What does the health of plants and animals have to tell us about life underground? In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Mary Sketch Bryant talk with Carl Stafford of Virginia Cooperative Extension in Culpeper County about the importance of grazing with intent for the benefit of plants, animals, and the soil. Carl is the Agricultural and Natural Resources Extension Agent in Stafford County and has expertise in livestock forages, and beef cattle management, and is an active leader in the Graze 300 program. In this episode, Carl discusses the importance of paying attention to the biological components of soil and the role that well managed livestock and grass management systems can play in supporting life underground. He shares who his mentors have been over the years and the importance of peer-to-peer networks for promoting innovation.

To learn more about Graze 300 and educational programming of Virginia Cooperative Extension in Culpeper County, please visit https://ext.vt.edu/agriculture/graze-300.html and https://culpeper..ext.vt.edu/


Learn more about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and pledge your support for soil health at https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/ and https://www.4thesoil.org.

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.