Soil Health Stories: Lessons from Regenerative Farmer Brian Brhel

CropWatch Author

08/28/2025 Added

3 Plays

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In the new series, Soil Health Stories, Nebraska farmer Brian Brhel discusses his approach to soil stewardship with experts from the UNL Soil Health Program.

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[00:00:00.000]Yes. All right. Okay. We got
[00:00:04.840]the app. Perfect. Okay. Thank
[00:00:10.000]you very much, Brian, for
[00:00:14.420]allowing me to visit you today
[00:00:17.980]and apologize again that the
[00:00:21.980]students were not able to come.
[00:00:26.800]but you know it's a wonderful
[00:00:29.250]day this morning March 31st and
[00:00:33.030]now we're
[00:00:33.880]starting to get ready for the
[00:00:36.360]new season so the weather seems
[00:00:38.990]to be right and we
[00:00:40.660]are hopeful that this is a
[00:00:42.500]wonderful year for you your
[00:00:44.050]family and the rest of
[00:00:45.500]the Nebraska farmers so we hope
[00:00:47.430]for the best for a great season
[00:00:49.280]thank you that's
[00:00:50.380]very kind you are too yes so
[00:00:52.710]now will you mind um telling
[00:00:55.220]you a little bit more about
[00:00:57.450]your
[00:00:57.980]farming background and a little
[00:01:01.020]bit about yourself yeah so i
[00:01:03.060]grew up on a family farm
[00:01:05.080]and it was a beautiful place to
[00:01:08.180]grow up really grew to love
[00:01:11.310]animals and so that's my my
[00:01:13.790]first
[00:01:14.340]passion you could say and then
[00:01:16.490]it was communicated early on
[00:01:18.560]that oh I don't know if there's
[00:01:20.720]going to
[00:01:21.380]be room for you at the farm and
[00:01:23.220]so it's well an education was
[00:01:24.960]going to be an important part
[00:01:26.770]of my
[00:01:27.200]future anyway so went to a
[00:01:29.040]college got a two-year degree
[00:01:31.020]started doing crop scouting and
[00:01:33.420]then found
[00:01:34.040]a position at a local
[00:01:35.880]cooperative and ran a sprayer
[00:01:37.420]for for about four years so I
[00:01:39.260]got a lot
[00:01:39.920]of experience on that end of
[00:01:42.150]the spectrum. Went to work for
[00:01:44.770]a company that did wholesale
[00:01:47.100]chemical
[00:01:48.020]and fertilizer distribution.
[00:01:50.620]And so I ran a warehouse for 20
[00:01:53.540]years, at least the inventory
[00:01:55.880]and some drivers. So I got a
[00:01:57.720]lot of people experience there.
[00:01:59.960]And so that has really prepared
[00:02:01.780]me for what I'm doing now. And
[00:02:03.620]I've only been farming about
[00:02:05.290]four, this will be my third
[00:02:06.890]full
[00:02:07.300]time season but I've had my toe
[00:02:09.370]in the water, interest in the
[00:02:11.500]farm and had been farming and
[00:02:13.540]raising livestock since 2003.
[00:02:17.270]And that's really at the start
[00:02:19.830]of 2003 is when I purchased my
[00:02:23.170]cattle
[00:02:23.860]from dad as he was downsizing
[00:02:26.260]and really got into the soil
[00:02:28.700]health piece of things
[00:02:31.300]through the livestock. So I was
[00:02:34.000]using livestock on cropland to
[00:02:36.950]peel soil and to use that as
[00:02:40.930]part
[00:02:41.060]of the rotation. So early on I
[00:02:44.350]felt like there was value there
[00:02:47.740]but I wanted to qualify that
[00:02:50.690]with
[00:02:51.220]with testing and so did a lot
[00:02:53.380]of soil testing. Even capturing
[00:02:56.130]worm castings on top of the
[00:02:58.190]ground after
[00:02:59.140]rye and comparing that to the
[00:03:00.980]soil underneath. What was it
[00:03:02.870]bringing to the surface? What
[00:03:05.300]were
[00:03:05.300]the worms doing for me? So
[00:03:07.270]those types of things. So we
[00:03:09.410]continued down that path and
[00:03:11.540]improving pasture as well.
