CCSI-HAT Soil Health Podcast

Recorded in May 2024, Scott Gabbard, Purdue On The Farm (POTF) Coordinator, and Sarah Brackney, Purdue Ag and Natural Resources Extension Educator (Daviess County) discussed current and future activities of POTF.

The POTF has created more opportunities for Extension Educators like Sarah to work with farmers as they create their own on-farm trials with POTF assistance. These efforts are leading to more insight for Purdue staff on far...

On 08/14/24, FarmAdvisors a truly farmer-designed and farmer-led mentoring program was launched (www.FarmAdvisors.Ag). Four of the founding farmers talked about the development of the program: Jim Mosely, former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture; Rodney Rulon, Hamilton County; Mike Brocksmith, Knox County; and Aaron Johnson, Orange County.

The rollout occurred just under a year from the first meeting of farmers - along with a few ag a...

08/03/24 - Aaron Johnson, Vice-president of Riverview Farms out of Orleans, Indiana - and manages their crop production systems - has been planting double-crop CORN after wheat for several years - with very respectable yield results. Jeremiah Windell, a precision agronomist with Advanced Agrilytics out or Corydon, IN has been working with Aaron for years, including their double-crop systems.

Johnson typically plants double crop corn...

Recorded on 06/18/24 - Hans Schmitz, CCSI / Purdue On The Farm Soil Health and Climate Smart Ag Specialist, and Austin Pearson, Midwest Regional Climate Center Climatologist, talk about what causes a heat dome, the potential of a "flash drought' and steps you can take to build soil health - and therefor resiliency - for your farm.

When the podcast was recorded, Indiana was experiencing and early season heat dome. Because of tough sp...

Southeast Purdue Ag Center (SEPAC) Superintendent Joel Wahlman and Purdue Entomology research Christian Krupke talk about the work of establishing field-scale regenerative ag plots - alongside existing tillage systems. The projects not only incorporate no-till and cover crops, but also IPM to reduce insecticide and herbicide treatments as well as the impacts of seed treatments on the soil ecosystem. The plots will incorporate a lo...

Not everyone "leads from the front". Some people make an indelible impact on their day to day efforts. For those who aren't the "front of the room" speakers, this podcast is for you - because you, like Fred Woods get to make a difference every day. Fred Woods was one of those individuals. In this podcast, join Barry Fisher, an independent soil health consultant and one of the first people hired at a newly-fledged USDA-NRCS Soil Hea...

In this very special episode, David's son Jay Brandt talks with Oklahoma regenerative farmer-rancher Jimmy Emmons about the about the many seeds David planted across the globe and his lasting impact on farming. Not only did Dave's farming practices change the family farm's soil classification from a Cardigan Clay to a "different performing product", he changed the lives of countless people worldwide through his honesty, humility, a...

In 1993 the inaugural National No-Till Conference was held in Indianapolis. In 2024, the conference returned to Indy. Expecting 200 attendees, some 800 people attended in that first year and really fast-tracked the adoption of no-till systems. Mike Lessiter, son of Frank Lessiter, founder of No-Till Farmer magazine and the conference talks about that initial conference as well as the history of no-till and the need for farmers to ...

Father-Son duo Cameron and Devon Churchill, Harrison County Indiana, are joined by Pete Huff, Wallace Center/Pasture Project for a slightly mind-bending conversation on grazing croplands. Just for a couple of teasers, the Churchill's have used intensive regenerative grazing to decrease round bale consumption in the cow calf operation from 2000+ to 700-750 bales! They are also turning cattle out into stalk ground after harvest to gr...

Bio Strip-till is using a cover crop that will winter kill on rows combined with overwintering cover crops in the middles. Soil Health Specialist and farmer Barry Fisher, Fisher Soil Health, and Research Agronomist John Pike, Pike Ag LLC talk about the ways this kind of system is not only a great alternative to traditional strip-till, but also the impressive results John has seen in his research and feedback from farmers he works w...

When farmers encounter challenges, they bring out their most creative and innovative solutions. Beginning farmers and those farming on a small scale can experience several challenges in getting started in their operations, and support is crucial.Join the conversation to learn how Liz Brownlee, farmer and past president of the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition, found that support as a beginning Indiana farmer. She’s joined by Elli Bla...

Thinking outside the box about a farm’s economics can lead to opportunities, including those created by climate-smart agriculture. Michael Morrow, executive director of the Indiana Farmers Union and land steward who farms with his family, and Hans Schmitz, Conservation Agronomist for the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, dive into adopting climate-smart strategies, from carbon markets and agrivoltaics to no-till and cover c...

Crops were challenged this past year with intense rains followed by long dry spells, and soil's ability to hold water is one characteristic that will be important for farming in the future. Hans Schmitz, the lead agronomist for CCSI, and Austin Pearson, climatologist for the Midwestern Regional Climate Center (mrcc.purdue.edu), talk this episode about the effects of recent weather events, the differences between climate and weather...