Soil Sense

• The Pursuit of Regenerative Potatoes in Canada

  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 ROI. With a lot of these practices, it's gonna cost you extra time and people, but you don't necessarily get that right back, that harvest. This is more of a long game. So trying to justify that when you're convincing people to make a change. I think that's an additional barrier is that you might not see your yield increase year one. And that's just a different mindset shift from what we're used to in ag I think.” - Emily, Agronomist in Alberta, CanadaEmily is an agronomist for a very large farming operation in Alberta, Canada. She’s been doing that for about five years and has an additional 15 years as agronomist, mostly working for a large french fry manufacturer. Emily recently traveled the world as a Nuffield Scholar studying regenerative agriculture practices in potato production systems.Tara has been with Syngenta for a number of years in various capacities, but currently she is the Head of Technology Solutions in Sustainable Ag Function. So her team ensures that technology, including chemistry, biological crop input products, as well as digital ag solution technologies are market-ready and supported once they're in the market with farmer customers.This Week on Soil Sense:Meet Emily, an agronomist in Alberta, and Tara McCaughey,  Head of Technology Solutions in Sustainable Ag at Syngenta Canada Discover what’s working when it comes to implementing regenerative farming practices in potato cropping systemsConsider why building soil health is a long term investment instead of a product that can offer clear and instant return on investment (ROI)Listen to how agronomists like Emily work with other stakeholders to find prudent ways to implement changesThe  Soil Sense podcast is for those that believe building healthier soils is not just a prescription, but rather a pursuit. On this show, we unpack the way farmers collaborate to build healthier soils and adapt systems to work on their farm for both sustainability and profitability.Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast Thank you to Syngenta for sponsoring this season of the Soil Sense podcast. If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there!

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• Preventing Erosion and Boosting Fertility in China

  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 home, I wanted to share with, my community about how we can handle the land and also soil better so that our after generations would also be able to enjoy these healthier soil.” - Xingjia, Chinese Peanut FarmerToday we hear from two farmers, Chi and Xingjia, who farm in the Liaoning Province of northeast China. These two say they have had some big challenges with soil in their area, including erosion and lack of fertility. Xingjia and Chi got involved in a Syngenta program called Hope Soil Health, which provides training that they say they’ve been able to implement on their farms. Fang Yao of Syngenta also joins the podcast to share more about that Hope program. All of today’s guests provided their answers through an interpreter. This Week on Soil Sense:Meet farmers Xingjia and Chi, as well as Syngenta’s Fang YaoUnderstand some of the challenges and solutions farmers are working with in rural northeast ChinaDiscover the Hope Soil Health program and how it’s providing training for farmersExplore the impact of innovative farmers and well-researched trainingThe  Soil Sense podcast is for those that believe building healthier soils is not just a prescription, but rather a pursuit. On this show, we unpack the way farmers collaborate to build healthier soils and adapt systems to work on their farm for both sustainability and profitability.Listen to the full season here: https://www.syngenta.com/agriculture/sustainable-agriculture/soil-health/soil-sense-podcast Thank you to Syngenta for sponsoring this season of the Soil Sense podcast. If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there!

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• Soil Health and Biodiversity on a Costa Rican Coffee Farm

  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 allows you to be part of the ecosystem for all those years. So it's easy to think (in terms of) long term, relationships with the local ecosystems. For example, conservation soil techniques is one of the things that we are doing, and maybe is the main technique or strategy to increase biodiversity and resilience in the local ecosystem that you are producing coffee.” - Mariano, Costa Rican Coffee FarmerMariano is an agronomist whose family has grown coffee in Costa Rica for almost a hundred years. In the past decade, they’ve really focused on transitioning to more regenerative practices. He explains how they’ve moved from conventional coffee farming methods to more ecologically-conscious solutions, and what this means for his business and his soil health. Alongside Mariano, you’ll hear from Javier Peris, a biologist at Syngenta. Javier has worked with Syngenta for the past ten years, mostly in research and development, but he has recently transition to a new role in sustainability where he is a nature specialist. He describes Syngenta’s “Living Grow” program which  promotes biodiversity and soil health in agricultural ecosystems while maintaining agricultural productivity. This Week on Soil Sense:Meet Mariano and Javier Peris and learn about how coffee farms can embrace regenerative practicesDiscover the Living Grow program in Costa Rica and the collaboration taking place to help farmers boost productivity while conserving biodiversityExplore why Javier calls Mariano’s farm “like another world” Understand the connection between soil health and overall biodiversityThe  Soil Sense podcast is for those that believe building healthier soils is not just a prescription, but rather a pursuit. On this show, we unpack the way farmers collaborate to build healthier soils and adapt systems to work on their farm for both sustainability and profitability.Thank you to Syngenta for sponsoring this season of the Soil Sense podcast. If you are interested in what soil health looks like in practice and on the farm, please subscribe and follow this show on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a rating and review while you’re there!

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• Soil Health Increases Farm Efficiencies in the USA

  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 corn, wheat, soybean and cotton on over 20,000 acres and have a black angus cow herd. They utilize soil health practices like no-till, cover crops and terracing to manage their system in their hot and dry climate. We are also joined by Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomist. Craig has been with Syngenta for 33 years and works with large growers who often farm in multiple states in the US. “ A lot of our growth has been with either families that have wanted to invest in land, institutional investors, or farm management companies. And they came to us because we’re no-till. They will not let other people operate their land unless they are no-till regenerative and taking care of the soil and improving it.” - MattAs farmers look to improve their operations, many are turning to soil health practices. Craig shares that tools like cropwise imagery and cropwise financials allow producers to monitor successful practices to further understand the impact they are having on yield outcome.This Week on Soil Sense:Meet Matt, a producer working over 20,000 acres in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, and Craig Abell who serves as Syngenta’s national executive grower agronomistExplore how economics drove Matt to incorporate soil health practices into his operation and the many benefits he has experienced through their useDiscover the analytics being used to precisely calibrate rates of seeding and inputs for the best yield outcomes across large operations

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• Keeping People at the Center of Soil Health in India

  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 health conversation is only valuable if a farmer sees how it can fit into their own unique operation. This is a big enough challenge in a place like the United States with major established infrastructure and lines of communication, but imagine building farmer networks in a place like India that has several million smallholder farms that are spread throughout the entire country. “ The kind of engagement and the kind of partnership and the kind of trust that we have been able to build, and we are still building with our farmers when it comes to enhancing soil as a primary and a very, very significant aspect of smart agriculture practices. I think we are very much on the right track. Every year we can see slowly, and I think this is a journey.” - Subhadra GuptaTogether Gupta and Gaynor discuss the very important topic of farmer outreach and engagement when it comes to sharing information about soil health practices. It's critical in conversations about the science and economics of these soil health practices, that we don’t forget the human component in adopting and implementing them.This Week on Soil Sense:Meet 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)Discover the value and strategy in creating farmer engagement with new soil health practices in IndiaLearn about the cultural challenges and the social impact soil health practices can have on the Indian agricultural producersExplore the collaboration between Syngenta and IRFT to provide training on regenerative practices and create more equitable supply chains

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