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The 4 the Soil: A Conversation podcast was collaboratively launched on October 12, 2021, to bring farmers, graziers, market gardeners, agricultural professionals, educators, researchers, conservationists, and community leaders together to hear and share stories about agriculture, soil health principles, and shared values. The First Anniversary Edition is aimed to be a "best-of" episode to celebrate the milestone and offer a sample of memorable conversations of the first year.

Special thanks to all of our guests and listeners. We hope you will join us in this celebration and continue to support and share the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast as we work together for the common good and health of the soil and the future.

Learn more and hear the conversation on our website www.4thesoil.org or wherever you get your podcasts! As always, we encourage you to do your part to build soil health on your farm, in your garden, and in your own backyard.

What do you want to accomplish on your farm, in your garden, or in business? Do you have a specific resource concern such as lessening tillage? Do you want to provide your family, friends, and customers with nutrient-dense food? Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff shared in the previous episode about keeping the soil alive and well. The conversation continues with Steve emphasizing that farmers need to learn all they can and understand how soil health concepts, principles, and practices are applicable to their individual farms and context. Similarly, Steve encourages farmers, graziers, and gardeners to visit with other farmers locally as well as virtually for camaraderie and peer-to-peer networking. There are many ways to learn and continue to self-educate ourselves as we face challenges of living longer than ever, and unfortunately, in many cases, being sicker than ever.

For more information about soil health for your farm, pasture, garden, or backyard, please visit the Virginia Soil Health Coalition's Tips and Resources website at https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/resources-1. To take the pledge to follow and educate others about the four core soil health principles, please visit the 4 The Soil website at https://www.4thesoil.org/take-the-pledge.html.

To learn about Steve Groff's soil health journey, mindsets, and the changing context of farming, you can read his new book The Future-Proof Farm: Changing Mindsets in a Changing World, which is available online at https://stevegroff.com.

How did a grandmother's passion for gardening inspire her grandson's career in taking care of the soil? In this episode, Cory Guilliams, district conservationist with Virginia USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), recalls the influence and lessons learned from his grandmother about soil health and winter cover crops as he helped her as a youth in picking and weeding beans and potatoes. Cory shares the history and definition of no-till farming in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region and how important the practice is for aggregating soil particles and reducing erosion. Tillage can be extremely destructive so minimizing soil disturbance is critical. We can all be 4 The Soil and do our part to build health from the soil up.

To learn more about soil health and possible careers in natural resources conservation and environmental sciences, please visit the Virginia USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service website at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/va/home/.

For more information about cover crops, no-till practices, and other ways to build soil health or share your own story of how you became interested in taking care of the soil, please visit the Virginia Soil Health Coalition website at https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/resources-1.

Eric Bendfeldt and Jeff Ishee visit with Nicolette Hahn Niman author of Defending Beef at the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council's Annual Conference in part two of their conversation on the strong relationship between soil health and human health. Nicolette is an environmental law attorney, a former vegetarian activist turned cattle rancher, and the author of Defending Beef: The Ecological and Nutritional Case for Meat. Nicolette points out that healthy soil is one with diverse microbiological activity with earthworms, insects, microbes, bacteria, and fungi. Similarly, people need a balanced diverse nutrient-rich diet that provides nourishment for a healthy active lifestyle. Nicolette emphasizes we can learn from nature and do less tinkering with natural systems to focus on principles, practices, and real whole foods that are truly nourishing for soil, animals, and humans.

For more information about sustainable and regenerative grazing in Virginia, please visit https://vaforages.org/ and check out Nicolette’s new book and her case for sustainable grazing and livestock care at your local bookstore.

In this episode, Jeff Ishee and Mary Sketch talk with Dr. Rory Maguire, professor at Virginia Tech in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the supervisor of the Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab. Rory discusses his background in agriculture in Ireland, the complexity of soil in Virginia, and the importance of testing your soils. He also shares his appreciation for American history, particularly the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and what the expedition and history have to teach us today.

Find out more about soil testing and how to get your soil tests at https://www.soiltest.vt.edu/. Don’t forget to share your support for healthy soil by signing the pledge at https://www.4thesoil.org/.

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/

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.