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Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on. Soil is living and life-giving. Listen as we unlock the mysteries...
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Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on.
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as an agricultural and natural resource critical to social, economic, and environmental health.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Stay tuned for the release of our first episode in October!
mostra menos
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as an agricultural and natural resource critical to social, economic, and environmental health.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Stay tuned for the release of our first episode in October!
4 The Soil: A Conversation
4 The Soil: A Conversation
Episode 24 - 15: Growing Fertilizer and Farm Profitability with Robert Waring of Brandon Farms Part I
16 JUL. 2024 · The economics of farming are always tenuous and subject to many market and climatic forces. Robert "Bob" Waring of Brandon Farms of Dunnsville, Virginia describes himself as a return-on-investment (ROI) kind of guy. With the tenuous, volatile nature of farming, Bob is constantly evaluating Brandon Farms' cropping system as a whole and looking for sound input reduction strategies. Over the past fifteen years, Bob has focused on growing his fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) and farm profitability through timely cover crop mixtures and management. Hairy vetch and black oats have worked well in his corn and soybean rotations and helped Brandon Farms dramatically reduce fertilizer and pesticide costs. If you are new to cover cropping, Bob recommends finding a legume like clover, cowpeas, or Austrian winter pea that fits in your system as a starting point.
American Farmland Trust's Soil Health Case Study of Brandon Farms is accessible at https://farmlandinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/brandon-farms-soil-health-case-study.pdf
If you have questions about the economic and climate resilience of your cropping and farming systems, please visit your local https://ext.vt.edu/offices.html unit, a https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app, or a https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/swcds office near you.
To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and join the Coalition's quarterly meetings, please visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. To access the recent 4 The Soil blog posts that Jeff Ishee referenced, please visithttps://www.4thesoil.org/. As always, we would love to hear your experience and perspective on ways you have invested in soil health and what financial and ecological returns you have experienced.
Episode 24 - 14: A Farmer's Approach to Artisanal Baking with Nicolas Melas of Mill Song Bakery Pt. II
2 JUL. 2024 · To know where our food comes from, we are encouraged to know the farmer who grew our food. Nicolas "Nico" Melas of Mill Song Bakery approaches his craft as a farmer-miller-baker in the tradition of the artisans he apprenticed to in France. Nico emphasizes that you should know your local baker to fully understand and appreciate the quality of wheat and other grains. Nico reflects on how the growing, sourcing, processing, milling, fermenting, and mixing of grain and flour all play a role in the artisanal baking process. For Nico, flavor and health go together; and bread needs to smell and taste like freshly milled grain.
Mill Song Bakery's inspiring story, values, and bread-baking techniques can be accessed at https://www.millsongbakery.com/about-us The video Jeff referenced https://youtu.be/McDvnNFDbmk?si=wPHjBcXJWRygKFL0 outlines farm-to-table connections from local soils and farms to a local stone-ground mill and local bakery.
Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman is available online or can be ordered from a local bookstore.
To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and join the Coalition's quarterly meetings, please visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visithttps://www.4thesoil.org/. We would love to hear your experience and perspective on how flavor and health go together, particularly as we learn more about meaningful connections related to nutrition and human health from the soil up.
Episode 24 - 13: Artful, Healthy Grains and Bread with Nicolas Melas of Mill Song Bakery Pt. I
25 JUN. 2024 · Nicolas "Nico" Melas of Mill Song Bakery is a thought leader within Virginia's regional food systems and a catalyst with the expanding Common Grain Alliance. Nico and his family, along with a growing network of farmers, millers, bakers, and food businesses in Virginia and the greater Mid-Atlantic Region, are working through artful farming, milling, and baking to seed and feed a strong, resilient, diverse localized food grain economy. Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt talk with Nico about his journey in farming and baking and how healthy grains and bread benefit soil health, water quality, food security, and community nutrition.
To learn more about Mill Song Bakery's inspiring story, values, and bread baking, please visit https://www.millsongbakery.com/about-us The video https://youtu.be/McDvnNFDbmk?si=wPHjBcXJWRygKFL0 outlines farm-to-table connections from local soils and farms to a local stone-ground mill and local bakery and how food eventually makes its way to local tables.
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how your artful and healthful foodways support soil health, water quality, local farmers, and community-building.
