Building soil health and finding system balance requires commitment, fortitude, adaptability, and working with Mother Nature. Rick Clark of Clark Land & Cattle and Farm Green Consulting is a fifth-generation farmer in Warren County, Indiana. Rick farms corn, soybeans, wheat, milo, cover crops, small grains, and other oilseed crops using regenerative organic no-till methods and systems thinking on all his acreage. Rick refers to his system as regenerative organic stewardship with no tillage. Rick was a guest speaker at the recent Profitable Soil Health Field Day held in Franklin County, Virginia.

In talking with Mary, Jeff, and Eric about his experience and organic no-till journey, Rick emphasizes the need for early success with cover cropping and soil health-building practices, particularly when people are shifting farming systems and paradigms. Rick warns that with current volatile input costs and low cash crop prices, this is not a time to be a hero but to start slowly and wisely. However, Rick also states: "If you're not uncomfortable with what you're doing, then you're not trying hard enough to change."

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts. 

For additional thoughts and resources from Rick Clark on regenerative organic no-till farming, please visit https://www.farmgreen.land/.

To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and join the Coalition's quarterly meetings, please visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. Recent 4 The Soil blog posts resources can be accessed at https://www.4thesoil.org/. For questions about soil and water conservation practices, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office. 

As always, we encourage you in your commitment to building soil health; finding system balance on your farm, in your garden, and community; and joining the 4 The Soil movement. Yes, we can all be 4 The Soil.

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.