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PODCAST

Soil Sense

Tim Hammerich and Abbey Wick, Ph.D.

Welcome to the Soil Sense Podcast, where we believe that building healthier soils is not just a prescription, but rather a pursuit. This journey requires collaboration, curiosity, and communication among farmers, agricultural researchers, agronomists, consultants, and extension. You’re going to hear their stories and discover how and why they’re working together to make sense out of what’s happening in the soil.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

00:36:45

Advancing Regenerative Practices in Ukraine

Soil Sense ·

2025/08/11

Fertile soil is something Ukraine has always been known for. But wind and water erosion are causing a soil loss of approximately 15 tons per hectare every year. Today we’re joined by Oleksandr, a farmer in the Kiev Region of Ukraine, and Syngenta’s Valeriy Dubrovin to discuss how farmers are advancing regenerative practices even in this current challenging time for the country. “ In the Ukraine, with the (most fertile) soils in the world, this topic should be number one in agriculture to keep our

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00:32:29

Precision Agriculture For Soil Health In Argentina

Soil Sense ·

2025/07/30

Soil health on a large scale, can really be enhanced through data and digital tools. It’s pretty incredible to hear how that is being applied to farms like the one you’re going to hear from today in Argentina. Today we’re joined by Kevin, a large farmer in Argentina, as well as Syngenta’s Catriel Pedermera and Bill Suess, to talk about leveraging technology to build healthier soils at scale. We know soil compaction is an issue, so being able to diagnose it more precisely helps us to make the

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00:32:52

The Pursuit of Regenerative Potatoes in Canada

Soil Sense ·

2025/07/15

Farmers and agronomists have a lot on their plate just to produce a profitable crop every year. So what happens when their buyers start requesting they also change practices to move in a more regenerative direction? Today we hear Emily, an agronomist for a large farm in Alberta, Canada, and Syngenta’s Tara McCaughey, about the quest to grow a more regenerative potato.“ It's very different from what we're used to. We have somebody who comes here, sells us a product, we see the results. It's instant

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00:32:08

Preventing Erosion and Boosting Fertility in China

Soil Sense ·

2025/07/03

In order for soil health to go from words and ideas to actions and outcomes, there needs to be support at the farm level - whether that’s a corn farmer in the U.S. or a peanut farmer in rural Northeast China. Today we talk to two farmers in China who are embracing new ideas for their farms, improving their soil, and helping their communities to see the value in building healthier soils. ” I do believe that soil health is an issue for the whole mankind, for the whole world. And thus when I came back

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00:35:02

Soil Health and Biodiversity on a Costa Rican Coffee...

Soil Sense ·

2025/06/17

Costa Rica is home to an incredible amount of natural biodiversity. But it’s also an ideal spot to grow some of the world’s favorite crops, like coffee. How can farmers conserve biodiversity while still meeting global demand for coffee?Today we hear Mariano, an agronomist and coffee producer from Costa Rica, and Javier Peris from Syngenta, about the dynamic relationship between agriculture and biodiversity. ”When you plant a coffee, you spend. 20, 25, 30 years or more with the coffee plant. So that

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00:33:44

Soil Health Increases Farm Efficiencies in the USA

Soil Sense ·

2025/06/03

Oftentimes soil health practices may be thought of as “one more thing” to incorporate on the farm. But in this episode, producer Matt tells us that it would be very difficult for him to farm as much land as he does without soil health practices in play.In fact, soil health practices are what allowed his farm to grow significantly over his career which started in 1988 on just 400 acres. Matt farms with his wife and three sons in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas in the United States. They grow

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00:29:46

Keeping People at the Center of Soil Health in India

Soil Sense ·

2025/05/20

Despite a lot of exciting momentum behind regenerative agriculture, it remains necessary that that enthusiasm reaches farmers and leads to real outcomes. But how does that information get shared in a county like India with several million farmers? In this episode we are joined by Subhadra Gupta, the regional field sustainability lead for the Asia Pacific region based in India, and Gaynor Pais, the executive director for International Resources for Fairer Trade (IRFT). We talk about how the soil

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00:33:10

Collaborating on Biodiversity and Technology in Germany

Soil Sense ·

2025/05/05

For a long time, Europe has had very high standards for environmental sustainability and is really concerned about biodiversity. So how does a multi-generational family farm accommodate these interests while still running a profitable and sustainable farm business? We're joined today by a farmer from Germany, Hans Heinrich. And Syngenta's Sebastian Funk to talk about cross-generational farming and trying new ideas across a large operation. ”We often try something and sometimes it works and

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00:40:09

Building Soil Health in Degraded Soils

Soil Sense ·

2025/04/22

In this episode of Soil Sense, co-hosts Tim Hammerich and Dr. Abbey Wick explore how Brazilian farmers, like Cézar, and Syngenta's Grazielle Parenti, are innovating soil health practices in tropical environments. The discussion focuses on Brazil's potential to double agricultural production without deforestation through initiatives like the Reverte Project. Parenti talks about Syngenta's collaboration with farmers to restore degraded pasture lands into productive farmland. Cézar details

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00:40:26

The Art of the Possible With Jeff Rowe and Matt...

