Merit or Myth

SOILS: A Quality of Life Issue?

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We’ve all heard a lot of varying takes on soils…

Are they living or are they dead?

Do they require time to rest or more diversity?

Amongst all of these uncertainties, one thing can be agreed upon – they are the foundation on which all farmers are building. And laying a trusty foundation is something we are all striving to do… we just have different ways of getting there.

Farmer Al Miron certainly does.

THE MAN FROM MINNEHAHA COUNTY

You can’t help but feel a little extra sense of warmth when sharing a room with a man like Al Miron – from his welcoming of us onto his farm to inviting us for some fresh watermelon, Al is certainly as gracious and kind-hearted as they come.

But that doesn’t mean that he’s going to shy away from voicing his thoughts on soil health.

In fact, Al had one of the strongest opinions that we heard when it came to no-till practices.

Al Miron

Quite the statement, huh? But anyone who has spent time with Al knows that he’s a man of his word. What’s more important here isn’t Al’s quote, but that his is far from the only voice expressing the “merit” of this long-viewed “myth”.

TILLAGE? NO THANKS

When it comes specifically to management issues like no-till, we quickly found that farmers like Al don’t just have a passion for these practices, but a JOY!

That’s right, from all across The Mount Rushmore State, farmers that we met with were emphatic about the benefits of minimum disturbance not just on their crops, but on their lives! Time and time again, those we interviewed expressed probably THE most beneficial aspect of adopting this natural system – quality of life.

And isn’t that what all of this is about anyway? Quality of life for ourselves, and our families? Quality of life for our crops, our land (present and future) and nature as a whole?

Sheep grazing at a no-till ranch in Butte County, South Dakota.

We at Merit or Myth have seen substaintially positive evidence of no-till not only in the soils, but on the smiles of countless faces along the way. And we can’t wait to see who’s smiling next.

For those of you looking for more, you can check out a brief interview with Al and others in our Travelogue series. In the mean time, be on the lookout for more videos, and musings in the weeks to come.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

– Barrett

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An Outsiders’ Love Letter to South Dakota

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View from Blue Dasher Farm (Photo Credit: Dr. Jonathan Lundgren)

What is the most powerful lesson that South Dakota has to teach me?

This was the question that was on my mind as we anxiously drove out of the Hawkeye State and pulled into Sioux Falls. Would it be one of appreciating mother nature? Would it be one of community? Or would it simply be the undeniable impact that soil health is having on this great state?

I would quickly find the answer to be “yes” to all of the above… but not necessarily in the way that I had anticipated.

Soybeans in Vermillion, South Dakotah

SOUTH DAKOTA
BEAUTY

It was clear as soon as we crossed state lines that God had blessed South Dakota with inescapable beauty – the diverse peaks, valleys, and terrain are something more out of a desktop background than a real-life encounter. But regardless of if you see them in person or on a screen, they aren’t just external surroundings – they are something that changes the inside of a person as well. So it wasn’t tough to see that, just like the land, something else about this place was disarmingly unique…

SOUTH DAKOTA
COMMUNITY

On our trip, we had the pleasure of visiting with farmers, conservationists and scientists. The joy of conversing with customer service employees, administrative faculty and everywhere in between. It was through these fateful encounters that I was granted another powerful lesson – greeting a stranger with a firm handshake and a smile is no greeting at all – welcoming them with open arms and open hearts is the only true way to introduce yourself. And no matter where we stopped, Bear Butte to Vermillion, Huron to Rapid City, this wasn’t just an isolated incident, this was the way of life.

With Rancher Dave Ollila and family in Butte County, South Dakotah

Stopped for a “selfie” with the Ollila family in Butte County, South Dakota.

SOUTH DAKOTA
SOIL

So it’s no wonder why this eclectic group of welcomers are passionate about one of their greatest resources: soil. It’s inspiring to see how they have turned that passion into knowledge, and that knowledge into a lifestyle – from the usage of cover crops, to adopting “no-till” practices, to enhancing diversity. Each of their stories are different, but they all come from the same heart. And we couldn’t be more excited to start sharing them with you!

South Dakota Farmer Al Miron

Enjoying a laugh with farmer Al Miron located just outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

IN THE END

It goes without saying that the memories and relationships built within this trip will endure – for that, we are profoundly grateful. And though our heads are still spinning after 10 days and over 4,500 miles traveled, one thing is perfectly clear: this isn’t just a campaign for soil health, it’s a campaign for people. And I’ve never met a group of people more worthy.

Stay tuned,

– Barrett

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*FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Jon Lundgren, Blue Dasher Farm

The Truth is Out There

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The growing amount of information on soil health is quite astonishing. Just hop on over to Google and search “Soil Health” and you’ll see for yourself. As of this writing, there were 18.1 million hits!  But that’s just the tip of the iceburg; when it comes to the nuts and bolts, everyone seems to have a different opinion.

There are several organizations out there trying to get a handle on the effectiveness and prevalence of cover crops alone – one thing we know for sure is that they are increasing.  Yet my experience is that most farmers are still hungry for information about soil health.

Many of the questions that farmers raise are management related, and often these questions are related to the transition to no-till like: “how do I plant through all that residue?”, “how will my soil temperatures at planting be affected?”, “how do I get my soils dry without tillage?”, “how do I manage for weeds without tillage?”, and “does this stuff make economic sense?”.  Let’s face it, these are valid questions that need to be addressed.

There’s a quote attributed to Harrington Emerson that goes as follows:

As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.

We want to get a little more specific to South Dakota where we plan to engage with farmers, conservationists and researchers to address some of the above questions, but to do that, we also want to look at some of the underlying assumptions and views that give rise to these questions, and look at alternative assumptions.  As we do this, we want to ask questions of things we encounter: “does this have merit or is it myth?”, hence the name “Merit or Myth”.

Watch this space in the next few months for video, blogs travelogues and podcasts as we travel across the Mount Rushmore state asking the question: Merit or Myth?

– Buz Kloot

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