[00:03:14.160]Excuse me. Started rotational
[00:03:17.770]grazing. So we were moving
[00:03:21.170]cattle
[00:03:22.340]every two, three days,
[00:03:24.470]sometimes faster, and really
[00:03:27.180]could see some differences in
[00:03:29.920]soil
[00:03:30.180]just in the pastures because of
[00:03:32.900]that management decision. And
[00:03:36.410]our soil tests from the 1980s
[00:03:40.020]through the 2000s, you could
[00:03:43.080]tell where I started managing
[00:03:45.450]the soils differently
[00:03:48.500]from the soil tests so we were
[00:03:50.340]increasing organic matter once
[00:03:51.780]we allowed those plants to
[00:03:53.340]express
[00:03:53.700]themselves and so there's a lot
[00:03:56.560]of power in just management and
[00:03:59.260]that was exciting so as i
[00:04:01.540]transitioned to the farm full
[00:04:03.380]time a few years ago and i was
[00:04:04.910]farming some farm ground as
[00:04:06.520]well during
[00:04:07.300]that time but i was able to
[00:04:09.140]take on a few more acres of the
[00:04:11.000]family land and i was renting
[00:04:12.800]most
[00:04:13.380]of my ground at that point from
[00:04:15.790]others. So I was able to expand
[00:04:18.430]this idea and this diverse
[00:04:20.550]rotation,
[00:04:21.700]longer rotation to the whole
[00:04:23.690]farm. And so that's been the
[00:04:25.790]journey that I've been on the
[00:04:27.930]last few
[00:04:28.420]years. And of course technology
[00:04:30.760]has gotten much better since
[00:04:33.260]2003 and we're able to see
[00:04:35.140]our test for many more things
[00:04:37.170]than we did. So that's exciting
[00:04:39.750]and hopeful for the future.
[00:04:43.380]Wonderful. You have been the
[00:04:45.220]witness of all the improvements
[00:04:46.780]and all the hard work that you
[00:04:48.330]have put on the ground. So this
[00:04:50.260]is wonderful. And also being
[00:04:52.430]very curious, right? And going
[00:04:55.190]like trial and error and really
[00:04:57.030]trying to improve the whole
[00:04:59.050]system through these big
[00:05:00.770]changes. That's wonderful.
[00:05:03.060]Thank you for sharing that.
[00:05:05.360]So could you just remind us
[00:05:07.200]about what is this extended
[00:05:08.510]rotation that you have in place
[00:05:10.470]in your farm?
[00:05:11.620]So it's not a set rotation, but
[00:05:14.460]I am getting to a place where
[00:05:17.090]it has some similarity year to
[00:05:20.330]year.
[00:05:20.800]So I like small grains in the
[00:05:23.100]rotation, and I feel like they
[00:05:25.710]bring a lot of value as far as
[00:05:27.970]adding a cover crop after the
[00:05:30.430]small grain.
[00:05:31.840]And really my focus was how do
[00:05:34.450]I get more grazing acres on cropland?
[00:05:38.280]Because pasture is a premium,
[00:05:40.160]even though we have more grass
[00:05:41.980]around here than some areas.
[00:05:43.920]But how can I increase
[00:05:45.760]livestock?
[00:05:46.960]And one of the ways was using a
[00:05:48.260]small grain that I would
[00:05:49.370]harvest in the summer.
[00:05:50.640]And so let's say corn, soybeans,
[00:05:53.730]wheat at the time, but now it's
[00:05:56.860]more rye and rye for seed
[00:05:58.670]production.
[00:06:00.680]So, corn soybeans.
[00:06:03.620]Fry for seed production, then
[00:06:06.990]it might go to Harry.
[00:06:09.500]For seed production, or it
[00:06:11.630]might go to a grazing crop that
[00:06:14.340]includes.
[00:06:15.080]Harry batch, lots of other sorghums,
[00:06:19.690]sunflowers.
[00:06:21.140]Long beans, so it's a very
[00:06:23.890]diverse and I can't pinpoint a
[00:06:27.370]specific.
[00:06:28.520]But these are the tools and the
[00:06:30.360]tools that I will also as part
[00:06:31.950]of the rotation as we've been
[00:06:33.630]getting drier.
