The People of Soil Health Podcast

Kent Solberg is a livestock and grazing specialist for the Sustainable Farming Association, as well as a field consultant for Understanding Ag, and a farmer. He is interested in the ability of well-managed soil to transform farms, families, and even communities. He believes diversity is key. “We’re focusing on these key principles of soil health: […]

Did you know about 50% of U.S. farm ground is rented from non-operating landowners? And that, in the Midwest, that percentage can be as high as 80-90%? As we continue to see more and more farm ground operated by someone other than the person who owns the land, it becomes critical for farmers to have […]

Host, John Mesko, talks with Wayne Honeycutt, CEO of the Soil Health Institute (SHI), which is focused on the science of soil health and how different practices impact different elements of the soil. They discuss how Wayne became passionate about soil health, how soil health management practices can benefit agriculture environmentally and economically, and SHI’s vision for the future.

Host, John Mesko, talks with Debbie Reed, executive director of the Ecosystems Services Market Consortium (ESMC), a market designed to sell carbon, water quality and water quantity credits for the agriculture sector. The ESMC considers agriculture an incredibly important component of natural resource preservation and enhancement in our country and helps farmers capitalize on their environmental investments.

Jim Isermann, SHP Field Manager for Northern Illinois and Wisconsin, talks with host John Mesko uncovering the first-ever 2019 Cover Crops Planting Report. The Cover Crop Planting Report consists of answers from 80 farmers that participated in SHP programs in 2019. Those 80 farmers live in eleven different states and provided information about the cover crops that they seeded last year. Listen in to learn more, and download the full 2019 Cover Crops Planting Report.

Iowa farmer and SHP Development Manager talked with John Mesko about the future of soil health. As a farmer, she sees anecdotal changes on her farm due to the soil health management practices she’s incorporated. As a researcher, she is really interested in being able to measure and track the changes and tie them to outcomes on the farm. In Elyssa’s mind, soil health is the new frontier in agriculture.

Jay Watson, Sourcing Sustainability Engagement Manager for General Mills, chats with host John Mesko about why General Mills is so invested in soil health. He believes focusing on soil health and improving natural resources is a win-, win-, win for the producers, for the environment, and for downstream food companies.

Mike Jordan, a wheat farmer in Kansas, joined the Soil Health Partnership to gain access to expertise and see if he could make cover crops work on his farm after a few years of trying it on his own with only minimal success. After years of inconsistent success with cover crops, Mike is taking a new approach.

Kristin Poley, SHP Michigan Research Manager, is focused on building research partnerships that help answer key soil health and water quality questions. She leverages Michigan’s diverse regions to examine the many challenges and motivations farmers experience while trying to build soil health.

Dr. LaKisha Odom is the Scientific Program Director for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. With partnerships at the core of her work, Dr. Odom oversees the Soil Health Initiative, an example of how organizations can leverage their expertise and learnings to accelerate the adoption of soil health practices.