How does one measure and monitor what's happening below the ground in the soil food web? Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt caught up with Dr. Stuart Grandy, Professor of Natural Resources and the Environment, at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) to discuss the diversity of soil life and emerging sensor technologies to probe soil organic matter, soil carbon, and overall health. Dr. Grandy outlines why core soil health principles are essential for encouraging fungal hyphae, increasing the diversity of habitats, and enhancing food substrates needed to build a robust soil food web. He emphasizes how important the power of observation is and how he is constantly inspired by farmers' observations and their ongoing on-farm research for increasing productivity and reducing environmental impacts.

To learn more about Dr. Grandy's research at the UNH Center of Soil Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology, please visit https://colsa.unh.edu/soil-biome

Archives of two years of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcasts can be accessed at https://www.4thesoil.org/podcast. Also, to pledge your support 4 The Soil, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/take-the-pledge and let us know what you are doing to build soil health and life on your farm or in your garden.

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.