How can we purposefully enhance soil life? Lydia Fitzgerald is an integrated cropland agronomist with Virginia's USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Virginia Tech. Lydia grew up on a family farm in Nelson County, Virginia, and was inspired by her family to take active participation in Future Farmers of America (FFA) in high school to dream of and pursue a career in agriculture and natural resources. In her outreach and education role, Lydia uses hands-on soil health demonstrations and research to encourage farmers, ranchers, market gardeners, and land managers to take an integrated approach to soil, crop, and natural resource management. Lydia shares that purposeful cover cropping and no-till systems that enhance deep root development and minimize disturbance are essential for enhancing soil life and resilience.

To learn more about educational and technical assistance programs as well as possible career opportunities with Virginia USDA-NRCS, please visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/va/home/

For additional soil health resources and information, please visit the Virginia Soil Health Coalition website at https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/resources-1. To make your pledge towards improving soil health and to become an ambassador, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/take-the-pledge.html

4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.

Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.

To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website 4thesoil.org. Music used during today’s program is courtesy of the Flip Charts. All rights reserved. 4 the Soil: A Conversation is produced by On the Farm Radio in collaboration with Virginia Tech. The host and co-hosts are Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt.