4 The Soil: A Conversation

4 The Soil: A Conversation

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!

Episodes

S5 - E17: Everything Good Starts with the Soil with Dr. Summer Thomas, Pt. I

August 19, 2025 • 17 mins
Everything good starts with the soil and a conservation stewardship mindset. In the 101st episode, Dr. Summer Thomas, education and outreach specialist with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, explains how agriculture and soil health are good for everyone. As a third-generation farmer from Delaware, former watermelon queen, a trained soil scientist and educator, and an overall advocate for agriculture, Summer shares some of her ear...
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S5 - E16: Celebrating Our 100th Podcast Episode with Jeff, Mary, and Eric

August 5, 2025 • 18 mins
During this 100th episode of 4 The Soil: A Conversation, Jeff, Mary, and Eric take a look back at some of the most memorable topics and guests. They share how (and why) the podcast started in 2021, and also offer their vision for the future of the podcast. 

To help us commemorate this milestone, please share how and why you are 4 the Soil with us and others. 

As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and ...
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S5 - E15: Building Confidence and Knowledge through Mentorship with Dara Booher, Pt. II

July 22, 2025 • 17 mins
Building confidence and knowledge through mentorship is necessary for farmers to overcome fears and take bigger steps towards meeting their goals. Dara Booher wears many educational hats. Dara is the coordinator of the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council's farmer-mentor program and the facilitator of the Virginia Farmer Mentor Network, a collaboration of Virginia State University, the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, the Vi...
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S5 - E14: Youth Education and Soil Health with Dara Booher, Pt. I

July 8, 2025 • 18 mins
Soil and agriculture provide us with something every day. Dara Booher is an agricultural educator with Shenandoah County Public Schools and a farmer-mentor coordinator with the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. Dara loves talking to youth and others about soil and agriculture. In this episode, Dara shares her enthusiasm for youth education and soil health with Mary, Eric, and Jeff, along ...
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S5 - E13: Seven Generations of Stewarding the Land with Susan Watkins

June 24, 2025 • 17 mins
In this episode of the podcast, Jeff Ishee chats with Susan Watkins of Watkins Farms in Dinwiddie County Virginia, a 3500 acre farm growing soybeans, corn, and wheat. Susan shares information about the long history of her family far, their transition to cover crops and no till over twenty years ago, and their approach to cover cropping. She shares about the cost and labor savings that have come from transitioning to these practices...
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S5 - E12: A Whole Community with Elizabeth McMullen and Garland Mason of Organic Valley, Pt. II

June 10, 2025 • 17 mins
The three-year transition to certified organic farming can present a formidable challenge for farmers. A whole community working together can make the process smoother. In this second episode, Elizabeth "Liz" McMullen and Garland Mason of Organic Valley Cooperative (OV) share how the company and its farm membership nourish a whole community perspective to benefit existing farmer member-owners and reduce obstacles for farmers who ar...
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S5 - E11: Common Ties: Cooperation and Sustainability with Elizabeth McMullen and Garland Mason of Organic Valley, Pt. I

May 27, 2025 • 18 mins
Public Relations Specialist Elizabeth McMullen and Sustainability Funding and Communications Specialist Garland Mason of Organic Valley Cooperative join Mary and Eric to share about the common ties that are essential to the farmer-owned cooperative. Cooperation and a strong commitment to the sustainability of small and mid-size family farms, local culture, and community are the most basic ties. In this episode, Elizabeth and Garlan...
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S5 - E10: Farmers Talking with Farmers with Anthony Beery of Beery Farms, Part II

May 13, 2025 • 16 mins
Farmers talking with farmers is key to building soil health, encouraging innovation, and expanding peer-to-peer mentoring. Anthony Beery of Beery Farms and Cumberland Hay and Straw LLC shares his journey of learning, mentoring, and on-farm experimenting with Mary Sketch Bryant and Jeff Ishee. In the previous episode, Anthony talked about how he benefitted from his father's counsel and encouragement. Anthony provides similar mentors...
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S5 - E9: Soil Health is Attainable with Anthony Beery of Beery Farms, Part I

April 29, 2025 • 16 mins
Soil health is attainable. Anthony Beery of Beery Farms and Cumberland Hay and Straw LLC shares that message with Mary Sketch Bryant and Jeff Ishee based on his farming experience and journey. Anthony grew up in the Shenandoah Valley where he and his father Danny raised dairy cows and poultry. Anthony benefitted from his father's mentorship and encouragement to be open to new ideas and experimenting.

