Dr. Erin Silva (University of Wisconsin – Madison) is one of the country’s leading experts in organic no-till. This is a great conversation that will get you started on the right foot as you work to increase soil health and decrease erosion ..read more

Sandy Syburg (seaberg) is a man on the move. He’s an organic farmer, a member of CROPP cooperative (otherwise known as organic valley) who he grows feed for, president and co-owner of Purple Cow organics, an organic fertilizer company, and If that wasn’t enough, he also runs a school bus company in his home town, Oconomowoc, WI. He won’t tell you he’s busy though, ‘life is full and interesting’ as he says. Today we get an update on spring in Southeastern Wisconsin, talk about Covid19, and hear what Sandy’s excited about this season: corn in 60 inch rows. Let’s hop out and visit with Sandy, kee ..read more

Mark Cornelius wears a lot of hats. He was an organic and biological farmer for many years near Odon, IN, runs a crop insurance business, operates a couple elevators, and is now a landlord, renting out the certified organic land that he once cropped. We check in with Mark to hear what this season has in store for him and his neighbors in Indiana, how he sees Covid19 changing the landscape around him, and talk a little bit about what it takes to be a successful organic farmer. We’re here in southwestern Indiana where the planters are running. Let’s pull off here and say hi to Mark. This episode ..read more

Kade McBroom is a farmer, small business owner, and former Regional Program Representative for the Pipeline Foods Farm Profit Program. Many of you have seen Kade in our Going Organic video series or heard him in Episode 5 of Into the Weed’s first season. But as a quick recap, Kade is a farmer is Southeast Missouri who started his organic transition in 2018 but has he stayed the course? Today we find out. We’ll check in about transition, the response to Covid-19 in Missouri (and how homeschooling is going for Kade’s family), and hear how this season is moving along. We’re here in the bootheel o ..read more

Jason Charles is one of the cofounders of Pipeline foods and is currently Vice President of food ingredients. But unlike the other cofounders, Jason is also a farmer. He was born and raised on a 12,000 acre organic farm in Southeast Saskatchewan that he still helps to run. He’s worked as a grain merchant for many years, first for a couple of the bigs and eventually starting his own organic marketing company, Charles Commodity Consulting, which was the first purchase made by Pipeline Foods. Today we talk about how the season is looking north of the border and how Covid-19 is impacting Jason, hi ..read more

Gary McDonald has been consulting with transitioning and certified organic farmers for over 30 years, and farming himself for many of those. His home range is south central IL, but I’ve seen Gary present and inspire across the Midwest. He’s a row crop cultivation guru, a tireless organic advocate and educator, and a consistent champion for productive, biologically active organic farms. I always appreciate, and am sometimes challenged, by Gary’s thoughts and perspectives. Today we talk about what some are calling the ‘war’ with Covid19, when to work your fields, the connections between soil hea ..read more

BJ McNeil owns and operates Rocking Z Acres outside of Wessington, SD. A fourth generation farmer, Bj has never let the phrase, “that will never work” slow him down. Whether it was going no till on 4,000 acres at once, being the first farmer in his county to plant round up ready beans or getting into cover crops in a big way even when his neighbors continued to shake their heads at his appetite for the next thing. And now that appetite has a full plate: organic transition on 100% of his sizeable south Dakota farm. Today we check in with BJ about what led him to go organic and resources that he ..read more

In this episode, Anders talks to Matt Leavitt, lead organic agronomist with Albert Lea Seed House in Albert Lea, MN about all things organic seed. We covered the differences between Non-GMO and organic seed, regulations you need to know about, organic breeding, and how to select the best seed for your operation ..read more

As the name of our podcast suggests, weeds are always top-on-mind for all farmers, but especially organic growers. Successfully addressing weed challenges can be the difference between a bumper crop and tilling a weedy field under. In this episode, Dr. Joel Gruver from Western Illinois University talks about the principles and practices of effective organic weed control, sharing lessons learned from 13 years doing applied large-scale research in organic row crops. Joel is a wealth of knowledge and keeps things easy to understand and refreshingly practical. Let’s jump in. Show notes: Weed Zapp ..read more

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