover crops and strip tillage as well as ongoing experiments he is trying on his farm
Discover the process Joe took to incorporate cover crops into his operation and the different techniques he is attempting

View Details

There are a lot of similarities amongst farmers, but there is no denying the fact that every farm is different. Never is that more apparent than when you learn about a farming operation in a different part of the country than where you’re from. Louisiana farmer Garrett Marsh shares about some of his early experiences with cover crops, why he switched from flooding to row rice and how that fits into his rotation. Garrett shares about how his lifelong interest in soil eventually led him to cover crops.

“It's worked out really well so far. Like I said, it's cut down on erosion. I hadn't had a whole super lot of weed pressure. So far, it's been working good. I'm kind of wanting to get into some of the other cover crops that cost a little more. Just for the fact of, I want to try to do a little experimenting with the nitrogen savings on it.” - Garrett Marsh

Garrett and his wife farm near Tallulah, Louisiana which is just across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, MS. His grandfather started out sharecropping in the area, so he is now the third generation of his family to farm that land. They farm around 1700 acres of soybeans, corn, rice, wheat, and cotton. Garrett offers advice to producers considering incorporating soil health practices into their operations.

“Rather than jumping off into it head first and planting every acre you got in it, you know, I would suggest just kind of starting off slow, a couple of fields and experimenting with them. See how you like it. Cause I mean, it's different for everybody. It really is, you know your neighbor is going to do something different than what you are and you just got to find the little niche that's right for you and there's no doubt that it's going to.” Garrett Marsh

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Louisiana farmer Garrett Marsh and discover his journey into cover crops
Discover the many similarities and differences in farming in different parts of the country

Thank you to the Soy Checkoff for sponsoring this Farmers for Soil Health series of the Soil Sense podcast. This show is produced by Dr. Abbey Wick, Dr. Olivia Caillouet, and Tim Hammerich, with support from the United Soybean Board, the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Health Institute.
If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there. Check out the Farmers for Soil Health website at FarmersForSoilHealth.com.

View Details

We love to talk about soil conservation practices on this show, but it’s always important to frame it in a realistic context that acknowledges farms are businesses. This means that the right thing for the soil has to also be the right thing for the farm’s profitability. Michigan farmer Laurie Isley shares how she’s embraced new practices at Sunrise Farms, from strip tillage to precision technology to biologicals and beyond on today’s episode of Soil Sense.

“We've also found that we continue to be profitable in the same way that we were before using these other practices. And that's really the point we try and get across to the farmers we talk to. Profitability is not this one and conservation this one. They can be very close together. It's not like they're two ends of a spectrum. Some of it isn't that I'm getting a greater yield. It's just, I have fewer costs related to the tillage that I was doing prior to that.” - Laurie Isley

Laurie is one of the owners of Sunrise Farms in Southeastern Michigan along with her husband, Jim and their son Jacob. The family farm grows about 1100 acres of corn and soybeans and implements a lot of different conservation practices including strip tillage, cover crops which they have flown on, filter strips, soil tests, and precision ag practices. Laurie, who also spent decades teaching agriscience at the high school level, now also contributes to the industry as part of the Michigan Soybean Committee and the United Soybean Board, where she is the chair of the Communication and Education Committee.

“It requires people that are open to seeking more information. So I guess my major message to them is don't settle. Be willing to look for what are new opportunities that I can use on my farm that will help me to be more profitable, but also help to ensure that the soil that I leave behind for the generations to come is as good as it possibly can be and still viable for other generations to continue farming in this area.” Laurie Isley

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Michigan farmer Laurie Isley as she shares how she’s embraced new practices at Sunrise Farms
Explore the introduction and use of cover crops on her operation and the efforts she’s making to share her experiences with other producers
Discover Laurie’s journey from agriscience teacher to the Michigan Soybean Board and United Soybean Board

View Details

Improving soil health doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s amazing how a series of small changes, compounded over time, can really make a difference. In this episode, we talk to 4th generation Ohio farmer Fred Yoder about things he’s been implementing over the past four decades to improve his soil health and what he has experienced firsthand that he wants farmers everywhere to experience as well. Along with his wife Debbie and his 2 children, he grows corn, soybeans, and wheat. He also has operated a retail farm seed business for over 36 years and sells seed and other technology products to farmers.

“I think we should be building soil and the things that we're doing today, I think we're building rather than even maintaining, we're actually improving soil. Dad wasn't the first to say it, but I asked him when I bought the farm, any last minute, recommendations. He said, “Just leave it in better shape than what you got it.” And today the farm is the most productive it's ever been and in the best shape it's ever been. And I think that's because of some of the things that we've been doing over the years.” - Fred Yoder

Fred is also a founding board member and now Co-Chair of “Solutions from the Land,” a non-profit that explores integrated land management solutions to help meet food security, economic development, climate change and conservation of biodiversity goals. He also serves as Chair of the “North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance,” representing all factions of production agriculture, and working to ensure that farmer-to-farmer education and economics will be the driving force to adapting to a changing climate while feeding the world.

“I look at my soil as my 401k, you won't get instant gratification from it… What they have to be convinced of is the fact if you invest in some of these practices that it'll pay dividends later on down the road. The first couple of years, you have to actually get your soils conditioned for less tillage and for cover crops and things like that. You give me a farmer for three to five years and I'll have him for life because once you go through that transitional change, then all of a sudden it supports itself.” Fred Yoder

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet 4th generation Ohio farmer Fred Yoder and explore his soil health journey over the past 4 decades of farming
Discover the advice Fred offers all producers on pursuing soil health practices on their operations
Explore the organizations and efforts Fred participates in to support soil health practices

View Details

There is no substitute for experience. Michigan farmer John Burk has a masters degree in crop and soil science, spent 10 years as an ag and natural resources agent for Michigan State University, and has spent over two decades farming full time. Even though he’s been farming full time for over 20 years now, he still remains involved in a lot of cover crop work with the university as well as some conservation districts. His real world experience and knowledge are invaluable in our discussion about the future of soil health.

“Get some green manure back in. You've gotta replenish them soils. You've gotta keep them soils healthy, and you need to keep them in one place so they're not all over the neighborhood. At the same time, I'm gonna tell somebody don't go out tomorrow and this fall and say, I'm gonna plant a thousand acres of rye. You're never gonna do it again. Do a hundred acres of rye. Figure out how you're gonna manage that hundred before you do a thousand.” - John Burk

John shares specifics about his planning strategies and things he has implemented or at least tried over the years. He brings a unique perspective as someone who not only grows corn and soybeans, but also sugar beets and dry edible beans. John says you need to “replenish your soil somehow and tillage isn't gonna do it all.” He recommends cover crops as a natural answer that will provide great benefits to soil health.

“If you really think about it…the more root mass you have in the soil, the harder it is for that soil to compact. Plus it gives more air pockets for the rain to flow through rather than pond on top or pack those soil aggregates together. So that's why I always like to have a bunch of different masses of roots or even the mass up top worked into the soil.” - John Burk

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Michigan farmer John Burk as he shares extremely practical and detailed information about finding a way to build healthier soils on the farm
John shares a lot of specifics about things he has implemented or tried over the years, including some really useful tools and strategies.

View Details

Ray Gaesser grew up on a small farm in southern Indiana and said he visited Iowa for the Farm Progress Show one year and never wanted to leave. So that’s where he and his wife moved when they had the chance to start their farming careers. Over the decades Ray has improved his own soil health and enjoys working with neighbor farmers to do the same. Ray shares about his adoption of soil health building practices, no-till and cover crops, what he did to survive tough times in the 1980s, and how the interest in soil health is bringing new economic opportunities to his community.

“My message has always been when we work together, we all benefit. We're providing soil health benefits with cover crops and no-till and all that. But we're also working with our neighbors to add to that benefit and help them at the same time. And, you know, we don't have to be in competition all the time, do we? Why don't we think about our community a little bit.” - Ray Gaesser

Ray first gained experience with no-till on a farm he worked at in Indiana. After moving to his own operation in Iowa he began to integrate that same practice in the 1990’s. He is still hesitant to plant his corn into a green cover crop and prefers to have the cover crop terminated prior to planting. His soybeans on the other hand get planted “green or nearly green.” This difference is based on past experiences and successes. He admits that “not every practice fits for everyone” and that as a farming community we need to try new practices to continue to “invest in our next generations.”

“It's a process and we continue to adapt and to learn and to find opportunities.” - Ray Gaesser

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser as he reflects on his soil health journey and his desire to support other farms in his community today
Discover Ray’s experience with adopting soil health building practices, no-till and cover crops

View Details

Farms are complex systems and everyone’s soil health journey is different. For some, one change or new piece of equipment can really be the missing piece that starts bringing everything together. Western New York farmer Jason Swede shares about his crop rotation, how strip tillage has been a game changer for them, his experiments with things like biostrips, how he approaches cover crops, and much much more. He shares how these practices including growing a diverse mix of crops has helped him to maintain a profitable business while building healthier soils.

“Looking back at it, I think we were tilling ourselves into a position where we weren't getting good crops… We felt like we had to have that perfect seedbed. And we'd till the ground and it wasn't quite right. We'd till it again and then we'd till it again if we had to. And we were putting compaction layers in there that I don't think our crops could get through. And once we went to strip till, it completely changed everything for us. I think our roots were going deeper, getting into moisture that we weren't seeing other times of the year, and just everything kinda came together for us.” - Jason Swede

Jason grew up on the farm and although he went to school for ag business, he has always loved farming. Jason farms with his father, brother, nephew and son on 4,500 acres. It’s a diversified crop farm where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and processing vegetables like sweet corn, peas and string beans. They are also partners in a dairy operation and own an alfalfa pelletizing plant. Continuing to improve their biostrip protocols, dialing in their planting green technique and adjusting their fertility is what the future holds for their operation.

“We're working on a study that is comparing planting green with early burn down with no cover crops. It's a four year study that we're playing around with to see the differences over time. And first year I think we saw a yield drag with planting green, but it was our first time trying it and I think as time goes by, we're gonna learn some things. I'm more interested in seeing what happens with soil health planting green continually for four years to see what the long-term effect is.” - Jason Swede

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Western New York farmer Jason Swede
Explore his soil health journey in incorporating crop rotation, strip tillage, and experiments with things like biostrips, planting green and cover crops

View Details

Trying new ideas on the farm, especially those that involve innovative approaches, will not always be easily understood by neighbors or other people who drive by. But for those willing to follow their own curiosity, the benefits can far outweigh the costs. Illinois farmer Gary Asay talks about his farming system that combines no-till, cover crops and hog manure. Gary farms in Henry County in Northwest Illinois. There’s a lot of hard-earned wisdom in Gary’s path to getting into no-till, and the impact that has had on his farming operation.

“A lot of people look at what I do and … they think I'm crazy. You know, it can't be done. We want to tell people it can be done. No-till cover crops is not easy. A lot of people expect just to go out there and have a prescription, you do this at a certain time and everything works just right. With cover crops you gotta manage even better. So it is a challenge and it takes time, but I do believe the benefits are good enough to keep working at it.” -Gary Asay

Soil erosion and maintaining the soil’s nutrition along with less need for equipment have motivated Gary to incorporate these practices. He has been in continuous no-till for over 20 years and started incorporating cover crops in 2010. He began raising hogs as a kid in 4-H, and after many years he finally sold his hog operation to a young farmer getting into the business, but he still uses the manure from that operation as a major source of his fertilizer.

“I feel more and more that it is very important to keep that microbiome in the soil healthy and working for you...every time I dig in the soil, I was turning up earthworms and seeing the holes in the soil from the earthworms that they leave. It tells me that, you know, there's a lot going on underground and the microbiomes are a part you can't really see but they have added benefits there too.” - Gary Asay

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet farmer Gary Asay from Henry County in Northwest Illinois
Discover how Gary incorporates no-till, cover crops and hog manure in his operation and his journey to that end

View Details

Nancy Kavazanjian and her husband Charlie Hammer farm in the south central part of Wisconsin where they grow corn, soybeans and wheat in rotation. Over the years they have been innovators in no-till and strip till farming, and were the first in their area to regularly use cover crops. We'll talk about her farm and her soil health building practices, but we also get into things like how she looks at soil biology and what prompted them to want to implement prairie strips and pollinator habitat and the experiments she's still conducting on the farm.

“We've been farming together for over 40 years, and when we started farming, we took a motto for our farm and it was “our soil is our strength.” Because we knew as crop farmers here in the middle of dairy country that what we could do best was to grow good crops. And we knew to grow good crops, we needed good soils. And what that has involved has evolved over the years. So we were early adopters of no-till, and we're now mostly either no-till or strip tillers.” - Nancy Kavazanjian

Kavazanjian talks candidly about what has worked and what hasn’t worked on their 2,000 acre farm, and the questions they’re still asking themselves about how to be the best stewards of the land they can possibly be. The area they farm historically was glaciated leading to lots of rocks and inconsistencies in their soil types.

“I think maybe because I didn't know what I didn't know I wasn't afraid to try things. I didn't know that women weren't supposed to go to those meetings 45 years ago; the crop meetings and the machinery meetings. You know, a lot of times I was the only woman. There wasn't a woman on staff, but I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be there, so I was always there. I didn't know that we shouldn't be trying things.” - Nancy Kavazanjian

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Nancy Kavazanjian who farms with her husband Charlie Hammer in the south central part of Wisconsin where they grow corn, soybeans and wheat in rotation.
Explore their soil health journey in no-till, strip-till and cover crops that complimented their operation

View Details

Not every soil health building practice is going to work the same way on every farm. That’s one of the reasons we call it a journey. Sometimes, it can lead to unexpected places like in this episode's example, figuring out how to plant green. We are joined by Trey Hill of Harbourview Farms in Maryland. He has an interesting story of how practices such as cover crops, no till and planting green have made farming more fun for him and improved his soil without sacrificing yields.

“One day he was planting green and the turn rows had been killed off, and he is like, Trey, come out here.You gotta see this. You gotta quit killing these cover crops. This is just planting beautifully. And this was two people that shouldn't have liked it. We were both kind of looking at each other going, what's going on here like this? This doesn't make sense. Neither one of us should believe this or agree with it but we both saw it and we're like, wow.” - Trey Hill

For years, Trey has been a vocal advocate for engaging with consumers and environmental groups to find solutions that are both great for the planet and for farmer viability and profitability. Trey grows corn, soybeans, wheat, barley and peas on just over 10,000 acres. Trey shares that this transition hasn’t always been easy. Adjusting from a “procedural standpoint” to not being able to scout his fields and do stand assessments has been difficult. He goes on to share the benefits that make that adjustment well worth it.

“In a drought, we definitely do better and I think that I like it in the spring. I think it keeps the soil a little more even temperature. We don't get as much replant unless it's from slugs, but we get a lot better emergence if the cover crops are there. We're seeing a lot more earthworms. We're building organic matter. We're doing a certification now for regenerative practices…We’re seeing some pretty significant increases which makes me feel good.” - Trey Hill

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Trey Hill of Harbourview Farms in Maryland where they produce corn, soybeans, wheat, barley and peas
Discover Trey’s unexpected journey from cover crops to planting green
Explore their transition to no till and cover crops and the effects Trey is observing
Learn more about the Farmers for Soil Health Program

View Details

United Soybean Board director of sustainable supply Jack Cornell joins us to kick off this brand new season of Sense Sense. Changing any practice on the farm, no matter how well intentioned and well researched, comes with risk. A new collaborative effort called Farmers for Soil Health is rolling out in 20 US states to try to help take some of that risk off the table. Farmers for Soil Health is a collaboration in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff and National Corn Growers Association to create a farmer-led cover crop program that advances the use of soil health practices, meets sustainability goals and improves farmer profitability.

“It's important that technical assistance is right along with the financial assistance to mitigate any risk to a farmer.” - Jack Cornell

Jack explains his role with the Farmers for Soil Health program as helping to create sustainability and profitability for farmers through project development, program management, and creating partnerships.

“I love problem-solving with a farmer. It's always a fun mental exercise. And when I walk on a farm, I never say you need to be doing cover crops and no-till. I go, what is the thing that drives you insane that you just can't handle? And then I think through a sustainability approach to help them solve that issue...Our program is farmer led and farmer driven.” Jack Cornell

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Jack Cornell, director of sustainable supply at United Soybean Board and leader of the Farmers for Soil Health Program
Explore the purpose and initiatives of the Farmers for Soil Health program

View Details

This episode is our chance to close out season six, set the stage for season seven, and talk about some big changes that are taking place. Those big changes include Dr. Abbey Wick’s new job, but also a big shift in the scope and direction of this podcast. Of course we will remain focused on what soil health looks like in practice and the curiosity, collaboration and communication needed for systems change on the farm. But in doing that we will also be expanding across the country.

“The thing that I thought about in taking this job was our network maps with Soil Sense and thinking about how our target was North Dakota and we had all these dots in North Dakota, but then all of a sudden it was being listened to all over the world and so that kind of scaling almost made it more comfortable for me…that it is totally possible to translate soil health and the concepts and the structure and the framework for delivery of information and network building to a global scale. I know we can do it.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Soil Sense is also expanding its borders beyond North Dakota. Through the Farmers for Soil Health Initiative we will be incorporating many other states in the discussion. You should expect “a lot of the same types of stories that you’ve been hearing but with a more expanded scope.” Soil Sense will continue to focus on the “people leading the way when it comes to soil health, but also addressing the realities of the challenges that they’re facing locally.”

“Sometimes those behind the scenes roles that people are playing are really important. Like the farmers will say they can't get to where they're going without a crop advisor, without an organization that's giving them information or helping them, or testing what they're doing or giving them feedback or even just having a conversation about it.” Dr. Abbey Wick

This Week on Soil Sense:

Close out season six of Soil Sense and explore the exciting news and new directions for season seven
Discover Abbey Wick’s new role with Syngenta and her new platform for taking soil health practices globally

View Details

In this episode we take you back one more time to Agronomy on Ice in Devils Lake, North Dakota. We hear from the man who started it all, Jason Hanson, along with his partner in crime on the Agronomist Happy Hour podcast, Kyle Okke. Jason has been a regular contributor to Soil Sense and we featured both him and Kyle on our Agronomy on Ice episode last April. We talk to the guys about their knack for making things fun when it comes to learning about agronomy and soil health, their approaches to soil health as independent agronomists, Jason’s experience with the Trusted Advisor Partnership, what they’ve learned from their podcast, and more.

“It feels to me to some degree, like how Agronomy on Ice started. It's just like, here's an idea. We implement something that gets more people involved, ideas come in and then all of a sudden, boom, it takes off. And then you’ve got people like, “Hey, I wanna be a part of this. I’d like to join. I see what you're doing.” Or they kind of hang back and then it registers.” - Jason Hanson

Both Jason and Kyle have left corporate ag retail jobs to start their own independent agronomic consulting businesses: Jason several years ago with Rock and Roll Agronomy in Webster, ND; and Kyle Okke just this past year with Agile Agronomy in Dickinson, ND. The two also joined forces with Bridget Readel to form Ag Mafia which put on Agronomy on Ice and is offering training, coaching, and other media services.

“I absolutely really enjoy what I did before and I'm very thankful for the opportunity I was given and the development I got and just everything, crop protection and adjuvants and all that. But for me it was time. And doing this on my own has been the best move I felt like I could make because it's a lot of fun to be able to be impactful to the local group of farmers and retailers that I work with.” - Kyle Okke

This Week on Soil Sense:

Join Jason Hanson of Rock and Roll Agronomy and Kyle Okke of Agile Agronomy, both hosts of the Agronomist Happy Hour podcast
Discover their career journeys and what projects they are working on right now
Explore the future of biological inputs to better manage water, soil and pests

View Details

Mike Van Eps of Centrol Ag Consulting has been a crop consultant for over 20 years in the Southern Red River Valley. He’s in the heart of sugar beet country but also scouts a lot of acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat. He joins us to discuss the soil health building practices he implements with his growers including things like rye strips, spring barley, and increasing strip tillage. We also talk more generally about some of the barriers to adoption of some of these practices, approaches that are successful and some that aren’t in his area, and a little bit on his experiences with the trusted advisor partnership.

“We're able to maybe push the limits, but tradition and people are set in their ways. It's difficult to change those habits, but we are. We're starting to see changes to where we can begin to do some more less tillage, more conservation type planting, cover crops, integrating into our rotation in front of sugar beets.” - Mike Van Eps

Changes in technology have allowed for expansion of sugar beet soil health practices. Producers have access to GMO crops, availability of different herbicides and because of that use of cover crops. “There weren’t a lot of options” to battle wind erosion with cover crops prior to these advances.

“I have yet to have a field of rye blow. Last spring was a disaster for wind erosion for us. We replanted 20% of our sugar beet acres from wind sand blasting. It was just an awful spring including where we had spring barley cover crops. They blew out as well. But the rye, it's big enough and aggressive enough where it doesn't move…it’s a little early in this season to tell yet but I have complete confidence that we’re going to weather anything that mother nature can throw at these sugar beets right now where the rye is.” - Mike Van Eps

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mike Van Eps of Centrol Ag Consulting
Discover soil health building practices for the sugar beet producer

View Details

Dr. Christopher Topp is the principal investigator and associate member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Topp runs a root biology lab where they develop techniques to study root systems both in the lab and in the field. They work with a number of novel imaging approaches to better understand root and soil biology beyond the current state of the art. Ultimately, he hopes this knowledge will be used for the benefit of farmers to improve the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems.

“The fundamental observation is that, we know so little about root systems…And this has real important impacts on plant health, plant productivity, soil health and our ability to meet the challenges of the modern day which are to at least not decrease the amount of soil we have and the quality of it, if not to actually regenerate it, but also to to feed a growing population under challenging conditions.” - Dr. Christopher Topp

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science, research, education and outreach. They aim to have an impact at the nexus of food security and the environment.

“The mindset is to develop new technologies or bring them in from other areas and really learn how to apply them to roots. Once we do that, once we can see them or measure them in a meaningful way, then it's really every plant scientist's dream…Once we're able to get a good idea of what's the best kind of root system for a particular environment, we can then learn about mechanisms that allow us to breed or otherwise develop technologies that can improve root systems.” - Dr. Christopher Topp

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Christopher Topp, the principal investigator and associate member at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Discover the work being done at the Danforth Center and the impact they can make for future farming practices

View Details

Bismark-based crop consultant Brett Peterson has been working at Centrol Ag Consulting for the past 15 years alongside farmers to provide the best agronomic advice possible. He doesn’t sell products but is paid to make his clients farms the best they can be such as by building the health of the soil and the productivity of the system. Peterson discusses what’s working on the farms he works with on the east and south sides of Bismark. We cover how he incorporates soil health principles into his agronomic advice, how irrigation changes his approach and the process of considering and adopting new ideas on-farm.

“We work with a lot of large clients and the thing is you need to make sure that you're not stopping the process and slowing up the farm…So I would say that's the biggest thing. First and foremost, you gotta just look at it. Is this even possible with a large amount of acres? Because at the end of the day, we have to get across the land and we have to make money doing this too.” - Brett Peterson

Peterson shares that practices like intercropping are very difficult to incorporate in large operations. He’s noticed that the use of rye has encouraged producers with large operations to start some cover crop initiatives. Education, conferences and communication between producers has also helped these advances. He goes on to share soil building practices in between potato rotations and how the occasional required tillage can actually benefit the soil.

“No-till isn't the end all be all. You have to really find that perfect mix of really light tillage but preserving that top layer of organic matter and whatnot to keep that ground cover. It's kind of a teetering cycle that we're dealing with right now.” - Brett Peterson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Bismark-based crop consultant Brett Peterson of Centrol Ag Consulting
Explore the soil health practices he is using in his part of the state on large acre productions
Discover the benefits he has seen to light tillage and the potential pitfalls he has observed in going full no-till

View Details

Nick Reinke, is not only the CEO of HabiTerre but also grew up on a farm, worked in soil health with an agricultural coop, and has a background in ag finance. He is uniquely qualified to help us explore how all of this “carbon talk” fits into soil health practice adoption, company involvement and sustainability goals. HabiTerre uses deep science and technology to quantify environmental outcomes for agriculture. But where many other companies focus on trying to measure soil carbon, Nick says HabiTerre looks at things in a really comprehensive systems context. Their goal is to try to determine how productivity and environmental sustainability relate to farming outcomes like productivity, nutrient management, and soil health. Nick says he was most excited to join HabiTerre because he saw too many people focused on soil carbon measurement missing the picture of what that means for real farm outcomes.

“I saw something just fundamentally groundbreaking about the technology that he had developed. So a lot less dependency on manually gathered data and still generating really accurate outcomes. But again, getting back to that systems perspective. Not just looking at soil carbon, but let's think about this through the lens of the farmer… Like how does this relate to inputs? How does it impact productivity? Things like that. So that's where I've been really excited to kind of join this scaling team here.” - Nick Reinke

Reinke shares that HabiTerre is collaborating with the National Association of Conservation Districts in creating field specific scenario modeling for what future soil health practices could produce. This “feedback loop” to farmers will serve as another “value added tool” for agronomists and advisors to use in order to support on-farm changes and practices. Furthermore Reinke breaks down the role agriculture plays in big corporations reducing their scope 3 emissions and why practices on the farm are of a great interest to them.

“Well, if you're gonna track progress, you're gonna need a lot better data, that's just logistically and cost prohibitive. It's very difficult for them to get. So we're trying to streamline that process. And the big thing that I don't wanna lose there is streamlining that process means more of these resources go to farmers…So if we make that quantification piece more efficient, that's more resources to farmers.” - Nick Reinke

View Details

Brett Blackwelder traveled from West Central Minnesota to participate in the Agronomy on Ice event and that's where this interview was recorded in February of this year. Blackwelder farms with his dad and brother in Chokio, Minnesota. Together they have a 320-cow dairy and about 2700 acres of cropland. When it comes to their dairy production, they knew they needed to either get bigger, get automated, or get out. They chose to embrace robots. A big part of his job is managing the automated part of their operation. Blackwelder shares his views on soil health, the relationship between the row crop side of their operation and the dairy, and how they have managed the transition to using robots on the farm.

“You just see stuff on the internet about how we're wrecking soils, especially on the dairy side with silage. We don't have any cover in the fall and seeing firsthand soil blowing like crazy the way it was so I wanted to at least try to do something … just to make ourselves feel like good stewards.” - Brett Blackwelder

The Blackwelders refer to themselves as “lifelong learners” and are slowly implementing more soil health practices including reducing tillage and adding cover crops to avoid bare soil. Learning how to keep packing wheels on his implement and how to time the process of the cover crop planting has been part of the learning process. Other learnings are involved in the introduction of more automation in their dairy operation. He has noticed “the less time you spend in the barn, the more milk you get.” Flying the cover crop seed on was another new practice they tried.

