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Mike and Phil Faught are a father/son partnership who farm in Absaraka, North Dakota. Mike has been working with minimal till and no till since 1980, but he says his father first tried no till as far back as the 1930s. Phil Faught is in his first year of fully taking over the operation. He had a career in sports medicine before this that allowed him to take time off and farm in the summertime, and for the past four years he has been back on the farm full time.

In today\\u2019s episode, we talk about the history of conservation on their farm, their experiences in trying to minimize tillage and keep residue and cover crops on their fields, why they\\u2019ve decided to go back to banding fertilizer, and a lot more.

\\u201cFarmers have always done the best they can with what they had, whether it be the plow or learning to adopt the use of fertilizers, all of those things. And you do the best with what you can, but when we see erosion, both wind and water, I don\'t feel as there\'s any excuse anymore\\u2026We have tools to use to keep this going. To keep the land going and keep it healthy. So it\'s a very dynamic time.\\u201d -Mike Faught

Not every farmer in the area is approaching things the same way that Mike and Phil are, but Mike says that\\u2019s nothing new. Over the years they\\u2019ve been able to connect with other like minded farmers to learn from and share ideas with. Phil says his neighbors are more curious than cynical, and want to know more about what they are doing.

\\u201cThe traffic ability on the heavy clays, you see that right away, you may not see all the benefits, the worms, the mineralization\\u2026.And that\'s probably the thing that most people that are getting started are worried about is I can\'t go across that field. We were on that field and nobody else was, and we\'re generally not first. We\'re not last, but we\'re not first.\\u201d -Phil Faught

This Week on Soil Sense:

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• Meet Mike and Phil Faught are a father/son partnership who farm in Absaraka, North Dakota
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• Explore the journey the Faughts have taken and are taking in improving their soils
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• Discover the introduction of no-till and cover crops to the Faught family operation
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Connect with Soil Sense

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