Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on.
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen in as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as a critical agricultural and natural resource for social, economic, and environmental health.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
All content for 4 The Soil: A Conversation is the property of Eric Bendfeldt and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on.
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen in as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as a critical agricultural and natural resource for social, economic, and environmental health.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
S5 - E19: Agroecological Dynamics of Soil Health with Kasper Krabbe of Aarhus University, Pt. I
4 The Soil: A Conversation
18 minutes
3 months ago
S5 - E19: Agroecological Dynamics of Soil Health with Kasper Krabbe of Aarhus University, Pt. I
When you close your eyes, how do you envision your farm and soil ecosystem? What ideals, values, and priorities are part of your vision and farm business model? Kasper Krabbe, a doctoral student at Aarhus University in Denmark and a visiting guest scholar at Virginia Tech, talked with Mary, Jeff, and Eric about these questions and his research interest in farmers' perceptions and decision-making.
Kasper is particularly intrigued by the human and cultural elements of farming and how context informs and shapes the agroecological system and soil health of individual farms and regional farming. Kasper's ongoing inquiry into the agroecological dynamics of farming, soil health, and specific values-based business models aligns with the objectives of the European Union's Soil Values project https://soilvalues.eu/.
Additionally, Kasper has created videos based on his interviews and interactions with cooperating Danish farmers. This sample Soil Values video is with a Danish farmer who owns and operates a community-supported agriculture farm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxwHRB9ybRM
As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning and to follow the four core soil health principles:
1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends and allies; 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, soil structure, and life in the soil; and 4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, farm enterprises, and/or livestock integration.
More details about the Virginia Farm-to-Table Harvest Celebration scheduled for Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at On Sunny Slope Farm in Rockingham, Virginia, can be found at https://virginiafarmtotable.org/2025vaf2tharvestcelebration/
4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.
Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.
To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website
4 The Soil: A Conversation
Soil. What is it, really? It’s more than the dirt under our feet and the ground we stand on.
Soil is living and life-giving.
Listen in as we unlock the mysteries of soil by speaking with people at the forefront of the soil health movement.
“4 The Soil: A Conversation” is part of the 4 The Soil Awareness Campaign led by Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition. The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of soil as a critical agricultural and natural resource for social, economic, and environmental health.
The podcast is a collaboration of Virginia Tech's School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, On The Farm Radio, USDA-NRCS, and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition with specific funding from the Agua Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education’s Community Viability grant program.
Hear and learn from farmers, agricultural professionals, conservation leaders, master gardeners, and many more on how and why to be 4 The Soil.