“You know, our time is so valuable still at the farm where if we had to inter-seed it or do something ourselves, that actually probably would be more expensive in our case.” - Brett Blackwelder

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Brett Blackwelder from Chokio, Minnesota where he farms a 320-cow dairy and about 2700 acres of cropland with his family
Discover how a dairy producer like Brett made big changes to improve his family’s soil health on the crop side of their operation

View Details

Dr. Jordon Wade is an assistant professor of soil health and soil fertility at the University of Missouri. Wade is also the director of the Soil Health Assessment Center, which is one of the few places in the US that offers the full gamut of soil health measurements. The USDA and Soil Health Institute have both put together lists of relevant soil health measurements. And these empirical ways of measuring soil health is what this episode explores from aggregate stability to organic matter to microbial biomass and beyond.

“We really want to be able to get that holistic picture from around the state, you know, all of our ag producing regions...You know it gives us a lot more insight into that context specificity than if we were to be referencing a national database or something like that. We just have so much information, so much granularity from those samples that are coming in.” - Dr. Jordon Wade

Wade explains the wealth of data the Soil Health Assessment Center is acquiring and how they are enriching it with surveys, trials and collaborations. The results are “truly decision support tools.” Measurements help producers pivot and track their efforts to improve their soil health. Wade shares that one of the measurements he finds most impactful is aggregate stability which “integrates the chemical and physical components” of the soil leading to benefits like less erosion potential.

“We're really at a crossroads here in Missouri in terms of climate and soil types. I always say that farming in Missouri is playing the farming game on hard mode because shallow soils and drought prone weather is tough.” - Dr. Jordon Wade

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Jordon Wade, an assistant professor of soil health and soil fertility at the University of Missouri as well as the director of the Soil Health Assessment Center
Explore the significance and value in the operation of the Soil Health Assessment Center for the state of Missouri

View Details

In this episode we are joined by Josh Hammond who owns FarmAssist Consulting where he works with farmers mostly around the Beach, North Dakota area. Josh talks about some of the challenges his farmers face in that area including pH challenges, residue management, strip till, livestock and compost. Josh is also a member of the Trusted Advisor Partnership that you’ve heard about in earlier episodes of this season.

“I grew up in an area that was one of the pioneers of no-till, so a lot of those farms started back in the eighties. I was just a young kid when that got started, but everything was changing from a lot of wind and water erosion every spring and full tillage to switching over to managing for erosion and conserving moisture. So I just grew up with that being normal.” - Josh Hammond

Josh shares the common conversations he has with his clients and how he approaches some of these challenges including cover crops, no-till and livestock. As with anything, no-till has its advantages and consequences. Josh shares some of the issues his no-till producers are facing including stratification of soil nutrients and managing soil pH. One unexpected mitigation for these issues is permitting some weed growth to simulate a cover crop in saline stressed areas.

“For so many years guys have thought we just keep working up the saline seep areas and it'll get better. Well, it never does. That's what grandpa did, that's what dad did. And the areas never improve. And once guys have turned into, whether it's mowing the kosha, let it regrow, something like that, then we start shrinking it down and we keep getting a little smaller each year. And then we control the weeds.” - Josh Hammond

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Josh Hammond who owns FarmAssist Consulting where he works with farmers mostly around the Beach, North Dakota area
Understand his background and how it influences the advice he offers his producer clients
Discover some of the challenges no-till producers face that were previously not a concern

View Details

In this episode we revisit Agronomy on Ice for another great conversation this time with NDSU extension soil health research technician Brady Goettl. If you’ve benefited at all from extension soil health work in recent years, you’ve probably been the beneficiary of Brady’s work in some form or another. Brady discusses his research, what led him into the soil science field, his extension work which includes direct interactions with farmers regarding soil health, and his quest to better understand soil fertility and nitrogen management.

“In order to get a full picture of what's happening when you plant that cover crop, you have to do a really intensive sampling and through a ton of different avenues. So what I'm doing with my research is more of a traditional approach where we're looking at nitrate, ammonium and non-exchangeable ammonium in the soil.” Brady Goettl

Brady hopes to “develop some sort of either nitrogen credit or recommendation” for producers based on the cover crop biomass produced. The research is ongoing but could lead to less input needs based on “credits” attributed to different practices after determining how they all interact with each other.

“We know that there's a lot of these microbes that can fix nitrogen and do it symbiotically. So we don't necessarily need a legume, for example, to fix that nitrogen… If we can harness the power of those guys to help us fix nitrogen, that's gonna be a game changer if we don't have to rely on synthetic nitrogen anymore.” - Brady Goettl

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet NDSU extension soil health research technician Brady Goettl
Explore his research interests and the benefits and insight he hopes to be able to provide producers in their nitrogen needs
Understand the focus Brady has taken in his approach to address the problems producers are most concerned about

View Details

In this episode, crop consultant Darren Dunham shares about some of the soil related challenges farmers are facing in his area of North Central North Dakota. Darren lives in Maxbass, and has worked there for Centrol Crop Consulting for the past ten years. He grew up on a farm in the eastern part of the state and those early experiences have stuck with Darren and informed how he gives advice to the farmers he works with. Unfortunately soil blowing away is still an issue in many areas. Where Darren is now, north of Minot, minimum till and no-till have been really common pretty much since the advent of the Concord Air Seeder. That’s not the case in the Red River Valley, where Darren grew up.

“As they were pulling these fence posts out of the ground, they realized that they were on top of an old fence. That the old fence had been covered by soil from wind erosion…That's four feet of soil that had drifted in there…..but that was back in the day of plows and pony drills. Everything was tilled black and lost a lot of soil. It's heartbreaking to think about it. Just the massive amount of soil, nutrients, organic matter that is rearranged for one, but gone, period.” Darren Dunham

Darren finds himself addressing a different issue with a lot of his clients. Salinity issues have become a significant problem for North Dakota producers. The right answer for how to handle salinity is not always straightforward or quick. Moisture management and getting saline-tolerant crops established in some of these spots is easier said than done. All of this salinity management gets back to a fundamental principle of soil health of keeping a living root in the soil as much as possible.

“Salinity is a water issue. You have to manage the water. So other than putting tile into the field, we're gonna suck the water through plants and alfalfa is the number one water user crop that we have in North Dakota…. So the alfalfa is hopefully intercepting that water that is moving by capillary pressure to that salient spot, intercepting it before it has a chance to percolate to the top of the soil, evaporate and leave its salt as precipitate on top of the soil.” - Darren Dunham

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet crop consultant Darren Dunham from north central North Dakota who works with Centrol Crop Consulting
Explore his personal history with wind erosion and adjusting tillage practices
Discover his process for addressing and managing salinity issues that are faced by the majority of producers in North Dakota

View Details

In this episode you’ll hear from four different farmers and one crop consultant about their individual perspectives and experience with tillage. To use tillage or go no-till is sometimes controversial and often treated as a form of identity. This discussion explores a more practical approach from people trying to reduce the harmful effects of tillage, but still keeping the necessary tools in their toolbox that their operation needs.

In order of appearance, you’ll hear from:

Greg Amundson, farmer in Gilby, North Dakota
Dr. Lee Briese, crop consultant with Centrol Inc.
John Aamodt, farmer in Arvilla, North Dakota
Matthew Krueger, farmer in East Grand Forks, Minnesota
George Herman, farmer in Brinsmade, North Dakota

“One thing I've really struggled with lately is labels…You know we try a no-till, and that's our philosophy but I'm not afraid to run our vertical till out there if we have to.…I'm a conservation minded farmer…. I will do what I have to do to get a crop. You know, the labels be damned pretty much.” - Greg Amundson

Agronomy on Ice was a great place to capture different perspectives on soil health. Every one of these farmers and consultants in Lee’s case is finding the tillage practice that optimizes soil health and productivity for each individual field and each individual circumstance. It’s not helpful to apply labels or identities around these practices. Rather, producers should find the best approach for their situation with soil health in mind as a consideration for the overall system.

“That's what Greg's doing. He's doing something that doesn't fit the quote unquote no-till marker, but it's getting his soil health journey because now he's fixed that field, let it repair, rebuilt it again in that spot, which is a little frustrating, but it's better than leaving that wound wide open… I support diagnosing the challenge, finding the right solutions, putting them in the practice at the right timing, whatever they may be. That to me is more of a soil health thing.” -Dr. Lee Briese

This Week on Soil Sense:

Listen in on a discussion of real world tillage experience with four farmers and a crop consultant as they navigate how to prioritize soil health in a practical approach to field management
Explore the limitations created by labeling practices and operations as no-till or reduced tillage

View Details

Dr. Steve Rosenzweig is a soil scientist and the agriculture science lead at General Mills. General Mills is a leading American producer of consumer foods, especially flour, breakfast cereals, snacks, prepared mixes, and similar products. Along with co-host Dr. Abbey Wick, we discuss how General Mills is looking at soil health and regenerative agriculture, how they view their role in agricultural sustainability, and what insights they’ve learned from being involved in soil health initiatives for several years.

“We wanted to be out there helping to figure out how do we conduct on-farm research with farmers to really understand what they're learning and what they're seeing on their farms. So that's kind of where we started, was really on that research side. And then it's really just been about forming partnerships with folks that are in the communities that we are sourcing these ingredients from and really understand that local context.” - Dr. Steve Rosenzweig

Steve joined the company in 2017,after earning his Ph.D. in soil science at Colorado State University. He says his role is to help find scientifically-driven ways to increase adoption of soil health principles in the areas where they source key ingredients for their products. He also works on the science side to see how to measure things like soil health, biodiversity, water, and farm economics at scale.

“Our entire business is resting on the resilience and ability of farmers to keep farming essentially. So increasingly our leadership investors really want to make sure that we are investing to make sure that General Mills is going to be around for another 150 years… And really forming these kinds of partnerships and really helping to support farmers and increase their viability, longevity, and resilience is what we've realized is a business imperative. Their business is our business essentially.” - Dr. Steve Rosenzweig

This Week on Soil Sense:

Continue the discussion and explore some of the support behind the Trusted Advisor Partnership program
Meet Dr. Steve Rosenzweig, a soil scientist and the agriculture science lead at General Mills and learn about the purpose behind their involvement in the TAP program
Explore the role General Mills will play and the initiatives they are taking to promote soil health
Visit Trusted Advisor Partnership to learn more and sign up for more information

View Details

Many food companies have become increasingly more interested in what part they can play in building healthier soils. If they’re in it for the long haul and truly want to develop partnerships with farmers, it will take an intentional and dedicated approach to collaborating with growers and their trusted advisors to figure out what might be right in each individual situation.

“What if we all just worked on this together and used this great organization out of Vermont called the Sustainable Food Lab that works with all these companies regularly? How about we bring all these ideas together and come up with one program for the entire state of North Dakota? And let's not base it on these ideas of just paying farmers to adopt practices, but let's actually make those practices stick.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

That’s exactly what the Trusted Advisor Partnership is seeking to do. In this episode you’ll hear about how a group of food and beverage companies is working together with the mission of introducing new soil health building practices on 500,000 acres in North Dakota in the next five years. To make that happen, they have enlisted the help of Dr. Abbey Wick, the Sustainable Food Lab and crop consultants like Dr. Lee Briese and Jason Hanson, to lead certified crop advisors through the process of trying these practices. This is a great episode for understanding how food companies can work together with farmers to create lasting change.

“I think if we can get these companies to work together like they are, the CCA has the knowledge of all those programs and can pick the best one for the grower, take it to them, then the grower signs up for it and then the company now can say we've influenced “X” acres in North Dakota.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

This Week on Soil Sense:

Discover the Trusted Advisor Partnership program and how this may impact soil health in North Dakota over the next five years and the benefits it offers producers beyond improved soil health
Learn how the program hopes to gain traction over time towards its initial goal of influencing soil health practices over 500,000 acres in North Dakota
Explore the roles crop advisors Dr. Lee Briese and Jason Hanson will play in creating content to deliver to participating CCAs
Visit Trusted Advisor Partnership to learn more and sign up for more information

View Details

In this episode we revisit some highlights of the most useful and important information shared through the first fourteen Field Check segments. You’re going to hear from experts like Dr. Abbey Wick, Dr. Lee Briese, Mark Huso, Jason Hanson, and Angie Johnson. These highlights cover topics ranging from cover crops, moisture management, crop rotation, salinity, farm safety and more. The overall message throughout is that there is no one right way to build healthier soils. It’s all about finding out what each individual field needs, and having the tools and expertise to execute on that.

“Tons of ways to get cover crops in the system, whether you have the equipment to broadcast and that seems like the best fit for you time wise and logistics wise. Or if you have the time to put somebody into a tractor with a drill and seed the cover crop after harvest… I think they're gonna improve the soil in many ways. Not only trafficability at harvest, but managing moisture at harvest and also again in the springtime at planting.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Crop consultant Lee Briese says it’s all about assessing each individual field and designing the right system on a field-by-field basis. “You make sure you’ve got the right tool for what you’re doing.” It’s this field by field approach that has led Mark Huso down the road of using the term “field health” to reference not just soil health. He chooses to focus on overall long term productivity of a particular field. “A healthy field raises a good crop and there’s different ways to get there.” Mark and his farmer customers are finding success in diversifying crop rotations to manage issues such as saline areas. Jason Hanson also shares some of his thoughts on approaching the issue of salinity and consulting with peers to tackle similar obstacles.

You're gonna have to use the weapons you have in your arsenal, and that is going to be if you can get any surface drainage, any internal tiling done…. No one likes to split up fields and do that type of thing. I think more people are listening to that because other people are doing it. The best peers out there are other consultants, other farmers in particular that are actually doing these things. They just said, “This isn't working. We gotta try something else.” And that's what you do. - Jason Hanson

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode you’ll hear from a number of farmers and consultants about their systems-based approach to farming and soil health. Starting with Ontario farmers Woody Van Arkle who recalls the first time he heard Dr. Lee Briese speak to a group of farmers. His practical approach is the result of looking at a field as a system. Lee, who is a crop consultant for Centrol Ag Consulting, stresses this systems-based thinking approach to farming and soil health.

“What are you gonna do? Where's your next crop? Where are you going? How's this gonna be? So I can't just stand in front of a room of 300 people and say, there you go. You start here and then you go here and you go here and you go here. You simply can't do that…. There is no prescription, but you're trying to teach people to be an ecosystem's manager. To do that, you have to be observing what's happening.” - Dr. Lee Briese

North Dakota farmer Mark Olson found out that strip tillage was the right approach for his system. He’s seen the results in both his soil and his yields, and he even says the approach saved his crop a couple of years ago. He tells other farmers to “keep learning, never quit and keep trying.” Mark’s crop consultant, Matt Olson (no relation), said he had a few concerns when Mark wanted to dive headfirst into cover crops and strip tillage but said the results have been undeniable.

“All of a sudden we started going from 40 bushel soybeans to 60 bushel soybeans by implementing strip till and cover crops. Also seeing that we probably weren't introducing any new weeds. We were actually getting better weed control by having the ground covered which is huge for us in our water hemp neck of the woods and kosha neck of the woods and stuff like that.” - Matt Olson

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we talk about a problem that many farmers run into on their soil health journeys: residue management. But rather than just focus on one field, we’ve collected a handful of different perspectives and experiences for you. You’ll hear from two farmers and two researchers about this challenge and how they’re finding ways to maximize the benefits of residue while managing the challenges that can come with it. Farmer Sam Landman describes the problems that residue has caused on his farm in the past, and how he’s tried to address them. He is in the process of trying different seeding equipment and timing to better manage his residue issue.

“We're wrestling with high moisture in our soils, being able to get into it, and then also high residue. We have hair pinning problems with our no-till equipment, like our single disc drills and disc planters and stuff. If the residue isn't quite dry or if it's too thick it'll hair pin and then the seed won't have any soil contact and it won't come up…. so we're having residue management challenges and moisture challenges and that's the biggest thing.” - Sam Landman

Soil Scientist Dr. Caley Gasch addressed this challenge at a previous DIRT workshop. Caley has since moved from NDSU up to Alaska, but she is included in this episode to help explain how a more biologically active soil can eventually help reduce some of these residue issues. Caley’s colleague Dr. Aaron Daigh, who is now at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln speaks to the challenge of getting soil with residue to heat up in the spring. He says shallow vertical tillage might be a good option for many farmers.

“You kind of have to get a little creative by incorporating some cover crops to change those carbon-nitrogen ratios so that that residue starts to decompose. Or maybe you try strip till as sort of your transition tool to migrate into a reduced till system. But as that soil begins to recover, as those microbes and fungi and, and earthworms and insects return to that soil and boost their numbers in response to the lack of disturbance, they're gonna take care of that residue over time.” - Dr. Caley Gasch

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we talk about the challenge of getting cover crops implemented in a system, and highlight how barley can be a helpful crop in overcoming some of these challenges. You’re going to hear from two guests today: Dr. Dave Franzen, soil scientist with NDSU Extension, and Jason Hanson, crop consultant and owner of Rock & Roll Agronomy. Dr. Franzen shares about the challenges of getting cover crops established in a corn/soybean rotation in North Dakota.

“If you just look at the corn and soybean rotation, the opportunity to grow some kind of a cover crop is pretty low in this region. But with barley, you're taking it off early in the season. You often have two months time for you to grow a cover crop. And it's not unusual to grow a ton of dry matter with rye or oats and or radish or just leaving the barley as a volunteer and using that as the grass, which is to me, the cheapest thing to do. So that's a big win.” - Dr. Dave Franzen

Unfortunately, every year we see soil from farmer’s fields blowing away. Dr. Franzen has been studying the impacts of barley added into these rotations, and says he can confidently answer the question on whether or not it can help the soil health. Jason echoes this solution and introduces us to one of his farmers’ fields of barley and how they’re approaching their management and soil health. Jason says that going no till is definitely an option for some of his farmers, but others don’t want to go down that road. He points out that even for those who have to work the field, there are options for minimizing disturbance.

“It's all part of a system that you gotta sit and look back and look at your rotation, your farmer, his equipment, how the harvest is gonna go. I guess that's the fun part and the challenge. It's not easy…. It's like if we do this, we have to think ahead of time as to what we want to do.” - Jason Hanson

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we are back with Mark Huso of Huso Crop Consulting based in Lakota, North Dakota. Mark shares about the value he has found in diversifying crop rotations. Over the years in working with several different farmers, Mark has seen the value both agronomically and economically in adding crops to the rotation, as long as they contribute to what he calls field health: which combines soil health and productivity. It can be difficult, he admits, for some farmers to initially get excited about the idea of considering new crops for the rotation.

“We've always had the option. It feels like we're choosing simplicity over crop rotation…So don't fix what's not broken. However, as the guys have included a third crop, a fourth crop, a fifth crop, a sixth crop, a seventh crop. We have two farms that have seven crops on their farms because they're seeing a benefit to adding different crops in the rotation.” - Mark Huso

Mark has seen firsthand how this diversification can improve field health, water utilization, weed suppression, operational efficiencies, and even help to manage salinity. While barley is known for being a great crop for saline areas, Mark says changing things up to include not only barley but also other crops, can really help.

“It's taking away the saline areas, you know the corn grew past the soybean ground. The sunflowers are growing past where the corn stocks were. So it's managing the salinity as we're seeing that ground improve. Now, if we had just stayed barley soybeans, barley soybeans, barley soybeans. It would be the same or get worse, but because we changed rotations and the roots in the soil are changing, we're utilizing more water. We're managing salinity that way by simply changing the crop.” - Mark Huso

We often talk about soil health on this show, but talking about field health is a very intentional distinction in the way that Mark looks at things. Once a farmer heads down this road, just like anything else, it’s not always going to be smooth sailing. Mark says the overall results have been positive, but sometimes logistics can become a challenge.

“A healthy field is a field that raises a great crop. And so that is based on drainage, it's based on crop rotation and it's based on the field being weed free, a clean field. And so sometimes my no-till fields are some of the dirtier fields, because they're tougher to manage. But after a couple years they're the cleanest fields because they've been managed the right way. And so I'm trying to change my soil health more to field health.” - Mark Huso

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we are joined by Mark Huso of Huso Crop Consulting based in Lakota, North Dakota. After working in ag retail, Mark decided to start his own company over a decade ago doing independent crop consulting. This year has been especially challenging for Mark’s producers. He was really happy with the way things were looking with cattails and with the fields in general last fall, but 2022 snow and rains really have made things difficult. He shares about some of the unique challenges his farmers have experienced, how they have approached prevent plant acres, and how he wishes more people would look at tillage.

“We had a lot of fall tillage done, fields were in really nice shape. We were gonna get a lot of acres back. And then towards the end of fall right before freeze up, we had a fair amount of rain. Then we had a lot of snow and then we had a lot of rain coming into March, April and into May. And so, very challenging, very late start, awfully wet….So what we were hoping was going to be a tremendous 2022 in terms of acres, production and efficiency did not happen.” - Mark Huso

In difficult times like this in North Dakota, we end up with a lot of prevent plant acres. Initial considerations involve weed management, cover crop selections and residue management followed by what crop will they pursue in 2023. And this is an important consideration for cover crops in general. Before deciding what to plant it’s important to make sure it’s compatible with whatever you’re hoping to plant into that ground the following year.

“I would try to let that (cover) crop go as long as you can. The benefits of cover crop and radish and turnip is letting them grow in the soil and get a nice established root system. So if we do get a lot of rain again, this fall and winter, it has somewhere to go...When we put a soil probe in a prevent plant field that has a full season radish, turnip and rye mix. I mean, there is no compaction. Those roots are doing what they're supposed to do, and they're providing a nice root structure for that soil, allowing for water to drain through that. We can smell it. We can feel it. You can see it. There's something real to those cover crops being in the soil.” - Mark Huso

Over the years, Mark has seen the pros and cons of a variety of farming practices. His overall advice to farmers is to experiment with what works best for your particular operation and to use tools such as tillage in a way that's as needed rather than applied generally across the farm.

“Not jumping in with both feet. That has hurt more than it's helped. I mean I'm all for trying new things. My brother Scott would say, “You can't swim if you don't dive in.” And sure, that's right for a lot of applications, but you know, this year for example, to be honest…the straight up no-till was some of our most troublesome fields….And so you don't need your great-grandfather's tillage. You need your type of tillage for 2022…I'm calling it tillage by assignment.” - Mark Huso

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Field testing new products is an important and sometimes overlooked role that agronomists and crop consultants can play. Jason Hanson joins us again on the program to talk about the types of products he has been testing, what has worked and what hasn’t worked for him in the past. He shares how these trials help to lower risk for farmers on products that even if great, might not be great for their area. You may remember, Jason is a crop consultant and the owner of Rock and Roll Agronomy based in Webster, North Dakota.

“Consultants are inherently very conservative when it comes to spending their clients money and trying to find things that will benefit them, whether that is post emerge spraying, fertility, or trying to find information on bio stimulants. All these things that are approaching the market. I'm gonna look at some products they are saying can alleviate or work on salinity…Now, I don't know how it's going to do what it does, but I want to see what is out there because sometimes you gotta step out of your comfort zone and give anything the benefit of the doubt.” - Jason Hanson

Just like farmers only get one opportunity a year to make a crop, researchers and agronomists only get one shot to get good data on these emerging products. Jason says ultimately, it’s all about trying to lower the risk for farmers, and save them money. He says at the moment he’s looking at a few different biological products, including biostimulants.

“I'm really interested in some of the things they have to say and what they're doing but I have to validate it with my customers to see that it's there as well. So to go from putting on N P K to reducing it and putting on something else… I'd still like to try it, because a lot of times companies will come out with this is the national average, and then you can find parts of the country, whether that's fertility, whether that's fungicide, where it's a lot higher.” - Jason Hanson

In the past Jason has found success with soybean innoculants. Biofungicides and insecticides have not been proven more beneficial than conventional methods for Jason and his clients. At the core of his recommendations is research, data and results in his area. While he sees biostimulants as the future of agriculture he hasn’t seen sufficient data to be able to know when and how to confidently recommend their use at this time.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we talk about full season and perennial cover crops. These are great options in not only prevent plant situations, but also trying to manage the health of saline soils. As we’ve done on several episodes of this season of Field Check, we will also highlight the agronomic, logistical, and safety considerations when growing these types of cover crops. Assistant professor and soil health extension specialist Dr. Abbey Wick, said she has been expecting a lot of prevented planting acres this year.

“I think farmers are working as hard as they can as quickly as they can to get crops in the field, but some of those areas, or some of those fields are just gonna be ones that they're not gonna get to. And so in that case, we really wanna encourage a full season cover crop to manage that field just like you would with a cash crop.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Abbey recommends looking at the NDSU Soil Health Cover Crop Booklet and the Grazing Cover Crop Booklet for more insight and information into this process. Dr. Kevin Sedivec, who as many of you know is a professor of range science at NDSU, says to prioritize soil health first when selecting full season cover crops. He also recommends considering whether you’ll be leaving it idle, grazing it or haying it.

“We should always think of soil health first. If I can create a food base to enhance the soils, I can then tweak that to make it good for livestock.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

Kevin highlights that if bailing is selected you need to understand that you are removing carbon from your ecosystem. He says there is a balance to be considered and achieved with regard to how much carbon you are adding with manure from livestock and how much you are removing with bailing. If you do decide to bail your cover crops, there are some really important safety considerations to also keep in mind. NDSU extension farm and ranch safety coordinator. Angie Johnson says it's especially important to remember safe practices when operating baling equipment.

“There are so many moving parts, whether you've got a belt baler, a chain baler, or a roller baler. With all of those rotating parts, you have extra areas where we call pinch points or rat points, so areas where you can get your fingers or limbs in some pretty serious danger. And so focus on reading that operator's manual on how you perform maintenance.” - Angie Johnson

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we explore the question of how to improve soil health in fields that are just too wet. From drainage tile to cover crops, Dr. Lee Briese visits some of the strategies and tactics he uses with the farmers he works with. Lee is a Crop Consultant covering Stutsman and Barnes Counties in North Dakota for Centrol Ag Consulting. He has been scouting fields and providing recommendations for farmers in North Dakota for over 20 years. He says there hasn’t been a year he would classify as ‘normal’ in quite a while, and that this year has been especially challenging.

