Soil Sense

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. Al...

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 co...

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 build...

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...

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 North...

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 loo...

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...

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 c...

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 system...

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 f...

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 m...

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, h...

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...

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 fo...

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 aut...

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 m...

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...

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 whic...

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...

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...

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...

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 wo...

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 m...

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 thi...

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...