[00:06:34.820]And I feel there's a lot more
[00:06:37.080]value in the stocks.
[00:06:39.020]And even the dry land form that
[00:06:41.020]we raise, so I really like the
[00:06:43.120]milestones for 3.
[00:06:44.600]And it is a grass crop, so we're
[00:06:46.940]building soil a little easier
[00:06:49.440]than we would be with.
[00:06:51.080]So, I'm trying to reduce my
[00:06:52.920]soybean acres, replace some of
[00:06:55.160]those with.
[00:06:58.520]I can pinpoint a couple
[00:07:00.500]rotations as I think about it.
[00:07:03.380]Here, just this last year, we
[00:07:05.250]did some work with buckwheat
[00:07:06.990]and releasing phosphorus
[00:07:08.620]through the red states.
[00:07:10.400]And did some testing the last
[00:07:12.240]few years on the value there.
[00:07:14.090]We're seeing increases between
[00:07:16.560]20 and 60 pounds per acre.
[00:07:18.560]Following buckwheat and even a
[00:07:20.450]poor crop. So it doesn't have
[00:07:22.320]to raise a seed. So, and it
[00:07:24.040]doesn't even have to be a seed
[00:07:25.740]crop.
[00:07:26.480]I'm including buckwheat in many
[00:07:28.070]of my grazing mixes for this
[00:07:29.210]purpose.
[00:07:29.820]So trying to not even purchase
[00:07:31.890]commercial phosphorus, using
[00:07:34.440]plants to release nutrients.
[00:07:36.480]So the rotation there has been
[00:07:40.570]after I plant rye, I may follow
[00:07:44.060]it up with a combination of
[00:07:46.450]buckwheat and hairy veg and flax,
[00:07:49.590]planted all together at the
[00:07:52.150]same time.
[00:07:55.060]Then I harvest the buckwheat.
[00:07:58.250]The vetch is too small yet. It
[00:08:01.360]overwinters. And then I can
[00:08:03.770]have options to graze or to use
[00:08:05.850]it as a cover crop for the next
[00:08:08.010]corn or milo crop.
[00:08:09.600]So there's, I like to be able
[00:08:11.790]to do one thing and get
[00:08:13.690]multiple benefits. And so I
[00:08:15.830]plant, I like to plant multiple
[00:08:18.310]seeds together. One of those is
[00:08:21.500]oats and peas.
[00:08:25.060]and I like to include other
[00:08:27.510]seeds in those mixes as well
[00:08:30.520]like flax or or I'm wanting to
[00:08:33.770]try mustards
[00:08:34.960]and there's lots of things I
[00:08:37.030]want to try it for right now I
[00:08:39.160]have found a small market for
[00:08:41.260]my oat
[00:08:41.800]and pea seed okay and so that
[00:08:44.800]is part of my rotation and we
[00:08:47.330]can talk about all the fun
[00:08:50.000]diverse
[00:08:50.380]rotations but it really comes
[00:08:52.220]down to cash flow right and if
[00:08:53.890]you don't have cash flow all
[00:08:55.490]these
[00:08:55.980]fun things don't seem so fun
[00:08:58.430]anymore so it's been difficult
[00:09:01.460]to find a steady market for
[00:09:04.210]some of the
[00:09:05.340]diverse crops that i'm doing
[00:09:07.940]even though they might be very
[00:09:11.570]valuable so some of it is just
[00:09:14.140]patience and eventually I have
[00:09:16.560]been able to sell most of it
[00:09:18.770]but really concentrate on the
[00:09:21.050]business
[00:09:21.880]side of it as well as I can
[00:09:24.490]create all the soil help I want
[00:09:28.260]but I need to save this that's
[00:09:31.780]a good
[00:09:32.440]point and and you were like you
[00:09:34.280]know while you were describing
[00:09:35.880]about your rotation you you
[00:09:37.540]highlighted the goal the goal
[00:09:39.310]was like looking into
[00:09:40.250]opportunities to not only like
[00:09:41.890]be also help
[00:09:42.640]but also to graze, like high
[00:09:44.480]quality forage.
[00:09:45.480]- Yeah, very high quality.
[00:09:47.200]- Right, exactly.