“We went from this field's going to be corn, this field's going to be wheat, this field's going to be soybeans to what field is dry enough to plant today. So a lot of those plans just went out the window. And so we're at the point now once we get them planted, then we figure out how we can deal with those weeds.” - Dr. Lee Briese

And especially in years like this, there are fields or areas of fields that are just always wet, and present their own set of problems like trafficability issues, weed pressure and salinity. Lee relies on his creativity and the tools in his toolbox to address these types of growing conditions.

“It's the same kind of principles, but it's a different thought process and it's a different prescription…Really what we're trying to do here now is use moisture out of sync of our cash crops… Instead of using tillage, because the tillage uses moisture through evaporation, but that evaporation increases salinity making the salts worse and we already have salt problems…We're using plants for the roots to go to 6, 8, 12, 14 inches deep to move the water from below instead of evaporating off the surface.” - Dr. Lee Briese

Lee mentioned their using crops like cereal rye to address these saline spots. This technique then distributes the salt throughout the soil profile reducing the risk of excess salinity while still capturing some of the moisture. Cereal rye can also serve as a “bridge to get across to move through that field” when trafficability becomes a concern. Lee reminds growers that you really need to assess the needs of each individual field first and then have the necessary tools to apply whatever that field needs.

“There's so many influencing factors that when you're trying to put together this plan this is why you have to look at the field. What are you trying to do? What can you work into your system? What is not gonna work?... It's about looking at your field, assessing each individual field with what are the challenges or problems that you're facing, and then designing a system that addresses those challenges.” - Dr. Lee Briese

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we explore one of the most wonderful and unique aspects of farming, the ability to leave a real tangible legacy for your children. The sentiment and realization of that legacy is predicated on the quality of soil you pass along to them. NDSU Soil Health Specialist Dr. Abbey Wick and farmer Kerry Swindler about the importance of protecting the soil for this legacy. NDSU Extension Farm & Ranch Safety Coordinator Angie Johnson goes onto share about how to safely involve your children on the farm.

“Farmers in general, they're not farming for themselves. They’re farming for the next generation. They're thinking of the future of their farms, how they're going to set up the next generation for the best possible situation financially, but then also in their resources…..So if we’re really thinking about farm legacy, protecting that soil is your number one priority.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Mott, North Dakota farmer Kerry Swindler has experienced this firsthand. He remembers how much topsoil they lost from tillage, and he actually remembers the day over 40 years ago he and his father decided to make a change to preserve their topsoil and promote soil health on their operation.

“I stopped my combine and I went over and I got on my dad's combine and I said, “Dad, we gotta do something here or there's not gonna be any land left for me to farm, much less my kids.” And he could see it….And it was a shock in a lot of ways, but it didn't take long to start seeing some of the benefits.” - Kerry Swindler

Farming is unique in that it is multi-generational, and it’s certainly a joy to watch the next generation get interested in agriculture. But tragic farm accidents involving children are all-too-common, and NDSU Extension Farm & Ranch Safety Coordinator Angie Johnson says it’s important to remember that farms are job sites.

“It's the only work site where children are ever allowed. You don't bring your kids to a construction zone or you don't take them on to work with you in most cases. And so it's very unique and we need to realize that at some point we need to be mindful and …..I think it is so crucial that we match a child's ability with a task on the farm.” - Angie Johnson

Angie recommends creating an open dialogue with kids where they can communicate questions and concerns while working on the farm. Incorporating them into the operation is not only teaching them what tasks are appropriate and how to perform them safely but also having open lines of communication so they can voice their concerns and stay safe.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode crop consultant Jason Hanson discusses a soil-related issue many farmers have to deal with, salinity. Jason owns Rock and Roll Agronomy based in Webster, North Dakota. He said while salinity is a constant issue in many of the fields in his area, it’s especially concerning this year after a wet spring. Those wet conditions paired with high commodity prices can make it tempting to plant ground into cash crops when it might not be the best approach. He shares the story of one field that even after years of a salt tolerant grass, the saline spots still weren’t ready to go back into corn or soybeans.

“Some of this ground, the best thing for it is to just square it off, get it into a grass that you can hold habitat. You can hay it. You're not pouring money into it. And that's its use because it's not an economic drain and you're gonna get some of the benefits you don't have.” - Jason Hanson

Obviously every farmer wants to plant as much of a field as possible into crops that will generate the most revenue, but Jason says you have to look at both profitability and long term viability of the land. He is encouraging farmers to stick with these salt-tolerant grasses to prevent the salinity problems from getting worse.

“Barley is the thing I’m gonna tackle it with because people have some barley left over in bins and that's what we're gonna do to try to mitigate it. Because it's going to want to spread out. We got our water tables high. This thing's gonna get worse before it gets better.” - Jason Hanson

Some farmers look to tiling fields to help with drainage in situations like this, but Jason says even with tile, salinity problems can persist, especially when they’re coupled with sodicity problems. Jason recommends addressing any salinity issues early to prevent them from spreading. Jason says there are some crops that will handle salinity better than others.

“Even when you tile in some of these scenarios, the worst case is it's gonna take a long time. And I think people have to realize that some of this stuff, if it's mild, low key, you can manage it. That's still probably 5, 6, 7 year type of deal to get it back to better than it was. It probably isn't going to be the same as some of your other ground that you have…We can try our best but it's a slow process.” - Jason Hanson

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we “cover” planting cover crops including some of the ways to get cover crops planted and established. We also discuss some really important and often overlooked safety considerations to think about before hooking up a seed drill or any other implement.

A common farm activity such as hooking up an implement often can be among the most dangerous. So we want to provide a refresher on the safety of hooking up any implement on the farm. NDSU Extension Farm & Ranch Safety Coordinator Angie Johnson says it’s all too easy to forget how risky working with moving machinery can be, especially with multiple people around who may not always be on the same page.

“You need to have a plan in place, and it's really important, especially if you're working with your employee or your son or daughter, or even your spouse, who's helping you hook up this piece of machinery. We need to be open and clear with our communication. Where is it safe for you to stand? When is it safe for you to drop that hitch pin?...When we're working with growers, we really emphasize using the 11 universal hand signals to help operators be able to back up farm equipment, because you can't always hear the other person.” - Angie Johnson

There are resources for these safety measures available on the NDSU Extension website. They have both posters and window clings to serve as great training tools and reminders of these universal hand signals for farmers and their employees.

Dr. Abbey Wick continues our discussion by sharing a few things to keep in mind as you start this part of your soil health journey.

“With the backing up and using a drill, that's probably your best way to get a cover crop established because you're getting really good seed to soil contact. So as long as you hook it up the proper way you could get that cover crop seed out there…..lots of ways to get them in the system.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Farmer Sam Landman discusses the SHARE Farm which he runs in collaboration with NDSU Extension. SHARE stands for Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension (SHARE) Farm, and it’s designed for field-scale, long-term, farmer-driven research into soil health building practices. Between his work on the SHARE farm and on his own farm, Sam says once you start to see the benefits from these practices like cover crops, you only want to do more of it.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today, we single out one field in particular to see how a crop consultant utilizes soil health principles and practices to improve both profitability and viability over time. Dr. Lee Briese a Crop Consultant covering Stutsman and Barnes Counties for Centrol Ag Consulting. He has been scouting fields and providing recommendations for farmers in North Dakota for over 20 years, and received his Doctor of Plant Health from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Lee was nice enough to provide an example of one field that he and the farmer decided to take a different approach with.

"So that's really where we started. We just kind of looked at what we were working with and said 'ok, planting corn and soybean that needs a lot of moisture midsummer is not working'. So what can we do to use the attributes of that field to our advantage?" - Dr. Lee Briese

"I just really think that when somebody is looking at this soil health thing, it's not about 'I'm gonna go no-till or I'm gonna plant cover crops or I'm gonna do this particular practice'. It's about looking at your field, assessing each individual field with what are the challenges or problems that you're facing, and then designing a system that addresses those challenges." - Dr. Lee Briese

Briese discusses how he and his farmer client approached managing a field that was drying up midsummer. He shares how they approached diversifying the rotation on that crop, and what happened when they tried soybeans again years later.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode, we explore soil management practices that will improve trafficability over time. North Dakota State University Soil Health Extension Specialist Dr. Abbey Wick joins us to discuss that as well as a specific example from Wahpeton, North Dakota farmer Doug Toussaint. We’ll also discuss safety considerations to properly handle equipment that does end up getting stuck. NDSU Extension Farm & Ranch Safety Coordinator Angie Johnson says this combination of a high stress environment, heavy equipment, and the urge to get everything done in small windows can create a hazardous situation for farmers.

“It's really being aware of your situation, slowing down and really thinking through your plan…now more than ever, this type of information is so crucial to get out because not a lot of people know that there's a science (to pulling out stuck equipment). There is a true, hard science that helps people understand how to actually get yourself pulled out in those types of situations. ” - Angie Johnson

Getting stuck is almost an inevitability in a lot of farming areas, but it’s often these situations that we’ve been in several times before that lead to not fully recognizing the dangers involved. Dr. Abbey Wick has worked with numerous farmers that have trafficability as one of their soil health goals, and she says in many cases, they’ve seen really favorable results.

“I see better traffic ability when cover crops are used. So in a situation like planting in the spring, possibly getting a fall seeded cover crop like cereal rye might be helpful… I also think that reducing your tillage to build up some of that soil structure within the field could be really helpful.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Angie and Abbey shared about trafficability for spring field prep and for planting, and then Doug talked about trafficability during harvest. So everything applies no matter when you’re going into the field. Angie recommends producers access a handbook (Purdue University Extracting Stuck Equipment Safely) for best practices regarding stuck equipment. And if you find yourself stuck to stay calm and reach out for help if needed to stay safe.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Jason Hanson, who owns Rock and Roll Agronomy based in Webster, North Dakota joins us to discuss both the benefits and the challenges of reducing tillage. One thing we always talk about on this program is to find soil health building practices that meet your particular goals, and that one farmer’s goal is not always the same as the next.

“Salinity is always still number one. Part of it is just to reduce trips and cost, erosion, those types of things. And it comes with its challenges. We had challenges right off the bat and it was residue. Everybody wants to put that header on the deck and grind through everything and you leave a mat of straw out there that you have to manage and contend with.” - Jason Hanson

Between “time, implement depreciation, you have your fuel, and you have parts” tillage practices can be costly to producers. Jason said in general the hardest part of this process to reduce tillage is patience, especially in years like this one with a really wet spring. But according to Jason, with anything, it’s all balance and tradeoffs. For example, the mat of residue can be “both your friend and your adversary.”

“So we seeded beans deeper than he has probably ever seeded. The soil is cooler and it takes longer to get out of the ground, but it holds more moisture. And when the year turned dry later, then it wasn't so bad and they turned out really well.” - Jason Hanson

Jason recommends that one of the biggest things producers can do to manage the residue is to start in the fall. In his area of North Dakota, Jason discusses their own personal interpretation of being no-till. While most no-till practices are reduced they still find that there are benefits to harrowing that outweigh being strictly no-till in some situations. “So it isn't just, I'm gonna do this. There's a lot more things that go around to it.” Jason highlights the need to focus on fertility, different varieties that prefer cooler soils and adjusting for two burn down applications per year.

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In February Dr. Abbey Wick and I had the chance to attend a really unique event you may have heard of called Agronomy on Ice. This is an annual event on Devils Lake, North Dakota. Picture several ice houses and hundreds of people on a frozen lake in below zero temperatures who all just want to talk about agriculture and have a great time, and you’ll have the basic idea.

“If you've ever been to an ag show and they have booths and you walk down the alleys and you can stop and talk to people, think of that same concept only you're on a lake in North Dakota, in February, and instead of booths, you're in an ice house…..And the whole point is to treat it like a meeting, you come in see what is in the house and you start making connections.” - Jason Hanson

The folks at Anheuser Busch were kind enough to let us set up shop in their ice house and host a series of casual conversations about soil health. We hear a few highlights from three of those conversations in this episode, which include Agronomy On Ice founder and Rock’N Roll Agronomy independent agronomist Jason Hanson, his Agronomist Happy Hour podcast co-host, Kyle Okke, the one and only Shark Farmer Rob Sharkey, Anheuser Busch Agronomy Manager Nikki Bylin, and Scott Bylin who farms in Northeast North Dakota also happens to be Nikki’s husband. The day was filled with laughter, great conversation, food, and a whole lot of fun.

“It's absolutely great. It's one of those things that's hard to explain...You look at it from the outside and you say, we're drinking beer, we're eating food. It looks like you're tailgating. I don't really see a lot of handouts or actual seminars... but the reality is you show up and you start meeting people, you start talking and you get into conversations…You make connections with people. You probably wouldn't have made in other settings and you probably learn more than you realize.” - Kyle Okke

Throughout the day, we kept having people like Jason and Kyle pop in and sit down with us for a few minutes to talk about soil in their areas. Because as we know everyone's area and farm is unique. Our speakers shared what soil health means to their operation and customers.

“Soil health is everything and it means a lot of things.….if you're not paying attention to your soil health, and you're not doing things to maintain good soils and good land, you're going to fall behind and you're not going to be profitable. You’re not even going to be economically sustainable at where crop prices are.” - Kyle Okke

This Week on Soil Sense:

Enjoy hearing some of the conversations that happened at Agronomy on Ice 2022
Listen to “hallway conversations” with Agronomy on Ice founder and Rock’N Roll Agronomy independent agronomist Jason Hanson, his Agronomist Happy Hour podcast co-host, Kyle Okke, the one and only Shark Farmer Rob Sharkey, and Anheuser Busch Agronomy Manager Nikki Bylin and her husband farmer Scott Bylin

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Blaine Kummer farms with his wife and parents south of Fargo in Colfax, North Dakota. They raise corn, soybeans, sugar beets, wheat and occasionally some barley. The soil is really variable in his area, from silty sand areas to Fargo silt clays. He came back to the farm after graduating from NDSU and over the years he has since tried a variety of techniques to figure out how to build healthier soil.

Follow Blaine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thek2bk

Soil Sense sponsors: North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, the North Dakota Corn Council, the North Dakota Wheat Commission, the North Dakota Soybean Council, the Northarvest Dry Bean Association, the North Dakota Barley Council, and Anheuser Busch.

View Details

In this episode we get a chance to feature one program that is doing incredible work to train the next generation of farmers, agronomists, consultants and other ag-related professionals. The North Dakota State College of Science, based in Wahpeton offers two year programs designed to help prepare students for agricultural career paths and connect them with employers who are looking to hire. The options for students to focus on include animal science, ag business, agronomy, precision agriculture, farm management, ranch management, and ag transfer for those who want to go on to complete a four-year degree.

Joining us are Anissa Hoffman and Chandra Langseth. Anissa is an associate professor in her 16th year at NDSCS working in the soils and agronomy coursework. Chandra is a second year instructor at the college who teaches all of the precision ag courses as well as some basic agronomy. There are some really compelling reasons for NDSCS’ 2-year model of postsecondary education to fit the needs of both students and hiring companies, especially in agriculture. We talk about the types of students and employers that are getting involved with the program, their hands-on teaching philosophy, and how they’re preparing the next generation of agricultural professionals. The two year program is a great opportunity for these students, but it's also in high demand from agricultural employers.

“I think it's safe to say we have way more demand than students that we have to offer industry….. We always have continual calls, continual emails from places looking for people….They want someone that's got a good work ethic, maybe some knowledge about basic agricultural things, but if they are a motivated person, willing to work, be there, show up, be somewhat self-directed, they'd be a great candidate for most of our employers.” - Anissa Hoffman

Anissa and Chandra are in a unique position to hear directly from employers who tell them what skills exactly employers are looking for. They have the opportunity to foster not only the work ethic and attitude that Anissa mentioned earlier but also the knowledge and skills to lay the groundwork for a successful career.

“We focus on the fundamentals, the things that are going to be consistent from one operation to the next, but then within that, every operation is going to be a little unique. So there's always a really steep learning curve, wherever our students end up. But if we can provide some of that foundation in two years, that's not a very long time. So we've got a lot to kind of get through.” -Chandra Langseth

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Anissa Hoffman, an associate professor in her 16th year at NDSCS, and Chandra Langseth, a second year instructor at the college.
Explore the programs offered at North Dakota State College of Scienceand the benefits they offer their students
Discover the teaching goals and techniques they employ and the value that adds to the education they provide

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Mike and Phil Faught are a father/son partnership who farm in Absaraka, North Dakota. Mike has been working with minimal till and no till since 1980, but he says his father first tried no till as far back as the 1930s. Phil Faught is in his first year of fully taking over the operation. He had a career in sports medicine before this that allowed him to take time off and farm in the summertime, and for the past four years he has been back on the farm full time.

In today’s episode, we talk about the history of conservation on their farm, their experiences in trying to minimize tillage and keep residue and cover crops on their fields, why they’ve decided to go back to banding fertilizer, and a lot more.

“Farmers have always done the best they can with what they had, whether it be the plow or learning to adopt the use of fertilizers, all of those things. And you do the best with what you can, but when we see erosion, both wind and water, I don't feel as there's any excuse anymore…We have tools to use to keep this going. To keep the land going and keep it healthy. So it's a very dynamic time.” -Mike Faught

Not every farmer in the area is approaching things the same way that Mike and Phil are, but Mike says that’s nothing new. Over the years they’ve been able to connect with other like minded farmers to learn from and share ideas with. Phil says his neighbors are more curious than cynical, and want to know more about what they are doing.

“The traffic ability on the heavy clays, you see that right away, you may not see all the benefits, the worms, the mineralization….And that's probably the thing that most people that are getting started are worried about is I can't go across that field. We were on that field and nobody else was, and we're generally not first. We're not last, but we're not first.” -Phil Faught

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mike and Phil Faught are a father/son partnership who farm in Absaraka, North Dakota
Explore the journey the Faughts have taken and are taking in improving their soils
Discover the introduction of no-till and cover crops to the Faught family operation

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode you’re going to hear a first hand account of a farm accident. It’s a jarring reminder of how so many tasks on a farm or ranch that seem routine, can be extremely dangerous. Doug Bichler is a rancher from Linton, North Dakota. He has agreed to share his story with us of a day in 2017 that changed his life forever. Doug is the 3rd generation on his family’s ranch where he owns a seed stock operation, and raises registered Simmental Cattle and Dorper sheep. He also does custom feeding for others in the area: mainly backgrounding for feeders and replacement heifers.

You’ll also hear from Angie Johnson, who is the NDSU Extension Farm & Ranch Safety Coordinator, and Emily Leier, who is the Emmons County Extension Agent. They’ll talk about impacts of farm accidents on local communities and the resources available for both prevention and support.

“I actually even used to teach farm safety. I used to be an extension agent. I'm very aware of what to do and what not to do. I think there's a disconnect though, when you're in the tractor and you're doing it versus when you're in a classroom and you're teaching. It's really easy to say things, but it's a whole other thing to actually do them and practice them.” -Doug Bichler

Doug has discovered that not only are there a lot of people with stories of close calls who can relate, but there is a whole community of people whose lives have been affected by firsthand experiences with farm accidents. As you can imagine, this whole experience has created a new set of challenges for Doug, but it hasn’t changed his resolve to work on the ranch. His attitude and empathy for what others might be dealing with, is something we should all aspire to.

“Your attitude is just such a key factor in overcoming whatever obstacle you're facing, whether it's an accident or something else. We all have things we deal with. People can just see what I'm dealing with, but sometimes we can't see what people are dealing with. So I think that's an important thing to remember.” -Doug Bichler

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Doug Bichler, a rancher from Linton, North Dakota
Hear about the farm accident in 2017 that changed Doug’s life and learn how he has used that experience to help others
Learn about the far reaching effects of farm accidents in surrounding communities and operations
Explore the resources provided by NDSU Extension to help make farming practices more safe

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We have another great episode with a farmer who has been on a journey over the past seven years or so to try to build healthier soils on his farm in Hillsboro, North Dakota. Jon Bertsch is a third generation farmer who grows mainly corn and soybeans, but he says he is looking at adding back some wheat and sunflowers this year.

Jon discusses his soil health journey both in cover crops and tillage. He has some really practical advice about getting started where you are with what you have, and he shares openly about what is working for him and what is not. Jon’s interest in cover crops all started while attending a conference in which Abbey Wick spoke.

“I can manage moisture in a different way, I can manage fertility in a different way, and I can manage my weeds in a different way…. I was like this is outside the box and something different. I like the concept, I like the long term and I like what it does for the soil. It was just checking all of these boxes.” -Jon Bertsch

One practice leads to another practice and there is a snowball effect there, but what does that snowball effect look like in soils? Jon says he could see signs in the soil itself, and he really felt the snowball when he could consider reducing or eliminating some of his other practices.

“In those drier years, we've conserved moisture. We got this last year absolutely without a doubt. My solid seeded soybeans that went into cereal rye did awesome on a year that we needed to conserve moisture.” -Jon Bertsch

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Jon Bertsch, a third generation farmer in Hillsboro, North Dakota.
Discover Jon’s journey in incorporating cover crops and changing his crop management practices
Explore the influences that have helped Jon along this journey

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

One of the things we’ve learned over the years of doing this podcast is that we love episodes that feature both a farmer and a researcher to really capture both the complexity and the practicality of farming and soil health. That’s exactly what we have today, specifically talking about barley, and the work being done to make barley a more desirable part of the rotation to build healthier soils.

Anthony Thilmony is a 4th Generation farmer in the Valley City, North Dakota area. He has a masters in Weed Science and has worked in both research and sales before returning to the farm full time. Joining Anthony is Dr. Dave Franzen, a Soil Scientist with North Dakota State University in Extension. Dave and Anthony talk about the advantages of barley, why it hasn’t won more acres in the past, and the research that’s being done to help farmers grow more marketable barley for malting.

“I think this is exciting because barley does have a fit with the soil conditions we have in this state. Especially as you go into this rolling territory where we have the variable soils. We have saltier soils and barley is a crop that is very agronomically acceptable, but we quit raising it because we got tired of the marketing side.” -Anthony Thilmony

For farmers like Anthony, barley used to be a common crop before corn started taking over acreage in the area. But Dave says barley still has a lot of advantages over other crops if some of the disadvantages can be mitigated, which is what his research is all about. This win-win between capitalizing on the soil health benefits of barley while still raising a quality crop that can make grade for malting premiums could allow more farmers to have their cake and eat it too.

“The overriding thing was the soil health benefits of a short season crop. And it certainly did that. We could grow a ton of dry matter or so after barley compared to a few hundred pounds in the corn and soybeans. So if you're wanting to draw down on the water in a system so that you don't get salts, you mitigate salts so that you can get in there a little bit earlier in the springtime, the barley is probably part of that.” -Dr. Dave Franzen

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Anthony Thilmony, a fourth generation North Dakota farmer, and Dr. Dave Franzen, a Soil Scientist with North Dakota State University in Extension
Discover the historical context and future potential for the use of the barley in North Dakota operations

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We often talk about corn, soybeans, and small grains on this show, but those are far from the only crops focused on improving soil health. This episode is a unique look at sugar beets, and what sugar beet farmers in the Red River Valley are doing to improve their soil health. Over 11 million tons of sugar beets are harvested from the region every year, making it the number one area for the crop in the country. The soil and climate make it an ideal area for this unique crop, but also can present its own soil health challenges.

Dan Vagle is a senior agronomist for American Crystal Sugar in the northern part of the Red River Valley along the Minnesota/North Dakota border. Dan grew up on a sugar beet farm near Hallock, Minnesota, so he has very real experience in every aspect of producing this interesting crop. We discuss what’s unique about sugar beets, how soil health practices have changed over time, and how they’re using techniques like nurse crops and strip tillage to build healthier soils while still maximizing their revenue per acre.

“Sugar beets are expensive to raise. Sugar beets are expensive to harvest and the whole name of the game is being able to get your revenue per acre up. And that's your sugar percentage and that's your tonnage. It's yield, but not even yield. They get paid on the sugar that they produce as being a part of a cooperative.” - Dan Vagle

Dan suggests being very flexible with your operations to find what variables work best for your production. He is a huge advocate for pursuing sustainable practices. But he believes it’s important to share both the successes and the failures. That way farmers, agronomists, extension, researchers and consultants can all support each other through the challenges.

“There's going to be a few truths that hold through on strip till and sugar beets. Our job is to find out not so much where it works, but where it doesn't work. And that's the same way with all this stuff that's coming out right now, strip till, no till, cover crops, double cropping. The value is in the failures, not the successes….. it's the all or nothing mentality that I have to battle against. So it's the nuance. Every person is nuanced. Every farm is nuanced.” - Dan Vagle

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dan Vagle, a senior agronomist for American Crystal Sugar
Discover the process and unique characteristics of sugar beet production in the Red River Valley
Explore Dans approach to sustainability, soil health and introducing new practices on an operation

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

This episode focuses on a topic that we haven’t talked about too much before: disease management. Specifically, we’re talking about a couple of diseases in corn and in small grains to be aware of, challenges with fungicide resistance, how soil health practices affect disease management, and what it looks like to take an integrated pest management approach to these diseases.

Dr. Andrew Friskop, cereal crop extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University, joins us to discuss his research in disease management strategies for North Dakota producers. He says he’s always looking at both what the research says and what’s executable on the farm level. To accomplish this he partners with farmers and other regional research extension centers around the state to plant test plots every year.

“There's never a one size fits all approach, but be aware of what you're worried about during the season and put as many tools as you can in place to make it work.” - Dr. Andrew Friskop

Crop rotation and genetic resistance are the initial steps Dr Friskop suggests to mitigate disease risk. Besides Goss’s wilt, he recommends monitoring for evidence of tar spot. Fortunately it is currently not present in North Dakota but could be soon and needs to be scouted for. Ongoing research is working to provide best management practices for targeting this Tar Spot fungal concern. This emerging disease highlights the concern researchers and producers alike have for chemical resistance in regards to disease management.

“When you get a pest out there and you start using the same crop protection product on it for several years or decades, you're going to be able to start selecting for some of those resistant populations.” -Dr. Andrew Friskop

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Andrew Friskop, cereal crop extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University
Learn how to identify the threshold for instigating disease management practices
Explore what it means to take an integrated approach to field disease management and where Dr. Friskop recommends starting your efforts as a producer

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we are joined by two brothers from Northeast North Dakota who have each been on their own soil health journeys while supporting and pushing each other to keep getting better in farming and agronomy. Scott Huso farms with his wife Elizabeth south of Aneta, North Dakota. Mark Huso is the owner of Huso Crop Consulting where he works with and consults for many different types of farms across Northeast North Dakota. The Husos come from a farming background, but didn’t inherit the family farm, which was sold in the 1980s.

