CCSI-HAT Soil Health Podcast

About 50% of the farmland in Indiana is rented. Twenty-five percent of the leased property is owned or co-owned by women.The image of a farmer has been embossed as an older male. However, more women are becoming farmland owners through family inheritance, marriage, and property purchases. Stepping into a male-dominated industry can be intimidating for some women. Organizations like American Farmland Trust (AFT) and Women for the Land (W4TL) are available to help women with any questions they may have about farming and managing their property.Often women are surrounded by men in the farming industry and don’t feel empowered to speak up. Women may feel this way talking to a male farmer or a male family member. W4TL and AFT have created robust women’s networks where women can feel at ease, share, and learn from each other.Women4theLand State Coordinator Heather Bacher and American Farmland Trust Midwest Regional Director Jen Fillipiack discuss those networks, some of the research behind their founding - and stories of empowerment to advance adoption of soil health practices

4Rs: Right Source. Right Rate. Right Time. Right Place.Across Indiana, farmer-leaders along with policy specialists, private industry, public agencies, and non-profits are pushing out information on 4R nutrient management and soil health systems to give farmers options that will work profitably and efficiently in their operations.Christy Wright, Corteva AgriScience; Seth Harden, Indiana TNC; and Justin Schneider, Indiana Farm Bureau talk about their organizations' roles in promoting practical soil health practices to a wide variety of farmers and landowners.

Over 19 million acres of cropland were not planted in 2019 due to extreme weather, leaving many farmers facing extreme weed pressure in those fields. Dr. Aaron Hagar, weed specialist from the University of Illinois discusses options to limit weed impacts.Key to management is prevention of weeds from forming viable seed that could impact crops well beyone 2021.

US corn and soybean planting has progressed at its slowest pace in decades. Farmers facing decisions on prevented planting also face decisions on managing fields for this summer.Many groups advocated for the use of cover crops in unplanted fields to prevent erosion, reduce further nutrient losses, and protect/improve soil health. One issue farmers will face is finding quality seed.A 'perfect storm' of weather, forage losses, and increasing cover crop acreage has led to very tight seed supplies.Scott Wohltman, Cover Crop Chair for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and agronomist for La Crosse Seed discusses these issues along with decisions being made on his own Illinois family farm.

Northwest Ohio / Northeast Indiana farmer Allen Dean and Indiana Ag Nutrient Executive Director Ben Wicker as they discuss upward trends in conservation adoption indicated by the latest Ag Census.According to the latest Census of Agriculture, Indiana farmers are among the most productive and efficient in the U.S. Indiana ranked No. 3 in the nation in acres planted of cover crops. Indiana farmers planted 936,000 acres of cover crops in 2017, up 57 percent from 2012. Additionally, farmers practiced reduced tillage on 4.1 million acres, which was up 1 million from five years ago.

Indiana/Ohio Farmer Allen Dean and Indiana Ag Nutrient Alliance Executive Director Ben Wicker as they discuss the harsh erosion that occurred over winter/spring of 2019.Both gentlemen agree that the use of cover crops and no-till can help prevent the same thing from happening in future years.Even on Dean's fields where cover crop establishment was particularly good, he still saw benefit from prior seasons' use of cover crops such as cereal rye.Download and read the podcast supplement, including information from teh Indiana Climate Change Impact Reporthttps://www.hoosieragtoday.com/category/hat-soil-health-podcast/

Penn State Professor of Entomology John Tooker discusses the evolution of neonicotinoid insecticide use and its effect on the health of crop land soils and beneficial insects.Many seed treatments aren't necessary - not because the insecticidal part of the seed treatment can't kill insects; it is that the insect pests are relatively common. Most of the insect species that are targeted by the neonicotinoid insecticidal coatings are secondary pests. "They are the secondary pests because they are not the primary concern, they are a secondary concern. Their populations are sporadic, and they can be pretty hard to find. Just from that perspective, deploying insecticide when there is no need seems unecessary to me and perhaps even wasteful," said Tooker.Download and read the supplement, including links to more info.Hoosier Ag Today