Soil Sense ·

2025/04/07

Introducing: season eight of Soil Sense! Co-hosts Tim Hammerich and Dr. Abbey Wick are excited to bring another season to the show, this time sponsored by Syngenta. Season eight explores soil health at scale, featuring farmers from all around the world. Science and innovation have unlocked incredible gains in agricultural productivity and sustainability over the years. But there's still so much potential out there, especially if we're able to leverage a better understanding of soil

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00:36:28

Building Soil Health for Soil Function

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

In this episode we wrap up season seven of the soil sense podcast with a well known and well respected farmer and long-time soil conservationist, Barry Fisher. Barry recently retired from his career at the USDA, where he most recently worked in the soil health division. In that capacity he met and spoke with farmers about soil health throughout the central part of the US. Since retirement, Barry manages his family farm in Greencastle, Indiana and has a consulting business where he does training and

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00:25:12

Farmer-to-Farmer Soil Health Education with Mike Lewis

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

Throughout this series, we have featured a lot of large scale commercial farming operations, but soil health is just as important to farms that operate on smaller acreages as well. Mike Lewis is a farmer, military veteran, and the senior manager for the National Center for Appropriate Technologies. Mike farms in southeastern Kentucky on a small farm in the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. His farm consists of 126 acres, 12 of which he uses to grow fresh market vegetables and the other

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00:27:50

Theory vs Practice in Soil Health with Frank Rademacher

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

Eisenhower famously said “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.” That resonates with a lot of farmers who know the theory of farming doesn’t always directly translate to the practice. Farmer and agronomist Frank Rademacher joins us to talk about what’s working on his farm in East Central Illinois, and the work he does as a conservation agronomist with The Nature Conservancy. Frank discusses the theory vs the practice when it comes

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00:19:29

The Swine to Soil Connection with Jamie Burr

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

When you think about soil health, you might picture a soybean field or a corn field.It may not be immediately apparent how many other industries rely on soil health, like pork. National Pork Board Chief Sustainability Officer Jamie Burr joins us to share about the importance of soil health, conservation, and sustainability to the pork industry. He’s been in this particular role for about six months, but has spent most of his life in the pork industry. “The reason that the pork board is so

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00:34:52

Diversity in Crops and Business Models with Jay Baxter

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

There is a lot more information about soil health available today than there was a decade ago, but it’s still up to each individual farmer to figure out what works best for their operation. Delaware farmer Jay Baxter grows soybeans, corn, sweet corn, and lima beans on Baxter Farms. Jay is the fourth generation to do so along with his sister who farms with him as well as some other family stakeholders that include his 93 year old grandmother who is still engaged with the farm. In addition to the

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00:24:41

Seven Generations of Stewardship with Susan Watkins

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

When it comes to sustainability, it’s hard to argue with results. For Virginia farmer Susan Watkins that means seven generations and counting of stewarding highly productive farmland. In this episode we get to talk about that rich history and the soil health building practices that she is implementing on her operation. We talk to Susan about their legacy of caring for the soil, how they transitioned to no-till over 20 years ago, how they incorporated cover crops about 15 years ago, and what she’s

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00:25:19

Beef and Cover Crops with Ed Lammers

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

Fine-tuning any system that involves biology and mother nature is going to take time, especially when all of those changes have to happen while also running a business. Nebraska farmer Ed Lammers has spent over 30 years implementing new practices and business models on his farm. He joins the show to talk about cover crops, incorporating livestock, and embracing technology to build healthier soils. In this episode we talk about cover crops, incorporating livestock into the operation, technology, and

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00:32:52

Building Soil Health as a First Generation Farmer...

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/29

It’s always neat to hear of farms that have been with a family for generations, but is it still possible for a first generation farmer to get started? Ryan Bivens is proof that it is possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. First generation Kentucky farmer Ryan Bivens talks about his path to getting started in farming, why wheat is his favorite cover crop, and how he manages 88 different landlords in his area of central Kentucky. “Just because somebody says you can't do that.…Try it yourself

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00:26:36

Learning and Sharing About Soil Health With Jennifer...

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/28

Sometimes in agriculture we are so consumed by work that needs to happen on the farm that we don’t get much of a chance to share what we’re doing or visit others to see what’s working for them. Kansas Soil Health Alliance Coordinator Jennifer Simmelink is helping to make this communication happen more frequently. Jennifer grew up surrounded by agriculture in York, Nebraska. Although she didn’t grow up on a farm, she studied Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Kansas State University. It was

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00:31:55

Bio Strip-Till with Donn Branton

Soil Sense ·

2023/09/28

One of the valuable aspects of this series is that it has given us a chance to talk to farmers at all different stages of their soil health journey. It’s particularly inspiring to talk to someone who has been at this a long time and is really seeing the benefits of some of these practices. New York farmer Donn Branton discusses how decades of experimenting and learning has led him to develop his system of growing no-till non-GMO corn and soybeans with practices like cover crops and bio strip-till in

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