Together they share their soil health journeys, how they are staying true to principles but not necessarily individual practices and how they are constantly pushing each other to explore different ways to maximize both productivity and soil health. Neither Scott or Mark are really dogmatic about no-till. “I am all about soil health. I’m not all about no-till,” shares Mark. They are fully committed to soil health, but also recognize that they need to use every tool at their disposal to produce a good crop no matter what mother nature sends their way. For Scott, soil health is about increasing infiltration and building soil biology.

“We're trying to increase the pockets in the soil that have air because they need to be there to allow water to flow through rather than holding the water up. And then we're trying to get more microorganism activity to create these pathways and whatnot. What we're also trying to do is place the fertilizer where the crop is going to get it. And so rather than spreading it all over, it makes a lot more sense to put it where the crop needs it.” -Scott Huso

This practical approach takes into consideration what can be done when something happens and a particular practice is not the right thing for those conditions. Because as Mark says, you just can’t ignore the logistics of it all. While these logistics can often impact the individual practices, it doesn’t change the principles.

“So much of what we're trying to provide answers for with farmers is pick variety A over variety B or pick this fertilizer over that fertilizer. And truthfully some of the biggest yield advantages happen simply from mechanics, from row spacing, from tillage, and from different drill types.” - Mark Huso

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet farmer Scott Huso and agronomist Mark Huso from Northeast North Dakota
Discover their journey into soil health practices and their approach to implementing new techniques to maximize yield
Follow Mark @husocrop and Scott @scotthsuo on twitter

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

One thing we try to stress on this show is that your soil health journey is going to look different from others based on your goals. Those goals may include trafficability, weed suppression, water infiltration, livestock integration or a whole host of other potential and very worthwhile goals.

Keeping these goals at the forefront of your mind is helpful in determining which practices may be right for you. It’s also nice to see incentives popping up from government, organizations, and companies to help assist farmers in building healthier soils. While these incentives shouldn’t take the place of the goals you have for your farm, they can help de-risk the process of pursuing more soil health building practices. Today’s guest works with large food and beverage companies that want to do their part to improve the soil of the farmers that produce their raw ingredients.

Elizabeth Reaves is the Senior Program Director for Agriculture and Environment at the Sustainable Food Lab. She works with large multinational food and beverage companies to help connect the commitments they’ve made to climate, regenerative agriculture and/or alleviating poverty in their supply chains to direct investment on the ground with farmers. She shares insights into how they’re viewing soil health and what approaches they’re taking to support farmers on this journey.

“The place that we most often like to start is taking our company partners to visit farmers in a particular place. And those are often some of the most powerful learning experiences because they get to have a real conversation with farmers and they get to not just hear what the farmers’ challenges are, but also what farmers have already done and tried and what they're testing and innovating.” -Elizabeth Reaves

Hosting stakeholders on the farm “are often the most transformative moments for our companies in terms of really understanding….the things that we need to provide in terms of program support” to producers. For all of the talk about soil health, it’s so incredibly vital that the people who are offering incentives and voicing their opinions and visions have those grounded in what’s actually executable at the farm level. For Elizabeth and the Food Lab, they need to take these teachable moments and convert them into both short term and long term outcomes.

“What we know doesn't work is pushing a set of standards. And I think most of the companies, at least the ones that I work with, really want to figure out how to pull a whole system to change at scale. So I'm really optimistic that through partnerships, between companies, with organizations like NDSU, the farmer networks that they're building and the farmers that they can reach, that we actually start to see some of that real tide change.” - Elizabeth Reaves

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We’re very lucky to have on the show two well-respected agronomic experts to talk about current weed management challenges. They share with us the weeds that have been the most difficult to manage, how high prices and supply chain challenges are impacting the tools farmers have at their disposal, and what the future of weed control looks like.

Joining me today are Joe Ikely, extension weed specialist at North Dakota State University, and Jason Hanson, owner and operator of Rock N Roll Agronomy. Joe’s work includes both extension and research in weed control with an emphasis on corn soybeans and dry beans. Jason is an independent crop consultant working directly with farmers as well as consulting with ag retailers on a contract basis.

“Kochia, that's definitely from my perspective, the top weed issue of this year….kind of a reminder for those who haven't had to battle kochia for a while, that once we get dry conditions, there's still plenty of plants around producing seeds, spreading them around.” - Joe Ikely

What makes Kochia unique is the ability to develop an “aggressive root system” that will reach and take advantage of any moisture available. When the climate is dry, the crops struggle to compete with that root system. Compounding the issue for producers is herbicide resistance limiting the efficacy of inputs. These factors have impacted farming practices this year and are expected to continue next year.

“Now I've got a higher (kochia) population. There's definitely more kochia that has been cut, harvested and is rolling and tumbling around the countryside on some of our windy days. So we'll definitely have more pressure to deal with in 2022.” - Jason Hanson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Joe Ikely, extension weed specialist at North Dakota State University, and Jason Hanson, owner and operator of Rock N Roll Agronomy
Discover the most significant weed pressure exhibited in 2021 and how that may affect weed management in 2022
Explore the many factors affecting weed populations in North Dakota and the mitigating practices producers can adopt
Hear more from Jason on the podcast “Agronomist Happy Hour”
Follow Joe Ikely at the “War Against Weeds” podcast

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we dive into the economics of carbon credits. Specifically, how should farmers approach the emerging markets that are popping up for carbon offsets and credits. We are joined by Dave Archer, an agricultural economist at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory. His specific research interests include risk management, simulation modeling, decision aid development, bioenergy economics, and decision making to achieve both economic and natural resource goals.

Dave is going to answer some of the most asked questions about these carbon markets, such as:

What questions should a farmer be asking before they get involved with one?
Why are they not willing to compensate for the previous decades of soil health building practices?
How should this influence farm management decisions?

Dave highlights three important components in this discussion: additionality, permanence, and pricing.

“The value of these credits goes up and down and will continue to go up and down. So it's important to understand how those price changes are handled in any contract, whether you can get the benefits of any price increases or whether you have losses with price decreases.” - Dave Archer, Ph.D.

While these carbon programs can be great incentives to try soil health building practices, Dave says it’s important to keep them in perspective and consider first and foremost how incorporating new practices will impact the bottom line. As an added benefit, practices that build soil health and sequester carbon can also be more profitable over time.

“I think the most important thing is just understanding the system impacts. If you're thinking about adopting practices that may build carbon, there are potential economic benefits associated with that. Carbon credits and carbon markets may be a way to get additional incentives and help you make that change.” - Dave Archer, Ph.D.

Watch the Capturing Carbon Workshop Here!

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dave Archer, an agricultural economist at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Explore the economic impacts of the carbon credits market for producers
Discover the questions producers need to ask and the answers they need to understand before pursuing a contract based on carbon credits

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Soil health has been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years, and no topic has been drawing more attention than the concept of soil carbon. Specifically, can farmers optimize the amount of carbon they pull from the air and store in the soil based on farming practices? And can that carbon sequestration reach levels where it’s part of the solution to climate change?

Much of the exuberance surrounding these topics glosses over the science involved. To put this concept into perspective we have on the show Dr. Mark Liebig with the USDA ARS, and Dr. Caley Gasch who is a soil ecologist with North Dakota State University. The audio was recorded at the “Catching Carbon” live workshop put on by the North Dakota Corn Council, NDSU Extension, and USDA.

“It's no surprise that when we think about dealing with the challenges in the future, we've got to look to the soil...It's going to be a really big part in how we create systems that are robust and resilient to these extremes. And so this is why I think soil carbon and soil health are often a pretty good partnership.” - Dr. Mark Liebig

Soil has always been a sink for carbon, but over the decades as more land has been converted to cultivated cropland, we’ve released a lot of that stored carbon back into the atmosphere. Dr. Liebig goes on to make practice suggestions to best support carbons sequestration.

“Increase your biomass production, that's number one, maintain that soil cover, apply organic amendments. On the loss side, we want to minimize that soil disturbance as much as possible. If we can, don't burn that crop residue. That's a really good way to lose a lot of carbon.” Dr. Mark Liebig

Dr. Gasch explains the origin, cyclical nature and different types of carbon available in the soil. Another prominent variable in the success of carbon sequestration is the weather and its effects on the soil. Because of all of these factors, changing and verifying the soil’s carbon material is a slow and involved process.

“A 1% increase in organic carbon takes between 10 and 15 years….and that would be under best management practices, minimal tillage, and maximum plant productivity.” - Dr. Caley Gasch

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Mark Liebig with the USDA ARS and Dr. Caley Gasch a soil ecologist with North Dakota State University
Explore the different types of carbon present in the soil
Discover the strategies in maintaining and encouraging carbon storage in the soil
Learn how increasing soil carbon takes a long time and there are many variables at play
Visit the “Catching Carbon” Workshop to see more on this topic

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We often talk on this show about soil health being a journey. Well today’s guest has been on that journey as a farmer for over 75 years. Bob Radcliffe grew up on a farm near Lennard, North Dakota in the 20s and 30s, then served in the United State Marine Corps during World War 2 and returned full time to the farm in the 1940s. Since that time he has been farming and raising livestock for over 75 years. Now at age 99, his grandson, Chris Walberg, has taken over the farm. It was really a treat to get to sit down with both Bob and Chris for this episode.

“We had a love for the land. It's been in the family for five generations. We have 1891 tax returns for this land…..and so there's not many farms that have stayed in one family that long... if you love what you're doing, it's never work. And that's really been the story.” - Bob Radcliffe

In his lifetime, not only has Bob witnessed the mechanization of agriculture, but he was very early in the adoption of soil conservation practices. We talk about his history on the farm, the challenges of taking care of the land, innovations and changes that have happened over the past seven decades, and what wisdom he’d like to share with other farmers interested in soil health.

“(He has given) me a lot of advice and his wisdom over the years of what he's experienced in his lifetime. It's really been a benefit to me, particularly in soil…. We're doing a lot of different things trying to improve our soil health and make the land better for the next generation and hopefully make a profit at the same time.” - Chris Walberg

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Bob Radcliffe, a North Dakota farmer with a lifetime of stories to share
Explore the many advances and adaptations Bob has incorporated into his operation
Discover words of wisdom that only decades of experience can offer

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In the fourteen years that Dr. Sam Markell has been in his current position as extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University, he has not only seen an expansion in soybean acreage, but also in soybean diseases and nematodes. Well, one nematode in particular. You’re going to hear Sam mention several diseases throughout the course of today’s conversation. You’re also going to get a fascinating conversation about why knowing your soils can help you manage soil pathogens, and a science-fiction like idea of fighting these diseases in the future.

For the most part we’re going to focus on two of the main problems: soybean cyst nematode and sudden death syndrome. Dr. Markell has observed the adaptation of the nematode causing soybean cyst disease to previous varieties that were once resistant. The same genetic resistance was used in common soybean varieties and after years of efficacy it is now showing susceptibility in specific locations. However, that susceptibility is likely to spread.

“Particularly with pathogens, they're microscopic for the most part so you can assume they're light. If you can see soil particles blown around, you need to assume that you're blowing pathogens around.” - Dr. Sam Markell

Sudden death syndrome is caused by a fungus and can also be spread through soil transfer. While the fungus will not leave the roots they infect they will produce a toxin that affects the entire plant. Dr. Markell shares that seed and variety selection is one of the most crucial management strategies for disease management. He also highlights the efficacy of extending crop rotations to reduce the pathogen load in the soil.

“We know for sure that we will always have invasive pathogens. We also know that the pathogens we do have, they are going to adapt. They are going to change. They're going to evolve. They'll mutate, they'll increase in different ways…. We can handle them really poorly or we can handle them really well.” - Dr. Sam Markell

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Sam Markell an extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University,
Explore the expansion of the soybean crop in North Dakota and the diseases they are susceptible to
Discover different management techniques to best control soybean cyst nematodes and sudden death syndrome

Connect with Soil Sense

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

On the show today is Kyle Okke, regional agronomist at Winfield United. Most listeners are familiar with Winfield United, the large ag retail network that is part of Land O Lakes, a member-owned cooperative. Kyle is responsible for being a technical resource on anything related to crop protection, which includes employee training, customer education, troubleshooting, and technical advice. His job is impressive both in it’s scope of responsibilities, but also in its geography. Kyle covers from the Red River Valley all across North Dakota and Montana. With his experience of working very different areas of the state agronomically, he’s seen where farmers are generally the same, and where things are different.Today we navigate a variety of topics from tillage to carbon to pH to mistakes he’s seen some farmers make in a dry year like this one.

“I definitely think it doesn't matter who they are as a farmer. I think they all have the same goal in mind and it's passing on what they have to the next generation….You can't just mine your soil, deplete it of all its nutrients, and deplete it of all its resources. ” - Kyle Okke

He is seeing a trend with producers increasingly focusing on balanced fertility programs, better moisture retention, and making adjustments to retain as much topsoil as possible. Whether the producer wants to call it “soil health” or not the objective is to prolong the viability of ground they have available to farm. He has observed a lot of success and increasing popularity with strip tilling practices as a compromise between better agronomics and soil health. He cautions producers from focusing on any one factor as an individual. For example, increasing carbon levels without adjusting for the carbon to nitrogen ratio. The concern here is that increased crop residue that leads to increased carbon in the soil will also temporarily tie up nitrogen in the soil. So rather than focusing on the carbon by itself, looking at the carbon as part of a system seems to be a better use and adjustment for soil health. He offers his opinion on carbon credits in light of this opinion.

“The big thing is that this is incentivizing good soil health practices. That's what I see behind it is that it's an incentivization to do the right thing, you know, just to start building soil health.” - Kyle Okke

As a final note, Kyle shares that he sees technology as a significant investment that will have a good return in the long term for producers. “I think technology is really going to pay for those guys that are adopting it and utilizing this data that they're collecting.”

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Kyle Okke, regional agronomist at Winfield United
Learn about his experience and observations of trends working across the states of North Dakota and Montana
Explore his views on different agronomic practices from a high-level systems perspective rather than looking at one nutrient or factor at a time
Be sure to listen to The Agronomist Happy Hour Podcast that Kyle co-hosts. He recommends the episode called Complaints and Cocktails

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

This podcast has always been about collaboration and building healthier soils while promoting productivity and profitability at the farm level. It's definitely a team effort.

Today's episode shines a spotlight on the work being done by Pheasants Forever and why they too are passionate about building healthier soils. Their primary goal is to “conserve pheasants, quail, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access education and conservation advocacy.” As part of their mission to create better bird habitat, their strategies and programs for producers and landowners align really well with others involved in soil health management. Joining us are Austin Lang and Emily Spolyar, both are precision ag and conservation specialists with Pheasants Forever located in North Dakota.

“We've seen through research and experience that habitats have been the most effective and cost-effective way to get to that mission.” - Austin Lang

The first step in their process is identifying the goals of the producer and landowner. There are many options regarding limiting public access and various programs to best meet those goals, some of which are specific for certain areas like”watersheds or geographies.” Some programs generate revenue with rental payments while others may allow for grass seed or cover crop compensation. Emily shares that through analysis she can identify acres that are underproducing and may be a good option to support bird wildlife. A collaborative project like this may also provide financial benefit to the landowner and keep the producer from farming acres that are ROI negative.

“I don't need the highly profitable acres to make good habitat. So let's put (habitat) in places that make sense. So (the landowner) is still able to enjoy hunting on those acres and then the producers are able to continue to farm the best acres and put the lower yielding acres into a conservation program.” - Emily Spolyar

They have seen improvements of course in wildlife habitats but also compaction issues, salinity issues, overall soil health and of course financial gains. “Everything that we do is all farmer led. However they want to proceed is what we go with,” shares Emily. Austin was sure to highlight that they are in no way replacing producers’ agronomist relationships but rather aim to add value and offer another resource for producers to have access to.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

As with any biological system, there can be good microbes, and there can also be harmful microbes. Crop and soil health is certainly no exception. In this episode we will discuss some of the soilborne pathogens that are impacting crops, with a special focus on pulse crops (peas, lentils, and chickpeas).

Dr. Audrey Kalil, a plant pathologist at the North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center joins us. Audrey’s research focuses on common crops in the region, which is a pretty dry area, so crops like spring wheat, durum wheat, canola, and pulse crops. Most of her work is in looking at soilborne diseases. But Audrey didn’t always set out to study diseases. In fact, her PhD work focused on the beneficial nitrogen-fixing types of bacteria. It also explains how she found a particular interest in pulse crops.

“I think there are a lot of natural intersections between the concepts of soil health and disease management.” - Dr. Audrey Kalil

Dr. Kalil shares how pulse crops through cover crop usage and rotation strategies can help many operations. She goes on to share the necessity and advantage of providing a “robust microbial ecosystem” to help your soils not become burdened by any one pathogen or disease. Dr. Kalil highlights that some crops overlap with pathogens they may promote for example peas and lentils. The overlapping characteristics of these species can lead to an overgrowth of some soil pathogens that will become more difficult to manage overtime. She offers different management strategies and seed treatments to avoid these overgrowth situations.

Dr. Kalil explains the disease triangle as a concept to better understand crop disease management. There are three main pillars to developing crop disease including the presence of the pathogen in your area, the variety of crop and its level of susceptibility and the effects of weather. Managing and manipulating any one of these pillars can lead to a lower crop disease burden and his a helpful way to address these concerns.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Audrey Kalil, a plant pathologist at the North Dakota State University Williston Research Extension Center
Discover what advantages nitrogen fixation bacteria can offer different operations
Learn how to encourage biodiversity in the soil microbial heath as a soilborne pathogen deterrent
Explore they many different techniques available to manage crop disease

Learn more about pulse crops by listening to the Growing Pulse Crops Podcast

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

An important part of building healthier soils is focusing on the biology living in those soils. This of course includes the microbes in the soil, but also the plants, animals, and insects that they interact with. In this episode specifically, we'll talk about how to bring an integrated approach to insect pest management and even some insects that are particularly beneficial to soil health. Joining us is Dr. Travis Prochaska, an entomologist and a crop protection specialist for NDSU extension located at the North central research extension center in Minot, North Dakota. His day-to-day focuses on answering insect related questions and plant disease questions for both farmers and homeowners. He shares with us the integrated pest management approach to managing insects which is becoming increasingly important as resistance is building to some of our chemical controls.

“So (integrated pest management) is the toolbox that we have at our disposal that we can use to counteract the harmful effects of insects in the field.” - Dr. Travis Prochaska

These tools include the most common involving chemical inputs but also incorporate cultural practices, genetic selection for resistance and biological controls. Planting times, variety selection and using beneficial insects all fall under this integrated approach.

There are some insects that are able to not only combat harmful insects but can provide benefits to soil health. Dr. Prochaska highlights the importance of not only scouting for harmful insects but also beneficial insect species to know how best to manage your operation. Beneficial insects such as dung beetles when used within grazing operations can facilitate decomposition of manure into nutrients back into the soil. Using insecticides without taking into account chemical resistance, beneficial insects and the ramifications of the persistence of those chemicals in the environment could be doing producers a greater disservice than benefit.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Travis Prochaska, an entomologist and a crop protection specialist for NDSU extension located at the North central research extension center in Minot, North Dakota
Discover what is meant by an integrated pest management approach and the many factors that need to be taken into account
Learn about the many tools in the tool box of integrated pest management and the pros and cons to each

Email Dr. Prochaska to participate in the virtual workshop series coming up discussing insect control and management.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We have a really fascinating episode for you today about incorporating perennials into crop rotations. In the past, we have discussed the many soil health benefits of keeping living roots in the soil year round, diversifying rotations, and minimizing soil disturbance. Perennials are great options for all of the above. Joining us is Dr. Clair Keene, extension specialist in cropping systems at NDSU at the Williston Research Extension Center in northwest North Dakota. Clair shares how she is working with farmers to incorporate perennials for a variety of reasons including managing salts and reclaiming topsoil after pipeline construction. We also discuss the profitability of these crops relative to annual row crops with benefits in decreased inputs and management.

“What some people maybe don't factor in as they think about maybe how much money they're not getting in bushels of grain off those acres, but there’s also how many dollars in inputs you're not spending. You're not paying for new seed each year and you're probably not going to be fertilizing it each year. Many stands and perennials once they get going, they don't even need weed control, so you're not spraying....So once those perennials are well-established, they're really taking care of themselves.” - Dr. Clair Keene

Mowing and bailing can become the major annual expense with a good forage for livestock feed as a profitable outcome. With an initial investment in seeding you still can be more profitable overtime than annual cash crops as you “spread the initial costs out” over several years. She goes on to share further benefits including resolving and managing salinity issues in certain locations. These crops better “manage the water table” and keep the water engaged in the plant life cycle rather than evaporating and leaving salt behind. Kernza is an up and coming intermediate wheat grass that has been selected for grain characteristics. The hope is to get a harvest for three to four years and not to need tillage or fertilization resulting in a “potentially very big cost savings.”

“I'm excited about it because of the potential flexibility it offers.…. Because kernza has been specifically developed for its soil health benefits, there's already a small, but strong and growing niche market that wants to buy the grain. There is a lot of interest in kernza grain.” - Dr. Clair Keene

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Clair Keene, extension specialist in cropping systems at NDSU at the Williston Research Extension Center in northwest North Dakota.
Discover the many soil and financial benefits of using perennials to manage salinity and overall soil health
Learn about the development and potential of Kernza as an additional perennial crop that can share these benefits

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In an effort to build healthier soils, many row crop farmers are caught between wanting the benefits of livestock on their land but also not wanting to enter the livestock business. The decisions are further complicated by whether to pursue grazing livestock, manure or compost. There are many benefits of livestock to be found without the commitment to raising them or partnering with someone else.

To help navigate these options we are joined by Mary Keena, a Livestock Environmental Management Specialist with NDSU Extension based out of the Carrington Research Extension Center. In this episode we explore the benefits of incorporating compost and manure into the soil, how to make it work on your operation, how to get started in composting, and some common pitfalls to avoid.

“As far as our crop production and looking at our soils goes, we want that organic matter back in our soil. And how can we do that? We add manure. That's one tool in the box. With that then comes increased water-holding capacity and increased structure for our soil. And so we're, we're adding a lot of other benefits besides just the fertilizer.... We're adding a little bit of microbes to the soil as well through our manure or compost.” - Mary Keena

Keena recommends contacting local livestock producers to see if you can collaborate to use their manure. She suggests starting with a small section of your operation to trial the benefits and management of manure use. She welcomes producers to come visit the research centers to see different types of manure and compost use on example plots that they have established. Keena explains the equipment and timing of managing compost and manure. She finds that equipment for turning the product is the largest expense but she offers producers a less expensive alternative.

“If you're not sold on compost, try it with the equipment that you have on your farm. Do you have a loader? Do you have a skid-steer? Do you have something that you can turn it with? Do that first. And then if you're like, this is awesome, then go to a turner because it is an investment. But again, it's kind of another tool in the box and it's a trade off. How do you want to manage it? Do you want to manage it in the field or do you want to manage it before it gets to the field?.” - Mary Keena

Composting allows management of the substrate into a more consistent product with more active microbes and less risk of adding a weed seed load to your field. Raw manure can produce the same benefits but will need to be managed once out on the field with practices including herbicides to manage an increased weed burden not eliminated with composting. It's up to the producer which method of management best fits their operation. There are many factors apart from yield producers can hope to see changes including soil structure, organic matter, microbial growth, affordability, decreased inputs and production value.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

The concept of wide-row corn can seem counterintuitive at first. Why would you make it harder to achieve optimal yields of your primary crop in order to get more production out of your cover crops? Well, collecting the data on these tradeoffs is exactly what today’s guests have been doing - and they have some very interesting results to share. In fact, you’re going to hear varying levels of success with this system, and I think leave this episode with a very realistic sense of what you may be getting yourself into if you try it. Once again, this audio was taken from the DIRT Workshop this past fall. Go check out the youtube links and other podcasts to take advantage of this amazing resource on soil health!

Today you’ll hear from:

Dr. Lee Briese, Agronomist and Crop Consultant with Centrol Ag Consulting
Dr. Mike Ostlie, Research Agronomist at the NDSU Carrington Research and Extension Center
Dr. Joel Ransom, Agronomist with NDSU Extension

“I guess from my perspective, I still see a lot of potential in the system. If we work on the input management and try to economically make the systems a little more equal then maybe we don’t have to get up to the same yield and still make it pencil out just as well.” - Dr. Mike Ostlie

Both Dr. Ransom and Dr. Briese saw a significant decrease in yield that would not be financially sustainable in their current form. Dr. Briese even remarked that producers should be “careful if you try this.” Where the real potential in this system lies is in the integration of livestock according to Dr. Ostlie and Dr. Briese. This allows for additional value in the system by adding another revenue source. Dr. Ostlie goes on to add another benefit this system may afford producers.

“This is really turning out to be probably one of the most flexible options we have in North Dakota and that's because it allows us to go in there with one or maybe even two herbicide applications in our corn post emergence before we even plant the cover crop. …. It allows us to start with a clean slate in the corn.” - Dr. Mike Ostlie

The system itself is still being defined and developed. All three of our panel agronomists acknowledge that while this is a complicated protocol to use, there is potential for its success for certain operations. At this time more research is needed and planned to fine-tune planting wide row corn.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In many cropping systems, the soil is becoming more and more acidic over time. This is happening to some soils quicker than others. A soil with a pH of 5, as an example, is 100 times more acidic than a neutral pH of 7. As these soils become more acidic, they can start to have problems with nutrient availability, nutrient cycling, and ultimately have an impact on yields. And unfortunately, they’re likely to get worse. We talk about what’s causing this acidification, some important sampling considerations, ways to fix these problems, and ways to slow the acidification from happening in the first place. Once again, this audio was taken from the DIRT Workshop this past fall. Go check out the youtube links and other podcasts to take advantage of this amazing resource on soil health!

Today you’ll hear from:

Dr. Mark Liebig with the USDA ARS located in Mandan, North Dakota
Ryan Buetow an Extension Cropping Systems Specialist at the NDSU Dickinson Research Extension Center.