Join Rick Clark, American Soybean Association Legacy Stewardship Award Winner at the 2019 Commodity Classic as he explains his data-driven, low-input, high-return soil health system.Clark farms about 7,000 acres in Indiana and Illinois - 100% no-till, cover crop, non-GMO, and 1/3 of the acreage is in transition to a no-till organic system.It's intense, and it's data-driven. Clark says that useful data can make a farmer feel more comfortable about the decisions he/she is making. Good data can help put your mind at ease and then allow it to focus on supplementary farming methods. “When you collect the data, and you make your decisions off that data, you then become a low-cost input producer, which is what we are. That then puts you in a position of strength.”Download and read the supplementHoosier Ag Today

Mike Werling farms in the Western Lake Erie Basin watershed - water quality and soil health are always on his mind. He and Indiana USDA-NRCS State Soil Health Specialist Stephanie McLain talk about how Mike's cropping system have changed the way his Pewamo clay soils behave.The increased water infiltration of Mike's soils means he has less runoff - critical for the Lake Erie basin. It also means he has little (if any) wind-blown soil losses.Enjoy the discussion about snirt (snow + dirt), the depth of root and earthworm channels in Mike's soil. And the importance of earthworm castings - worm poo.Download and read the podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today

Indiana farmer Rodney Rulon and Indiana USDA-NRCS State Conservationist Jerry Raynor discuss Rodney's presentation on the economics of soil health.According to Rulon, the cost of cover crops is often presented as a long term investment - however, he says he has seen a response almost immediately. "A lot of times we will get enough yield benefit to more than pay for the cover crop - right in the very first year."Raynor and Rulon also discuss the technical and finacial resources available to farmers seeking to adopt a practice like cover crops or no-till.Download and read the podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today

Indiana ranks amongst the top in production of hogs, chickens, and turkeys and ranks first in the nation for duck production. It is also home to one of the largest and innovative dairies in the country. With livestock production; comes manure. What was once a wasteful by-product is now being used as part of a farmer’s soil health strategy. Indiana farmer Gordan Smiley and Consultant Kristin Whittington discuss those strategies.Smiley Farms has worked to apply manure on an established cover crop even though they are part of a no-till system. The injection of manure still falls within minimal disturbance of the soil. That cover crop is there to help hold the soil in place. The established roots are able to take those nutrients from the manure immediately.Download and read the podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today

Farmer Mike Brocksmith and Crop Consultant Betsy Bower discuss management strategies to combat tough weeds like marestail and waterhemp.Part of that strategy is use of fall seeded cover crops - along fall scouting for weed pressure. Fall applied herbicides may be used to control broadleaved weeds - preventing them from overwintering and causing problems during the following cropping season.Download and read the podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today

Understanding how soil health impacts water qualtiy starts with understanding where and how water flows across the landscape - where and water can pick up pollutants - has an impact on surface water quality.Past American Soybean Association Conservation Legacy Award winner Mark Legan understands this concept.“I look out the window at our office, and we are 100-yards from two watersheds. On our main sow barn, the east side of the roof flows into the Mill Creek watershed, and the west side of the roof flows into the Big Walnut here in Putnam County. There’s not a doubt in my mind that we can impact those watersheds and there are things we can do to improve the water that comes off both sides of that roof – through technology, through implementing various conservation practices we work to do that." - Mark LeganDownload the podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today

Warsaw, Indiana, farmer Jamie Scott strategicallly includes wheat in his cropping rotation to maximize cover crop growth. Because of that balance and diversity, he sees an immediate positive change in soil function and feels adding a grazing component will further increase those changes as well ROI. Indiana USDA-NRCS Grazing Specialist Susannah Hinds joins Scott to discuss cover crop mix options and planning a grazing system.Print ready podcast supplementHoosier Ag Today