Episode 24 - Special: Soil Health and Music for Everyone with Ennis and Phil Carter of the FlipCharts Part II
18 JUN. 2024 · Ennis and Phil Carter of Flip Charts and Social Impact Studios bring together their expertise in social sciences and education to amplify a simple message that soil health and music are for everyone. We can all "literally" dig soil health and music in a multitude of ways. In part II, Ennis and Phil explain how memories and stories help us find common ground, connect dots, and stir our imaginations. Ennis spoke of the recent 4 The Soil coloring book developed by Social Impact Studios and the playful characters of an owl and a worm (Hoot and Annie) that stirred their imaginations for a 4 The Soil song and a musical hootenanny.
You are encouraged to bring your musical instruments (banjos, guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, etc.) and lawn chairs to the Hoot-n-Annie event that will be held this Sunday, June 23, 2024, in celebration of National Soil Health Day, Sunday. The Hoot-n-Annie will be held from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Camp pHyre in Rice, Virginia. Ennis and Phil provided a teaser of the schoolhouse-style 4 The Soil song to inspire and remind us soil health and music are for everyone. To learn more about Flip Charts, the 4 the Soil cartoon characters, and the Hoot-n-Annie event, please refer to our recent 4 The Soil blog post at https://www.4thesoil.org/post/join-the-flipcharts-and-camp-phyre-s-hoot-n-annie-event
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. Again, we would love to hear and see pictures of how you celebrated National Soil Health Day.
Episode 24 - National Soil Health Day Special: Music, Culture, and Action with Ennis and Phil Carter of the FlipCharts Part I
13 JUN. 2024 · In anticipation of National Soil Health Day, Ennis and Phil Carter of Flip Charts and Social Impact Studios composed a fun 4 The Soil song to celebrate and emphasize how we can all take action for the soil and planet. Ennis and Phil bring together more than forty years of life and creative work. Their collaboration and creativity integrate music, culture, anthropology, graphic design, and community organizing. Ennis and Phil highlight how music and art translate our emotions and hearts into action.
The upcoming Hoot-n-Annie event will be held on National Soil Health Day, Sunday, June 23, 2024, at Camp pHyre in Rice, Virginia. During our conversation, Ennis and Phil shared a snippet of the schoolhouse-style 4 The Soil song to engage and inspire all of us. To learn more about Flip Charts and the Hoot-n-Annie event, please refer to our recent 4 The Soil blog post at https://www.4thesoil.org/post/join-the-flipcharts-and-camp-phyre-s-hoot-n-annie-event
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you celebrated National Soil Health Day and the ways you are taking action to support soil health and the planet.
Episode 24 - 12: A Freshly Milled Perspective with Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance Part II
4 JUN. 2024 · The aroma of freshly milled and ground grain is distinct and inviting whether in preparing bread, pizza, or a vat of beer. Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance offers a freshly milled perspective on a range of topics needed to strengthen the regional food system and build the supply of regional grains to meet consumer demand. Madelyn says that bakers and chefs are often the best storytellers of why local grains are so important to their businesses, however, it is often the taste, flavor, and aroma of the food and beverages that create a lasting love and commitment to local and regional grains.
The Common Grain Alliance is a growing network of over 120 farmers, millers, bakers, and food businesses throughout Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region. For more information about the Common Grain Alliance and the many new video resources on growing and marketing small grains, legumes, and dryland rice, please visit https://www.commongrainalliance.org/
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are supporting soil health, local farmers, bakers, chefs, and a stronger regional food system and grain economy.
Episode 24 - 11: Reinvigorating the Local Grain Economy with Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance Part I
21 MAY. 2024 · How can we reinvigorate the local and regional grain economy? What is possible if grain farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, brewers, pasta makers, educators, and researchers dream and work together? Why are local, high-quality, sustainably raised small grains like rye, oats, and others not more easily available in the Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region marketplace? Mary Sketch Bryant, Jeff Ishee, and Eric Bendfeldt speak with Executive Director Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance (CGA) about these questions and the growing effort to reinvigorate the local grain economy. Madelyn shares her journey of working on conservation and facilitating policy development for soil health and conservation practices. She also shares how CGA started in Virginia and continues growing as a network of over 120 farmers, millers, bakers, and food businesses from southern Pennsylvania to northern North Carolina.