“A lot of the soils that we have in the southwest part of North Dakota, they don't have the buffering capacity and soil acidification can get real really quick.” - Dr. Mark Liebig

He goes on to say that “we have a widespread global issue with respect to acidification” and that understanding the origin of these issues as well as mitigation efforts that can be made is critical. Sources of decreased pH include rainwater, the mineralization of organic matter, intensive land management with an abundance of applied nitrogen and the aggressive removal of residue on fields. All of these sources in combination make buffering the decreased pH more difficult for the soils to manage with the nitrogen application likely being the most significant. Ryan Buetow highlights the significance of sampling for pH at appropriate depths based on your risk factors. Acidic pH caused by nitrogen is most likely detected near the surface. A deeper sample may dilute the results giving a less representative sample.

“We've been trying a lot of different things. The best fix is really a liming. That's really what we want people to do with this issue.” -Ryan Buetow

Ryan suggests other “bandaid” type fixes like investigating different varieties of crops and adding strategic phosphorus to bind aluminum that becomes more readily available in a lower pH. Ultimately adjusting the overall pH with the use of lyme, although expensive, is the best way to cause widespread correction of the pH and avoid the potential metal toxicities and herbicide interactions associated with an acidic pH.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

The idea of intercropping - or growing two crops at once, has theoretical appeal of creating synergies for pest and disease management, fertility, and overall productivity. But is this really possible in practice? In today’s episode we talk to three applied researchers about what the data shows when it comes to intercropping and relay cropping. We will explore a few different intercropping and relay cropping combinations, the benefits and tradeoffs, and what to consider before trying any of these systems. This audio was taken from the DIRT Workshop this past fall.

Today you’ll hear from:

Dr. Mike Ostlie a research agronomist at the NDSU Carrington Research and Extension Center.
Dr. Marisol Berti a professor in the plant sciences at NDSU
Dr. Russ Gesch a research plant physiologist with USDA ARS in Morris, MN

“When we have more than one crop growing in the field, I think the first thing you have to realize is you're not looking to maximize the yield of either of what you're growing. You're looking for more total yield.” - Dr. Mike Ostlie

It’s important to keep this in mind because producers will likely see some decrease in yield in both crops as opposed to planting them as a single crop. Overall you should appreciate an increase in the efficiency per acre by achieving an overall production increase between the two crops. Dr. Ostlie does suggest identifying a “dominant crop” in order to best target your management practices and meet your individual needs and goals.

Dr. Berti introduces us to the concept of relay cropping. While intercropping involves planting and growing two crops concurrently with the same expected harvest timing, relay cropping involves overlapping life stages of two crops with separate harvests. Dr. Berti sees a lot of benefit in a corn/alfalfa system she is researching. Alfalfa is not profitable during its seeding year but will be the following year so overlapping with another crop allows for ongoing production while waiting for the alfalfa to mature. The biodiversity, nitrogen fixation and improved water infiltration of including the alfalfa will also benefit the overall soil health while producing a concurrent cash crop.

“I don't think farmers should be afraid to try (camelina) out and use it as a cover crop even if they're not going to grow it out to maturity and harvest it because it does have some good cover crop benefits and ecosystem services that it provides.” - Dr. Russ Gesch

Dr. Gesch shares that markets are emerging making the use of intercropping prospects like camelina more profitable for producers. In the meantime benefits such as biodiversity, supporting the insect ecosystem and suppressing weed growth can be of great benefit for producers. All of our experts advise producers to trial these methods on their operations in small amounts at first to limit potential risk while evaluating and adjusting for the most benefit.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Over 90% of producers in North Dakota are experiencing some sort of reduced productivity as a result of salinity. This problem is not unique to North Dakota - it’s happening in many of our most productive agricultural regions. The second problem that we’re going to discuss today, is a separate problem, but in many cases, even more difficult to manage, sodicity. Sodicity can also impede progress in solving salinity issues. Salinity and sodicity are different soil chemistries and require different management strategies. We discussed these topics on our panel at the DIRT Workshop.

Today you’ll hear from:

Naeem Kalwar, Extension Soil Health Specialist at North Dakota State University
Dr. Cheryl Reese, Senior Lecturer in agronomy at South Dakota State University

“The reason we need to care about soil salinity and for that matter sodacity too….is because we lose hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on these kind of spots.” - Naeem Kalwar

With the amount of expense necessary to farm ground including gas prices, land prices, inputs and seed prices, having certain sections that represent a net loss can be detrimental to finances. There are corrections that can be made to improve those soils, improving their profitability and move present salts deeper to cause less harm to crops. Naeem suggests first soil sampling to identify what crops and practices will be most successful in those specific areas.

“Across South Dakota and North Dakota, we have very similar soils and these areas pop up because we have old salty sediments that are from old formations. And if these formations are close to the surface and we have a high water table, then these salts will always come back up to the surface.” - Dr. Cheryl Reese

Dr. Reese highlights the benefits of using perennial salt tolerant grasses to improve erosion and salt concerns while still producing a usable crop. She suggests contacting your local NRCS to get more guidance and assistance with that measure. Dr. Reese also echoes Naeem by emphasizing the importance of soil testing to identify the specific issue and its severity before discussing mitigation practices such as switching crops, adding tiles or adding amendments.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Naeem Kalwar, Extension Soil Health Specialist at North Dakota State University and Dr. Cheryl Reese, Senior Lecturer in agronomy at South Dakota State University
Learn about the harmful effects of salinity and sodicity and what practices can be used to better manage areas affected by these issues
Explore the potential benefits and limitations of adding tiles and additives to correct salinity and sodicity concerns

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

For many farmers on this journey to improve their soil health, incorporating livestock is something they hope to do in the future. This can and will introduce a whole new layer of complexity into the system. How many cattle are appropriate? What will they need in terms of fencing, water, etc.? What will the benefits be to the land? What should be considered in an economic arrangement with a rancher? These were some of the questions discussed on our grazing panel at the DIRT Workshop.

Today you’ll hear from:

Dr. Kevin Sedivec, Extension Rangeland Management Specialist at North Dakota State University Extension and Director of the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center
Dr. Miranda Meehan, Extension Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist also at NDSU
Jerry Doan, rancher from McKenzie, ND

Also on this panel was Mary Keena, Extension Livestock Environmental Management Specialist at NDSU. But you won’t hear from Mary today, as we’re going to do a full episode with her on compost and manure later in this season.

“Just the idea of the hoof action and the urine and the manure that creates this different micro-population that adds a new value and a new component that then benefits your soil microbic population, which then helps you break down and create more organic matter in time. So livestock to me is one of those tools that in my opinion has been a no brainer to add. It's a quick way to add economic return on that land base.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

Dr. Sedivec goes on to highlight that long term management adjustments should be seen as a long term investment. “Don’t expect to see dollar savings the first year you do this.” Continuing soil health practices and incorporating livestock over multiple years will provide the best benefit for producers. Admittedly, it is a complicated process to isolate the value the livestock bring to the cropping system and the cropping system brings to the livestock. Dr. Miranda Meehan is involved in research to better define and answer that problem. Her studies focus on the “carrying capacity” of fields that incorporate the type of cattle to be added, the life-stage they are in, the length of time for grazing and the amount of cover crop residue the producer wants to maintain. She also offers how to choose the appropriate cover crop mixture that works well for your operation and helps “increase nutritional quality and maintain the nutritional plain” for the grazing livestock.

“You know, people ask me all the time, can I build soil health without livestock? And I say, yeah, sure, you can, but you'll get there 10 times faster with livestock.” - Jerry Doan

Doan’s operation has three main goals at the moment; trying to reduce winter feed costs, increasing the soil health of his crop lands and incorporating wildlife preservation into his operation. Doan shares all the many signs he has seen on his land that indicate increased soil health including worm populations and better granulated soil.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

60” corn has been a hot topic in many soil health circles. This wider row spacing can allow for greater light penetration and improve the environment for interseeded cover crop growth. We hosted both a farmer panel and a researcher panel on 60” corn at the DIRT Workshop this past December. In this episode, farmers discuss their system, what yield differences they’ve seen, timing and harvesting considerations, grazing value, crop insurance, and more. To meet these producers and watch the panel discussions click the links below to find the NDSU soil health Youtube channel.

Joe Breker, farmer from Rutland, North Dakota
Chris Walberg, farmer/rancher from Leonard, North Dakota
Tyler Zimmerman, farmer from Leaonard, North Dakota

Also on this panel was Mike Schaefer, who actually planted a full vegetable garden between corn rows on a small plot in New Rockford, North Dakota. We don’t get into that full story today, but I encourage you to check out his video on Youtube.

“It isn’t that the broad pass covers or interseeding covers didn’t work. It just wasn’t as consistent for the following year as I would like to see….I have never had a consistent cover as I have right now going into winter.” - Joe Breker

Joe shares that in spreading out his rows, adding cover crops and applying more fertilizer he did not see a large yield reduction in the cash crop. His goal going forward is to improve weed control by adjusting his cover crop mixture without affecting the yield further. Chris Walberg's goals in widening his rows was to add species diversity and a grazing program to his operation. This further highlights the advice from last episode, that knowing your goals with cover crops and planting will affect the program that best fits your operation. While he did confirm a decreased yield, he has yet to see how having the extra forage and decreased inputs will affect his financial bottom line. Chris is “pretty happy with the biomass” produced and looks forward to it grazing well this winter. He has also seen the added benefit of weed suppression with the additional growth of his cover crops. Both Joe and Chris had very little issue with harvesting and remarked on the harvest ease.

“If you can get a cash crop growing full season and still have a cover crop out there, I just think it's a win in all different aspects with the biology and stuff in the soil.” - Tyler Zimmerman

Tyler has not seen a financial gain at the moment but he does see the long term benefits with better soil health and will continue to make adjustments to hopefully achieve that. All of our producers are encouraged by the immediate results and plan on making future adjustments to continue to finetune the practice to their individual operations.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We were able to capture some of the best information out there about soil health at the DIRT Workshop last December thanks to some fantastic speakers and some tremendous audience engagement.Today’s episode focuses on cover crops. You’ll hear from:

Dr. Hans Kandel, a South Dakota State University Professor and Extension Agronomist
Dr. Matt Ruark, a soil scientist from the University of Wisconsin at Madison
Dr. Dave Franzen, a professor and extension soil health specialist also at North Dakota State University

“There is not one cocktail or species that does best. It depends really on the wishes of the producer but there are many opportunities.” - Dr. Hans Kandel

Dr. Kandel prefers to think about using cover crops as a “mimicking of nature.” Multi-species growth is a natural occurrence in the prairie region so growing multiple species simultaneously is naturally supported by the ecosystem. He explains that different cover crops are better suited for different outcomes. If you are looking for something to be sustained throughout the winter then a winter hardy crop like winter rye, winter wheat or camelina may be the best fit. For added nitrogen, peas may work best. Another consideration may be susceptibility to potential disease transfer. Mixes of species have the potential of achieving multiple goals but they also add the concern that you may be watering down some specific benefits by adding more plants that will compete for the same resources. Ultimately the main priority for the producer helps inform the best cover crop and the best timing and method for seeding.

“What gets me the most excited about evaluating cover crops is trying to get the use of legumes in rotation because it does have that short term economic benefit of supplying some nitrogen.” - Dr. Matt Ruark

Dr. Ruark focused his discussion on the benefits of biomass with legumes and how to best manage their growth. “That’s the trick with legumes….for me the legumes are strictly a biomass game….The more biomass you have the more nitrogen release you have.”Of course sometimes that biomass can be overwhelming. Dr. Ruark suggests that you can either use excess biomass as a forage source, you can terminate early to reduce the amount of biomass produced or you can adjust your nitrogen fertilizer application. He does highlight that we are still at the “mercy of the weather patterns, especially in the spring” for growth of cover crops after harvest so control is never absolute.

“I think just being aware and knowing that you’ve got to manage the thing instead of just let it grow until you plant. You have to keep your eyes open and use some common sense when you have cover crops in the west.” - Dr. Dave Franzen

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

The DIRT Workshop was held virtually this past December. Because the event was held virtually we were able to gain access to some great speakers and panelists that inspired very important discussion. The result is some of the best information out there about soil health, all concentrated in one event. We have recorded some outstanding audio from that event that I think will be tremendously valuable to include in this podcast. Today’s episode focuses on tillage. You’ll hear from:

Anthony Bly, a South Dakota State University Soils Field Specialist and farmer who went full no till back in 1992 about some of the changes he’s seen both on his farm and others.
Dr. Aaron Daigh, a soil physicist with North Dakota State University about what’s physically happening to the soil when it is tilled and what changes if we stop.
Dr. Caley Gasch, a soil ecologist with North Dakota State University, who will share about what happens with soil biology when we reduce tillage.

“That’s the age old question that we’ve heard for many years as well, “I can’t do that here”.......I know because I’ve seen it that these practices will work with about any soil situation but it takes adherence to the soil health principles.” - Anthony Bly

Anthony goes on to share examples of different soil types that have found success in the soil health principles including his own. He explains his experience with making the adjustment on his own operation and the journey he has seen including “the soil is just stronger.” He shares that farmers are concerned that it may be too hard for a crop to grow but it provides the support, soil biology and water filtration that benefit the crops greatly.

“We have research that shows it can be done and what the constraints are when you change to a new system. We work to try to figure out how do we get past some of those restraints but there’s plenty of folks around….that are doing it right now and have been doing it for quite some time and quite successfully.” - Dr. Aaron Daigh

Dr. Daigh suggests that it took time for the technology to catch up with the no till practice and we are there now. He does allow that there are many variables from one operation to the next which will form the expectations that are possible on what timeline in different areas. The overall goal of increased production with decreased inputs is possible with adjustments for each individual type of soil. Ultimately preserving the aggregates and structure of the soil allows for better water and air penetration which leads to better availability for the crops. “Tilling for the purpose of drying the soil, you might get a wee bit of drying there but you’re working backwards on your drainage.”

“The natural tendency of a soil is to develop that beautiful structure and host so much biological activity that can translate to producing a healthier crop.” - Dr. Caley Gasch

After reducing tillage Dr. Gasch recommends cover crops to improve soil quality. “Plants are the foundation of the soil food web…..and so having growing plants is the next most important thing after you reduce your tillage.” As a soil ecologist Dr. Gasch focuses her efforts on the changes in soil biology with decreased tillage and use of cover crops. She suggests feeding your soils with organic material such as residue or manure. She does not feel microbial testing is necessary for each producer, rather, monitoring for symptoms of biological activity is sufficient.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

This is our final episode of season three. What a great season it has been! To close out season three, we wanted to bring you a highlight reel from the recent DIRT workshop. However, with two full days of material and dozens of experts weighing in on a variety of topics - there was no way to condense things down to a 30 minute Soil Sense episode. So instead, I chose to pull clips from four different individuals, each of which weighed in on a different panel during the DIRT Workshop.

Today’s guests were chosen not only for great information and stories, but also because they have not yet been featured on this podcast.You’ll hear from Steven Schuster, a farmer in Minto, North Dakota, talking about strip tillage, then will hear from Stefan Gailans, who is with the Practical Farmers of Iowa talking about cover crops, then Russ Gesch from USDA ARS based out of Morris, MN who shared about relay cropping, and will finish today’s episode with rancher Jerry Doan from McKenzie, ND who describes some of this practices grazing cover crops.

“It’s not necessarily about getting the highest yield. It’s about having the most profit from the yield that you are getting, and controlling risk.” - Steven Schuster

“A living cover crop is still standing up. Those row units can move through that a little better, so that they don’t plug. They can cut through the cover crop in the soil, get good depth control, and cover up that furrow again.” - Stefan Gailans (on planting soybeans green)

“We call these winter oilseed ‘cash cover crops’, because we’re wanting to harvest them to tap into new markets, but also getting those environmental benefits of using it as a cover crop.” - Russ Gesch, Ph.D. (on relay cropping camelina/soybean)

“When I was growing up, it was wheat and summer fallow, and half of that soil is in South Dakota because that’s where it blew to back in those days. And I didn’t know if we could bring those soils back...and we’ve been really impressed by how we ARE bringing those back.” - Jerry Doan

This Week on Soil Sense:

Steven Schuster, farmer from Minto, ND talks about strip tillage
Stefan Gailans, research and field crops director for the Practical Farmers of Iowa talks about cover crops
Russ Gesch, Ph.D., research plant physiologist with USDA ARS in Morris, MN on relay cropping camelina
Jerry Doan, rancher from McKenzie, ND on grazing cover crops

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Bill Spiegel is on the show today. You may know him as the Crops Editor for Successful Farming Magazine but he is also a farmer and soil health advocate. Over the last 20 years he has worked to eliminate tillage and incorporate cover crops into his operation in Kansas. Dr. Abbey Wick also joins us from the NDSU Extension to reflect on her collaboration with Bill. When he first started to explore soil health, Bill had to convince his dad.

“No-till just seemed to make sense because we're in about a 24 inch rainfall area and so water was always our limiting factor….. I think at that time I kept hearing anytime you pull a disc through the field, you're going to lose two inches of soil moisture. So…. if that's our most limiting factor and we can reduce our soil evaporation and transpiration then I think we'll be money ahead” - Bill Spiegel

Bill has since added cover crops to his rotation which at the time of his first attempt was considered a very “unique” practice. His hope with cover crops was to increase yields but the surprising unexpected benefits included much better weed control and a significant decrease in soil erosion. Bill found support in his soil health practices in Abbey Wick even though she is in North Dakota and not nearby his Kansas operation.

“The great part of soil health is just the culture of soil health and the ways that farmers, researchers, extension and consultants, like we say, for this podcast, the way they all interact.” Dr. Abbey Wick

Bill echoes Dr. Wick’s sentiment. He found that the support and community he experienced when he started engaging with others involved in promoting soil health practices was “cool” and “unique.”

This Week on Soil Sense:

Bill Spiegel is a farmer and Crops Editor for Successful Farming Magazine
Learn about Bill’s introduction to no-till and his experiences with its practice
Discover the many ways Bill has continued to encourage the health of the soil on his operation with cover crops and grazing efforts
Explore the collaboration opportunities within the soil health community

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

While no-till and cover crops are slowly gaining popularity in the area, the Olson operation has been pursuing their practices for 17 years. As though that doesn’t make their operation unique enough, Kari Olson is a young female farmer who got the opportunity to farm her own ground early on shortly after graduation. While some have underestimated her abilities she has proven herself and continues to expand and learn all she can from her dad as he transitions the family land to her charge.

Kari has participated in the cafe talks with Dr. Abbey Wick. Because of those discussions she went on to explore different cover crop species, techniques and even saved some of her rye for seed to reduce the risk of added weed populations. She has also recently hired someone to manage cattle grazing her cover crops to enhance the soil health of her fields and increase their organic material.

“We've been soil testing every third year and, you know, watching the rates of nutrients and they’re staying up there. We still have to fertilize, but we're starting to cut back on that. Organic matter isn't decreasing anymore. It's starting to slowly increase.” - Kari Olson

One problem she is trying to mitigate is the temperature of her soils which caused her corn emergence to be off. She attributes this to the residue remaining on the surface and blocking sun exposure. New equipment and new cover crops are all on the horizon to manage this issue.

While she feels they haven’t achieved all the potential they will with their soil health, she has noticed a difference in the soil structure. She found the fields much more consistent and easier to manage. Kari hopes to not only preserve the ground she has been trusted with but to continue to improve it so that future generations will have the opportunities that she was able to find and take advantage of.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Kari Olson, a young beginning farmer, who shares her perspective on soil health and the practices her operation uses
Explore Kari’s experience with cover crops and no-till
Learn about the challenges she has faced and the adjustments she has made

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th:* www.DIRTWorkshopND.com**

Interest continues to rise in incorporating livestock into production systems. Through funding from a SARE grant, brother and sister duo Erin and Drew Gaugler have been experimenting with bale grazing. We talk about their findings from implementing this approach, including how it has impacted soil health and the performance of their cattle.

Drew returned to the family ranch in southwest North Dakota after working in oil fields around the world. Erin works full time as a Range Research Specialist at NDSU’s Central Grasslands Research Extension Center near Streeter and is still actively involved in the operation. They applied for a grant from SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program) to implement and evaluate a new bale grazing technique.

“I guess what we've realized has been a real benefit ...is that bail grazing can be set up in lots of different ways, depending on your interest, your resources and your commitment to time involved with it, or wanting to have less to do with it.” - Erin Gaugler

Sections are isolated with temporary fencing and rotated to concentrate and control the cattle’s effects on the field. The initial goal for the operation was to reduce feeding costs for cattle. Drew has observed soil health benefits, a reduction in labor costs and an improvement in the cattle behavior and stress levels. Initially there was concern that the left over residue would hinder future perennial crop growth if not redistributed. However, Drew shares that the residue left from the hay has not required any additional management and has encouraged perennial crop growth.

“On one soil test spot it had roughly three pounds of available nitrogen per acre and the direct bale grazing response went to 70 pounds of available nitrogen per acre. That’s a drastic spot but that was to show how change can be fueled.” - Drew Gaugler

While not every location experienced that marked of an improvement, overall both Drew and Erin observed impressive results by virtue of added organic material and bale residue. In addition to soil health, another benefit is the flexibility of this system which could allow a producer to focus on bale grazing efforts only a couple days a week giving them the opportunity to pursue other goals concurrently.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th:* www.DIRTWorkshopND.com**

Extension has a rich history in keeping producers informed and up to date. Dr. Greg Lardy has seen the growth and expansion of these programs and gives us insight into what makes the extension valuable and how it is adapting to the changing times. A beef cattle nutritionist by training, Dr. Lardy is currently the Vice President for Agricultural Affairs at North Dakota State University. In this capacity, he serves as the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources; the Director of the NDSU Extension, and the Director of the North Dakota Experiment Station. So basically day-today he is tasked with managing all activities that relate to agriculture at NDSU.

“How we deliver programs has changed, but the core mission of what we do in terms of using education to transform lives and help people see a better future and achieve a better future is really still at the very heart of what we do” - Dr. Greg Lardy

Dr. Lardy remembers as a child visiting the extension building to find a wall of printed bulletins that producers could look through to find answers to their questions. Producers are now accessing internet sources to find these answers. Keeping research and information more readily accessible has been a priority for the extension program whether that be online, in person or in printed material. Beyond offering the information, Dr. Lardy also emphasizes the importance of creating measurable metrics to identify the efficacy of the information being shared. Going forward, Dr. Lardy sees the need for a continual and perpetual push for connectivity with producers and consumers.

“Even though we are engaged right now with stakeholders, we've got to be more engaged with listening to the needs of our constituents and taxpayers out there. What are they saying? What do they need to help them live better lives across the state of North Dakota?” - Dr Greg Lardy

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Greg Lardy, Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources and the Director of the NDSU Extension
Explore the core mission of the Extension Program and what it offers producers
Discover how the program is continually evolving to be more accessible and stay relevant with producers and their needs.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th:* www.DIRTWorkshopND.com**

“What can I do to correct low pH in no-till systems in a corn/soybean rotation? Here in southeast South Dakota, we’ve got a lot of low pH areas and fields and it is a pretty big challenge to get them corrected.” - Brad Farrell

To answer this question, we are joined by Nathan Thomas, a fourth generation farmer from southwest North Dakota, and Ryan Buetow, a NDSU Extension Cropping Systems specialist based out of the Dickinson Research Extension Center. Nathan and Ryan have been collaborating to manage the low pH on Nathan’s farm and share their findings and plans going forward.

“We’re really seeing (acidity) where that nitrogen is being put every year. The higher the amount of nitrogen, the quicker it’s going to happen especially at the edges of the field where they are turning around and maybe accidentally putting on twice the amount of nitrogen.” - Ryan Buetow

This has generally gone unnoticed over the years because most soil testing involves a deep sample which may dilute the acidic pH that is found closer to the surface of the soil. Decreasing unnecessary nitrogen applications, increasing organic matter and trying humic acid inputs are the many strategies Nathan is trying to increase the pH in the soil. Acidic pH allows for a more significant bioavailability of the aluminum and manganese naturally found in soils to the crops. Some crops seem to be more sensitive to these soil chemistry changes than others. Lime applications are the typical treatment for acidic soils but are less effective without the physical incorporation of tilling it into the soil which creates an additional challenge for no-till operations.

“We started to look into lime right away, and we found three available sources that we could use (pellet, sugar beet, water treatment). They all have positives and negatives.” - Nathan Thomas

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Nathan Thomas, a farmer in southwest North Dakota, and Ryan Buetow, a NDSU Extension Cropping Systems specialist
Explore what causes acidic soils and how that can affect crops
Discover the challenges of treating acidic soils especially in no-till systems

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th:* www.DIRTWorkshopND.com**

The right mindset isn’t just something you can set and forget. Farmers that choose to pursue soil health in their practices have changed how they view their relationship and impact on the soil. This mindset has to be maintained continuously over time. That goes for soil health, but it also goes for mental health as well. That’s the topic for today’s episode. Uncertainty, which is par for the course in agriculture, can really amplify stress and anxiety. Add on to that the desire to try new practices and a challenging economic environment, and you have a recipe for a very high stress environment.

“Farmers are faced with so many uncontrollables, uncertainties and unknowns any of which can ultimately determine success or failure in their operation....That really affects mental health in the sense that they can work and work and plan and put in effort and at the end of the day, it’s something outside of their control that’s impacting them.” - Monica McConkey, LPC

Monica McConkey is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and rural mental health specialist with Eyes on the Horizon Consulting. Her main contract is with the farm business management program in Minnesota. This is a legislatively funded position involved with mental health outreach for farmers and farm families throughout the state. She meets with farmers several times per week helping them with the unique stressors that farmers face. Monica grew up on a farm and understands farming.

“Our farmers are dealing with chronic stress, years of difficult commodity prices and some regulatory issues that some have dealt with. It's just a difficult time. So it's not like the changes happen overnight. It's been years of accumulating stress that has caused them to be more isolating.” - Monica McConkey, LPC

Isolation, family dynamics and access to mental health care are additional pressures felt by rural communities. Oftentimes, these stressors are minimized as part of the agriculture experience. Monica recommends paying attention to those closest with you and if they have mentioned that “they are worried about you” or “you don’t seem the same as before” then perhaps it is time to reach out for help. Generally others will notice it about their peers before they can identify it in themselves. Disruption of baseline functioning in habits such as sleep, panic attacks, or interruptions in being able to do what you need to are all red flags for a struggling mental health.

