Join us as we chat with farmers Stuart Elliott and Jessiann Loomis about their usage of cover crops instead of a fallow period, and the changes they found in their soil biology after cover cropping. Stuart and Jessiann share what has worked, what hasn’t, and what they’ve learned along the way.

Stuart and Jessiann are participants in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Join us as we chat with farmer Eric Odberg about his use of goat and cattle grazing in his cover crop system. Eric shares how partnering with a goat herder and cattle ranchers has helped integrate livestock into his operation over the past few years. Eric and Ryan explore lessons from Eric’s on-farm trials, including surprising discoveries, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what he’s learned along the way.

Eric is a participant in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Join Ryan and Neil Appel as they dig into the lessons learned over the years by integrating livestock into Neil’s farming operation. Neil has teamed up with a friend to integrate cattle into his FLOURISH cover crop trials, and has been experimenting with what works best over the last couple of years. Ryan and Neil also chat about cover crop mixes, cover crop termination processes, aluminum toxicity in soil, and ideas on future soil health experiments. 

Neil is a participant in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Join Ryan and Allen Druffel as they dig into the good, the bad, and the ugly of integrating cattle into the Bar Star Farms operation. They discuss how Allen got involved in the FLOURISH program and his experience with cattle, cover crop mixes, experimenting while keeping the family farm viable, and his thoughts on improving the soil for years to come.

Allen is a participant in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Join us for the second part of our conversation with Josh Riddle, a farmer on the Peone Prairie outside of Spokane. Ryan sits down with Josh to chat about his experiences on his farm and with the FLOURISH on-farm trials. In this episode, hear all about seed treatments; the good, the bad, and the ugly of extracts; and Josh’s experience with roller crimping, worm castings, and other cropping practices.

Josh is a participant in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

Resources: 

Joel Salatin 

Worm Castings 

Elaine Ingham 

Johnson-Su BioReactor 

Kiss the Ground - Film 

Gabe Brown 

David Brandt 

Biochar 

Lentil Underground - Book 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Ryan sits down with Josh Riddle, a farmer on the Peone Prairie outside of Spokane, to chat all about his inspirations and aspirations with farming. Josh and Ryan discuss how Josh got started in farming and how he now has 100 landlords. They also discuss Josh’s inspirations for what led him down the conservation agriculture path and his experience with cover crops and integrating other alternative cropping practices like using extracts and sea minerals in his cropping rotation. Josh and Ryan also explore more ideas on where farming in the region could go in the future.

Josh is a participant in the FLOURISH on-farm trials.

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

Resources: 

Info on Peone Prairie 

DNS - Dark Northern Spring Wheat 

Triticale 

Norman Borlaug 

Gabe Brown - Regenerative Rancher 

Elaine Ingham - Soil Microbiologist 

Spokane Conservation District 

Johnathon Lundgren – Blue Dasher Farm  

Kiss the Ground - Film 

The Biggest Little Farm – Film 

Common Ground – Film 

Extracts - Regenerating Soil Biology through Liquid Compost Extract 

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Jodi and Ryan sit down with Jason Bishop from Living Heritage Farms in Edwall, WA, to discuss the foundations of the FLOURISH project, as well as results from the first year of on-farm trials.

Jason, Ryan, and Jodi discuss how the FLOURISH project all got started and its purpose, the background and changes to agriculture in the region in the last 100 years, the challenges of integrating cover crops and livestock in the Inland Pacific Northwest region, as well as farmers’ ambitious goals to solve those challenges.  

FLOURISH is a farmer-led conservation innovation project with the goal of supporting the widespread adoption of soil health practices by integrating cover crops and livestock into farming operations. The ambitious purpose of FLOURISH is to not only regenerate our soils, but also regenerate our rural communities by creating opportunities for younger generations to return to productive, sustainable farms. 

Resources: 

USDA Awards Conservation Innovation Projects to Support Climate-Smart Agriculture and Soil Health 

Sweet Clovers 

Earl Butz 

Speech by Wendell Berry- Agriculture for a Small Planet Symposium July 1, 1974 

FLOURISH Website 

Palouse Conservation District Website

NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants Program

The views and opinions expressed on the FLOURISH Podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Palouse Conservation District or the USDA Conservation Innovation Grants program. Any content provided by our Guests are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.