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 - E24: Health and Nutrition Start with the Soil with Dr. Robin "Buz" Kloot, Part II
4 The Soil: A Conversation
17 minutes
1 month ago
S5 - E24: Health and Nutrition Start with the Soil with Dr. Robin "Buz" Kloot, Part II
Health and nutrition start with caring for the soil. Food can and should be our medicine. Dr. Robin "Buz" Kloot of the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health and Soil Health Labs shares his perspective on connections with soil health and public health with Eric, Mary, and Jeff in this episode.
Buz reflects on his own research but also points out what he has heard from farmers and ranchers he has worked with through the years. Building on the idea that eating is an agricultural act and food can be medicine, Buz would like health professionals, agronomists, soil scientists, farmers, and ranchers to collaborate more on soil and public health research and education.
In addition to your own research and study of soil and human health, Buz recommends reading Fred Provenza's book Nourishment: What Animals Can Teach Us about Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom.
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; avoid bare fallows; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage as much as possible in your field or garden; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity, soil structure, and life in the soil; and 4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, high-quality food for soil and plants, farm enterprises, and livestock integration.
The 4 The Soil team recently commissioned a new set of art posters to help people remember the four principles of soil health and celebrate that “We Are 4 the Soil!”. If you are personally or professionally interested in printing and framing the soil health artwork, the 16” by 20” posters are available for purchase and printing as single posters or a set of five posters.
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.