[00:09:48.500]But how you came across on
[00:09:50.340]selecting these species,
[00:09:51.760]where you were looking into
[00:09:53.890]some that are like
[00:09:55.140]more drought tolerant or, I
[00:09:57.270]mean,
[00:09:57.840]besides the ones that will
[00:09:59.680]really help you
[00:10:00.400]to generate some value, right?
[00:10:01.960]Like some income, but besides
[00:10:04.390]that,
[00:10:05.000]like what are the other
[00:10:06.840]parameters that you're looking
[00:10:07.900]when selecting these crops?
[00:10:10.220]- So part of it is,
[00:10:12.640]Uh, a crop that's going to
[00:10:14.480]release nutrients. So that was
[00:10:15.990]soft wheat because I had Eric,
[00:10:17.730]but really I'm, I'm looking at
[00:10:19.470]the field. I'm looking at.
[00:10:21.460]What does this field need to
[00:10:23.300]produce other crops?
[00:10:24.860]And what is my limiting factor
[00:10:26.980]and what tools in the toolbox
[00:10:29.060]do I have to help remediate
[00:10:31.080]that issue?
[00:10:31.960]On this particular farm last
[00:10:34.370]year was a phosphorus concern.
[00:10:37.240]And I'm not interested in
[00:10:38.600]buying a lot of phosphorus at $800
[00:10:40.810]a ton.
[00:10:41.360]And so how can I create my own
[00:10:43.430]on the farm?
[00:10:44.540]And buckwheat was a choice.
[00:10:46.620]But then the other side, okay,
[00:10:48.460]when buckwheat comes off, now
[00:10:50.170]the field is bare.
[00:10:51.400]I don't like that idea.
[00:10:52.720]What can I plant with it that's
[00:10:54.520]going to be short enough that
[00:10:55.420]won't bother the buckwheat,
[00:10:57.260]but will continue throughout
[00:10:58.570]the winter?
[00:10:59.520]So I had volunteer rye seed on
[00:11:01.710]the soil, and I planted hairy vetch
[00:11:04.460]with the buckwheat.
[00:11:06.440]So that was the decision making.
[00:11:08.280]And I actually grazed it this
[00:11:10.520]fall after buckwheat harvest. I
[00:11:13.140]grazed that field and it
[00:11:16.070]produced over a hundred dollars
[00:11:18.870]an acre of grazing value to me
[00:11:22.110]using a measurement of two
[00:11:24.450]dollars and twenty cents per AUM
[00:11:27.970]or per standard animal unit, a
[00:11:30.900]thousand pounds.
[00:11:33.200]So if you figure $2.20 a day
[00:11:35.620]per 1,000 pounds of animal, I
[00:11:38.310]captured $105 of grazing.
[00:11:41.020]After I took a rye crop for
[00:11:43.150]seed, after I took a buckwheat
[00:11:45.860]crop for seed, then I grazed it
[00:11:48.600]in late October, actually
[00:11:50.990]November.
[00:11:52.100]Oh, wow.
[00:11:53.480]And now that volunteer rye and
[00:11:55.510]hairy vetch is growing again.
[00:11:57.800]And I'm going to bring animals
[00:11:59.800]there again this spring before
[00:12:01.880]I go to Milo in late May, June.
[00:12:04.080]So one planting, multiple
[00:12:07.060]benefits.
[00:12:08.540]Right. That's wonderful. That's
[00:12:10.590]fantastic.
[00:12:11.360]So that is, you know, a
[00:12:13.200]demonstration that you are like
[00:12:15.440]not in the entry level.
[00:12:17.060]You are in the, like,
[00:12:18.900]experience, like, senior level
[00:12:20.740]of, like, managing the
[00:12:22.360]different benefits that these
[00:12:24.640]crops can offer to your own
[00:12:26.090]benefit and the whole system
[00:12:27.910]that you're managing.
[00:12:29.700]So as I'm looking and hearing
[00:12:31.990]your story is that you're not
[00:12:34.540]into like planning for the year
[00:12:36.770]to year like outcome, but
[00:12:39.330]rather like you're looking into
[00:12:41.530]the long term and how the
[00:12:43.360]system can really benefit you
[00:12:45.750]from from several like times
[00:12:47.950]that the cattle could be out.
