The People of Soil Health Podcast

In this final episode of The People of Soil Health podcast, host and SHP Senior Director John Mesko reflects on the legacy of Soil Health Partnership, the people who have made our work possible and how the organization’s impact will live on for many years to come.

Trey Hill, who owns and operates Harborview Farms in partnership with his father, is no stranger to conservation agriculture. “I’m a Midwestern farm trapped in Maryland, I would like to say. We till a little over 10,000 acres. We grow corn, soybeans, wheat, and some barley for malting purposes,” he explained on The People of […]

Heading back to the family farm wasn’t exactly where Chris Gaesser thought he would end up. “My original plan wasn’t to farm,” he said. “I trained to be an agronomist. I got out of school and I got a job in the industry. I learned a lot and I gained a lot of great knowledge, […]

Founded in 1983 by Dr. Ray Ward and his wife, Jolene, Ward Laboratories has worked closely with SHP over the years to facilitate soil testing and analysis for SHP farmers. Nick Ward, the company’s president, joins host John Mesko on this episode of The People of Soil Health to explain what goes on behind the […]

Ken Rosenow, alongside his family, is the sixth generation to operate his farm – continuing a legacy that started before the Civil War. While he’s proud of his farming history, Ken is also committed to evolving for the future. That’s one of the reasons why, in 2017, he joined SHP to further his cover crop efforts.  […]

Elyssa McFarland started out on the ground floor of the Soil Health Partnership. Initially coming in as an independent contractor, Elyssa quickly became an SHP field manager. She was part of rolling out the first trial sites in Iowa and watched the program expand into what it is today.  “[Soil Health Partnership] did have that […]

For Daryl Maple, Maple Farms is much more than just a farming operation. It’s a legacy. Purchased by his great-grandfather in 1930, Daryl – alongside his cousins, brother and father – still own and operate the original 160 acres, in addition to the expanded area that has come with more than 90 years of experience. Being […]

“Enhancing demand. Adding value. Ensuring sustainability.” Nebraska Corn Board’s strategic vision and mission of creating opportunities for Nebraska’s corn growers have led Boone McAfee to a dynamic role supporting area farmers. One day he’s discussing production efficiency with his partners at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, trying to find the answer to how we improve or […]

Conservation practices sound nice…but what is the financial impact? That is a question we get asked about a lot. While there’s a lot of discussion in agriculture, environmental and policy circles about implementing conservation practices, the reality is that sustainability goals have to match up with farmers’ need to run profitable operations. That is why […]

For Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune, a passion for soil health started long ago, digging in the garden, and grew when she left for college and participated in a study abroad trip in Madagascar. Today, that dedication continues in her role as Director of the Soil Health Division for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation […]