Field, Lab, Earth

"Geophysical tools for agricultural management: trends, challenges, and opportunities" with Dr. Sophia Becker Geophysical tools can help boost productivity and cut costs in the field, but, as with all areas of technology, work must be done to ensure smooth and useful implementation. In this episode, Sophia joins me to discuss her work studying opportunities and challenges for geophysical methods....

"Putting the Soil Health Principles to the Test in Iowa, USA" with Dr. Marshall McDaniel and Hillary Olson Soil health principles can help guide farmers in best practices for long term soil health and improvement. However, it's important to test these principles across locations and contexts to see how their implementation is actually shaping soil health. In this episode, Marshall and Hillary join...

Michael Torrey and Julie McClure of Torrey Advisory Group join Society CEO Jim Cudahy to discuss the impacts of the current administration on the Societies' sciences, the Farm Bill, and how our members can be involved. Contact us at podcast@sciencesocieties.org or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't...

"Wild bee visitation unaffected by disparate nectar phenotypes in a sunflower inbred line population" with Dr. Jarrad Prasifka. Bees are important pollinators for sunflowers. But, just like humans, they also have preferences, which means it's important for sunflower breeders to breed the kinds of sunflowers that bees like best. In this episode, Dr. Jarrad Prasifka joins me to discuss sunflower nec...

"Mechanical management strategies improve corn production in organically managed living mulch systems" with Ben Brockmueller. Organic farming is a rich and rewarding challenge for farmers, but without the use of herbicides and other conventional methods, weed suppression can be a problem. Cover crops functioning as living mulches can be one way to overcome this challenge, but what works in one cro...

Dr. Paul Skinner discusses his career in viticulture and his time as a member of the Soil Science Society of America.   Contact us at podcast@sciencesocieties.org or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don't forget to subscribe. If you'd like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do s...

" Synthesis, function, and genetic variation of sorgoleone, the major biological nitrification inhibitor in sorghum " with Drs. Sakiko Okumoto, Bill Rooney, and Guntur Subbarao When we fertilize our crops, some of the nitrogen from that fertilizer gets converted into different forms through processes called nitrification and denitrification. When non-plant available forms of nitrogen exit the soil...

We're trying something a little bit different. In addition to our regular episodes with Abby, we'll be adding a monthly bonus episode with Jim Cudahy, the CEO of the Societies. In this first episode, Jim has a chat with the three Society presidents, discussing current challenges and opportunities for the Societies, including ways that members can get the most out of our programs, but guests will v...

"The critical period of cover crop management: A framework for maximizing biomass potential and minimizing volunteers with buckwheat" with Dr. Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill Buckwheat can be a powerful driver of ecosystem services in potato rotations grown in Canada, but with its long-lived seeds and ability to make a whole lot of them in a short time, it can also pose a serious volunteer problem. In thi...

"Within-family genomic selection in strawberry: optimization of marker density, trial design, and training set composition" with Dr. Joshua Sleper If plant breeding were a poker game, you'd have to play a lot of hands to beat the house. Quantitative genetics hopes to give players an advantage by recognizing patterns that can point to future success. In strawberry, a genetically complex and labor-i...

"Cereal Rye Biomass Effects on Giant Ragweed Suppression Inform Management Decisions" with Guilherme Chudzik and Rodrigo Werle. For farmers in the Midwest, giant ragweed can be a giant problem. In Wisconsin, where long emergence windows, aggressive growth, herbicide resistance, and power-packed seeds make suppression difficult, farmers are always looking for more hammers to hit this nasty nail on...

"Fifteen years of findings: Advancements in spring dead spot research from 2009 to 2024" with Dr. Wendell Hutchens Spring dead spot is a disease that lies in wait before going after your turfgrasses, transforming your favorite golf course into the set of your favorite PG-13 slasher. This episode, Wendell joins me to discuss the mega gains made in the last 15 years of spring dead spot research, in...

"Genomic Selection: Essence, Applications, and Prospects" with Dr. Jianming Yu Genomic Selection is a plant breeding innovation that aims to speed plant breeding by using predictions from a training model enabled by genomics and statistics to guide the breeding decisions. With around thirty years of history around this innovation, it was about time to develop a review on it. Enter Dr. Jianming Yu...

