The Water Table

What kind of students are seeking out careers in ag? It isn’t just kids on the farm anymore... Jamie catches up with Dr. Amy Kaleita, Department Chair of the Ag and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University. They discuss how education is furthering the world of agriculture, why students are choosing career paths in ag, and how the opportunities to create change in the industry are endless. C...

Jamie sits down with Tim Radatz for a conversation about Discovery Farms, a public-private partnership that is advancing research into water quality and agricultural drainage practices. Learn why getting real-time data from private farms across Minnesota is providing farmers with the information they need to implement the best practices for their area to not only increase yields, but improve water...

Jamie sits down for a conversation with Jacob Handsaker and Bob Lepper on this episode of the Water Table Podcast. Learn how a used excavator launched Jacob’s career, and how Bob’s expertise has been integral in passing on knowledge to the next generation – in excavating, show business and beyond. It’s a story about constant curiosity you won’t want to miss. Chapters: 00:00   Welcome to the Water...

Jamie catches up with some special guests on this episode of The Water Table Podcast. College students Harris and Griffin Duininck sit down to talk about their summer road trip and video series about the water management industry that now has nearly 4 million impressions on social media.  The guys traveled across the US and learned some valuable lessons about why their generation should care about...

In this episode of the Water Table Podcast, Jamie sits down with Alex Buseman, a graduate assistant at Iowa State University who is currently working on three research projects dealing with water quality in agriculture. Does the type of wood in a bioreactor matter? How does the only dual-chamber bioreactor in the world function?  What is the Forest to Farm program? How long do bioreactors last? Li...

And that’s a wrap on 2023! It was a great year on The Water Table podcast. We took our mobile studio on the road and caught up with people all over the Midwest, including Iowa LICA Field Days to Minnesota Farm Fest. We also had some great guests in the studio, including a few who kicked Jamie out of the host chair to do their own interviews. Listen in to hear the highlights from some fan-favorite...

Jamie sits down with Prinsco Ag Application Engineer, Trey Allis, for a conversation about a recent study on pipe perforation and sock fabric. They talk through how small-scale studies might contribute to misconceptions in agricultural water management, and why talking to a contractor in your area is the best bet for farmers who have questions about which drainage products will serve your farm bes...

From preparing for an early harvest to waiting out the rain… how did harvest actually go in Minnesota? In the rest of the Midwest? In the Dakotas? Jamie sits with Karl Guetter to get a harvest update and touch on a wide range of other topics, including land values, how interest rates might affect agriculture and whether more tile will get buried after Thanksgiving this year. Chapters: 00:00   Toda...

It’s East meets West in this episode of The Water Table Podcast... On the Road. Eastern and Western Minnesota Prinsco Sales reps, Justin Sander and Tim Erickson reflect on Farmfest– what they’ve learned, conversations they’ve had, and why it pays to be a lifelong learner, especially in the world of agriculture and water management. Hear their perspectives on technology, tiling, and why visiting th...

In this episode of The Water Table on the road, we’re at Minnesota Farmfest. Guest host, Justin Sander, caught up with a couple of drainage contractors to find out where they think the industry is headed, the challenges they think lie ahead, and what keeps them going. This conversation is with Mike Litzau of Litzau Farm Drainage in Atwater, Minnesota. He’s been working in the industry since he was...

In this episode of The Water Table on the Road, we’re at Minnesota Farmfest. Guest host, Justin Sander, caught up with a couple of drainage contractors to find out where they think the industry is headed and what keeps them going. This conversation is with Andy Stevens, a farmer and tiling contractor from Vernon Center, Minnesota. Get his take on the outlook for farming and drainage for the next f...

It’s a conversation with a legend in this episode of The Water Table Podcast. Jamie is joined by Merv Hilpipre, who reminisces about his long career in auctioneering, his sled-dog racing days, why he always wore a tux to an auction, and more. You don’t want to miss this episode of The Water Table... On the Road at the Iowa LICA Farm. Chapters & Topics: 00:00   Intro 00:32   On the road at the...

Jamie has some special guests joining him on this episode of The Water Table Podcast. College students Harris and Griffin Duininck sit down to talk about their summer job – a road trip to find out about resiliency in the water management industry. The guys were all over the map and learned some valuable lessons about why their generation should care about plastic pipe and what it might mean for th...

