The Grow Down on Soil Health

No two farming journeys are alike, and that holds true for farmer brothers and innovators Aaron and James Black of Charles City County, Virginia.

They’re joining us to tell us more about their journey since reviving and expanding their family farm and their cover crop journey. They’ll also discuss the development and the impacts of the combine-mounted seeder, an implement that allows farmers to seed cover crops while harvesting in one pass.

Meet the Guests:

Aaron and James Black are brothers, fifth-generation farmers, and innovators based in Charles City County, Virginia. They co-manage and co-own NS Farms LLC and CLR Systems, where they test and develop agricultural innovations to improve farmer profitability, sustainability and productivity.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff and the National Corn Growers Association.

Today’s episode features farmer Paul Davis of New Kent County, Virginia, where he and his family operate their centennial farm. 

He’s here to share more about his journey with cover crops, from developing “The Paul Davis Method” to the benefits he’s seen on his farm ever since, such as reducing input costs, improving organic matter and weed suppression. 

Meet the Guest:

Paul Davis, a farmer based in New Kent County, Virginia, has been using cover crops on his acres for the last 20 years. His work as a county extension agent, farmer, and participant in on-farm research trials has led to agricultural innovations in cover cropping, soil sampling and the benefits of working with others.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

Peer-to-peer learning is often the bridge between learning something new and doing something new, offering support and guidance along the way. 

Today’s guest, Jenny Seifert, is here to walk us through the benefits of peer-to-peer learning that she has seen through the One Good Idea project, an initiative focused on facilitating farmer communication and serving as a digital one-stop shop for agricultural content to help farmers improve their land and their bottom line.

Meet the Guest:

Jenny Seifert is a watershed outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and a strategic board member of the One Good Idea project. With her educational background in social sciences, Seifert understands the impact that peer-to-peer learning has on behavior change. One Good Idea is a digital clearinghouse filled with research-backed, evidence-based resources, allowing farmers across the nation to learn from fellow farmers who’ve faced similar situations.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

For many years, farmers and environmental groups didn’t see eye to eye, with each side not understanding the goals and challenges the other faced or was trying to solve. Now, organizations like Sustainable Chesapeake, led by Founder and Executive Director Kristen Evans, are bringing both sides to the table to work together for the betterment of agriculture and the environment.

We’ll hear how these collaborations have impacted conservation in the Chesapeake Bay region as a whole, from increasing cover crop adoption, driving innovation and solving problems one conversation at a time.

Meet the Guest:

Kristen Evans is the founder and executive director of Sustainable Chesapeake, a non-profit organization that works to “serve as a bridge between farmers and the environmental community.” Trust is the foundation, and with that, Evans works with her team to provide farmers with the financial and technical assistance they need to take the first step in their conservation journey. 

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

On today’s episode, we have Minnesoate NRCS State Conservationist, Troy Daniell, joining us again! He’ll be diving a little deeper into the ways that cover crops and other regenerative agricultural practices not only benefit the farmer but the community at large. From improving water-holding capacity to restoring habitats for wildlife, Daniell is here to cover it all.

Meet the Guest:

Troy Daniell is the NRCS State Conservationist for Minnesota. His conservation agriculture career spans nearly 30 years and five states. Troy will share how he has seen results of cover crops and other regenerative agricultural practices lead to improved water management that benefits farmers, their land, and their communities.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff and the National Corn Growers Association.

Today’s episode features Maria Teresa Tancredi, Ph.D., a senior soil health specialist with the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) and a Farmers for Soil Health Minnesota technical advisor. She’s here to share what she’s learned from both her research and her direct work with farmers on the technical and social barriers to cover crop adoption.

From equipment concerns to community pressures, Tancredi shares personal insights to help advisors better guide farmers on their unique cover crop journeys.

Meet the Guest:

Maria Teresa Tancredi, Ph.D., a senior soil health specialist with the Conservation Technology Information Center and a Farmers for Soil Health Minnesota technical advisor, has been around farming her entire life. Having grown up on her family’s small homestead in Italy and now working with CTIC, she went on to study both the technical and psychological influences farmers face, not just to understand them but to help farmers find ways to overcome them. Read more about Tancredi’s research here.

As mentioned in the episode, the CTIC Conservation Connector is an easily accessible resource for farmers, ranchers and advisors to find different conservation programs and technical support in their area to help them get started. 

Visit their website to get started: Connector.ag/home

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Blake Sullivan, senior product manager with our technology partner, DTN. Blake has helped lead the Farmers for Soil Health platform for the past four years and brings valuable insight into the technology and innovation supporting the program.

He’s here to provide more information on how the Measurement, Verification and Reporting (MRV) platform and remote sensing work within the Farmers for Soil Health program, and how they also benefit the future of agriculture and conservation as a whole.

Meet the Guest:

Blake Sullivan is the senior product manager at DTN, the technology partner for Farmers for Soil Health. His work focuses on leveraging and improving the MRV system to advance and scale conservation programs that benefit farmers and their bottom lines. As an avid storm chaser, he recognizes the importance and impact of usable data and carries that with him in his work.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

Today, we’re joined by Zeb Winslow, a fifth-generation farmer who has been utilizing cover crops on his 900-acre operation for the last 13 years. He’s here to share what he’s learned along the way, from the transition from a single species to a multi-species blend to the importance of giving the practice time to work and supply the benefits you’re trying to achieve.

Meet the Guest:

Zeb Winslow is a fifth-generation farmer based in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, a small community of about 2,500. As someone who has been planting cover crops for 13 years, he’s seen the benefits since the very beginning. He’ll be detailing the important aspects to keep in mind, such as treating cover crops like a cash crop in your rotation and ensuring you have a plan for different scenarios or leaning on fellow farmers who have experience doing what you’re trying to do.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

On this episode, Carl Coleman, a farmer with 36 years of experience who also joined the seed business, is here to share his story of starting cover crops and the benefits he, his neighbors and his customers have seen. He’ll explain the importance of changing his mindset on cover crop use, how they improved the longevity of soil biological life and reduced the need for synthetic inputs.

Meet the Guest:

Carl Coleman of Dillon, South Carolina, spent 36 years as a farmer before joining the seed industry with his son-in-law and forming Choice Ag. He is dedicated to working with farmers on their cover cropping journey, ensuring they have what they need to achieve their goals.

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and the National Corn Growers Association.

For today’s episode, we have Kaitlyn Dozler here to give us the ins and outs of virtual fences. She’ll break down topics such as how the technology works, the labor and cost savings for producers and how the cattle respond. Learn more about this grazing option and how it can not only be a solution for ranchers who don’t have time to rotate but also for the herd.

Meet the Guest:

Kaitlyn Dozler is the Virtual Fence Program Manager at the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture. Her agricultural career began on her family’s farm in Nebraska before going on to lead the state’s first virtual fencing study during her graduate research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Now, Kaitlyn works with Missouri farmers and ranchers, guiding them through the transition to virtual fencing.  

Farmers for Soil Health is a program created by farmers for farmers. It is committed to enhancing soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, to improve the environment and increase farmers' profitability. Check out FarmersforSoilHealth.com for more information.

This podcast is brought to you in partnership with the Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, National Corn Growers Association and the Soil Health Institute.

The Soil Health Institute’s research and outreach empower farmers, advisors, conservation professionals, and scientists to advance the adoption of soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. For free resources, advice, and tools tailored to your region, visit https://soilhealthinstitute.org/resources/.