By the time his corn crop would normally be chest-high, Brian Roemke’s farm was less than 10 percent planted. That’s the most-repeated story across the Corn Belt for the 2019 planting season, but for Roemke, it’s an opportunity. “When you’re gi

McDonald’s sees value in Soil Health Partnership sustainability work

May 7th, 2019 6m 43s

McDonald’s customers increasingly expect the restaurant chain to share their values. “We have a responsibility in society,” says Townsend Bailey, McDonald’s sustainability director, adding that McDonald’s is committed to using its scale for goo

Soil Health Partnership, Pheasants Forever goals mesh

Apr 23rd, 2019 6m 50s

Chad Bloom with Pheasants Forever believes in the mission of the Soil Health Partnership. “Pheasants Forever is an implementer,” explains Bloom, “and when all this science comes out, we can partner with the farmer to deliver habitat as a solu

Policies, commitment keep soil health a focus

Apr 11th, 2019 5m 30s

“The biggest asset a grower has is the land that he farms,” says Nathan Fields, vice president of production and sustainability at the National Corn Growers Association.From the Farm Bill Conservation Title to collaborative efforts among dive

Iowa farm couple are SHP Exceptional Educators

Mar 29th, 2019 6m 33s

John and Joan Maxwell of Cinnamon Ridge Farm are the Soil Health Partnership Exceptional Educator Award winners. Through tours of their farm, at Donahue, Iowa, the Maxwells tell the agriculture story to everyone from local kindergarten students

SHP award winner calls cover crops ‘a life saver’ for grazing

Mar 14th, 2019 5m 16s

Brian Martin advocates for the use of cover crops for improving soil health. The Centralia, Missouri, corn, soybean, small grain and cattle producer talks about the challenges of chemical control and the effects of herbicide carryover on cover

SHP members seeing soil health improvements

Mar 5th, 2019 9m 37s

Participants in the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) are seeing improved organic matter and “a general uplift in their soil health” as a result of being in the program, according to Dr. Shefali Mehta, executive director of the SHP. The partnership

Sustainable farming practices prevent soil erosion, improve soil health

Feb 14th, 2019 9m

Since he began to farm while in high school, Greg Thoren has worked to keep soil in place. “Erosion is a very large factor. [There are] a lot of waterways, a lot of conservation practices that have gone in place in our county,” said Thoren, des

The Nature Conservancy: Bridging the gap between landowners, farmers, and soil health

Feb 1st, 2019 8m 40s

The Nature Conservancy helped found and continues to be a major partner of the Soil Health Partnership for a variety of reasons. At the top is that it supports TNC’s vision of “a future world in which both nature and people thrive,” according t

Early SHP cover crop data shows no yield drag, increase in organic matter

Jan 18th, 2019 6m 33s

Insights from data collected by the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) shows that cover crops do not result in a yield drag.“I think farmers are concerned that when they adopt a cover crop that they’re going to see a yield drag,” said Dr. Maria Bo

Getting Healthy: A New Year’s Resolution for Soil and Business

Jan 4th, 2019 6m 50s

“Getting healthy” is often near the top of the list of New Year’s Resolutions. There is an equal need for soil to be healthy. The new year is a great opportunity to set goals for getting your soil healthy, which can help with managing extreme w

Nutrient Management: Efficient nitrogen application and other nutrient tips

Dec 17th, 2018 9m 28s

Wes Zylstra raises crops and pigs not far from Des Moines, Iowa, and very close to Interstate 80. Wes is proud to be the third generation on that farm and one can tell by the way he talks, he’s enthused to be there. When first contacted, Wes wa

Keep the Stubble: Benefits of reducing tillage and leaving residue in the field

Dec 13th, 2018 14m

Brian Ryberg has been turning heads in southcentral Minnesota ever since he reduced his tillage and began interseeding ryegrass cover crops in corn. While neighbors tend to begin with a black, heavily tilled seedbed, Ryberg prefers strip tillag

Drones top Christmas wish list for SHP field manager

Nov 30th, 2018 11m 34s

Everyone, no matter how old, enjoys a good toy for Christmas, but some toys can improve a farm operation from a sustainability standpoint as well as an economic standpoint. For John Stewart, a field manager in central Indiana for the Soil Healt

Harvesting Results: A year in cover crops

Nov 16th, 2018 13m 9s

The 2018 growing season featured everything from severe drought to significant flooding. That all happened within the Illinois and Missouri geography in which Abigail Peterson serves as a field manager for the Soil Health Partnership.“During

Game Day Decisions for Cover crop Seeding: Tips for planting cover crop seeds for the winter

Oct 22nd, 2018 13m 14s

Dan Miller says cover crops should be managed like any other facet of the farm.“Managing a cover crop should be like managing a cash crop,” said Miller, who markets cover crop seeds in southwestern Iowa.Miller considers cover crops to be an

‘Everyone has a role to play’ in soil health: Gleason

Oct 5th, 2018 8m 55s

Iowa Corn’s Ben Gleason has an eye for water quality and soil conservation. “We encourage experimentation,” says Gleason, referring to trying sustainable practices on small areas before they’re used on the whole farm. He also pushes peer-to-pee

Nebraska SHP farmer says ‘No-till? Yes, I Will!’

Oct 3rd, 2018 12m 9s

Near Springview, no-till is not a common practice. “In fact, they thought we were half-nuts when we started this,” said Deb Gangwish, who farms with her husband near that north central Nebraska community. Despite challenges, the Gangwishes have

SHP field manager guides farmers through conservation process

Oct 3rd, 2018 7m 10s

It’s not enough that Jim Isermann is successful in getting producers to adopt conservation farming practices. He wants them to be aware of the impact those practices have on their farm and on their bottom line. Isermann, a field manager for the

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