Anthony and his family moved to ...
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S5 - E8: Ins and Outs of Compost Tea with Nicky Schauder of Permaculture Gardens, Part II

April 15, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode, Nicky Schauder of Permaculture Gardens continues the conversation about permaculture and the ins and outs of compost tea with Mary Sketch Bryant, Marian Dalke, and Jeff Ishee. Nicky received two USDA-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Producer Grants to specifically research the benefits of compost tea and its effects on plant growth, yield, soil biology diversity, and the stability of soil healt...
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S5 - E7: Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) with Nicky Schauder of Permaculture Gardens, Part I

April 1, 2025 • 16 mins
Nicky Schauder and her family started Permaculture Gardens to make permaculture and growing food accessible to everyone - especially families and children. Nicky shares her story and experience with learning, researching, and growing food with Mary Sketch Bryant, Marian Dalke, and Jeff Ishee. Nicky is constantly learning by experiment. Nicky is a two-time recipient of USDA-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Produ...
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S5 - E6: Education first and foremost with Nicole Shuman of Cornerstone Farm, Part II

March 18, 2025 • 18 mins
Nicole Shuman is a community agriculturalist and educator at Cornerstone Farm at Fairfield Middle School in Henrico County, VA. Nicole shares that education is the first and foremost goal of Cornerstone Farm. As a functioning farm, students and the school community learn what and how food is grown, while also gaining hands-on knowledge and experience growing food for a farmstand cost-effectively. 

Nicole outlined the big picture and...
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S5 - E5: Hands-On Community Agriculture Work with Nicole Shuman of Cornerstone Farm, Part I

March 4, 2025 • 18 mins
Context is foundational to authentic, experiential learning, and understanding how to build soil health within a landscape context. Hands-on educational activities and programs help students of all ages better understand the context and real-life application of learning objectives, principles, and practices. Nicole Shuman is a community agriculturalist with Henrico County Public Schools. Nicole shares her experience with Mary, Jeff...
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S5 - E4: Cultivating Wellness from the Soil Up with Farmer Cee of Green Heffa Farms, Part II

February 18, 2025 • 18 mins
Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley of Green Heffa Farms is someone who does not take health and wellness for granted but actively seeks to catalyze and cultivate wellness from the soil up. Farmer Cee is the founding CEO and owner of Green Heffa Farms, a black woman-owned Certified B Corporation, wellness brand, and herb farm based in North Carolina. Farmer Cee believes everyone can start on a path to wellness with care of the soil benea...
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S5 - E3: Defying Obstacles, Bringing Voices to Sustainability with Farmer Cee of Green Heffa Farms, Part I

February 4, 2025 • 17 mins
Defying obstacles, honoring the land, and giving voice to sustainability and business ethics requires commitment and dedication to a vision. Clarenda "Farmer Cee" Stanley is a visionary entrepreneur, farmer, herbalist, and advocate for ethical business and sustainable living. Known affectionately as "Farmer Cee," she is the founding CEO of Green Heffa Farms, a wellness brand and herb farm that celebrates the power of nature to heal...
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S5 - E2: Understanding Context, Establishing Baselines with Rick Clark of Farm Green, Part II

January 21, 2025 • 19 mins
Understanding context and establishing baselines are critical for developing systematic approaches to change for the right reasons. Rick Clark of Clark Land & Cattle and Farm Green Consulting is a fifth-generation farmer who farms 6,000 plus acres of certified organic crops in Warren County, Indiana. In addition to cash, oilseed, and cover crops, Rick raises cattle and sheep using his system of regenerative organic stewardship ...
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S5 - E1: Commitment and System Balance with Rick Clark of Farm Green, Part I

January 7, 2025 • 18 mins
Building soil health and finding system balance requires commitment, fortitude, adaptability, and working with Mother Nature. Rick Clark of Clark Land & Cattle and Farm Green Consulting is a fifth-generation farmer in Warren County, Indiana. Rick farms corn, soybeans, wheat, milo, cover crops, small grains, and other oilseed crops using regenerative organic no-till methods and systems thinking on all his acreage. Rick refers to...
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S4 - E26: A Regional Food System Perspective with Maureen and Mo of LEAP, Part II

December 17, 2024 • 19 mins
Our conversation with Maureen McNamara Best and Maureen "Mo" McGonagle on regional food system development and networks continues this week with a specific focus on food as medicine. Maureen McNamara Best is the executive director of LEAP (Local Environmental Agriculture Project) and Maureen "Mo" McGonagle is the director of the Roanoke Foodshed Network. In this episode, Maureen and Mo discuss educational and community outreach pro...
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S4 - E25: A Regional Food System Perspective with Maureen and Mo of LEAP, Part I

December 3, 2024 • 18 mins
What does a regional food system network look like? Maureen McNamara Best is the executive director of LEAP (Local Environmental Agriculture Project) and Maureen "Mo" McGonagle is the director of the Roanoke Foodshed Network. Maureen and Mo provide a perspective lens into food system relationships and community collaborations emerging and developing in the Roanoke region of Virginia. Maureen shares that stories and relationships ar...
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Episode 24 - 24: Flavor and Sustainability with Nate Sloan of Bloom Restaurant and Wine Bar, Part II

November 19, 2024 • 17 mins
Nate Sloan, executive chef and owner of Bloom Restaurant and Wine Bar in Roanoke, Virginia shares with Jeff, Mary, and Eric how restaurants can be a conduit of flavor, sustainability, health, and food security.  Nate grew up on his parents' farm in Franklin County, Virginia and these roots inspired his vision as a restaurateur and commitment to local farms and food entrepreneurs. Nate has worked in restaurants across the country an...
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