virginiasoilhealthcoalition

Keeping local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay clean requires everyone to be actively involved in protecting water quality, managing nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and building soil health. Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt caught up with Matt Kowalski of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) at a recent field day to talk about soil health and water quality. Matt serves as a watershed restoration scientist in Virginia for CBF and specifically focuses on agricultural best management practices and projects to restore wetland and riverside areas. Matt emphasizes that keeping water clean needs to happen farm by farm and lawn by lawn, and that we all can do our part to improve water quality and save the Chesapeake Bay.

To learn more about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance, please visit https://www.cbf.org/how-we-save-the-bay/programs-initiatives/multi-state-grazers-alliance.html and https://www.m2balliance.org/.

For information about year-round lawn care and ways to possibly incorporate a legume like Dutch white clover into your lawn for water quality and pollinators, please visit https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil-and-water/document/yardcare.pdf and https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/soil-water-conservation/you-your-land-landscape

As always, please join the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and 4 The Soil movement. You can commit to doing your part to build soil health and protect water quality by taking the pledge at https://www.4thesoil.org/take-the-pledge.html

In this episode, Jeff Ishee and Eric Bendfeldt speak with Robert Shoemaker, nutrient management specialist with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Robert discusses the work of DCR in partnering with agricultural producers across the state, the intersection of soil health and water quality, and some of the conservation practices that DCR works with farmers to implement that build healthy soils and protect the watershed. He also shares the role of soil testing in understanding the state of your soil fertility “bank account” and the need to monitor withdrawals and deposits.

For more information about the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Division of Soil and Water Conservation visit https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/ and to learn more about the 47 soil and water conservation districts visit https://www.vaswcd.org/.

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.

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/.

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 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!