It’s a milestone episode for the Water Table Podcast! Episode 100!! We are on the road at Iowa State University with a panel of expert guests to talk past, present and future of agricultural water management. Jamie is joined by a professor, a farmer and a drainage contractor to talk shop. Learn why they believe the future of ag water management is so exciting and what new technologies are on the horizon. It’s a special episode you won’t want to miss! Chapters: 00:00   Welcome to the Water Table Podcast 00:31   Meet our guests 02:06   The future of water quality 03:55   Dra ..read more

What kind of students are seeking out careers in ag? It isn’t just kids on the farm anymore... Jamie catches up with Dr. Amy Kaleita, Department Chair of the Ag and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University. They discuss how education is furthering the world of agriculture, why students are choosing career paths in ag, and how the opportunities to create change in the industry are endless. Chapters: 00:00   Welcome to the Water Table Podcast 00:10   Dr. Amy Kaleita 00:45   NOT from Iowa 01:10   NOT from a farm 01:30   Engineers make cars? 02:30   Really imp ..read more

Jamie sits down with Tim Radatz for a conversation about Discovery Farms, a public-private partnership that is advancing research into water quality and agricultural drainage practices. Learn why getting real-time data from private farms across Minnesota is providing farmers with the information they need to implement the best practices for their area to not only increase yields, but improve water quality on their land. Chapters:00:00   Intro 00:21   Welcome Tim Radatz 00:40   The story of Discovery Farms 01:00   Private farms 01:19   Water quantity 02:41   Water ..read more

Jamie sits down for a conversation with Jacob Handsaker and Bob Lepper on this episode of the Water Table Podcast. Learn how a used excavator launched Jacob’s career, and how Bob’s expertise has been integral in passing on knowledge to the next generation – in excavating, show business and beyond. It’s a story about constant curiosity you won’t want to miss. Chapters:00:00   Welcome to the Water Table Podcast 00:30   Jacob Handsaker and Bob Lepper 00:40   Skipping school and still learning 01:41   Before Jacob 02:15   1981– Bob’s in business 03:10   Off to Branso ..read more

Jamie catches up with some special guests on this episode of The Water Table Podcast. College students Harris and Griffin Duininck sit down to talk about their summer road trip and video series about the water management industry that now has nearly 4 million impressions on social media.  The guys traveled across the US and learned some valuable lessons about why their generation should care about plastic pipe. Find out how the trip has impacted them and why it might mean a job for one of the guys in the very near future. Chapters & Episode Topics:00:00    Welcome to the Wa ..read more

In this episode of the Water Table Podcast, Jamie sits down with Alex Buseman, a graduate assistant at Iowa State University who is currently working on three research projects dealing with water quality in agriculture. Does the type of wood in a bioreactor matter? How does the only dual-chamber bioreactor in the world function?  What is the Forest to Farm program? How long do bioreactors last? Listen and learn how the next generation is carrying the research torch to ensure farmers can implement cutting-edge water management practices. Chapters & Episode Topics:00:00   Today on ..read more

And that’s a wrap on 2023! It was a great year on The Water Table podcast. We took our mobile studio on the road and caught up with people all over the Midwest, including Iowa LICA Field Days to Minnesota Farm Fest. We also had some great guests in the studio, including a few who kicked Jamie out of the host chair to do their own interviews. Listen in to hear the highlights from some fan-favorite episodes, from the International Drainage Hall of Fame to the Transforming Drainage Project to Married to Drainage, and a lot of topics in between. Find all the highlighted episodes:  #70: The I ..read more

Jamie sits down with Prinsco Ag Application Engineer, Trey Allis, for a conversation about a recent study on pipe perforation and sock fabric. They talk through how small-scale studies might contribute to misconceptions in agricultural water management, and why talking to a contractor in your area is the best bet for farmers who have questions about which drainage products will serve your farm best. "Talk to a drainage contractor. To the people you trust in your area... They have decades of experience, and they're not going to steer you wrong." - Jamie Duininck Chapters & Topics: 00:00 ..read more

From preparing for an early harvest to waiting out the rain… how did harvest actually go in Minnesota? In the rest of the Midwest? In the Dakotas? Jamie sits with Karl Guetter to get a harvest update and touch on a wide range of other topics, including land values, how interest rates might affect agriculture and whether more tile will get buried after Thanksgiving this year. Chapters: 00:00   Today on the Water Table 00:33   Welcome to Karl Guetter 01:30   A wide-ranging career 02:20   What a crazy fall! 04:00   It’s going to be early…or late… 05:00   Such a vari ..read more

In this episode of The Water Table on the road, we’re at Minnesota Farmfest. Guest host, Justin Sander, caught up with a couple of drainage contractors to find out where they think the industry is headed, the challenges they think lie ahead, and what keeps them going. This conversation is with Mike Litzau of Litzau Farm Drainage in Atwater, Minnesota. He’s been working in the industry since he was 10 years old, so he knows what he’s talking about! Chapters & Episode Topics: 00:00   Intro 00:39   Live from Farmfest 00:50   Litzau Farm Drainage 01:57   What’s new in equ ..read more