"The Nitrogen Value of Cover Crops" with Dr. Guillermo Marcillo. Cover crops are known for their ability to provide economic and ecosystem services to farmers, including, for example, impacting soil nitrogen. But how much nitrogen, exactly, can cover crops add or remove and how do we find out? In this episode, Guillermo joins me to discuss his work collating research data to get to the bottom of c...

"Toward sustainable compost use: Prediction of organic matter via smartphone image analysis" with Dr. David C. Weindorf Compost needs to be regularly tested to ensure labels regarding organic matter, nutrients, and more remain accurate. However, getting compost tested is time- and cost-intensive. This episode, Dr. Weindorf joins me to discuss how developing a model to predict organic matter from c...

" Early impacts of cover crop selection on soil biological parameters during a transition to organic agriculture " with Nick Boodages. Incorporating cover crops is an important step in the transition from conventional to organic growing practices, but in Texas, limited resources can bring complications. In this episode, Nick joins me to discuss his work researching how to help farmers make the lea...

"United States soybean seed protein concentrations – current status, challenges and some potential crop management solutions" with Dr. Anuj Chiluwal. Soybeans are a crucial crop in the United States for a variety of uses, including for its use as a protein source in animal feed. However, in recent years, high yield varieties have seen a steady decline in seed protein concentration. In this episode...

" Using electromagnetic induction to inform precision turfgrass management strategies in sand-capped golf course fairways " with Dr. Briana Wyatt and Dallas Williams Golf courses are well known for their beautiful greens, but overusing fertilizer and water to keep them looking pristine can lead to inefficient, expensive, and environmentally damaging waste. Precision turfgrass management can help,...

"Soil Health Cycle" with Dr. Bijesh Maharjan Researchers, advisers, and farmers alike know that soil health is important, but taking steps forward in the knowledge of which practices to use and their impacts can be difficult. Enter the soil health cycle, an iterative approach to help track how practices and their implementation take soil health forward. In this episode, Bijesh joins me to discuss...

"Evaluation of speed breeding conditions for accelerating Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol screening in wheat" with Nidhi Rawat and Vivek Tiwari.   Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as head scab, is one of the most significant diseases affecting wheat, causing substantial economic losses for farmers in the U.S. and worldwide. While FHB resistant wheat lines have been identified, breedi...

"Economics of strip cropping with autonomous machines" with James Lowenberg-DeBoer. With the growing global population, the demand for food continues to rise. However, increasing food production often depends on intensive farming practices and agricultural inputs that can negatively impact environmental health. To counter this, promoting crop diversity, improving soil health, and reducing disease...

" Microarthropods improve oat nutritional quality and mediate fertilizer effects on soil biological activity " with Dr. Ashley Jernigan Microarthropods are little critters that can have a big impact on crop production, particularly when it comes to nutrient cycling and nutrient acquisition. However, there's still much to learn about how the work these little helpers do is affected when paired with...

" Grazing cover crops: How does it influence soils and crops? " with Drs. John Holman and Augustine Obour. Cover crops have a lot of uses depending on where you live and what you grow, but in some regions like the Great Plains, it can take a little extra help to make sure they're as helpful as they can be. In this episode, John and Augustine join me to discuss the advantages and challenges of graz...

"Soil degradation and crop yield declines persist 5 years after pipeline installations" with Theresa Brehm. Underground pipeline installations are crucial for energy supply, helping to meet rising demand. However, these installations can significantly impact agricultural lands due to soil excavation, heavy machinery use, and resulting soil disturbances. Although companies typically offer support t...

"Invasive sorghum aphid: A decade of research on deciphering plant resistance mechanisms and novel approaches in breeding for sorghum resistance to aphids" with Drs. Somashekhar Punnuri, Karen Harris-Shultz, Joseph Knoll, and Xinzhi Ni. Sorghum is an important crop in the United States, grown for grain, forage and bioenergy purposes. However, its production is facing several challenges due to abio...