Oftentimes soil health practices may be thought of as “one more thing” to incorporate on the farm. But in this episode, producer Matt tells us that it would be very difficult for him to farm as much land as he does without soil health practices in play.

In fact, soil health practices are what allowed his farm to grow significantly over his career which started in 1988 on just 400 acres. Matt farms with his wife and three sons in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas in the United States. They grow corn, wheat, soybean and cotton on over 20,000 acres and have a black angus cow herd. They utilize soil health practices like no-till, cover crops and terracing to manage their system in their hot and dry climate.

We are also joined by Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomist. Craig has been with Syngenta for 33 years and works with large growers who often farm in multiple states in the US. 

“ A lot of our growth has been with either families that have wanted to invest in land, institutional investors, or farm management companies. And they came to us because we’re no-till. They will not let other people operate their land unless they are no-till regenerative and taking care of the soil and improving it.” - Matt

As farmers look to improve their operations, many are turning to soil health practices. Craig shares that tools like cropwise imagery and cropwise financials allow producers to monitor successful practices to further understand the impact they are having on yield outcome.

This Week on Soil Sense:

• Meet Matt, a producer working over 20,000 acres in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, and Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomist

• Explore how economics drove Matt to incorporate soil health practices into his operation and the many benefits he has experienced through their use

• Discover the analytics being used to precisely calibrate rates of seeding and inputs for the best yield outcomes across large operations