4 The Soil: A Conversation

Did you know every farm, bread, and soil has a story? Chef Kathryn "Kat" Jiang of Seylou Bakery and Mill joins Jeff Ishee, Summer Thomas, and Eric Bendfeldt to talk about their working relationships with farmers, millers, and soils as part of the Mid-Atlantic grain economy. Chef Kat is the head pastry chef and discusses the bakery's commitment to year-round support of farmers, the care of the soil...

How can you interseed resilience and diversity into a family business and a cropping system whether you are in Nebraska, Virginia, or Upstate New York? Keith Berns shares about the history of Green Cover with Jeff, Summer, and Eric and how building the internal infrastructure was so important as Green Cover grew from a family operation to having more than 60 employees. Keith emphasized that resili...

Are you always growing and evaluating what you want to accomplish? Keith Berns of  Green Cover shares his insights on that question as a co-business owner, farmer, and educator of diverse, customizable cover crop mixtures with Jeff, Summer, and Eric. Keith and his brother Brian and their families started Green Cover in 2008 in Bladen, Nebraska and Iola, Kansas. Since that time, their core value of...

As a fifth generation row-crop farmer in the Northern Neck of Virginia, P.J. Haynie III shares how important generational knowledge, networking, and technologies are to successful farming and business development. In this episode, P.J. talks with Jeff, Mary, and Eric about the farming legacy of his family and how they have adapted and innovated through the years to enhance the return on investment...

How do row-crop farmers in the Northern Neck of Virginia practice soil and water conservation and add market value to their farming operations? Philip "P.J." Haynie III of Haynie Family Foods and Haynie Farms, LLC. spoke with Jeff, Mary, and Eric on his way back from the Arkansas Delta about his family's conservation and market expansion measures. P.J. is a fifth generation row-crop farmer who far...

Would you like to be part of a community that protects grassland bird species and builds landscape resiliency? Justin Proctor, coordinator of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative of the Smithsonian Institute's Virginia Working Landscapes ' program, shares how they are building a community and are able to offer incentive payments to farmers and landowners willing to adopt bird-friendly management...

Do you love to watch birds? Are you occasionally surprised on a morning walk by the flutter and fury of birds emerging from a nearby tree or grassland? Justin Proctor, coordinator of the Virginia Grassland Bird Initiative of the Smithsonian Institute's Virginia Working Landscapes ' program, shares his insights, expertise, and passion for his work with Jeff, Mary, and Eric. Justin also emphasized t...

What do healthy soils and healthy people have in common? According to Dr. Ray Weil, they both thrive when they're kept active. And just like staying active begins with a purpose, every successful cover crop system starts with a goal. Jeff, Mary, and Eric continue their conversation with Dr. Weil of the University of Maryland, exploring how your objectives—from reducing erosion and improving water...

In this special National Soil Health Day episode, Jeff, Mary, and Eric talk with Dr. Ray Weil of the University of Maryland. An internationally recognized soil scientist, Dr. Weil shares how a desire to make a difference in the world led him from an interest in medicine to a lifelong career in soil science. The conversation explores his early experiences managing an organic farm, decades of work p...

Lauren Hines-Acosta of the Chesapeake Bay Journal returns to talk with Jeff, Mary, and Eric about emerging issues that affect regional agriculture and the Bay ecosystem. Laura's scientific research and writing includes increased concern about biosolid applications to agricultural fields and possible contamination with "forever chemicals"; how artificial intelligence can increase nitrogen use effic...

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a national treasure with many small and expansive wonders. Lauren Hines-Acosta is a scientific journalist and staff writer with the Chesapeake Bay Journal's Virginia office. Lauren took a keen interest in science at a young age and was particularly intrigued by physics and astronomy. As a science writer covering Virginia's portion of the Bay watershed, Lauren is abl...

Soil loss and erosion can occur by rainfall or wind. Kim Melton, the soil health coordinator for the Red River Basin Commission, emphasizes that soil loss by wind erosion is farmers' and soil conservationists' number one resource concern because crop fields are so flat throughout the region. The movement of soil off cropland and the landscape by wind or rain means critical nutrients and soil organ...