The Water Table Podcast is on the road at the Iowa LICA Farm, chatting with two people who work for the National LICA organization. What exactly does LICA do and why is it important for contractors to be members? We cover all the benefits (there are a lot…) and talk about how LICA is key for the future of land improvement in this episode with Allison Hack, Director of Communications at the LICA Na...

We’re On the Road at the Iowa LICA Farm Field Days. In this episode, Jamie sits down with safety expert, Josh Snyder, to get the dirt on digging in the dirt, and why safety is such serious business. What should you do in a trench collapse? What are best practices for working in confined spaces? It’s an episode that could save your life. Episode Topics: 00:00   Intro 00:32   Welcome to the Iowa LIC...

This episode of The Water Table Podcast is On the Road  at the Iowa LICA Farm Field Days where we caught up with Roger Solberg, who's using a heavy equipment simulator to train the next generation of operators. It’s a stimulating conversation about simulation… learn why it’s key to the agricultural water management industry and related fields. Chapters & Episode Topics: 00:00   Intro 00:3...

The farm crisis literally moved the earth for one Iowa man. We're getting all the dirt, literally, on this episode recorded live from the Iowa LICA Farm for Farm Field Days. Hear the farm's backstory, contractor Bruce Kleven's connection to LICA, and why we’re at the beginning of the bell curve for changing conservation practices in agricultural water management. Episode Topics: 00:...

Saturated buffers– do they really work!? How are researchers working with the boots on the ground to figure things out? Or is it all just a big guessing game? Guest host Trey Allis catches up with Dr. Matt Helmers and Charlie Schafer to answer these questions and more in this episode of the The Water Table Podcast on the road at the Iowa LICA Farm. Episode Topics: 00:00   Intro 00:32   Coming up o...

We are on the road in this episode of The Water Table Podcast. We stopped in at the Iowa LICA Farm Field Days to catch up on all the latest and greatest in water management. Iowa leads the country in production of corn, eggs, pork, ethanol and red meat. Find out why they also lead in building saturated buffers and bioreactors. It’s all about partnerships and their push for Batch and Build projects...

It’s a Water Table takeover on this week’s episode of The Water Table Podcast. Kristine Fladeboe Duininck kicked her husband, Jamie, out of the host’s chair and invited Kitty Rodelius to join her. Kitty just happens to be married to Kent Rodelius, a water management expert who has worked for Prinsco for more than 40 years. Find out what it’s been like for these ladies to be married to people who a...

In this episode of The Water Table, Jamie and Tom Christensen discuss the importance of public and private partnerships in agricultural water management and the importance of investing in drainage management practices. From cost-sharing to education to removing barriers, it’s a wealth of information that every crop producer should hear! About the Guest: Tom Christensen is the chair of the Conserva...

Kelby Kiefer and Dave Flewelling join Jamie to talk about the Iowa LICA Field Days coming up on July 26 & 27 in Melbourne, Iowa. The Water Table Podcast will be there with our mobile recording studio to get in on all the action. Find out why Iowa LICA chapter is one of the biggest and best in the country and hear about the farm they’ve owned for 20 years. They’ve used 80 acres to clean up a 10...

Jamie is joined by Dr. Ehsan Ghane from Michigan State University, a professor and researcher, for a conversation about which type of pipe is best for specific types of soil. Should the pipe have narrow slots? Should it be wrapped in a sock? What is drainage intensity? Does water-main size matter? Dr. Ghane answers all of these questions and more. Don’t miss this episode! Michigan State University...

We are joined by Dr. Jane Frankenberger of Purdue University to talk about the Transforming Drainage Project, which took five years and covered dozens of test sites across the Midwest. The project delivered invaluable data to propel agricultural water management into the future. Join Jamie and Dr. Frankenberger as they discuss drainage and how water storage and controlled drainage could change the...

It’s a wide range of topics on today’s episode of The Water Table Podcast. Duane Bonnema joins host Jamie Duininck to talk agriculture water management and has some go-to advice for any farmer who has tiled fields. Plus, how he uses the latest technology to help farmers maintain their drainage systems and why every inch of tile should be mapped. About the Guest: Duane Bonnema founded Bonnema Surve...