4 The Soil: A Conversation

About 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, Virginia State University, 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.

Publisher

Eric Bendfeldt

Category

education · science · science

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Oct 2021

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

137 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Oct 2026

   S6 - E21: Buckwheat, Einkorn wheat, Bread, and Soil Stories with Chef Kat Jiang of Seylou Bakery and Mill, Pt. 1

   Did you know every farm, bread, and soil has a story? Chef Kathryn "Kat" Jiang of Seylou Bakery and Mill (https://www.seylou.com/) joins Jeff Ishee, Summer Thomas, and Eric Bendfeldt to talk about their working relationships with farmers, millers, and soils as part of the Mid-Atlantic grain economy. Chef Kat is the head pastry chef and discusses the bakery's commitment to year-round support of farmers, the care of the soil, and whole-farm procurement practices that includes not only purchasing grains but also meats, eggs, vegetables, and milk that is in-season and available on the farm. Einkorn wheat (https://www.commongrainalliance.org/grain-knowledge-hub/grains-guide), an ancient wheat that is close to corn, and buckhweat are two cash and cover crops that Seylou Bakery and Mil (https://www.seylou.com/)l sources from farms in the Mid-Atlantic region and freshly mill on-site each week as part of their sourdough long-fermentation process. In working closely with farmers, they see and experience how soil health impacts the taste and flavor of the wheat and grains they bake with and shapes the story of their breads and business. Master Baker Jonathan Bethony and his wife started the whole grain, locally sourced, fresh milled sourdough bakery in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in 2017 and have centered their menu on a soil-building model of crop rotations and cover crops by purchasing from farmers as much of the 'whole-farm' as possible. Seylou Bakery and Mill is a member of Common Grain Alliance (https://www.commongrainalliance.org/), a nonprofit that connects and supports farmers, millers, bakers, and grain artisans to build a vibrant, integrated, equitable and regenerative grain economy in the Mid-Atlantic. Tune in, like, and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts or 4thesoil.org/podcast (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4thesoil.org%252Fpodcast%253Ffbclid%253DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExN0UzV2FlRkVRZ0lidDJqWHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4FURADPk2mPUZpfKNsCG_4_dko8uN_qYS1JoRDONgWLfxGIYyKVgb4U5acBQ_aem__iUuCrZAux40MNJXuNOy3Q%26h%3DAT5m4lNRIY-TQeQvv-0hTerN103e5z78xf4OKICQA-RpNCE49jQQ5gstZdfhlxg2h-aSDx2d1Ml0vlvh_R3ePVIgvdj2Ohhc-VFKVVsfNOu7BzKBGLFWMqUzqAVg1fznAzzEfRs3JLrOeA%26__tn__%3D-UK-R%26c%255B0%255D%3DAT5GqbuARg5qjJXLEPn9fVg4E0qnWPy5G5D8Z0D39-0iIPwfoqwtp3K1cpJKwfcdHP6kfYMO_J11KOAxuH7WOa9FzIN11wxs4vpaMMvohWwxoCBENPTBJAJM9vR_MK3_hIsaqFo5mgeJ4wlwUD2YsrxF2P_I-yNanAMqCny6cucszZr_SFh_QbIo48bitOdOuZKoKRekChe-Ekq73gnCMKBm&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csumtho%40vt.edu%7C6d8f1d97ca35450dbd6308dec26d0fe5%7C6095688410ad40fa863d4f32c1e3a37a%7C0%7C0%7C639161970839539537%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=zvrfy2MrZeS0xUXj1sttyAsmLXRbb3m54syWJHQEkx4%3D&amp;reserved=0) As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning. We can all be 4 The Soil, for the future! Here is how with four principles: 1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Be gentle, take it easy; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- Keep roots growing; and 4) Energize with diversity -- Thrive with diversity. If you are interested in art and framing the 4 The Soil posters for your office or home, the 16” by 20” posters are available for purchase and printing as <a...

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   S6 - E20: Interseeding Resilience and Diversity into Farming Systems with Keith Berns of Green Cover, Part II

