Monthly podcast dedicated to soil health practices and systems. The podcast is produced through a partnership between the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (ccsin.org) and Hoosier Ag Today. It features farmers and other experts discussing a wide variety of practices: no-till, cover crops, nutrient/manure management, grazing.
Recorded on 9/17/24, Delaware County farmer Joe Hamilton and Fayette County farmer Andrew Bernzott discuss the steps they take when picking up a new field or farm. Hamilton returned to a full-tillage corn/soy family farm after spending 12 years as a mechanical engineer. Bernzott took over a 30-year no-till farm. Both farms are now in a 100% no-till / 100% cover crop system. Both start by taking soil samples, paying close attention to base saturation of calcium and magnesium in addition to phosphorus and potassium needs, because if soil fertility isn't taken to critical levels, one really doesn't have a starting point. Both concentrate on getting cover crops seeded and discuss the details of their strategies, including the importance of covers in their use of poultry litter for phosphorus needs.
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 advisors. Rulon - led a group of six individuals, including Brocksmith and Johnson, who met almost weekly OVER PLANTING SEASON to develop a business plan and key points of the program. The farmers involved have dedicated their time and passion to "pay it forward' to help ensure that farmers adopting a soil health practice are SUCCESSFUL.
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 sometime between June 25 - July 1, because of accumulation of GDUs when the double crop is planted, he often uses 109-113 day varieties. He's seen soil organic matter rise faster in a wheat/double crop corn vs wheat/soybean cover crop. Between deeper roots and heavier residue, they have seen returns in subsequent years.
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 spring planting conditions, crop staging was all over the map. Because the crops planted later had not grown to reach deeper soil layers, they were more at risk for the affects of heat and drought. In addition, stress degree days (over 88F) restricted crop growth. Avoiding effects of rapid onset drafts include implementing soil health principles: Maximizing Soil Cover (residue), Minimizing Disturbance, Maximizing Living Roots Year-Round, Maximizing Bio-diversity. Those principles help increase soil organic matter, retain moisture, and improve soil function.
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 farmers' research requests. It is expected that 30-40 Educators will be doing this work across the state each year. These educators have taken soil samples at various depths, pulled leaf foliar samples, scouted for weed/insect/disease pressure. By working closely with plant and pest diagnostic lab, their efforts have helped researchers identify counties exhibiting those pressures. The farmer-participants receive in-season reports on their fields as well as aggregated data with insights from researchers. This has provided opportunities for farmers to as "what if" questions on conservation practices. When a farmer has an idea of a conservation practice, the POTF team has been able to set-up demonstrations - for example, strips of balansa clover seeded at different rates by members of the Purdue UAV team. This has provided an element of learning side-by-side, in essence a bottom-up side of research and extension. Those interested in working with POTF can either reach out to their county Extension or go to the Purdue On The Farm Website