For more information about the Common Grain Alliance, its membership, upcoming gatherings, and shopping for Mid-Atlantic small grains, please visit https://www.commongrainalliance.org/
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are diversifying your cropping and farming systems for soil health and a stronger local economy.
Episode 24 - 10: Emulating Nature: The Soil Health Puzzle with Ray Archuleta and Dr. Heather Coiner
7 MAY. 2024 · Can we emulate nature with our soil health-building systems? Where do local small grains fit in the soil health puzzle? Ray Archuleta of the Soil Health Academy and retired soil health educator with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service discusses why working in concert with nature is important to farming. Ray is a big proponent of no-till farming and putting life back into systems. Tillage disrupts and kills soil fungi and sets the system back. Ray sees food and the health of the soil as medicine and critically intertwined with nature.
Dr. Heather Coiner of the Common Grain Alliance adds to this discussion and shares how small grain crop rotations are another essential piece to the soil health puzzle and biological pathways. In addition, a stronger local grain economy can provide multiple benefits to farmers, communities, and the overall health of people.
For more information about the Soil Health Academy and Common Grain Alliance, please visit their websites at https://soilhealthacademy.org/ and https://www.commongrainalliance.org/
To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are working with nature and what you are doing to know your farmer in support of local and regional agriculture.
Episode 24 - 9: Community, Dung Beetles, and a Good Steady Rain with Dr. Elizabeth Heilman of Wichita State University Part II
23 ABR. 2024 · Have you ever been on a walk and observed a dung beetle or two rolling a bit of dung down the path? Have you wondered what conditions make a good steady rain? While many things are out of our control, we can control some things if we are willing to learn and work together as a community.
Dr. Elizabeth Heilman, Professor of Education at Wichita State University, elaborates on the power of observation in ecology and farming with Mary Sketch Bryant, Jeff Ishee, and Eric Bendfeldt, specifically as the power of observation relates to weather patterns, peer-to-peer learning, and creating more stable farming systems.
Dr. Heilman shares how a "community of practice" can be a safe place to share experiences and build relationships that can help farmers "balance out the weather cycle" and "reduce drought and flooding."
For a description of Dr. Heilman's teaching, research, and recent publications, please visit https://www.wichita.edu/profiles/academics/applied_studies/School_of_Education/Heilman-Elizabeth.php
For the free soil health resource guides that Dr. Heilman referenced, please visit Green Cover Seeds at https://greencover.com/freeguides/ The tenth edition is currently accessible. Copies of the fifth edition are available in English, French, and Spanish.
To access the seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast and additional resources on soil health-building principles, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you work to balance the water cycle on your farm, ranch, or garden.
Episode 24 - 8: Calm Your Lizard Down with Dr. Elizabeth Heilman of Wichita State University Part I
9 ABR. 2024 · Are you resistant to change or risk averse? You may need to calm your lizard down and understand how important safety and security are to change, risk aversion, and the adoption of new behaviors.
Dr. Elizabeth Heilman, Professor of Education at Wichita State University, talks with Mary Sketch Bryant, Jeff Ishee, and Eric Bendfeldt about how our "lizard brains" relate to farming and ranching. For farmers and ranchers, many day-to-day factors (i.e., markets, weather, public policy, etc.) are out of their control. The lack of control can cause stress and anxiety that activate our lizard brains.
In thinking about emotional and environmental ecology, Dr. Heilman shares several strategies for self-care and calming down the anxious parts of our brain and nervous system. The strategies include keeping a done list; a gratitude list; your mission statement visible; and remembering to Eat That Frog.
For a description of Dr. Heilman's teaching, research, and recent publications, please visit https://www.wichita.edu/profiles/academics/applied_studies/School_of_Education/Heilman-Elizabeth.php
To access close to seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast and additional resources on soil health-building principles, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear your stories about self-care and strategies for regenerating the ecosystem health of your farm and organization.
Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on. Soil is living and life-giving. Listen as we unlock the mysteries...
mostra más
Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on.
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as an agricultural and natural resource critical to social, economic, and environmental health.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Stay tuned for the release of our first episode in October!
mostra menos
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as an agricultural and natural resource critical to social, economic, and environmental health.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Stay tuned for the release of our first episode in October!
Información
| Autor | Eric Scott Bendfeldt |
| Organización | Eric S. Bendfeldt |
| Categorías | Ciencias |
| Página web | 4thesoil.org |
| ebendfel@vt.edu |
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