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 principles.

Mike is always cognizant of keeping soil covered, nurturing soil biology, and managing his above and below-ground livestock. He encourages us all to know we are part of a system and that all living things are sacred. Therefore, we should manage our lives, farms, and soils to be in harmonious balance. Mike has been inspired by many people throughout his life and he is fiercely intent on inspiring others, particularly young and beginning farmers, to farm and live as part of the land and sacred system.

Context is a critical precept for customizing soil health to your farm and landscape. To learn more about Mike Phillips's passion for farming and care of the land, please take six minutes to listen to two of Virginia Cooperative Extension's Soil, Conservation, and Place videos at https://youtu.be/Sgbqt_AnA8s and https://youtu.be/HyW858Hb12k

Learn more and hear the conversation on our website www.4thesoil.org or wherever you get your podcasts! As always, we encourage you to do your part to build soil health on your farm, in your garden, and in your landscape.

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.