“So if there's lessons to learn from the past or mistakes or regrets, take those lessons, but then you need to move in one direction and that's forward. And there's no easy trick for doing that. It is really intentional thinking.” - Monica McConkey, LPC

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Monica McConkey, a rural mental health specialist with Eyes on the Horizon Consulting
Discover how rural mental health presents its own unique challenges
Explore the different ways intentional thinking can affect your day to day functioning
Learn about how to find resources in your community and reach out if you think you might benefit from some additional help

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th:* www.DIRTWorkshopND.com**

Finding the best fit for your operation takes consideration, planning and a willingness to try new things. Paul Thomas, a farmer near Velva, North Dakota, exemplifies these ideals. Paul joins us to discuss his experience with no till, growing lentils underseeded with alfalfa, trying an oat/pea intercop and relay cropping soybeans into spring wheat and oats. Paul reflects on what strategies have shown the most benefit for him and his farm.

“I think managing those crop rotations and having the right amount of residue on your soil and the right amount of residue to feed the biology in the soil is probably as important if not more important than even the tillage practice or seeding practice that you choose to use.” - Paul Thomas

Paul took over farming healthy soils from his father’s organic practices and has continued to try to build his soil organic matter, although he chose to do so without keeping all of the organic practices. Through cover crops, intercropping, and relay crops, he is attempting to keep living roots in his system as much as possible.

“If you just try and copy someone else’s system and that’s not where you’re really at, where your heart’s at or where your goals are at, it's probably not going to work for you.” - Paul Thomas

Paul emphasizes the effects of having active root systems in his fields always. He highlights that it doesn’t have to have a lot of growth above the soil to provide benefit below the soil. Cover crops are what has been most beneficial for him. Some of his trials have gone as planned and some have not, relay cropping being one of them. He is rethinking that process and possibly introducing canola. Paul’s focus is efficiency and economics and with that in mind he will always be rethinking and tweaking his process to make his operation the best it can be.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Paul Thomas, a farmer near Velva, North Dakota
Discover how Paul has incorporated different practices into his operation
Explore the lessons he has learned and the choices he has made
Learn about his philosophy towards farming with a focus on efficiency and economics

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

*Join us virtually at the DIRT Workshop December 8th - 9th: www.DIRTWorkshopND.com*

Incorporating livestock into your soil health program can seem daunting. Dr. Miranda Meehan is the Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist at NDSU Extension in the Animal Sciences Department. Her current research focuses on grazing management of cover crops. While cover crops can encourage soil health the return on investment may take some years to realize.

“The best way to get an economic return quickly on implementing or integrating cover crops is by integrating livestock into that system.” - Dr. Miranda Meehan

To date there isn’t a lot of research specifically focused on the impacts of grazing management within cover crop systems. Dr. Meehan is working on better defining some key factors to help producers plan out their options.

The terminology can be confusing but Dr. Meehan breaks it down for us. Stock density is the “number of animals per unit area.” Stocking rate is a “management decision on the number of animals we put out there” based on the number and type of cattle you intend to use. Carrying capacity is the available forage for those animals to graze. Dr. Meehan would like to be able to give farmers the list of soil health benefits as well as the economic benefits.

“We want to take a closer look at that so we could answer those questions and provide that information and hopefully enhance management within grazing cover crop systems.” - Dr. Miranda Meehan

Dr. Meehan recommends contacting your county extension agent to start determining the stocking rate and carrying capacity of your operation. There is also a grazing calculator app available on iTunes or Google Play that will help calculate some of those options. The county extension can also help you determine what cattle in what phase of production would best fit your cover crop options. Dr. Meehan recommends partnering with a livestock producer in your area when first trialing livestock management on cover crops and building from there.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Miranda Meehan, Livestock Environmental Stewardship Specialist at NDSU Extension in the Animal Sciences Department
Explore what ongoing research is happening to better define livestock management options for grazing cover crops
Discover how Dr. Meehan recommends starting this process on your operation

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Agriculture teachers are responsible for not only teaching agricultural principles to the youth of today but also for encouraging their experience in agriculture and to promote leadership in whatever field they choose. Whitney Landman joins us from Larimore High School in Larimore, North Dakota. Whitney teaches both junior high and high school classes starting with introductory classes and ranging all the way to ag mechanics and community development.

“We always try to start with that intro level and exploring….so that we can bounce up into other concepts as well when they are older.” - Whitney Landman

Beyond the classroom, Whitney is also the FFA advisor. Her students are encouraged to participate in career development events and leadership development events. These events promote public speaking, leadership roles, agronomy identification and business management skills.

“The mission of agriculture education is to prepare students for successful careers and choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resource system…..So my goal, and I think a lot of teachers’ goal as they lead the ag ed program, is that our students find a career that they love, whether that's in ag or not.” - Whitney Landman

Whitney highlights the importance of hands on experience for her students and the significant impact that can have on her students' interest and concept understanding. She likes to see them “get active with the content” to encourage curiosity and excitement. Support from the NRCS helps her achieve these goals in allowing students to experiment with different soil health protocols including the effects of wind erosion and conventional tillage. She happily uses resources including local farmers to give her students more opportunity to see agriculture in action and learn skills they might not be able to gain otherwise.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Whitney Landman, an agricultural education teacher from Larimore High School in Larimore, North Dakota
Learn about the many classes her program offers to its students
Explore what she finds most effective for teaching new concepts to students
Hear about the many collaborations she has engaged in to give her students the most opportunity to learn

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Agronomists play a significant role in following the progressive research in agronomic practices and assisting farmers in their operations. Jason Hanson is an Independent Crop Consultant with Rock and Roll Agronomy based in Webster, North Dakota. Jason has a long history of providing objective agronomic information to farmers and today he shares his take on what the role of his agronomist is. He also shares his perspective on cover crops which are slowly gaining popularity in his area.

“It’s about managing sunlight on the ground. It’s that simple. When it comes to weed control, that's where a cover crop can come in and provide you part of that deal, so you don’t have growth. It’s just a different way of doing it. You’re not dumping something in the sprayer, you’re putting something in the air seeder to do that.” - Jason Hanson

Jason shares the importance of networking and forming relationships with scientists and producers in your area to learn about new ideas and technologies. He is forever learning and forever adjusting his recommendations based on the environmental circumstances producers are presented with.

“Logistics beats agronomy seven days a week.” - Jason Hanson

Jason adjusts his recommendations and expectations based on many factors just as the goals and opportunities of his producers are also dynamic. If a planting window shifts plans are adjusted to accommodate it. He sees the future of agriculture being an interest in inputs with regards to carbon levels and biological activity. “Everyone wants the quick easy answer…..and it's complicated,” shares Jason.

“To me, that is the next step where ag is going. It’s going to be finding those things that we can use to enhance disease control, nutrient uptake, and yield potential, that are naturally occurring.” - Jason Hanson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Jason Hanson an Independent Crop Consultant with Rock and Roll Agronomy
Learn about his approach to agronomy with his clients and with staying on top of ongoing research and developments
Hear about what he thinks is the most significant benefit to cover crops
Explore “Agronomy on Ice” and learn how to join your agronomic community

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

We have talked about cover crops a lot on this podcast. Today we speak with both a farmer and an extension agronomist about the decision-making required to introduce cover crops into an operation. Greg Amundson is a 4th generation farmer who farms with his dad near Gilby, North Dakota. Amundson began his venture with cover crops through an EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) with the NRCS. He explains how he approaches farming from a strict bottom line perspective when he says “I don’t push for top yields. I push for the top return.”

“You don’t learn from your successes, you learn from your failures. So if you don’t fail, you don’t know if what you’re doing is right or wrong.” Greg Amundson

We are also joined by Greg Endres, a Cropping Systems Specialist with NDSU Extension. Endres focuses his efforts on bringing more data to cover crop decision making as cover crops are generally new to many productions. He hopes to make the information available to producers in order to make the most informed and beneficial decisions.

“If we have university data for people as a starting point for cover crops, that’ll give them a better chance of being successful with their cover crop and soil health program.” - Greg Endres

Endres shares that there is not a “one size fits all” to success with cover crops. Environmental factors and crop rotation considerations must be taken into account when making decisions about what cover crops to plant and when. “It all boils down to the amount of moisture and especially timely moisture,” explains Endres. While a cover crop can provide many benefits to the soil he cautions producers from discounting the amount of soil moisture the rye or other cover crop will take up and eliminate from any interseeded crops. One study is exploring the measurement of soil moisture to determine the rye termination date with the understanding that a poorly timed killing of the rye can adversely affect the yield of the main cash crop. While interseeding with a cover crop can present this risk of limited resources for crop yield, as always there are many apparent benefits to be factored in.

“The winter rye can serve as a substitute for a pre-emergence soil applied herbicide. So in other words, you can either use rye as a suppressant and terminate the rye when appropriate. That rye will hold back weeds quite nicely. And it can be a substitute for a soil applied herbicide…..So you’re trading management with herbicide usage.” - Greg Endres

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Greg Endres, a Cropping Systems Specialist at NDSU Extension and Greg Amundson, a fourth generation farmer in North Dakota.
Explore how Amundson approaches the addition of cover crops to his operation and the improvements he has observed
Learn from Endres about ongoing research and factors that affect your cover crop selections and management

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we focus on interseeding cover crops with forage quality in mind and exciting areas for ongoing research. We are joined by Dr. Marisol Berti, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University, and Dr. Yvonne Lawley, an Assistant Professor in the Plant Science Department at the University of Manitoba.

“When people want to get into cover crops….we can’t really give you a recipe. We need to know what do you want the cover crops for? You know, if you want forage in the fall or forage in the spring, you’re going to have to change some practices.” - Dr. Marisol Berti

Dr. Berti found that intercropping corn with legumes such as alfalfa will provide a good forage and from a behavioral standpoint encourage the cattle to graze the field for longer periods of time in the winter because of a windbreak provided by the corn stocks. Unfortunately, there was not evidence of usable nitrogen left in the soil for the next crop. So if there isn’t the added benefit of nitrogen with interseeding, how do producers recover the added expense of cover crops while still providing forage?

“One way to get it back is when you raise cover crops, animals gain weight and that actually pays for the cover crops. So integrating with livestock really pays for the cover crops.” - Dr. Marisol Berti

Dr. Lawley shares that “science is exciting because one idea leads to a new question.” Many were surprised about the lack of nitrogen fixation after adding a legume to the corn crop. She shares that the research is ongoing and we are learning more about these fundamental processes which allow us to recommend agronomic adjustments. That in turn will allow for more accurate predictions of benefits and risks for producers.

"We wanted to harness all of the potential of corn as a feed crop but then use intercropping to overcome some of its weaknesses." - Dr. Yvonne Lawley

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Marisol Berti and Dr. Yvonne Lawley
Explore the benefits of interseeding corn with forage type cover crops and find out how to get the most benefit out of the process
Learn about ongoing research to understand the processes involved in this technique in production

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Gil Gullickson is the Crops Technology Editor at Successful Farming Magazine. Over the last three decades he has reported on agriculture in multiple publications. He has the benefit of having years of experience studying and discussing movements and changes in agriculture. Gil grew up on a farm in South Dakota. That background has greatly influenced his reporting style.

“So I kind of try to put myself in those shoes, in that neighborhood I grew up, and ask those questions that my neighbors would want to ask.” - Gil Gullickson

Gil has been able to watch, reflect and report on the incorporation of soil health building practices into operations. Apart from the soil health benefits he has seen farmers gain more financial flexibility by pursuing soil health initiatives with year round cropping and calls it a “phenomenal impact.” Gil said he has observed that many of these soil health changes made over time have been a welcomed by-product of a focus on better water management practices.

“It’s not about no-till, it's not about cover crops. It’s not about diverse rotations. It's not about soil microbes. It's not about bio-engineered soil. It's about water management and these are all tools that enable farmers to better manage water.” - Gil Gullickson

Some operations not only improve their soil health but can save money from the onset in some soil health practices. Gil shares the significance of a great idea or movement taking time to marinate, develop and grow. He uses the example of an article he published called “Surefire Ways to Sustain Your Farm” that evolved overtime by gathering different farmers' perspectives. He maintains that when evaluating technology the bottom line has to be prominent in the decision making.

“When you’re adopting technology make sure it's going to return investment on your farm.” Gil Gullickson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Gil Gullickson a seasoned agriculture journalist who currently works as the Crops Technology Editor at Successful Farming Magazine
Gil reflects on the changes and trends in soil health over the last few decades
Explore the many reasons farmers get involved in soil health practices that extend beyond the benefits to the soil itself

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Very little in this world is all or none and soil health protocols are no different. There is no one size fits all for every operation. “There’s a grey area in between that needs to be addressed” says Woody Van Arkel, a farmer in Ontario. Woody shares that some crops, specifically vegetable farming, require special handling and field management that cannot exclude all tilling practices. This resonates well with Central Crop Consulting Agronomist Dr. Lee Briese.

“I work with enough farmers that do a lot of different things and you understand right away that there’s more than one way to do things. ….The goal here is to produce a crop and do it well while protecting the resources.” - Dr. Lee Briese

Lee recommends having producers create well defined “clear and attainable” goals such as managing water, managing soil or reducing erosion. While profitability is the underlying mission that isn’t specific enough to focus your efforts. A well-framed goal will create a measurable benchmark to better evaluate for change and success. Lee also cautions producers from “painting themselves into a corner” by prematurely picking the cover crop they would like to start with. He recommends considering what herbicides you want to use and how the residue will be managed and then determine the cover crop that best fits that program. Being flexible and considering long term planning with outcomes is critical to the success of new practices. While using these recommendations, Woody has been persuaded to choose a different cover crop mix than he would have otherwise.

“The goal is maybe not so much cover crop diversity as getting the living root system established that works. A practical system that works for the biggest part.” - Woody Van Arkel

The collaboration of Woody and Lee has created a healthy dynamic of seeking advice and not just validation. Because every situation and operation is unique they bounce ideas off of each other in order to decide what would be the best fit towards Woody’s goals.

“Using my scientific background and my experiences to try to...reduce his risk is really the way I see this for growers is just trying to make things fit so that it fits their farm, their machinery, their timing, their goals, to reduce their risk.” - Dr. Lee Briese

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Woody Van Arkel a farmer in Ontario
Explore the collaboration created between him and agronomist Dr. Lee Briese
Learn the philosophy these two share in regards to soil health practices

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I’m always curious about the stories behind soil health and how the farmers choose to use these practices. And so I was wondering if someone could help answer a question on how they got started in soil health, the practices they may have tried over the years, things that worked and didn’t work, and what they’re going to try in the future to keep these practices going on their farm? ” - Dr. Abbey Wick, NDSU Extension Soil Health Specialist

Kerry Swindler farms near Mott, North Dakota. He started no-tilling in the early 80s and became involved in the ManDak Zero-Till Association, which was a group of pioneering farmers interested in creating healthier soils in Manitoba and North Dakota.

“When we started no-tilling in the early 80’s. That was part of the challenge for us is getting some of the organic matter back into the soil so that it would just stay where it belongs. It wouldn’t blow so easy, it wouldn’t wash when we had a heavy rain.” - Kerry Swindler

Kerry describes the major shifts in soil management protocols that began with hopes of preventing further soil erosion. During a sunflower harvest, Kerry noticed how difficult it was to move the combine across the field due to a loss of top soil. That started them “down a path” of transitioning to no-till. Kerry reports “it didn’t take long to start seeing some of the benefits.”

“The first thing, there was a lot less wind erosion. Right out of the gate… It didn’t take too many years and we started seeing a bump up in our organic matter of our soils….It was exciting to see.” - Kerry Swindler

After 40 years of no-till practices he is noticing a plateau of added benefits but he is not done. He wants to continue to improve his fields and is now exploring cover crops. “I think there’s more to go and that's where I am.”

“I’m happy with where we are….. I hesitate to even think what it would look like if we hadn’t done this. It would be a disaster.” - Kerry Swindler

Follow the linkwww.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I’ve been farming for 40 years and for the last 4 years we’ve adopted an approach of conservation agriculture and have shifted to no till drilling. I suppose like many of my generation, have firmly embraced the physical side of managing our soils and the chemical side of managing our soils. But it’s only recently while appreciating how important our soil is that I’ve looked at the biology of our soils. How do we make that subject more understandable to more farmers than it currently is?” - Paul Temple, Farmer from the United Kingdom

Dr. Samiran Banerjee is a Professor of Microbiology at North Dakota State University. His focus of study includes understanding microbial patterns in agricultural soils and determining what drives their functions.

“The microbial world is complex but really important. Microbes are really important for soil functioning. Microbes are important for crop health and soil health. Although we cannot see them we have to understand them.” - Dr. Samiran Banerjee

Dr. Banerjee is involved in the Soil Microbiome Project at NDSU. “We collected samples from over 200 farms….and at 3 different stages of crops,” shares Dr Banerjee. They then set out to identify microbial patterns and influencers. They hope to create a database of microbial patterns including populations, drivers and functions at different times during the growing season. With this information, an index will be developed which will demonstrate what different practices could impact specific soil microbial properties.

“We want to link the soil microbial information to the management information to find out what changes we can make to promote crop beneficial microbes.” Dr. Samirin Banerjee

This could impact soil biological applications, what inputs could promote productivity of an optimal microbiome and help to predict microbial patterns in soil. Providing this practical tailored information to the farmer gives them valuable insight into the microscopic health of their soil.

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“We’ve been having significant rain events the last couple of years. 2 inches, 3 inches, 5 inches at a time. And I’m just curious, what can I do in my soil health program to ensure that the soil keeps as much rainfall as possible? I hate to see soil leaving my fields after working so hard in no till and cover crops to keep it in place.” - Bill Spiegel, Kansas Farmer and Successful Farming Magazine Editor

Dr. Aaron Daigh is an Associate Professor of Soil Physics and Hydrology at North Dakota State University in the Soil Science Department. His focus is studying how things move in the ground including water, chemicals, heat and the soil itself.

“When you get very heavy rainfall…..you can count on no matter what you’re doing out in the field that some portion of that is going to go to runoff because most soils just simply cannot take in that much water in that short of a period.” - Dr. Aaron Daigh

The water that is absorbed by the soil then adds value based on where it is stored. If it is stored shallow, in the first 6 inches, you can run into issues with “root rot, fungal diseases, wilting and drowning of that crop. “The portion of the water that goes deeper into the soil profile is ideal because you put water to where it can be stored for later for that crop when it’s needed.” Another added benefit to having water infiltrate deeper in the soil profile is keeping the soil stronger which will reduce future erosion and support equipment during harvest. Dr. Daigh suggests farmers make every attempt to not disrupt the soil anymore than necessary in order to increase its strength and contribute to water infiltration.

“Reducing the amount of disturbance that you have to that soil through aggressive tillage practices, helps get more water down these big macro pores that move water down deeper into the soil profile to be stored and prevent abundance of runoff and water erosion.” Dr. Aaron Daigh

Cover crops will also reduce disruption of soil by major rainfall which can be substantial. “The higher the residue rate, the slower that water’s going to move across and have a chance to infiltrate down into the soil and prevent what is running off from picking up speed as it goes down the landscape.”

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“How do farmers add more crops in their cropping rotation and manage the complexity of doing that in their farm operation?” - Jocelyn Velsestuk, Independent Agronomy Consultant for Western Ag, the President of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association and a Director of The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission

Dr. David Ripplinger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. He considers himself “an economist by training” but also a “systems thinker” and joins us to address Jocelyn's question.

“I would start with extension. Go and talking to folks like us to get some information.” - Dr. David Ripplinger

Dr. Ripplinger has some calculated budgets that can give possible projected yields and earnings for the farmer to understand what the outcome of a more complex operation may be. He asks farmers to consider the economics, the impact a new crop would have on your soil and how that may affect your input needs in future years. Finally, farmers need to also consider how to market a new crop to know what additional resources that may require. “You should never put a seed in the ground before you know what the likely home for that crop is.”

“There’s these agronomic trade offs, there’s these financial trade offs….understand the system as a whole which I think farmers generally do. Understand that change you’re making. Do some quick back of the envelope work and then decide how much do I need to really look at this to pull the trigger.” -Dr. David Ripplinger

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I’m getting the question about farmers wanting to plant a cover crop. But it's kind of a generic statement. So I think what they’re really asking is what do I plant and when do I plant? Where do I start? Where do we begin on this journey? ” - Jason Hanson, Consultant with Rock and Roll Agronomy

Dr. Abbey Wick is a Soil Health Extension Specialist at North Dakota State University. She offers some great advice for farmers wanting to venture into cover crops and the many benefits they offer.

“The simplest place to start is if you have a wheat in rotation, just let the volunteer grow and that’s your first cover crop. If you have some additional goals that you want to address, whether its compaction in a field or salinity. Say you dig a hole in your field and the soil aggregates or the structure looks like it could use a little help then adding in some different cover crops to that volunteer wheat might be a good solution.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

If you don’t have wheat in your rotation then Dr. Wick offers interseeding something like rye into corn. Interseeding practices may require different row spacing so farmers need to be aware of those potential changes. Soybeans present a different challenge as they produce a strong canopy that may make it difficult for a cover crop to get established. Dr. Wick recommends adjusting your timing and method of seeding to compensate for this obstacle.

Cover crops can help manage salinity issues where soybeans or corn may suffer. They can help provide structure and better trafficability to the field. Most farmers will start with one species of cover crop at a time but a cocktail of species can be used. Typically radish or rye can be used as first cover crops depending on what rotation that field has. There are pros and cons to each species and how they interact with what the next crop is. Dr Wick highlights that knowing the crop you are adding to your field, knowing the next crop in rotation to avoid any contraindicated cover crops and knowing your goals are the three critical things to consider when starting with cover crops.

“Cover crops don’t have to be fancy mixes and they don’t have to be really complex to work. And I think that’s what I want farmers to walk away with.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“Hybrid small grain varieties seem to be gaining traction in some parts of Canada and the United States. What are the benefits and drawbacks of hybrid rye, wheat and barley varieties?” - Luke Struckman, Researcher and University Instructor based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Steve Zwinger is a Field Agronomist at the North Dakota State University Carrington Extension Center where he works with many cereal crops including hybrid varieties of rye.

“Some of these hybrids have been in in order to go over 200 or up to 200 bushels per acre range…..so the yield potential is there.” - Steve Zwinger

Steve continues with the hybrid rye advantages by explaining a shorter pollination window resulting in less ergot and a more uniform growth resulting in less lodge. With all of these advantages he does report a higher priced seed which depending on your market may not be worth the expense. At this time, Steve doesn’t know of too many farmers growing hybrid rye although seed production has begun.

There have been many attempts at producing a hybrid wheat. According to Steve “there are probably still people working on it, but there’s nothing commercially available.” Ultimately what was produced was not commercially viable enough to encourage ongoing research and development.

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“What is the best way to get all your fertility down in a no-till corn situation, especially your P and K?” - Kyle Geske, a Farmer from Enderlin, North Dakota

Dr. Dave Franzen, an Extension Soil Specialist at North Dakota State University, joins us to answer Kyle’s question. Dr. Franzen has extensive experience in both research and retail agronomy. You may recognize him from Season one of Soil Sense Episode Three and Episode Four.

“It is really important in the northern plains, specifically in North Dakota, to use a starter at planting time, at least for the phosphate.” - Dr. Dave Franzen

Dr. Franzen has seen some significant yield increase in no-till corn operations that have employed a starter phosphate application. He shares that the weather for planting for a no-till operation results in cooler temperatures for those farmers. The additional phosphate will help support plants in the face of those cooler temperatures and lead to dramatic yield increases. He also highlights the need for additional nitrogen for the first 6 years of transition from a conventional till to no-till operation. There are 14 essential nutrients that the plants need, 10 of which we have effective testing for. Nitrate testing is probably the most valuable and most significant of all the values evaluated. He does caution any producer that is testing for Potassium. Potassium values change dramatically depending on the season so consistent testing at the same time every year is critical for evaluating potassium trends in the soil.

“And then the Sulfur Soil test. I know sometimes you get it as part of a soil test suite but it’s a horrible test and people shouldn’t even pay attention to it.” - Dr Dave Franzen

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I like seeding soybeans green into growing winter rye for a variety of reasons. I think trafficability and weed control are much better with 40 or 50 pounds of rye growing in the field. The tradeoff is that the rye and the existing stubble keep the ground colder and wetter in some years, so the soybeans have a hard time getting going. My question is, is there any way to have warmer drier ground in the spring and reap the other benefits of planting green?” - Nathan Neameyer, Farmer from Rolla, ND.

Dr. Lee Briese joins us to help answer Nathan’s question. Lee is a Crop Consultant covering Stutsman and Barnes Counties for Centrol Crop Consulting. Lee has been scouting fields and providing recommendations to farmers in North Dakota for over 20 years. Lee was featured in episode six of season one of Soil Sense.

Lee emphasizes that planting soybeans green into cereal rye does involve tradeoffs.

“It’s actually protecting the soil, reducing evaporation, and slowing down the heating of it, and that is a concern for him early season. But the rye is also doing the same thing to the weeds. It’s giving you weed control. It’s protecting your soil moisture loss. So it’s helping you with your seed bed and emergence. I think it’s one of those things at this point, I’m not sure we can have both.” - Dr. Lee Briese

Lee says there are things that can be done to optimize the benefits of the cereal rye without slowing down the soybeans as much early on, such as reducing the planted population of rye or a wider row spacing. He also cautions to make sure that the concern is not just a matter of perception.

“We know that soybean tolerates a lot of difficulty, especially early in the season....so the appearance of the soybeans early on is not necessarily a critical factor. We do know that early planted soybeans - early flowering soybeans - have a better chance at having higher yields. But for much of North Dakota, the yield is fairly directly correlated to ‘when do we get rain during flowering?’.” - Dr. Lee Briese

Lee also recommends that farmers check their soil temps well into the season when evaluating the tradeoffs of planting green into cereal rye.

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“Recently I bought a piece of land that most of it has been hay land for generations. So there’s been a lot of nutrients exported and I’ve been trying to intentionally replace nutrients. I was just wondering what kind of a cover crop strategy would you employ on something like that given the season, particularly for fall grazing? When would you sow? What would you sow? What kind of mixes? How much per acre? Mainly to be harvested as standing stockpile by cows and some sheep. How would you approach this piece of land that’s mostly 85% to 90% crested wheat at this point? What kind of cover crops would you introduce and why?” - Clay Conry, Host of Working Cows Podcast

Dr. Kevin Sedivec joins us to help answer Clay’s question. Dr. Sedivec is the Extension Rangeland Management Specialist at North Dakota State University Extension and Director of the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center. You may remember him from Episode 006 of Soil Sense Season 2.

Dr. Sedivec shares that this is a common obstacle faced by producers. In trying to rejuvenate pastures for grazing, producers are asking annuals to compete with long established perennials. The perennial plants will take up water and will have contributed to a nitrogen deficient soil. Typically these long established perennials are exotic in origin and therefore do not have a natural symbiosis established with the environment.

“So you’re asking a grass to do something in that soil that it doesn’t naturally do because it’s not native. It becomes deficient of fertility is what’s really driving this. So we’re trying to bring something in to enhance that soil microbial population....the most common (legume) used is alfalfa.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

Unfortunately the long term fix for deficient soils takes more than one season. Dr. Sedivec recommends beginning with a legume mix to start the process. There are regional variations with which legume mix will be most successful and Dr. Sedivec recommends contacting your local NRCS or extension agent to find what suits your situation best. In Clay’s case he recommends using a yellow blossom alfalfa at 10 pounds per acre and either seeding in the fall or early spring.

“That will give them a long term fix of a legume with his grass. We’re putting exotics and exotics but it at least will help him, one, in terms of production and, two, it will help him in terms of soil fertility and soil microbial activity to kind of get that soil back into a healthy state.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

Ideally we would like to add more species to the mix but according to Dr. Sedivec “that’s probably the best we can do to enhance (Clay’s) production and quality in those soils in that stand.” Adding nitrogen can also help with helping to build the soils. An additive, such as urea, will not last long term but will provide benefit for the new crops planted as you build your soil. Strategies can be adjusted for more long term management including cover crops as the soils change.

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I heard from a customer the other day about cutworms in a soybean field that was planted green into cereal rye. I was wondering if this is common and do we need to recommend scouting for cutworms or other pests when using cover crops?” - Chris Prochnow, Territory Manager for Agassiz Seed and Supply

Dr. Janet Knodel, an extension entomologist at North Dakota State University, joins us to help answer Chris’s question. North Dakota is home to at least 32 different species of cutworms.

“Most (cutworms) do love weedy fields or grassy fields in the fall. So that’s probably why they ended up in the rye field is because it was seeded in the fall and that’s very attractive to most of the species of cutworms. And then they cause damage in the spring.” Dr. Janet Knodel

Eggs are laid in the soil usually in September. Some species will stay as eggs over winter and some will hatch into larvae. The larvae or caterpillar is the damaging stage. When scouting, look for evidence of defoliation, bare spots or cut plants laying on the ground. Some species will clip the plant when it's young and some will climb them and damage the leaves. The larvae and adult moth are active at night so they may not be readily apparent during the day.

“You pretty much just need to get out in the spring and scout and monitor the fields for infestation.” - Dr. Janet Knodel

Four or more larvae per foot of row is the threshold for wheat, barley, oats and rye. You want to “implement your chemical controls” when they are smaller larvae. Towards the end of their feeding schedule, typically at the end of June, the larvae become more difficult to kill as they are more mature. Unfortunately there aren’t any “forecasting models” for cutworm infestation. This makes it hard to predict which field they will infest and what environments they prefer. Dr. Knodel explains this is why regular scouting is critical to managing any potential infestation..

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I’m looking at cover crop mix to put on some ground that’s going to be seeded to wheat and barley next year. I’m wondering if barley works in that mix or if I should be looking at something else?” - Bryan Kenner of Kenner Farms

Dr. Andrew Friskop joins us to answer Bryan’s question. He is a cereal extension plant pathologist at North Dakota State University. Dr. Friskop begins tackling this question by pointing out that the focus needs to be on whether already present “diseases in barley could be contributing to next year’s barley crop.” Potential risk of residue borne diseases such as fungal leaf spots, net blotch, spot blotch and Fusarium head blight need to be evaluated and are typically of most concern. However, Dr Friskop does highlight that a cover crop mix creates a different environment than a monoculture environment would.

“We have a lot less plants. Those other plants might actually be barriers for some of that infection. So how I treat the situation is I would suggest that yes, there is a risk, but I wouldn’t consider it a high risk just because of some of those other factors.” - Dr. Andrew Friskop

While introducing plants that may transmit disease is not ideal it seems the cover crop mix environment makes the risk of that unlikely. The two biggest risk factors for cover crops spreading disease involve soybean cyst nematode in soybeans and clubroot in canola. You ultimately want to avoid a “pathogen and disease system that’s very difficult to manage once you have it.” All that being said, “mother nature always throws us curve balls.”

“We handle each season as a separate year and we just look at managing the wheat and barley crop to the best of our ability for each year.” - Dr. Andrew Friskop

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense at Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Introducing Soil Sense: Field Check. We find the right expert to answer YOUR questions about anything related to farming, agronomy, and soil health. We invite you to participate at www.NDFieldCheck.com.

Today’s question comes from Jason Hanson of Rock & Roll Agronomy:

“There’s going to be Prevented Plant, and now with the uncertainty of dicamba registrations moving forward, even though North Dakota is a 24(c): How does winter cereal rye help with controlling kochia as a potential other option?”

To answer this excellent question that Jason has been getting, we enlisted the help of North Dakota State University Extension Weed Specialist Dr. Joe Ikley. Joe is based in Fargo and is responsible for all crops in the state except potatoes and sugar beets. He conducts weed control research primarily in corn, soybeans, and dry beans.

Listen to this short Field Check episode for Dr. Ikley’s full answer, but here is one quote you may find helpful:

“When we look at an overwintering cover crop like rye, we get our best weed control on winter annual weeds, but of course kochia is a summer annual weed…. (rye) does not reduce the number of plants that we are going to have to spray, but it does buy us more time to get a timely herbicide application on there.”

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we review some fascinating examples of advancing soil health. One individual farmer interested in these new practices will find a lot of obstacles to being successful. Most of the farmers we have interviewed have formed collaborations with other farmers, worked with an independent agronomist, and communicated with research and extension professionals. Collaborations can’t be forced. It takes honesty and passion for achieving an end goal. These collaborations often foster deeper relationships.

“It's fun. It seems like every day, we can talk about something new and exciting…..It’s made farming fun in my eyes.” - Tyler Zimmerman (Season 2: Episode 4)

“Finding this information, seeing the yield, seeing the variability is what led to “boy, can we manage this?” And I have to say so far in my experience. Yes, you can.” - Anthony Thilmony (Season 1: Episode 3 and Episode 4)

“We’d field a lot of questions together, and you know what he didn’t know I’d know and vice versa and it just seemed like we got a good working relationship that way” - Tim Becker (Season 2: Episode 1)

“I know farmers that have the attitude of, I’m not going to share with my neighbor, but I feel I’d teach everybody that you know because our neighbor is not the guy who is going to take us out in this whole game. It’s going to be something bigger like mother nature or the banker.” - Mark Olson (Season 2: Episode 8)

“The important thing is that those three circles overlap and there’s interaction among those three groups that is I think really powerful and finding these transformational sort of solutions that we need in agriculture.” - Mark Liebig (Season 2: Episode 13 and Episode 14)

“What you need to do is find the passionate people and get them to leave “me” at the door and get “we.” And we start doing things together....it’s all about bringing interested people together and multiplying your effect.” - Brad Brummond (Season 2: Episode 12)

Follow the link www.NDFieldCheck.com to participate in our next question and answer segment to share your questions and get them answered by the experts!

View Details

We are back with Mark Liebig and Susan Samson-Liebig. In case you missed our last episode, they are two leading soil scientists of the USDA. Mark works as a soil scientist within the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Susan works as a Soil Quality Specialist in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In this episode we focus on metrics of success for soil health. First, Mark defines soil quality through the lens of research on soil management.

“I think of it often in the context of various soil functions; the ability to cycle nutrients, the ability to be a habitat for your soil biology, the ability to be able to take up water and retain it and move it through the soil matrix. It’s all based on soil function.” - Mark Liebig

In regard to soil health, Susan adds that she focuses on the inherent properties and attributes that soil has that will “lend itself to be able to provide those functions that we need.” Both acknowledge that the terms soil health and soil quality is at times viewed as a distinction without a difference and that the semantics of the terms are not significant.

To test and characterize the quality of the soil you are limited by the amount of time and money you want to invest. You can use a shovel and observe the “qualitative attributes” including tactile feel, the color, and the smell. You can also invest in a hydraulic sampler and send off samples for physical, chemical and biological analysis. Mark’s team has developed an easy-to-use soil quality kit to help make some of those decisions. The kit has been designed to measure some major soil health factors including infiltration of water, aggregate stability, pH and electrical conductivity.

“(With) every sampling decision you’ve got to address those trade offs. What information do you want to get and what resources do you have to bring towards addressing those questions? And then find some sort of appropriate approach somewhere in the middle.” - Mark Liebig

Susan and Mark have benefited from each other’s careers through the skill sets they both bring to the table. Susan gets to hear about the new up and coming research and Mark gets to hear about what research is needed within the industry. Both can return to their agencies and share their findings to better prepare and direct their efforts. As Susan talks with producers, she is noticing some trends in what the general public wants to know. Her observation shows the importance of the soil health discussion.

“Another emerging topic that's really starting to take off here is this whole linkage between soil health, plant health, animal health and human health and trying to understand those linkages.” - Susan Samson-Liebig

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Susan Samson-Liebig and Mark Liebig, both soil scientists that contribute to the industry in two different USDA agencies
Learn the definition of soil quality and soil health
Explore different testing methods to evaluate soil health in the field and what metrics are most significant to look for
Hear about the advantages they have found in their careers by collaborating their efforts

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Mark Liebig and Susan Samson-Liebig are two leading soil scientists that work in two different agencies within the USDA. Also, they just happen to be spouses. Mark works as a soil scientist within the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Susan works as a Soil Quality Specialist in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). ARS is “focused on solving problems for producers” using science based research. NRCS has a “mission to protect the soil and water and all of the natural resources on the land” with methods in compliance with the farm bill. While these two agencies have different objectives they provide support to each other.

“Where our agencies do work pretty close together is on this transfer of the research and then getting it into the hands of people to use.” -Susan Samson-Liebig

Mark has been investigating the use of cover crops for 15 years. A significant factor he has observed in his studies is the effect a timely precipitation can have on the biomass produced. Different seeding times and intercropping practices are currently under investigation to find the best protocols to offer to farmers in the area. While he is encouraged by local farmers adopting some of these practices, he admits that there are endless iterations in cover crop planting for farmers to choose from. Because of this, Mark created a chart to help farmers navigate the many options and decisions required with cover crops based on the current recommendations.

“The chart is our effort to provide a cool tool for producers in helping them to make their decisions on what cover crops they could choose or what mixtures they’d want to put together.” - Mark Liebig

The chart was inspired by the periodic table and illustrates every iteration they have developed at this time. As this chart has been shared it has been expanded. Producers outside of North Dakota have reached out and asked for versions involving their climate and crop options.

“You start there with the chart and you’ll learn a little bit more and then as you graduate then you can go to these other tools.” -Mark Liebig

As transplants from Nebraska, they acknowledge the significant impact the soil health movement has made in North Dakota. Mark comments that the reason for this is that “from the ground up, from the farmer level, there was just this inherent recognition that we have to protect these resources.” Susan agrees and adds that the people of North Dakota seem open and willing to try new practices and collaborate with researchers.

“The solutions to problems are often better if you can get more input on how things can be solved.” -Mark Liebig

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Susan Samson-Liebig and Mark Liebig, both soil scientists that contribute to the industry in two different USDA agencies
Mark developed a chart to help farmers better understand cover crop options and easily see the current recommendations offered by ARS
Susan works at the NRCS and engages producers to help them conserve their resources

Click here to see the Cover Crop Chart

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Brad Brummond joined the NDSU extension in 1982 and has been in his current position in Walsh County for 28 years. His body of work allowed him to be the first North Dakotan selected for the County Agricultural Agents Hall of Fame. Brad’s experience and knowledge are invaluable. He joins us today to share some of what he’s learned. Brad has made it his mission to not only get people involved in soil health practices but also to work together in doing so.

“This can be done. This is very doable…..It’s fun. It’s exciting. It gets me up in the morning.” - Brad Brummond

Brad’s career started in organic agriculture in the 1980’s. “Soil health was what we went after from a soil fertility standpoint in organic agriculture,” shares Brad. His own initiative that he has developed and used is called “Save the Five.” It operates under the assumption that there are at least 5 acres of unproductive farmland on most operations. Most often this is caused by sodicity or magnesium imbalances. The goal with “Save the Five” is to sample these areas, create a plan to regain the use of that land.

“You can’t tell them. You have to show them. This is why our demonstration projects were so successful because they could go out and they could see it. We could put a shovel in the ground and we can show them the soil aggregates and the worms. What healthy soil looks like.” - Brad Brummond

Brad found that one of the biggest barriers he needed to overcome was the concern for profitability with soil health practices. He was able to offer farmers interested in the program financial support in the form of money to “buy off the risk.” He wanted finances to not be the obstacle keeping farmers from proving these protocols. One thing he maintains and makes sure farmers understand before taking action is that soil health takes time to build.

“The soils got to where they are over a long period of time and we’re not going to pull them out of it in one or two years….You have to be patient and you have to understand it didn’t get here overnight and it’s not leaving overnight.” - Brad Brummond

Brad takes pride in the collaboration his team has been able to achieve. He has cultivated a level of trust within Walsh County that brings all kinds of viewpoints and opinions together for healthy discussion. Groups including NDSU, local producers, the Soil Conservation District and NRCS have come together to discuss different practices and possible outcomes. He encourages other counties to create the same collaborations.

“This can be done ladies and gentleman. Our’s just happened. I think you could do it in a more deliberate manner.” - Brad Drummond

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Brad Brummond, NDSU Extension in Walsh County
Learn what Walsh County has achieved with furthering the soil health discussion
Explore the tips and tricks to creating collaborations across many organizations
See the benefits of soil health practices on their operations

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we are joined by Sally Jacobson, Executive Director of the Red River Zoo, and Dr. Abbey Wick, Soil Health Extension Specialist. The unlikely collaboration between NDSU Extension and the Red River Zoo has led to an innovative outreach program telling the story of modern day agriculture. The Red River Zoo has had a longtime focus of “education through fun” with a focus on conservation and their zoo farm exhibit is no different.

The zoo farm was due to be updated a few years ago with the focus being a “story that hasn’t been told” in modern agriculture. Enter Dr. Abbey Wick. A frequent visitor to the zoo, she saw this as an opportunity to help farmers with their “messaging to the public.” Sally welcomed her assistance to promote education and illustrate how farmers are “stewards of their land.”

“From there it was just this really great partnership on what we could bring from the NDSU extension side and through connections that I have in agriculture through our commodity groups and through other industry people. And how it could really partner up with the conservation message of the zoo.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

Precision agriculture, interactive farming equipment, drone capabilities and of course soil health are all on display for kids and adults alike to engage with and learn from. The “Agriculture Adventure Day” provides another opportunity for the public to get a hands on experience with agriculture including but not limited to a big worm bin and planting seeds. One of the highlights for Dr. Wick is allowing farmers to share their legacy with the public.

“It just seemed like a great space to help farmers, not in their fields, but help them share their message about modern agriculture and sustainability and building soils and soil health.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

This unlikely collaboration has sparked a conversation regarding outreach to the public by agriculture in the future. Sally recommends “looking at your language that you’re using and finding those common threads.” This brings the public in out of curiosity and leads to a fun, exciting and informative experience that everyone can enjoy.

“It’s not about preaching to people…..but just to encourage people to explore and learn more and love the natural world. I think it’s critically important for us all as people.” - Sally Jacobson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Sally Jacobson, Executive Director of the Red River Zoo
Explore the unexpected collaboration between NDSU’s Extension and the Red River Zoo
Learn effective and proven tips for how to communicate and spread awareness about agriculture with the public

Visit Red River Zoo to see the Zoo Farm and share your story as part of the agriculture industry

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

“I hope that we can just do so much more with an acre of land than just grow a crop on it.” -Mike Schaefer

Mike Schaefer farms wheat, barley, corn and soybeans in New Rockford, North Dakota. His farm has been using soil friendly protocols for years and is now adding intermittent livestock grazing to his farm ground. Mike didn’t set out to follow the soil health movement. 10 years ago he had initially reduced his tillage out of a “shortage of manpower.” In 2016 a severe episode of wind erosion brought soil health and tillage efforts to the forefront. This “eye-opener” cemented his commitment to reducing tillage on his fields to hopefully prevent that from happening in the future. But a reduction in wind erosion has not been the only benefit to these new practices.

“What I didn’t realize is how the water infiltration was actually really bad on our farm prior to no-till and just in three short years, that’s changed dramatically….we’ve really opened up the soil profile. We’ve got aggregate, we’ve got worms. Everything is coming alive and it’s faster than I thought it would.” - Mike Shaefer

Two years ago, factors outside of Mike’s control once again presented Mike with an opportunity to try another technique on his farm, adding grazing livestock. His neighbor happened to be “short on pasture that year” and he allowed him to graze them on corn stocks that had been coverplanted.

”That seems to be the big X factor in soil health that everybody talks about is if you can get livestock out there, that is a huge benefit.” -Mike Schaefer

The first year they had 120 steers on 120 acres. Mike plans on putting 150 head on the same 120 acres next year. He does admit that in the last 30 days “something out there changed” resulting in a reduced weight gain of the cattle. His presumption is that the “quality of what they were eating had dropped.” Next year they plan on top dressing the paddocks as the livestock are rotated around and supplementing their feed as needed. Mike is openly in a learning process to find the most effective way to run livestock on his fields and he is excited about next year's potential. This new technique is an attempt to “really change the biology of the soil” so as a bonus it also provides and supports another product, beef.

“We see a lot of opportunity to make it even more profitable once the system gets tweaked a bit. I think it could be as good or better than growing a crop on it as far as cash flow and then you get all the benefits of it underground.” - Mike Schaefer

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mike Schaefer
Learn about Mike’s introduction into soil health practices and how he has gradually made changes on his operation
Explore the many benefits Mike has realized by increasing his no-till efforts and by introducing intermittent grazing livestock to his fields.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Could intercropping be a viable option for large-scale row crop producers? Lana Shaw, Research Manager at the Southeast Research Farm in Saskatchewan, and Dr. Mike Ostlie, a Research Agronomist at NDSU, join us today to tell us what we need to know about intercropping. Lana shares that at the most basic level “intercropping would be intentionally growing more than one species at a time in an agricultural situation.”

“The main type of intercropping that I’ve been concentrating on is growing two grain crops simultaneously, and then separating the grain after it's harvested. So planting them together and harvesting them together.” -Lana Shaw

This method is especially helpful in areas with a short growing season. Another benefit is the possibility of a synergistic relationship which may lead to higher yields, reduced disease and reduced insect damage. Lana further explains that “a lot of our pests are very nicely adapted to monoculture production systems.” So by growing more than one type of crop simultaneously it changes the environment to one they may not be as well suited for.

“The whole goal is to be able to yield more per acre total product than you would with either crop alone.” -Dr. Mike Ostlie

Logistically speaking, “sometimes there’s some compromises that you make on seeding depth or seeding dates” but this does not prohibit success. Lana highlights that regardless of what combination of crops you choose to employ you need to make sure the grains are easily separated so you don’t end up with a product you can’t market. Another consideration is adequately controlling your volunteer crops to avoid more than the planned number of crops in your end-product.

“It’s not that Mike and I are that good at selling a strange idea. The reason this is popular and the reason why we keep getting asked to talk about this is because the farmers seem to be achieving greater overall profitability.” -Lana Shaw

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Lana Shaw and Dr. Mike Ostlie as they explain intercropping and its many applications
Explore the anecdotal and compelling evidence of the benefits of intercropping from inputs to yields
Learn the unique obstacles that must be overcome
Discover why Lana says never underestimate a farmer

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we are joined by Mark Olson, a farmer in Southeast North Dakota, and Matt Olson, an agronomist with 20 years of experience with Centrol Ag Consulting. The two bring interesting insights into their 20-year long relationship they have cultivated between farmer and agronomist. Their relationship started over questions about soil fertility and soil testing.

“I learn a lot from my growers because a lot of my growers are very innovative and want to try new things.” - Matt Olson

Matt admits that when Mark first discussed the introduction of cover crops he thought it might be “short-lived Hocus Pocus.” After 7-10 years of using cover crops he now happily admits he has been impressed with their effect and the dramatic increase in yields. Between cover crops and strip tilling Mark and Matt are exploring new techniques on many fronts. Mark refers to it as a “mindset” change that requires commitment.

“I think we’ve got to keep learning and experimenting. I think that is the next key to getting more biology stimulated. We’re constantly learning.” - Mark Olson

So how do they know their changes are leading towards success? In a word: yield. Their yields are increasing every year and placing Mark as one of the top of producers in his area. Mark’s operation has also realized a decrease in herbicide needs with the use of cover crops. Mark shares that “it’s not where you farm. You’ve just got to have an open mind.” For those interested in changing their protocols, Mark recommends starting with “small projects.” He also suggests talking to neighbors, asking lots of questions and of course always being open to learning something new.

“Yields are increasing, getting better soil health, protecting the land. It's going very well.” - Matt Olson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Mark Olson and Matt Olson, a farmer and agronomist that have worked together to increase yields on Mark’s farm with some new techniques
Explore the dynamics of their relationship that has grown over many years
Learn what cover crops and strip tilling has provided Mark’s farm and why he actively promotes its use
Hear what Mark and Matt have in store for the future of Mark’s farm

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we go back to the beginning of any soil health program - or any crop for that matter - seed. We are joined by Steve Zwinger who is an agronomist at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center and Jason Goltz the Regulatory Manager for the North Dakota State Seed Department. Together we will explore and discover the value of seed selection and how seed labels need to be evaluated prior to making any purchases.

Steve shares that, unlike other crops, cover crop success is not tied to a high grain yield. The focus for cover crops is a quick rate of maturity resulting in putting on biomass and providing shade. Cover crops are used to augment control of erosion and weed growth. The quicker it can get to maturity the quicker it can perform its roll in the soil.

“Rye has been determined to be one of the number one cover crops used by farmers across the country….So one of the things I felt strongly about was the fact that we needed some pedigree or known variety, identity preserved seed out there.” - Steve Zwinger

Steve is an advocate for certified or registered seed. Added regulation provides a standard of “higher quality seed such as germination, seedling vigor, and purity in terms of weed seeds and other things.” Having an identified variety will lead to better variety selection for example farmers in the north need to prioritize winter survivability in making their selection. Any number of goals could be focused on by the farmer to tailor the effect of the cover crop to the field it is planted in.

Steve’s seed breeding work revolves around blending where varieties are blended together. He takes advantage of rye’s ability to be “constantly changing itself and adapting itself to the environment.” While Steve focuses on creating and certifying the variety seed purchased, Jason shares the requirements and regulations in seed..

"If it's going to be planted, it's a seed in state and federal law. Both say that all seed has to be labeled." - Jason Goltz

Just because a crop is not harvested as in the case of the cover crops, does not mean it does not need to be clearly labeled. These labels should identify the type of seed, the quality of the seed and the amount and type of weeds potentially present. Also of great importance, seed has to be labeled for the state it is sold in to comply with local state laws. The significance of this is to avoid transmission of a prohibited noxious weed that may not be illegal in a different state. Visit seedcontrol.org to find answers to all of your questions regarding seed regulation.

“Variety evaluation and development is a very important aspect in agriculture because it's probably the easiest decision a farmer can make before he enters the field that will have the largest impact on their production.” - Steve Zwinger

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Steve Zwinger and Jason Goltz as they describe the legality and importance of seed variety selection
Explore the techniques used in seed selection
Hear what items on the label are of the greatest significance to your operation
Discover why rye is a favorite cover crop to use across the country
Learn what you need to know before traveling out of state to purchase or sell seed

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we answer a popular question about soil health:. How does the farmer integrate cover crops and livestock? Dr. Kevin Sedivec joins us today to shed some light on this topic and show what can be done. Kevin is the Extension Rangeland Management Specialist with North Dakota State University and the Director of the Central Grasslands Research and Extension Center near Streeter, North Dakota. By trade Kevin is a range ecologist who focuses on “livestock production, wildlife management and reclamation.” He remarks that the “fundamental basis of all of our grasslands is still soils” which has led him to be more involved in the soil health movement.

“The cover crop mixes we see today are very similar to the wildlife food plot mixes that are available to the public to buy.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

While ranchers are of course most concerned about the nutrition for their cattle, farmers may be concerned about any downsides the cattle might cause on their fields. One major concern faced by farmers is in regard to compaction. Kevin tells us that fortunately in the north, the expansion of water particles with freezing will reduce any significant compaction and maintain a healthy soil consistency as long as cattle are removed before the freeze/thaw cycle occurs over winter. Another common concern for farmers is contamination of local water sources by runoff originating from the cattle. Fortunately there are established systems that can be used to keep this to a minimum and create some distance between the cattle and fresh water sources.

“There’s a positive value for livestock in this industry, in our environment and of course in our food systems. And I think in terms of soil health, it's a great alternative.” - Dr. Kevin Sedivec

Research projects are being proposed to better identify and quantify the benefits of this collaboration as well as the best cover crop combination for the livestock and soil.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Kevin Sedivec, a rangeland ecologist, who shares the benefits of grazing cover crops
Explore the biggest obstacles faced by those considering a collaboration between livestock and crop farming
Learn the benefits provided to the cattle, the soil and the local wildlife
Hear the common concerns held by farmers and ranchers alike
Discover what new research is being carried out to better evaluate this collaboration

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we explore the impact of sharing information. Are shared ideas spread the way we think? Jean Haley is responsible for answering that question for soil health at North Dakota State. She is joined by soil health extension specialist Dr. Abbey Wick to discuss the plans and impact of providing information on soil health. While profit driven businesses can measure income as a metric for success, projects with education goals require a different approach for evaluation. “What does success mean?” That is where Jean comes in.

“I help programs get better at what they’re doing and provide data to their funders. That lets funders know what their return on investment is.” - Jean Haley

Program evaluation is prominent in education and health and human services. Jean has expanded it into soil health. Her data shows what projects and education sharing efforts have been effective and how so. Jean creates “needs assessments” which allows for identification of end game goals for the evaluation. She then reaches for whatever tools would best achieve that end whether that be a survey, observation of conversations and interactions at events, or creating focus groups.

According to Jean, with the advent of “Cafe Talks,” Dr Wick created a boundary organization. This allowed for “a conversation in real time” that she was then able to moderate and grow. By identifying the strength of this event, Dr Wick was then able to show the significance with data to those funding the lunches.

