015. Tom Cotter – Observation, Diversity, & Planning

On today’s episode, Tom Cotter joins us from his farm in Austin Minnesota. Tom and his family have been farming for more than a century. We discuss the ways they’ve developed effective soil health practices utilizing cover crops, interseeding, diversity, organic crops, and canning crops as well as grazing livestock on their farm, They’ve also ventured into the hemp market and are learning what that means for soil health and human health. Tom joins us from one of his fields where he is sitting and reflecting on the soil and the bounty of cover that surrounds him. Tom says observation is one of the important keys to recognizing what’s happening on the land and in the soil. Take weeds for example - Tom looks at them not as weeds, but as signals indicating something is wrong in the system so rather than just getting rid of them,he investigates what he can learn from them. Tom is focused on building healthy soils that in turn builds healthy nutritious food. So grab a glass of tea, relax listening to the natural sounds from the field and join us for a great conversation with Tom Cotter.