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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. Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by 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.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES) and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, On the Farm Radio, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (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.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by 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.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES) and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, On the Farm Radio, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (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.
LISTEN TO EPISODES OF "4 the Soil: A Conversation"
Episode 22-1: Building Cultural Soil with Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman's Community of Businesses, Part 2
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Mary Sketch continue their conversation with Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman’s Delicatessen and Community of Businesses. In Part 2, Ari builds on his metaphor of building our cultural soils, discussing the importance of playing the long game of fostering a healthy organizational ecosystem. To read Ari's recent reflections on the metaphor, please visit https://www.zingtrain.com/blog/the-importance-of-organizational-culture/
Also, please don’t forget to share your commitment and your organization's commitment to soil health and a healthy ecosystem by taking the 4 The Soil pledge today at www.4TheSoil.org/#Pledge.
Also, please don’t forget to share your commitment and your organization's commitment to soil health and a healthy ecosystem by taking the 4 The Soil pledge today at www.4TheSoil.org/#Pledge.
Episode 21-6: Rooted in and Tied to Love and Care -- Virginia's Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In this episode, Mary Sketch of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and Jeff Ishee of On the Farm Radio talk with Virginia's Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Bettina Ring who shares her love for and tie to nature, forests, and soils; and how that love and those connections made a difference in her trajectory and career. Secretary Ring was introduced to gardening and nature by her grandparents and parents and the connections they made for her to land, water, and soil. Secretary Ring admits that she would "nerd out" on soil early on in her life because she was so intrigued with the biology and the science of soil formation. Her knowledge of soil provided a solid foundation for her career as a state forester, urban forester, natural resource conservationist, and secretary for agriculture and forestry.
Thinking long-term, we want to eliminate erosion and keep soil in place. Secretary Ring says we all need to be soil keepers and take the 4 The Soil pledge for the future of the Commonwealth and for a healthy viable economy.
To do your part as a soil keeper, take the pledge at https://www.4thesoil.org/#Pledge
Thinking long-term, we want to eliminate erosion and keep soil in place. Secretary Ring says we all need to be soil keepers and take the 4 The Soil pledge for the future of the Commonwealth and for a healthy viable economy.
To do your part as a soil keeper, take the pledge at https://www.4thesoil.org/#Pledge
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Episode 5: The Ethics of Soil Management with Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman's Community of Businesses Part 1
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In this episode, Jeff Ishee, Eric Bendfeldt, and Mary Sketch speak with Ari Weinzweig, CEO and co-founder of Zingerman’s Delicatessen and Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor Michigan. Ari is a successful entrepreneur, leader, writer, and visionary. In this episode, we move away from the technical aspects of soil health and hear from Ari on how healthy organizations are like healthy soils. In his thinking and writing, Ari explores and explains why cultural soil health is important to an organization's ecosystem and the broader community, particularly as people seek to better align their lives and values. You can read more from Ari on enhancing our cultural soils here: https://www.zingtrain.com/blog/another-deep-look-at-how-we-can-continue-to-enhance-our-cultural-soils/.
Special Episode: The Wisdom and Soil Health Insights of Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In preparation and celebration of World Soil Day on December 5, 2021, 4 The Soil and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition offer a special episode to hear and learn from the wisdom and insights of Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. In this episode, Ira shares about the importance of soil health to vegetable and food production, but specifically how soil health is relevant to seed saving, heirloom varieties, and land ownership. Mary Sketch and Jeff Ishee share their own excitement about different seed and heirloom varieties ranging from peanuts to kale. You can also learn how Ira and her colleagues at Southern Exposure Seed Exposure started to build soil health and renovate the soils early on in the history of their farming operation, which included multi-year cover cropping rotations and never leaving the soil bare during a fallow between crops.
Ira's one resource she would share with 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast listeners is Margaret Roach's podcast A Way to Garden at https://awaytogarden.com/
Ira's one resource she would share with 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast listeners is Margaret Roach's podcast A Way to Garden at https://awaytogarden.com/
Episode 4: Soil Health Management: From Soil Judging to Gleaning with Dr. John Galbraith Part 2
About this episode
In this episode, Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt continue with part two of their conversation with Dr. John Galbraith, a renowned soil scientist at Virginia Tech in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. In Part 2, John shares his expertise and perspective on soil health management based on leading and mentoring the Virginia Tech Soil Judging Team and his role in growing vegetables as part of a gleaning initiative to meet community needs in the New River Valley Region of Virginia. Did you know that Virginia Tech's Soil Judging Team has won six National Championships and finished in second place five times? If you are interested in a career in agriculture or horticulture, you will want to hear and learn more about soil judging from Dr. Galbraith. Similarly, if you are not familiar with the concept of gleaning, you will want to tune in to the conversation.
Remember to visit www.4TheSoil.org to sign the pledge today and access more resources on soil health!
For additional information about soil judging and gleaning, please visit the following sites:
https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/organization/soiljudging
https://localwiki.org/bburg/New_River_Valley_Glean_Team
https://endhunger.org/virginia/
Remember to visit www.4TheSoil.org to sign the pledge today and access more resources on soil health!
For additional information about soil judging and gleaning, please visit the following sites:
https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/organization/soiljudging
https://localwiki.org/bburg/New_River_Valley_Glean_Team
https://endhunger.org/virginia/
Episode 3: What in the World is Pamunkey Soil? The Many Soil Types of Virginia with Dr. John Galbraith, Part I
About this episode
In this episode, Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt speak with Dr. John Galbraith, who is a renowned soil scientist at Virginia Tech in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. John discusses his background in agriculture and how he became a student and teacher of soil science, while he explores the diverse soil types found across the state (including the Virginia state soil!) and touches on the different soil characteristics. Remember to visit www.4TheSoil.org to sign the pledge today and access more resources on soil health!
Episode 2: Health from the Soil Up: A Conversation with Chris Lawrence of USDA-NRCS
About this episode
In this episode, Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt talk with Chris Lawrence, State Cropland Agronomist with Virginia Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Chris discusses how the soil works for all of us and the importance of taking care of and respecting it by following the four principles of soil health. Virginia NRCS and Chris Lawrence first started the Virginia Soil Health Coalition in 2013 to increase communication and promote consistency around soil health. You can find more information about Virginia NRCS and soil health in Virginia at the NRCS website. And don’t forget to check out the two books recommended in today’s episode: Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David Montgomery and The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan.
Episode 1: Why Soil? Why a Podcast?
About this episode
In the inaugural episode of “4 The Soil: A Conversation,” host Jeff Ishee sits down with Eric Bendfeldt, Community Viability Specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension and Mary Sketch, Coordinator of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. Mary and Eric have been working through Virginia Cooperative Extension and with partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition to launch the 4TheSoil Awareness Initiative. The initiative seeks to raise awareness of soil as a critical resource and get people to see themselves as important stewards of the land and soil. In this episode, they discuss why everyone should care about soil health and why they are launching a podcast to help increase awareness. For more information on the 4 The Soil Awareness Initiative and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, please visit www.4TheSoil.org and www.virginiasoilhealth.org.
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