Edge-of-field practices like bioreactors, buffers and wetlands filter a farm’s runoff before it reaches nearby waterways. Mitchell Hora and Zach Johnson bring on Professor Amy Kaleita from the Iowa State University Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering to explain how edge of field practices work and who might be able to install them on their land. Farmer Mike Ehlers also joins the show to talk about his experience installing a bioreactor and why conservation practices are important to him. Also included: kayaking in drainage ditches, magic wood chips, and a dead zone in the Gulf of New Mexico.

Maybe it seems crazy to some row crop farmers to add livestock into their field rotation. But for Michael Vittetoe, the benefits of adding cattle to his Iowa farm have been plentiful. Hosts Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora talk with Michael about how livestock integration adds carbon back into the ground, helps to keep soil cool and moist, and saves money on resources. It has also become a new revenue stream. Also in this episode, Zach chats with Dave Scott, a sheep farmer in Montana, who’s at a pro level with his grazing management practices. He’s been able to get his soils to work for him in a such a way that he no longer needs fertilizer applications.

The “New Mexico Milk Maid,” Tara Vander Dussen, reaches people around the world with her social media posts shedding light on the dairy industry. She’s even had the chance to speak before the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Committee on World Food Security. Tara tells Zach and Mitchell about the challenges of farming in the dry southwest, the latest sustainable technologies on dairy farms, and what it’s like to be an international ambassador for American dairy farmers

Field Work hosts Mitchell Hora and Zach Johnson kick off Season 2 by catching up on what happened in their fields since they last met up in the studio. Zach tells Mitchell last fall was full of challenges due to constant rain. Down in tropical Iowa, Mitchell’s harvest was pretty uncomplicated. They discuss the new things they’d like to try this year and important considerations, like how to properly pronounce the word “wheat.” Be sure to listen to the end of the show, past the conclusion of the music, for a super funny voicemail left on Field Work’s new hotline.

Farmers Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora are back with more honest and authentic conversations about the ups and the downs of sustainable agriculture. They’ll explore how farmers’ failures with cover crops and strip till can give way to revelations, and how producers on the frontlines are figuring out how to pay for costly technologies like bioreactors to make their farms more sustainable. This season, Zach and Mitchell also look beyond row crops and start examining trends in animal agriculture. The new season launches March 11, 2020.

For our last episode of the season, we bring you our first live show ever, recorded at Farmfest in Morgan, Minnesota. Zach and Mitchell round out the season by bringing back some pals you heard from in earlier episodes, including their dads. Nathan Johnson and Brian Hora reflect on how their challenges with farming have been different from their sons’ and how the new generation is leading the charge of experimenting with sustainable practices. Field Work friend Jodi DeJong-Hughes, a University of Minnesota soil scientist, also returns to the show. (With her usual wit, she says she’s just glad she didn’t get killed off after episode 1). She and cover crop expert Cody Nelson of Soil RX deftly answer tough audience questions about how and why to adopt sustainable practices. Finally, Zach reveals that he and Mitchell have, in fact, achieved their goal of procuring a helicopter. Be sure to listen all the way through to find out what happens to it.

For our last episode of the season, we bring you our first live show ever, recorded at Farmfest in Morgan, Minnesota. Zach and Mitchell round out the season by bringing back some pals you heard from in earlier episodes, including their dads. Nathan Johnson and Brian Hora reflect on how their challenges with farming have been different from their sons’ and how the new generation is leading the charge of experimenting with sustainable practices. Field Work friend Jodi DeJong-Hughes, a University of Minnesota soil scientist, also returns to the show. (With her usual wit, she says she’s just glad she didn’t get killed off after episode 1). She and cover crop expert Cody Nelson of Soil RX deftly answer tough audience questions about how and why to adopt sustainable practices. Finally, Zach reveals that he and Mitchell have, in fact, achieved their goal of procuring a helicopter. Be sure to listen all the way through to find out what happens to it.

We know that corn and soybeans are the most economically viable crops we have on farms, at least in the Midwest, and that’s why they dominate the ag systems here. But there are efforts underway to add in a third crop. Third crops can be helpful for breaking up weed cycles, fixing more carbon and nitrogen in the soil, and possibly even increasing yields. Zach and Mitchell talk with farmer Darin Voigt along with Nick Jordan, a professor of agricultural ecology at the University of Minnesota, about how to integrate third crops and what the roadblocks may be to doing so.

We know that corn and soybeans are the most economically viable crops we have on farms, at least in the Midwest, and that’s why they dominate the ag systems here. But there are efforts underway to add in a third crop. Third crops can be helpful for breaking up weed cycles, fixing more carbon and nitrogen in the soil, and possibly even increasing yields. Zach and Mitchell talk with farmer Darin Voigt along with Nick Jordan, a professor of agricultural ecology at the University of Minnesota, about how to integrate third crops and what the roadblocks may be to doing so.

Field Work host Zach Johnson has tried planting cover crops a few times on his heavy clay soils in Central Minnesota, but has had nothing but failures. In this episode, Ken Franzky, an agronomist with Centrol Crop Consulting, gives Zach some insights into how to try again. Ken tells Zach and Mitchell that his recs on aerial applications, herbicide rotations, and seed mixes vary a lot by geography. “I haven't seen a cover crop system that's a one size fits all approach,” he says.