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RESOURCE RECOMMENDATIONS

“Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. My favorite resource for keeping up to date with soil health is
Choosing just one resource is very dif- Twitter. I like being able to see in real time what some of the in-
ficult. We use a plethora of soil health novators (Loran Steinlage, Josh Lloyd, Jason Mauck, Grant Sims,
resources from books, to YouTube Tom Robinson, Michael Thompson, John Heermann, and others)
videos, to single page publications, in Agriculture are doing. I find it interesting to be able to go
around the world in a few minutes and see different crops and
all of which inch us a bit further in our ways of growing them that I know nothing about. I also follow
understanding of how to adopt soil many farmers and ranchers that I have nothing in common with,
health practices and help others in as far as production practices go, just so I can try to understand
their journeys. While there is always why people do what they do.
more to learn about soil health, the Scott Ravenkamp
hardest part is the correct mindset. I was a farmer/rancher in Eastern Colorado for 25 years before decid-
Not just at first, but you have to continually remind yourself ing a change of pace in life was necessary and moved to Verdigre, NE
throughout your process. If you can find your why, it continu- where I am a Contract Production Manager for Green Cover Seed and
ally guides and resets your course. It helps you in each of your hobby farmer/rancher..
decisions. It gives everything you do, even the mundane tasks,
purpose. While this is not a “soil health” resource, the fastest
way to regenerate your soil is you.
Grass Fed Solutions offers tons of information on beef pro-
Kate Vogel - North 40 Ag duction using a grazing approach to all systems. This is where

At North 40 Ag, WHY is the center of all that we do, from mixing it started for my operation, as one of the first videos I ever
seed, working with customers, to team meetings. We seek to pro- watched was Soil Carbon Cowboys featuring Dr. Allen Williams,
vide a community to improve lives and regenerate agriculture. Gabe Brown, and Niel Dennis. That video is packed with useful
This helps us to make soil health practical to each of us as indi- information that will help you understand what the actual goal
viduals, which allows us to be better resources to other producers. is of raising livestock. The website offers fencing advice as well

as the most asked question of “how do we water?”.
Zach Louk
Dr. Allen Williams and Joel Salatin are two of my favorite re- I have a beef cow/calf herd as well as some crop ground that has been
sources for implementing practices into my operation. They primarily soybeans/corn in the past. We are now using that ground to
both focus on diversifying the farm, whether it’s plants, ani- increase our grazing, and reduce our hay feeding in the winter. Thanks
mals, or both, and intensity of rotation for not only building to Grass Fed Solutions, I utilize rotational grazing with my cattle in all
soil health, but for human health. Dr. Allen Williams is the Chief types of pasture systems every month of the year.
Ranching Officer at Joyce Farms and you can find many of his
articles on their website along with great YouTube videos of
his talks. (joyce-farms.com). Joel Salatin has written many The resource I would recommend is the Soils and Men 1938 Year-
books and has a wonderful YouTube presence on ‘how to’ man- book of Agriculture. This classic book is one of my most treasured
agement for implementing new species into the farm. I have possessions. It is obviously out of print, but is found in many
read his books “Folks, This Ain’t Normal” and “You Can Farm”. libraries. It contains a lot of knowledge and information about
Salatin does a fantastic job of inspiring you to start farming or farming in the days before synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and pes-
change how you farm. ticides were readily available, a time in which principles like crop

Brett Peshek rotation and cover crops and manure management were essential
to success. Even though it is now 80 years old, it is amazing how
I’m currently using an AMP (Adaptive Multi-Paddock) grazing system the chapters on the value of soil organic matter and the destruc-
to regenerate a 240 acre farm in Mountain View, OK with a cow-calf tive nature of tillage sound as if they could be something a speak-
operation. I use AMP, along with mixed species covers to reduce input er at a present day soil health meeting would be saying.
costs, improve soils, and diversify perennial pastures.
Dale Strickler

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