In this episode of the podcast, Jeff Ishee chats with Susan Watkins of Watkins Farms in Dinwiddie County Virginia, a 3500 acre farm growing soybeans, corn, and wheat. Susan shares information about the long history of her family far, their transition to cover crops and no till over twenty years ago, and their approach to cover cropping. She shares about the cost and labor savings that have come from transitioning to these practices.
 
Watkins Farms is located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which means conservation practices like no-till planting and the use of cover crops have an impact beyond the soil health of the land itself. Farmers play a key role in improving the water quality in the Bay. You can find more info at: https://farmersforsoilhealth.com/success-stories/seven-generations-of-stewardship-with-susan-watkins/
 
As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers and follow the four core soil health principles: 1) Keep the Soil Covered -- Cover crops are our friends; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage in your field or garden as much as possible; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity and life in the soil; and 4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation and/or livestock integration. Yes, soil health is a great conversation starter because we can all be 4 The Soil and for the future! 
To enjoy recent 4 The Soil blog posts and additional soil health resources, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/blog and https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. For questions about soil and water conservation practices and outdoor educational activities for youth, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.