Organic Advisor Call Series
Organic Advisor Call Series
Podcast Description
Welcome to the Organic Advisor Call Series — quick-hit conversations on the hottest topics in organic field crops. Whether you're tuning in from your desk, truck, or tractor, you'll spend one hour each episode learning about emerging issues from expert farmers and industry leaders. This season’s episodes cover everything from market outlooks and weed control in soybeans to cutting-edge tech like drones and robots — and a whole lot in between.
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This series focuses on vital subjects in organic agriculture, including emerging market trends, effective weed management strategies, and the latest technological advancements in organic farming. Episodes cover specific topics such as organic grain market outlooks and real-world solutions for weed control in soybeans.
Welcome to the Organic Advisor Call Series — quick-hit conversations on the hottest topics in organic field crops.
Whether you’re tuning in from your desk, truck, or tractor, you’ll spend one hour each episode learning about emerging issues from expert farmers and industry leaders.
This season’s episodes cover everything from market outlooks and weed control in soybeans to cutting-edge tech like drones and robots — and a whole lot in between.
A covercrop-and-tillage technique from Germany is catching interest for its ability to build organic matter, improve tilth, and raise fertility, all in a single pass. In this episode, Sam Oschwald Tilton of OATS talks with Tenzin Botsford of Red Door Family Farm in Athens, WI, about ”surface fermentation” (Flächenrotte): growing dense covercrops, spraying them with a microbial inoculant, and incorporating them with shallow (2”) tillage that preserves roots for future microbial activity.
Resources mentioned in the episode:
- Foundational book on surface fermentation: Regenerative Landwirtschaft by Dietmar Näser (published in German; a few English copies exist but none are currently for sale)
- John Kempf podcast interviewing Dutch farmer Erwin Westers on surface composting: https://advancingecoag.com/podcast/episode-158-reducing-weeds-and-pests-with-regenerative-mulching-systems-with-erwin-westers/
- Video of Erwin Westers explaining his practices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZqCiL2RiuI&t=104s
- Another interview with Erwin Westers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNt9XuRQ74k
- Book on brewing fertilizer from plants: The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden Amendments by Nigel Palmer: https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-regenerative-growers-guide-to-garden-amendments/
- More from Nigel Palmer: https://www.nigel-palmer.com/book
- Research paper on the (lack of) impact of spraying inoculant before cover crop incorporation: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379928467_No_effect_on_biological_or_chemical_soil_properties_when_amended_with_effective_microorganisms_for_improved_cover_crop_decomposition
This event is supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP).
🌱 Learn more about OATS: https://www.organicagronomy.org/
📅 Events & registration: https://www.organicagronomy.org/events
📚 Resource Library: https://www.organicagronomy.org/resource-library
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