Even if a farmer does everything right, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. When we farm conventionally, these extreme weather conditions can often lead to a complete crop failure. But when we incorporate soil health principles, we start to conserve available nutrients and water and protect our soils against erosion. All of this leads to a…
The Most Powerful Question in Agriculture
What does Mother Nature want? As farmers, we do a lot to fight her. If the soil is hard, we till it. If our crops have weeds, we spray them. If the land doesn’t have the right amount of nutrients, we inject them. This has been the way to farm for the past 50 years….
Extended Rotations, Cover Crops And A Change In Perspective (Dagel 4/4)
“We’ve sparked a lot of curiosity. People are interested in what we’re doing [and] when I’m working with land owners I just tell them what they’re gaining for their land. It’s going to be in a better condition based on extended rotations and cover crops.” Check out the final video in our four-part series with…
Increasing Organic Matter, Reducing Costs (Dagel 3/4)
Transformation with Cover Crops (Dagel 2/4)
What Our Underwear Have to Tell Us
The past few videos, we’ve been unpacking what this ‘tighty whities’ experiment is all about. In this video, we get another farmer and district conservationist’s take on the process and what they learned along the way!
The Power of Diversity (Tighty Whities Results) 3/3
The Power of Diversity (Why is the Tighty Whities Experiment Relevant?) 2/3
If you’ve spent any time around the soil health movement, you’ve probably stumbled onto an odd video or two of farmers out in their fields burying underwear. Created by Canadian researchers, this “Tighty Whities Experiment” is a great visual demonstration of the benefits of regenerative agriculture… But what does it actually demonstrate? What’s the point?…
The Power of Diversity (Tighty Whities Experiment) 1/3
Diversity is one of the leading principles of the soil health movement. But can the affects of incorporating diversity into an operation be quantified? Research Microbiologist Dr. Mike Lehman (ARS) set out to find out in this 16 year field experiment… and man, are the numbers impressive!
Teaming Up with Mother Nature
There are many different farming tools and methods, but fundamentally, there are only two ways to farm – with Mother Nature or against her. Unfortunately, conventional agriculture has sided with the latter. Only in recent years has the idea of working alongside Mother Nature picked up momentum. One operation that’s been ahead of the curve…