Keeping soil on the land is a sound way to grow and move agriculture forward. Kim Melton is the soil health coordinator for the Red River Basin Commission. Kim coordinates soil health education and outreach across three states, one province, and two countries in the Red River Valley. Kim shares with Mary, Eric, and Jeff how soil health goes beyond just sustaining agriculture to include understandi...

Soil health is a foundation for healthier communities, stronger economies, and more resilient landscapes. And yes, hippos can be major pests. During this episode of 4 The Soil: A Conversation, Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt share who and what is for(4) the soil.  Celebrating Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, is a great way to build on that foundation.  Tune in, subscribe,...

Vegetable farming is a food and health business that requires dogged persistence, curiosity, and a no-quit attitude. Bob Jones, Jr., is a second-generation vegetable farmer and the chief executive officer of The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio, who has been growing vegetables for over 40 years.  Bob and The Chef's Garden team collaborate with culinary professionals, physicians, and oncologists to tes...

Bob Jones, Jr., is a second-generation vegetable farmer and the chief executive officer of The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio. Bob co-owns the vegetable farm and business with his brother Lee. Bob and his brother love producing and selling flavorful, healthy, nutritious vegetables, microgreens, and edible flowers.  Bob shares the history of The Chef's Garden with Mary, Jeff, and Eric, including a re...

Doug Fifer of Fifer Family Farms joins Jeff, Mary, and Eric for a second episode to discuss how Doug manages change, inputs, and tighter margins with his farming and cover cropping systems. Doug acknowledges that we are all creatures of habit and have our comfort zones.  Doug began experimenting and stretching his comfort zone with no-till farming and cover crops in 2010.  As Doug built his croppi...

Where do you need to go with your farming? Doug Fifer of Fifer Family Farms joins Jeff, Mary, and Eric to talk about his experience and journey with no-till crop farming over the past fifteen years. Doug raises turkeys and cash crops in Mount Solon, Virginia, and is the president of the Virginia No-Till Alliance (VANTAGE). For Doug, his journey with no-till farming began in 2010 when he began ques...

What priorities excite you? Heirloom Chrysanthemums, soil health, and contributing back to the community are exciting priorities for Harmony Harvest Farm . In the previous episode, we learned the vision of Harmony Harvest Farm and their overarching aim to help people live and experience a better life through fresh flowers. Our returning guest, Jessica Hall, talks with us about her passion for grow...

How can we live and enjoy a better life? Harmony Harvest Farm began with a lofty dream in 2011 and a vision of helping people to live and experience a better life through fresh flowers. Jessica Hall of  Harmony Harvest Farm and Flower Genius joined Mary, Jeff, and Eric for a conversation about the farm business's vision, mission, values, and history. Jessica owns and operates the farm business wit...

A desire and passion for caring for the earth, soil, and the natural environment can start at a young age. Fatema Mohajir and her family are from the Bamyan province in central Afghanistan. As a child, Fatema's family lived in Iran, where her father worked at a large-scale vegetable farm. Fatema's father and older brother inspired her interest in soil science and farming. Fatema studied at Kabul U...

How can we care for the soil and farm for better health outcomes?    Dr. Christine Mahoney of the  University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Wayflowering Flower Farm joins Mary and Eric for a conversation about soil health, regenerative farm design, and organic flower farming.  Dr. Mahoney shares how better outcomes, such as health, peace, and tranquility, ca...

How can social entrepreneurship help build soil health and achieve ecological goals? Mary and Eric explore this question with Dr. Christine Mahoney of the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Wayflowering Flower Farm. Dr. Mahoney shares her own experiences with social enterprises, systems thinking, and regenerative organic flower farming in this episode....

Health and nutrition start with caring for the soil. Food can and should be our medicine. Dr. Robin "Buz" Kloot of the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health and Soil Health Labs shares his perspective on connections with soil health and public health with Eric, Mary, and Jeff in this episode.  Buz reflects on his own research but also points out what he has heard from farme...

Changing course is never easy, especially if the change requires a complete overhaul at the most basic, fundamental level. Dr. Robin "Buz" Kloot of the  University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health and Soil Health Labs talks with Eric, Mary, and Jeff about this paradigm shift among farmers and within the soil science community. Buz explains how the shift in thinking and paradigms...