   How can you interseed resilience and diversity into a family business and a cropping system whether you are in Nebraska, Virginia, or Upstate New York? Keith Berns shares about the history of Green Cover (https://greencover.com/) with Jeff, Summer, and Eric and how building the internal infrastructure was so important as Green Cover grew from a family operation to having more than 60 employees. Keith emphasized that resilience and having people with diverse skills and experiences are critical to success in business and farming. As an educator and former teacher, Keith relayed how field days, on-farm research, and educational exchanges are rewarding and energizing. Keith told about the experiences of two farmers from Minnesota and South Dakota (Rye Carlson and Alex Frasier (https://greencover.com/blogs/videos/interseeding-cover-crops-into-soybeans-how-alex-frasier-boosted-yields-and-cut-inputs)) who continue to interseed cover crops (e.g., dwarf mustard, flax, phacelia, oats, rye, etc.) into corn and soybeans The 12th Edition of Green Cover's Soil Health Resource Guide (https://greencover.com/pages/resources), along with other soil health and cover crop resources, are available on their website. Additionally, farmers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions will be interested in attending the Regenerative Nexus summit (https://greencover.com/pages/events/regenerative-nexus-chapel-hill) that Green Cover is hosting in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on November 10 - 12, 2026. Tune in, like, and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts or 4thesoil.org/podcast (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4thesoil.org%252Fpodcast%253Ffbclid%253DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExN0UzV2FlRkVRZ0lidDJqWHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4FURADPk2mPUZpfKNsCG_4_dko8uN_qYS1JoRDONgWLfxGIYyKVgb4U5acBQ_aem__iUuCrZAux40MNJXuNOy3Q%26h%3DAT5m4lNRIY-TQeQvv-0hTerN103e5z78xf4OKICQA-RpNCE49jQQ5gstZdfhlxg2h-aSDx2d1Ml0vlvh_R3ePVIgvdj2Ohhc-VFKVVsfNOu7BzKBGLFWMqUzqAVg1fznAzzEfRs3JLrOeA%26__tn__%3D-UK-R%26c%255B0%255D%3DAT5GqbuARg5qjJXLEPn9fVg4E0qnWPy5G5D8Z0D39-0iIPwfoqwtp3K1cpJKwfcdHP6kfYMO_J11KOAxuH7WOa9FzIN11wxs4vpaMMvohWwxoCBENPTBJAJM9vR_MK3_hIsaqFo5mgeJ4wlwUD2YsrxF2P_I-yNanAMqCny6cucszZr_SFh_QbIo48bitOdOuZKoKRekChe-Ekq73gnCMKBm&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csumtho%40vt.edu%7C6d8f1d97ca35450dbd6308dec26d0fe5%7C6095688410ad40fa863d4f32c1e3a37a%7C0%7C0%7C639161970839539537%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=zvrfy2MrZeS0xUXj1sttyAsmLXRbb3m54syWJHQEkx4%3D&amp;reserved=0) As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning. We can all be 4 The Soil, for the future! Here is how with four principles: 1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Be gentle, take it easy; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- Keep roots growing; and 4) Energize with diversity -- Thrive with diversity. If you are interested in art and framing the 4 The Soil posters for your office or home, the 16” by 20” posters are available for purchase and printing as <a...

3. 

   15 Sept 2026

   S6 - E19: Always Growing -- even Okra, Coriander, and Cucurbits -- with Keith Berns of Green Cover, Pt. I

   Are you always growing and evaluating what you want to accomplish? Keith Berns of Green Cover (https://greencover.com/) shares his insights on that question as a co-business owner, farmer, and educator of diverse, customizable cover crop mixtures with Jeff, Summer, and Eric. Keith and his brother Brian and their families started Green Cover in 2008 in Bladen, Nebraska and Iola, Kansas. Since that time, their core value of always growing has taken root in many tangible ways. Today, Green Cover has 60 employees, specializes in 120 different types of single species cover crops, and helps keep more than one million acres of soil covered and continuously growing. They are educators at heart and always start with what you want to accomplish, when thinking about potential cover crop mixtures. To assist their customers around the country, Green Cover developed their SmartMix Calculator (https://smartmix.greencoverseed.com/) to guide the decision process about goals, timing, and placement. Additionally, they are continually evaluating new cover crop species and have recently introduced okra, coriander, and a variety of cucurbits into different blends. Along with the SmartMix Calculator, you can find and access on their website Green Cover's Annual Soil Health Resource Guide (https://greencover.com/pages/resources) that covers a range of topics from soil health to human nutrition connections. Additionally, they are hosting their Regenerative Nexus summit (https://greencover.com/pages/events/regenerative-nexus-chapel-hill) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on November 10 - 12, 2026. Tune in, like, and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts or 4thesoil.org/podcast (https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4thesoil.org%252Fpodcast%253Ffbclid%253DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExN0UzV2FlRkVRZ0lidDJqWHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4FURADPk2mPUZpfKNsCG_4_dko8uN_qYS1JoRDONgWLfxGIYyKVgb4U5acBQ_aem__iUuCrZAux40MNJXuNOy3Q%26h%3DAT5m4lNRIY-TQeQvv-0hTerN103e5z78xf4OKICQA-RpNCE49jQQ5gstZdfhlxg2h-aSDx2d1Ml0vlvh_R3ePVIgvdj2Ohhc-VFKVVsfNOu7BzKBGLFWMqUzqAVg1fznAzzEfRs3JLrOeA%26__tn__%3D-UK-R%26c%255B0%255D%3DAT5GqbuARg5qjJXLEPn9fVg4E0qnWPy5G5D8Z0D39-0iIPwfoqwtp3K1cpJKwfcdHP6kfYMO_J11KOAxuH7WOa9FzIN11wxs4vpaMMvohWwxoCBENPTBJAJM9vR_MK3_hIsaqFo5mgeJ4wlwUD2YsrxF2P_I-yNanAMqCny6cucszZr_SFh_QbIo48bitOdOuZKoKRekChe-Ekq73gnCMKBm&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csumtho%40vt.edu%7C6d8f1d97ca35450dbd6308dec26d0fe5%7C6095688410ad40fa863d4f32c1e3a37a%7C0%7C0%7C639161970839539537%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=zvrfy2MrZeS0xUXj1sttyAsmLXRbb3m54syWJHQEkx4%3D&amp;reserved=0) As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning. We can all be 4 The Soil, for the future! Here is how with four principles: 1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends; 2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Be gentle, take it easy; 3) Maximize living roots year-round -- Keep roots growing; and 4) Energize with diversity -- Thrive with diversity. If you are interested in art and framing the 4 The Soil posters for your office or home, the 16” by 20” posters are available for purchase and printing as <a...

Who has been a guest on 4 The Soil: A Conversation

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dara Booher
• Susan Watkins
• Elizabeth McMullen
• Garland Mason
• Maureen McNamara Best

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

9 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

92

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact 4 The Soil: A Conversation

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about 4 The Soil: A Conversation