4 The Soil: A Conversation

What are the resource concerns and aspirations for your farm and land? Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt catch up by phone with farmer, entrepreneur, and soil health champion Daniel Austin of Little Red Hen Farm and Green Sprig Ag. Daniel is a fifth-generation farmer in Franklin County and shares the history of how his interest and passion for soil health started with a loathe of...

What is your passion? Where do you experience a sense of wonder and hope? Jeff Ishee and Mary Sketch Bryant talk with Kate Bracken and Craig Fracker of the Goochland-Powhatan Master Gardener Association about how they empower communities with research-based garden education from the soil up, and specifically about their HOPE (Helping Our Planet Endure) initiative. Kate and Craig as Master Gardener...

How do we encourage stewardship of the land and our communities in the next generation? In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Sarah Koth continue their conversation with Kathy Yoder, the Education Outreach Program Director at Vine and Fig in Harrisonburg, Virginia, about the organization’s work to get youth outdoors and experience nature. Kathy discusses the mental health and learning b...

Healthy soil means healthy plants which means healthy people and a healthy planet. In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Sarah Koth speak with Kathy Yoder, the Education Outreach Program Director at Vine and Fig in Harrisonburg, Virginia, about the nonprofit’s local programs to strengthen local food systems, ensure access to wholesome nutrition for underserved communities, and educate y...

Soil is important infrastructure on our landscapes and in our communities. Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Mary Sketch Bryant talk with Carl Stafford of Virginia Cooperative Extension in Culpeper County about the George Washington Carver Center, a food and business incubator and agricultural service center serving communities in and around Culpeper County. Carl is the Agricultural and Natural Reso...

What does the health of plants and animals have to tell us about life underground? In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Mary Sketch Bryant talk with Carl Stafford of Virginia Cooperative Extension in Culpeper County about the importance of grazing with intent for the benefit of plants, animals, and the soil. Carl is the Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Agent in Stafford Cou...

How can you really know your soil is alive, biologically active, and not sterile? Well, the answer is brief. Yes, really! Soil your undies, that is, bury a pair of your 100% cotton undies in an area of your garden or cropland where you are curious about its biological activity and wait about 60 days to see what happens and if the undies decompose through time due to the microbial life in the soil....

We can all make a difference and construct the world we want to see and experience now and into the future. In part one, Taona Makunje Chigwenembe, the executive director of Creative Solutions for the Environment of Malawi shared with us the importance of honoring indigenous knowledge, practicing permaculture, and integrating agroforestry systems. The conversation continues about cover crops, comp...

Whether you live in the United States or Malawi in southeastern Africa, you can be 4 The Soil because soil health has national and international inspirations and applications. Soil health is foundational to food security and can catalyze community change. Taona Makunje Chigwenembe is the executive director of Creative Solutions for the Environment in Malawi and a board member of the New Community...

Cover crops have many different functions and benefits from adding biomass to alleviating compaction to providing habitat for beneficial pollinators. People may be hesitant to plant a mixture of cover crops if they have not previously planted cover crops. Mike Parrish, senior extension agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension in Dinwiddie County , discusses the ins and outs of cover cropping and...

Farmers, gardeners, and homeowners can face different challenges in managing and building soil health. Mike Parrish, senior extension agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension in Dinwiddie County , encourages everyone to do their own research and side-by-side trials. Learning by trial and error allows for direct comparisons and works in a specific context. Mike works closely with commercial grower...

In celebration and recognition of Earth Day 2023, we are resharing a deeply meaningful and inspiring conversation with Karen Washington of Rise and Root Farm about soil health, intergenerational knowledge, and heeding nature's wisdom that was really well-received last year. Karen recently received and shared the 2023 James Beard Humanitarian Award with Olivia Watkins for their ongoing leadership a...

Who inspired you in your career and spurred your interest in soil health? Beth Sastre is an extension agent for commercial horticulture in Loudoun County with Virginia Cooperative Extension. Beth was inspired to pursue a career in agriculture and natural resources by her grandfather and by Mother Nature. Beth's grandfather was an agronomist in Mexico and worked closely with farmers on soil and wat...

Get to know your 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast team. Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, Sarah Koth, and Eric Bendfeldt share their background and aha moments in learning about and building soil health. Jeff mentioned the influence of his father but also his library of soil health books he has accumulated since his retirement from the U.S. Navy. Mary recalled her earlier work in environmental and...

Why do I farm this way? Context, values, and passion are all part of the equation and reason. Becky Szarzynski of Mountain Glen Farm is a well-spoken, highly knowledgeable young, innovative farmer in the Shenandoah Valley. Becky shares specifically why she farms the way she does and emphasizes the importance of walking your land, observing what is happening in the ecosystem, and not being afraid t...

How do you work with nature to build soil health? Do diversity and pasture bouquets fit into your grazing management regimen? Becky Szarzynski of Mountain Glen Farm shares her own journey in building soil health, raising South Poll cattle, managing animal impact, and growing a bouquet of diverse forage species. Becky also serves as a coordinator of the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council's and V...

Delving into soil health is like peeling the layers of an onion back: new layers to soil health are brought to light every day. David Montgomery and Anne Bikle share what they learned and synthesized about soil health and food connections in writing their latest book: What Your Food Ate. As we learn about soil ecology and nutrient cycling, the urgency for caring for health from the soil up is incr...

How do we nourish people rather than just feed them? Is there a more direct link between soil health and human health than we thought? David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé, authors of What Your Food Ate, talk with us about the deeper, more intriguing aspects of soil health, nutrition, and its implications for human health with us. David and Anne emphasize the importance of asking questions about the...

You might know soil remembers and has a long memory but do you know soils continually tell stories? Soils often tell an overarching story based on history and geology that includes how soils were formed due to factors such as parent material, climate, landscape position, time, and the presence or absence of soil organisms. Current and past management of topsoil and the soil ecosystem adds new chap...

Do you have a vision and picture of what happens in a soil judging pit? Clare Tallamy, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES), shared her passion for soil health and soil judging in this episode. Clare was a member of Virginia Tech's Soil Judging Team and helped the team win its seventh collegiate national championship. Clare also distinguished herse...

What are the foundations of happy soil biology? Jon Stika of UnderstandingAg, a part-time research professional at North Dakota State University's Dickinson Research and Extension Center, and author of A Soil Owner's Manual shares his perspective on keeping soil biology alive and happy. Jon draws his soil biology insights from his career as a conservationist, agronomist, soil scientist, researcher...

How does soil actually function? Jon Stika of UnderstandingAg (recently retired from USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service) emphasizes that all of us as students, managers, and caregivers of soil need to understand how soil functions as a living ecosystem with biological, physical, and chemical processes. All of us must become students of what makes soil healthy. It’s that simple and there a...

Who inspired you in your soil health journey? Lee Rinehart sustainable agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) shared about two people who inspired him in his journey into sustainable, regenerative agriculture and soil health. In sharing about his maternal grandfather's influence and the writings of Wendell Berry, Lee reiterates stories about the care of l...

What are appropriate and inappropriate technologies for soil to benefit water? Lee Rinehart of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) shares the history behind this question as well as how the question relates to their ongoing Soil for Water initiative. People may hear of appropriate technology in relation to an international context but Lee reminds us that no matter the context app...

If you were an earthworm, what type of farm would you like to be living on? This question was posed to Mike Phillips of Valley View Farms in Mauzy, Virginia, who is a student of history and a champion of soil health. Jeff Ishee was able to catch up with Mike at a recent Soil Health and Cover Crop Field Day in Rockingham County to learn how Mike seeks to mimic nature in his farming and soil health...