“Here we have something that’s going to outlast everybody and it’s going to continue feeding on itself... It’s bigger than the individual. It’s about everybody that’s part of the network. I think funding sources really like hearing that because it (doesn’t) just end with this project.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

One significant recommendation Jean has offered to the soil sense movement is to offer longer breaks during workshops. As opposed to the presumed “dead time” this may allow it fostered conversation which was the ultimate goal of the workshop and therefore provided a greater benefit than perpetual lecture. “We were so focused on the talks and the presentations and the content that we totally forgot about the fact that people like to just visit….They’re coming here to meet other farmers. They’re coming here to get ideas and to get inspired and it’s like we just extinguished all of that with content.” Dr. Wick credits Jean with shifting the focus from disseminating as much information as possible to providing quality programming to create the desired networking effect.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Jean Haley and learn about her role in evaluation of NDSU’s Soil Science Program
Discover what program evaluation is and the tools they employ
Hear about the impact Jean has had on the program from Dr Abbey Wick
Explore the benefits this provides to the program and by extension those that fund it

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Tyler Zimmerman and Chris Walberg share their journey towards soil health building practices on their farms. Tyler began learning about no-till practices and their benefits about 5 years ago. Over that time he has found support and many resources as he continues learning and executing soil health practices.

“When you turn the soil up, there’s roots and worms and biology just going on in there that when you walk to the field next to you that has been conventionally tilled and you don’t find any of that….its night and day difference just across the road from one field to the next.” - Tyler Zimmerman

Tyler shared his findings and experiences with his childhood friend, neighbor, and fellow farmer, Chris Walberg. Chris began to slowly “dabble” in no-till after seeing Tyler’s success and quickly found success of his own.

“You have a success that you can keep building on. I guess that was kind of a bit of an eye opener for us, that no-till can work.” Chris Walberg

Tyler found that one of the big challenges to no-till is that it requires a higher “patience level.” You need to be able to wait for the soil to be “the right temperature and dry” where as a neighbor practicing tillage might not need to do the same.

In order to further expand on their no-till practices Chris and Tyler collaborated to buy an air drill together. Both men have observed the soil health movement gain a lot of “momentum in the last few years” and are excited about what the future holds. While not everyone is radically changing their practices to build healthier soils, “they are certainly hearing about it and reading about it.”

Between sharing information, equipment and ideas, Tyler and Chris are looking forward to continuing the expansion of their soil health building efforts. This collaboration and comradery has “made farming fun” for both and will likely continue to do so.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet farmers Tyler Zimmerman and Chris Walberg
See how they were both introduced to no-till practices and the benefits they have observed
Learn about their collaborative efforts and the benefits that has provided them
Explore where their future efforts will lead them

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we focus on how agricultural research experiments actually happens in practice.

Nate Derby and Rod Utter are both Research Specialists with North Dakota State University. Nate shares his experience with researching soil physics and the movement of water through the field. Rod Utter discusses his expertise from years of researching the life cycle and origin of earthworms.

Both guests have done work with the SHARE (Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension) Farm. While they mostly work on different projects, they bring a unique insight as those that are working with field scale ag research.

While earthworms may not be considered an obvious top factor in farming production values, they provide far more benefit than composting and fish bait to the general public. Different species have adapted to different environments and different food sources making some more beneficial than others to farming especially in North Dakota.

”The earthworms themselves do a nice job. They create a lot of pore space for other organisms to go through, they turnover organic matter in the soil and on the surface they make nitrogen and phosphorus more available.” - Rod Utter

Vast amounts of soil samples and water samples are collected to further evaluate the soil on the SHARE farm and how it is affected by different practices. While the main focus of Nate’s research has been on no-till practices, he has also been able to monitor salinity and the effects of adding tile drainage to limit the reach of the water table.

“It just takes time. I think the longer you can monitor something like that, you’re going to continue to see changes.” - Nate Derby

Nate and Rod are able to use each other’s findings to create a more comprehensive assessment of the soil health and the effects different practices have on it. They have verified that different salinity levels directly affect the worm populations and how quickly they can infiltrate a field and provide their benefit.

“Related to worms on the SHARE Farm….they are moving in somewhat from the edges and that correlates pretty well with what we’ve been seeing with the salts on the surface.” -Nate Derby

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Nate Derby and Rod Utter, two scientists working on the SHARE Farm
Learn the origin and benefits of earthworm populations in North Dakota
See how different experiments are overlapping and creating a more cohesive understanding of soil health
Explore the benefits of field-sized research and its more practical application as opposed to plot-sized

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Dr. Jay Goos joins us from the department of soil science at North Dakota State University to share his approach to introducing soil science to his students and his experiences over the last four decades in the field. The overall curriculum of his course focuses on teaching the “main properties of soil” including acidity and alkalinity, concepts of wilting point, field capacity and “how the layers of the soil influences productivity.” He hopes that his students leave with an understanding of the soil health big picture.

But beyond introducing and sharing the value of soil science with future generations and assisting agriculture with iron deficiencies in soybeans, Dr. Goos has also been a part of soil science for forty years. He has seen many trends, practices and concerns come and go and overall is happy to see all of the progress that has been made in regards to soil health. He does want to call attention to phosphorus availability in the future due to limited sources and the chronic “mining (of) our soils for nutrients” without replacing the overall gross deficit.

“Everyone is thinking about nitrogen now because of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and nitrates in rivers and streams. But Phosphorus is going to be moving up on the people’s radar over the next few decades.” - Dr. Jay Goos

He comments that unfortunately something that has not changed in the last 40 years is that “farmers are still bombarded with snake oil products.” Dr. Goos encourages students and farmers to understand soil variability and learn about the many factors that influence overall soil health. He recommends reaching beyond “gizmos” when learning about precision agriculture and focus more on what causes field variation and how we can best manage it.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Jay Goos
Hear about the introduction to soil science course he teaches at NDSU
Discover his impact on iron deficiency chlorosis in soybeans
Learn from the experiences he has had over the last 40 years in soil science and the issues he sees on the horizon

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we focus on the unlikely collaboration between extension and ag retail. Tim Becker joins us as a former county extension agent and long time farmer of Eddy County along with Jason Vollmer, a farmer and local agronomist for Allied Agronomy. Both have found real interest in coming together to promote soil health.

Their partnership started as organically as could be imagined “over a cup of coffee.” A group of farmers would meet to discuss techniques and ask questions. These meetings “grew into a good relationship” resulting in an ideal collaboration. Both men acknowledge that making a sale is not the end goal so much as helping the farmer be as profitable as possible.

“We found that we can fight each other for clientele and programming….or we can work together and make a total program better.” - Tim Becker

Tim and Jason agree that “every farmer is a great steward of the land” and recognize as well as understand that “ground is their asset, their life, their lifeblood.” This compassion and understanding has allowed for the opportunity to campaign and illustrate the benefits for soil health programs. They combine research with available products to create the best individualized plan for each client they interact with.

“Ag is always evolving and we have to have a futuristic look while being grounded in the present.” Jason Vollmer

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Tim Becker and Jason Vollmer
Learn how their unlikely collaboration resulted in better information and learning for the farmers they helped
Discover how they both leaned on each other’s strengths through discussion and education
Listen to Tim and Jason discussing the biggest obstacles they see farmers facing in regards to soil health
Explore how livestock may be the next adjunct to crop farming

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Joe Breker has been farming for over 40 years pioneering soil health building practices in southeast North Dakota. With his skills and knowledge, Joe managed to successfully operate his farm during the dry ‘80s and wet ‘90s, as well as each decade’s poor farm economy.

Joe joins me today to describe how his conservative farming practices have improved their farm’s soil health. He shares how his father was a sustainable farmer and what he did to build on what his father started. He also describes what no-till farming is, how it helps to restore damaged soil and explains the science behind management practices and how it affects soil health for decades.

“Once you lose soil health, it's really difficult to get it back." - Joe Breker

This Week on Soil Sense:

The farming legacy Joe is a part of and how his father ran the farm.
What no-till farming is and what made him utilize this method.
How he started his journey in soil health.
Maintaining commitment to soil health despite poor farming business conditions.
How he processes their compost and the processes involved.
Building soil health and how they nurse damaged soil back to health.

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

In this episode we explore the SHARE (Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension) Farm Project. It is a field scale location used to display practices that the research is indicating to advance soil health. The program showcases rotations and practices that can be used in the local area to advance soil health.

The North Dakota Corn Council and other commodity groups have funded the SHARE farm to take advantage of an opportunity to further promote soil health in North Dakota. The North Dakota Corn Council’s main objectives are to provide funding for “research, education, promotion and market development of corn in North Dakota” and the SHARE farm program fits that bill. The SHARE farm has “consistently been (their) number one project.”

“The SHARE Farm Project is actually pretty unique. It’s a farmer driven project….It came about from Farmers wanting a place or field that they could drive by and see these soil health building practices at field scale for long-term within the rotations that they’re using. They wanted something that was theirs.” - Dr Abby Wick (NDSU Extension)

“This was research that was actually being conveyed to our farmers and they were eating it up. They loved it…..It was just really great to see farmers talking to other farmers. Farmers acting as mentors to younger farmers and teaching them what they have learned over 20-30 years.” - Jean Henning (Executive Director of North Dakota Corn Council)

“I think people are pretty impressed with what they see there….I think we’ve proven that we can no-till in heavy soils. I had one farmer say “You’re going to no-till out their right? So you can prove it doesn’t work in these soils.” I said, “yeah or prove that it does.” I think we proved that much” - Ken Johnson (Farmer with the first SHARE Farm)

This Week on Soil Sense:

Discover what a SHARE farm is and the soil health practices it puts on display
Hear from Ken Johnson, the first farmer to participate in the SHARE farm program
Learn about the North Dakota Corn Council and its purpose
See the change in information sharing the SHARE farm has afforded the farmers of North Dakota

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Today we hear from Allie Slykerman. Allie works as an independent crop consultant at Centrol Ag Consulting. One of the most significant issues faced by North Dakota farmers is salinity management. The primary crop struggles to grow in these areas resulting in opportunist weeds gaining a foothold in the field. Possible management practices include using salt tolerant plants for cover and assisting the soil in moving the water through the soil profile via tile. Depending on the location and salinity levels these options may not be available. The effort then becomes to try to limit the saline spots spread to reduce lost ground.

Allie says one of the biggest concerns she gets approached about is weed resistance. She discusses the challenges faced by farmers and the progression of resistance she has observed. Roundup is no longer a “silver-bullet” for all things weeds. She shares different recommendations she has made in the last year to mitigate this growing threat.

“Our chemistry is still working but I think in the future we need to start considering the what if’s….We really have to start being really careful and protecting these chemistries and start to think outside the box and using all the tools in the toolbox.” - Allie Slykerman

“Figuring out how these guys tick is one of my favorite aspects of the job and getting to work with all different sorts of personalities is one of the most interesting things I think a crop consultant deals with on a day-to-day basis.” - Allie Slykerman

This Week on Soil Sense:

Allie Slykerman shares the most significant issue she sees with her clients
Learn the different techniques available to battle salinity issues
Allie shares her concern for weed herbicide tolerance
Explore the relationship between a crop consultant and their client farmers

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

What can integrating livestock do for soil health? Luke Ressler joins us from Hillsboro, North Dakota where he farms with his father-in-law, Randy Lemm, and his wife Elli. Luke was raised on a farm in Cooperstown and worked for the NDSU Extension and Dr. Abbey Wick after completing his studies at NDSU. Luke was able to participate and host some of the Cafe Talks Abbey organized while working there.

Luke shares the rotational grazing pattern he is using for his cattle. The biggest obstacle for them in using this technique is providing access to fresh water every day. The goal of this process is to gain the benefit of the cover crop for the soil and then convert that growth into nutrition for the cattle which will add manure back to the soil to further fortify it and reduce the time spent in the feedlot for the cattle. We check in with Luke to see his experiences between the original interview in June 2019 to today (October 2019). Spoiler: it’s been a tough year weather-wise.

“My goal is to always try to go to as many field days and events that NDSU puts on as possible because you’re going to learn something new every time you go and meet someone new.” - Luke Ressler

“Research is helping out a lot of guys who don’t know where to go, who don’t have good resources available to them. They can go online and get really good information especially from NDSU. I have nothing but good to say about it and I’m really excited to be involved more.” - Luke Ressler

This Week on Soil Sense:

Luke Ressler introduces us to incorporating cattle into your soil health practices
Learn the benefits to the soil and cattle when combined as part of your land management
Feel Luke’s excitement to be involved with upcoming research
Explore Luke’s process to getting answers when questions arise with his new practices

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Explore the scientific principles forming the foundation of soil health. Dr. Aaron Daigh of North Dakota State University joins us to discuss the impact of movement and distribution of water, heat, and nutrients in the soil. Dr Daigh draws an analogy between pores in the soil and plumbing in a building. Through the natural processes of freezing, wetting, drying, and thawing pores are developed in the soil. These pores are crucial to nutrient and water retention. He shares the effect that tillage practices have on heat transfer and retention within the soil as well as to the pore size and distribution. Understanding these scientific principles can lead to more informed decisions on farming practices. Dr. Daigh shares the ongoing research in this field and where the focus is shifting. “It’s kind of like taking all the piping in your house or the building or in a chemical plant and rearranging it to the way that you want…..When you go in and you till a soil you are kind of homogenizing everything. You’re making all the pipes kind of very similar to each other at least in the depth that you’re tilling at.” - Dr. Aaron Daigh “When you go into a no-till or reduced till system…. you have a whole bunch of small pores and those pores are what can really hold onto water longer. They can hold onto nutrients longer and keep it available in a spot that the plant can use later on.” - Dr. Aaron Daigh This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Dr. Aaron Daigh and learn what it means to be a soil physicist

Explore how tillage disrupts the natural pores in the soil and affects the movement of water and nutrients

Dr. Daigh teaches us how the different sized pores are developed in the soil and the benefits they provide.

Discover the up and coming research in the area of Soil Science

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Doug Toussaint from Wahpeton, North Dakota discusses his shift toward soil health building practices. Doug shares what inspired him to make these changes and the decision to start with his most difficult field. Doug was able to slowly integrate these new techniques including inter-seeding and reduced tillage by using equipment that he already had on hand. He has noticed a significant difference in his fields with “how different they worked (and) how much easier they were to plant.”

Doug shares that going to seminars, talking to other farmers and reaching out to consultants and the extension have all helped him find the answers and learn about new practices. He emphasizes the importance of networking with neighboring farmers and helping to foster the discussion about reduced tillage and cover crops.

“Cover crops is not where to quit spending money….I’d rather have a cover crop that failed than a cover crop that I didn’t do.” -Doug Toussaint

“There isn’t a recipe here. You’re going to put your own recipe together and how its going to work. You just have to be open-minded and look at different things and be willing to change immediately.” - Doug Toussaint

This Week on Soil Sense:

● Hear from Doug Toussaint a Farmer in North Dakota

● Learn what inspired him to experiment with new farming techniques

● Meet the difficult field he started with and why he started there

● Explore some of the benefits Doug has experienced by adding cover crops to his rotation

● Doug shares what resources he reaches for to help answer his questions as they arise

Connect with Soil Sense:

● Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Naeem Kalwar is an extension Soil Health Specialist in the Langdon Research Extension Center. His expertise is shared today in facing sodicity and salinity issues in your soils.

The term salinity refers to the potential for high salt levels in the soil which can decrease water absorption at the root-level resulting in drought stressed crops. Fortunately salinity does not affect soil structure allowing for the smooth movement of water and air through the soil despite the increased salt content. Good drainage and improved soil water infiltration can help manage salinity concerns.

Sodicity, on the other hand, creates an issue that is not as easy to correct. With sodicity, a bond between the sodium molecules and the clay is formed. This directly affects the ability of the water to move through the soil as it will settle in dense layers. With an increase in sodicity you will also have a higher retention of salt resulting in increased salinity. Amendments like gypsum are required to increase the aggregation and good structure of the soil in order to compensate for the structural changes caused by sodicity.

“Our groundwater has very high salt levels, plus sodium. And this sodium i’m talking about is not presented as salt. This sodium gets attracted to the negative charges of clay and hummus soil particles, and causes sodicity or the breakdown of soil aggregates...so we have two different problems: salt and sodicity.” - Naeem Kalwar

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Naeem Kalwar an extension Soil Health Specialist
Explore the differences between soils in different regions
Learn about the significance of salinity and sodicity in a soil’s health
Discover how to identify and address these concerns

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Lee Trautman joins us today. Lee farms corn and soybeans in Jamestown, North Dakota with his brother and father. Trautman Farms has been no till for over 20 years giving Lee a unique farming experience of very limited tillage.

The EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) introduced the idea of cover crops to Trautman Farms. The cover crops they initially chose were based on what seed they had available. Now Lee employs rye and has found that it “fits the bill” for their operation and assists with weed suppression and water consumption. Lee discusses the significant impact his practices have had on his farm and the conversations it has inspired with his neighbors and landlords.

“That's what really gets you is when you get somebody who's not around every day or that sees it every day or maybe has never seen a no-till field. And they come out and they just can't stop saying good things about your soils. That really means a lot to me.” -Lee Trautman

“Sometimes you can just go out in a field and and stick a shovel in the ground and just be like, yes, this is a good piece of ground. And I can do that in all of my fields. I can stick a shovel in the ground and there's always worms. There's good aggregation. There’s structure. There's lots of organic matter. It's just a beautiful piece of ground most of the time. And just knowing that we've helped create that and kind of keep it established that way so…..hopefully the next generation can enjoy it and keep improving it.” -Lee Trautman

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Lee Trautman, a farmer in Jamestown, North Dakota
Hear how Trautman Farms manage their farm with three family members running different parts of the operation
Explore what program introduced Trautman Farms to cover crops
Learn how Lee manages the use of rye and is able to replenish his seed every year
Discover what healthy soils means to Lee and how he can demonstrate their vitality on his farm

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Dr. Marisol Berti spearheads research in the use of cover crops as a professor in the Plant Sciences Department at North Dakota State University. Her most recent projects are focused on cover crops and their uses with crops outside of the more traditional corn and soybean rotations. Among her many successes in this field, her team has also developed a specific planter to better plant a cover crop and beat the oncoming winter. Dr. Berti shares that the hallmark of using cover crops is the benefit of “protecting the soil.” She admits there is a risk with cover crops as there is with any crop when the weather does not support the seed’s growth. The difference with cover crops is that they are not insured, which leads to a total economic loss if the crop is not successful.

Dr. Berti discusses the use of Camelina as a broad leaf cover crop and the benefits to its use. As of yet it has not been broadly used but shows great potential. The biggest obstacle she faces is not in its use but in its marketability to create another source of income for the farmer. There is currently a lot of interest in it as a source for Omega-3 Fatty Acids for human consumption but no clear market in the United States. If a market develops the use of Camelina will not only be beneficial to soil health but also create additional income for the farmer which would help offset its risk.

“If you go in a Corn-Soybean rotation with no cover crops the soil is almost like a parking lot. There is nothing. There is no life. You can dig and dig and there’s not one worm. I go to a farm that has had cover crops for 10 years and he puts his shovel no matter where and he gets a bunch of worms.” Dr. Marisol Berti

This Week on Soil Sense:

Explore the practice of adding cover crops
Meet Dr. Berti, a cover crop expert and Professor at North Dakota State University
Discover the use, benefit and obstacles in using Camelina as a cover crop
Dr. Berti shares the common pitfalls faced by farmers trying to start the use of cover crops

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Matt Nelson shares his experiences from his farm in Lakota, North Dakota where they produce small grains, wheat, barley, canola, soybeans, corn and edible beans. While Matt grew up on the farm, he spent the first 15-16 years of his career as a commercial pilot which has influenced his approach to farming.

Matt shares the challenges and benefits that come with adopting reduced tillage practices. Another obstacle Matt faces are saline soils that have become more apparent with frequent rainfall. Matt shares his approach to implementing new techniques and what factors create the most viable options for his operation.

“Ask your neighbors. Ask your friends. Ask the guys who have been farming for a long time. What's worked for you? What do you see? Are there certain times or certain practices you see that work better or have a negative effect on what you're doing?” Matt Nelson

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Matt Nelson
Learn what drew him away from his job as an airline pilot towards being a full-time farmer
Discover what are the biggest changes Matt has made to his farming operation
Explore the effects of a multi-year wet period and what adjustments needed to be made
Matt shares how he evaluates new techniques and what he looks for in choosing which to implement

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Dr. Lee Briese is a Crop Consultant with Centrol Crop Consulting. He does not sell any products but rather solely focuses on helping farmers make the best decisions for their crops and soils. Dr. Briese checks every field weekly which creates a comprehensive understanding of the individual farmer’s goals, their assets and their obstacles to reaching those goals. He estimates he has covered over a million acres with his crop consulting resulting in a wealth of knowledge and experience. “There’s no one (size) fits all for anybody,” says Dr. Briese. We learn how many factors play into the recommendations he makes and the timing of the alternative techniques he suggests.

“There has to be a distinct level of trust between (the farmers) and I as far as the information I’m giving them, that not only applies to them but is solid information.” Dr. Lee Briese.

This Week on Soil Sense:

Introduction to Dr Lee Briese, a crop consultant with Centrol Crop Consulting
Dr Briese discusses his approach to introducing new techniques
Learn how information is shared between farms
Discover why farmers in North Dakota use a lower rate of herbicide application and what the consequences are in regards to herbicide resistance
Listen to the many factors taken into account prior to making any recommendations

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Sam Landman is a fifth generation farmer who manages not only his family farm but also a SHARE (Soil Health and Agriculture Research Extension) Farm. He discusses how his techniques have evolved and how that has impacted his crop rotations and equipment choices. Challenging effective practices for better sustainability and soil health is an uphill battle but Sam is already seeing the benefits.

“I think the long-term benefits will be there for sure. But you know we’re always up against short-term economics anytime you’re transitioning to a new practice.” Sam is perpetually researching and networking to gain as much knowledge as possible. He wants to make the most informed decisions he can. If someone is interested in trying some of these new practices, Sam recommends reaching out and asking questions. Dr. Abby Wick and the rest of the extension have been great resources for him. He also suggests experimenting with some smaller fields first to find the best fit for your operation.

“I like seeing green out there. I like seeing living biology out there. When you start digging around in the ground, you start seeing the soil come alive because of the living root out there. It's just kind of an addiction. Once you start it and you start seeing the benefits you want to keep trying it and do more and more.” -Sam Landman

This Week on Soil Sense:

Meet Sam Landman and hear his story farming in North Dakota
Discuss transitioning to reduced tillage practices
Explore new soil handling techniques and the effect that has had on Sam’s farm
Learn about the challenges faced by those changing farming protocols

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

This is the second installment of a two part interview with Dr. Dave Franzen, a soil scientist at North Dakota State University, and Anthony Thilmony, a fourth generation farmer in the Valley City, North Dakota area. In this segment we will be focusing on the precision of soil health. We explore how to identify your individual soil needs and how to effectively and efficiently meet those demands.

“The Zone Sampling Concept is the number one site specific nutrient management strategy in the state. I wish more people would do it .” -Dr. Dave Franzen

“I had a goal. I didn’t go from here to there. I went five steps in between.” - Anthony Thilmony

This Week on Soil Sense:

Learn about the development of zone sampling
Discover the benefits and philosophy behind variable rate fertilization application
Converting to various precision ag techniques requires a financial and time commitment
What factors influence the decision to try a new technique or add new technology

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Join us for the first installment of a two-part interview with Dr. Dave Franzen, a Soil Scientist at North Dakota State University in Extension, and Anthony Thilmony, a fourth generation farmer in the Valley City, North Dakota area. These two have collaborated for many years through discussion and trials. Today we explore soil fertility and the effect of a no-till strategy. We learn about some of the benefits including a decreased nitrogen need and increased microorganism activity to name two.

“In order to get somebody to change the way they’re doing things you either have to have an economic tag or an emotional tag.” -Dr. Dave Franzen

“My goal is when I quit farming everything is going to be in better shape than I got it and that's what drives me with the no-till.” - Anthony Thilmony

This Week on Soil Sense:

Discover how Dr Franzen and Anthony began to collaborate
Learn about soil loss in North Dakota over the last 100 years
Hear about the benefits of performing research on commercial farms
What the advantages are of having a no-till field
Who the “Beach Boys’ of North Dakota are and what they have accomplished

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Ride along with fourth generation farmer Tony Wagner in Jamestown, South Dakota. Farming has been a lifelong passion for Tony. He took on his first field in the eighth grade and after pursuing college returned to the area to help manage his family’s operation. He has experimented with different cover crops for different fields in order to better the soil he has access to. He joins us today to share his excitement for implementing new techniques and the drastic effect it has had on the quality of his soil.

“You have one shot a year to do this and then you have to wait the whole entire year for it to come around. And that's kind of what honestly really keeps me interested in it…..There's just so many things to do from preparation for equipment in the winter time to all of a sudden you're planting and then from planting you're going on to spraying and then from spraying it starts leading into harvest and next thing you know, the leaves are falling off the tree….. I like working with fields and soil and just anything that I could do to improve our farm.” - Tony Wagner

This Week on Soil Sense:

Hear about the heritage associated with the Wagner Farm
Learn about the new techniques Tony has implemented
The effects rotating cover crops have had on the quality of the soil
The collaboration of farmers and extension agents to learn and improve

Connect with Soil Sense:

Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

View Details

Dr. Abbey Wick is an Extension Soil Health Specialist at North Dakota State University. She joins us to share what her role is in promoting soil health in North Dakota. Dr. Wick works primarily with farmers but also coordinates county extension agents and other educators to share what new research indicates with regards to enriching the health of the soil. She encourages networking between all factions of agriculture to best help the farmer in their pursuit of a high quality yield. Her Cafe Talks have become a welcomed forum for farmers to receive, engage with and implement new practices that work best for their individual needs.

“Every year is different...that makes it a lifelong pursuit, makes it an awareness that you have to have of your system.” - Dr. Abbey Wick

This Week on Soil Sense:

How North Dakota coordinates efforts to disseminate information
What soil health means to her as a soil scientist
What are the obstacles she must overcome to get new ideas and research accepted
Why Soil Health does not lend itself to a “one size fits all” prescription service
What happens when she doesn’t know the answer to a farmer’s questions.
What is a S.H.A.R.E. Farm

Connect with Dr. Abbey Wick:

Email
Soil Sense Initiative

Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

Soil Sense: Recent Episodes

NDSU Extension