Farmers Supporting Each Other to Build Healthier Soils

Published: March 23, 2020, noon

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Tyler Zimmerman and Chris Walberg share their journey towards soil health building practices on their farms. Tyler began learning about no-till practices and their benefits about 5 years ago. Over that time he has found support and many resources as he continues learning and executing soil health practices.

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\\u201cWhen you turn the soil up, there\\u2019s roots and worms and biology just going on in there that when you walk to the field next to you that has been conventionally tilled and you don\\u2019t find any of that\\u2026.its night and day difference just across the road from one field to the next.\\u201d - Tyler Zimmerman

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Tyler shared his findings and experiences with his childhood friend, neighbor, and fellow farmer, Chris Walberg. Chris began to slowly \\u201cdabble\\u201d in no-till after seeing Tyler\\u2019s success and quickly found success of his own.

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\\u201cYou have a success that you can keep building on. I guess that was kind of a bit of an eye opener for us, that no-till can work.\\u201d Chris Walberg

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Tyler found that one of the big challenges to no-till is that it requires a higher \\u201cpatience level.\\u201d You need to be able to wait for the soil to be \\u201cthe right temperature and dry\\u201d where as a  neighbor practicing tillage might not need to do the same.

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In order to further expand on their no-till practices Chris and Tyler collaborated to buy an air drill together. Both men have observed the soil health movement gain a lot of \\u201cmomentum in the last few years\\u201d and are excited about what the future holds.  While not everyone is radically changing their practices to build healthier soils, \\u201cthey are certainly hearing about it and reading about it.\\u201d

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Between sharing information, equipment and ideas, Tyler and Chris are looking forward to continuing the expansion of their soil health building efforts. This collaboration and comradery  has \\u201cmade farming fun\\u201d for both and will likely continue to do so.

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This Week on Soil Sense:

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  • Meet farmers Tyler Zimmerman and Chris Walberg
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  • See how they were both introduced to no-till practices and the benefits they have observed
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  • Learn about their collaborative efforts and the benefits that has provided them
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  • Explore where their future efforts will lead them
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Connect with Soil Sense:

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Soil Sense Podcast is hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast.

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