[00:12:50.780]But also like while building
[00:12:52.630]more resilient soils and and
[00:12:54.480]building like fertile soils to
[00:12:56.480]like healthy soils, like a
[00:12:58.360]healthy system.
[00:12:59.700]So this is wonderful. Like, you
[00:13:01.900]know, to get, you know, I think
[00:13:04.310]that one of the other questions
[00:13:05.990]we'll get into.
[00:13:07.280]Yeah, I think that how did you
[00:13:09.970]first learn about these
[00:13:13.500]practices? Right.
[00:13:14.920]So so you are right now at the
[00:13:16.760]senior level, but, you know,
[00:13:18.420]you share with me a little bit
[00:13:20.030]that, you know, how you started
[00:13:22.050]in farming, like because of the
[00:13:23.940]family.
[00:13:25.380]But of course, probably your
[00:13:27.790]dad didn't know all of these
[00:13:30.220]tricks that you know now about
[00:13:32.500]the beauty of these plants and
[00:13:34.500]all of the benefits that we
[00:13:36.260]could get from using them
[00:13:37.960]in releasing nutrients or
[00:13:39.800]building organic matter, things
[00:13:42.040]like that.
[00:13:42.780]So how have you have come to
[00:13:45.080]this point?
[00:13:46.400]How did you learn all of these?
[00:13:47.620]Well, I should mention, I am so
[00:13:50.160]blessed in the way that my dad
[00:13:52.460]was very open to new ideas.
[00:13:54.780]And actually when I was young,
[00:13:56.270]dad was already teaching me
[00:13:57.600]about how you have to feed the
[00:13:59.120]biology first in the soil
[00:14:00.960]before you can feed the plant.
[00:14:02.740]So he already had an
[00:14:04.580]understanding of how carbon
[00:14:06.050]feeds the soil and how microbes
[00:14:08.200]are
[00:14:08.560]feeding the plants, or carbon's
[00:14:11.410]feeding the whole system.
[00:14:13.760]And so he planted that seed in
[00:14:15.920]me and through his farming
[00:14:18.600]practices, which were different
[00:14:20.600]than the neighbors. We're
[00:14:22.440]trying to work with nature a
[00:14:24.100]little more than using some of
[00:14:25.960]the
[00:14:26.260]conventional methods, reducing
[00:14:28.240]nitrogen through use of other
[00:14:29.950]products, micronutrients and
[00:14:31.760]such.
[00:14:32.340]So that was how I grew up. But
[00:14:35.000]then just learning from peers
[00:14:37.840]and being willing to be
[00:14:40.270]vulnerable
[00:14:41.480]and share your experience and
[00:14:44.570]ask others how they're working
[00:14:46.980]with their farm. So it was just
[00:14:50.190]a
[00:14:50.600]a search for how can I reduce
[00:14:54.050]my expenses by leveraging
[00:14:57.510]natural processes and how does
[00:15:01.490]the
[00:15:02.040]soil and plant interaction
[00:15:04.140]actually work. Terry Gompertz
[00:15:06.880]was an Extension Educator in
[00:15:08.850]Knox County
[00:15:09.880]for many years and he has
[00:15:11.720]passed away since but he was
[00:15:13.350]one that helped me on the
[00:15:14.960]livestock piece
[00:15:16.760]and how we can think
[00:15:18.600]differently about moving
[00:15:19.910]livestock and healing the land
[00:15:22.150]that way. So,
[00:15:23.240]then I translated that into,
[00:15:25.340]well, why can't we just heal
[00:15:27.350]cropland as well using
[00:15:29.460]livestock? If it
[00:15:30.360]works in a pasture situation,
[00:15:32.220]why can't we just start
[00:15:33.570]planting cropland and find a
[00:15:35.280]way to make
[00:15:36.040]that economical? And maybe, and
[00:15:38.330]that's not planting the whole
[00:15:40.240]farm at this point, maybe that
[00:15:42.260]is down
[00:15:42.760]the road. But right now it's at
[00:15:45.360]least having one farm, one
[00:15:47.610]field in a full
[00:15:48.940]grazing situation for the full
[00:15:51.460]year and then moving that field
[00:15:53.980]around the farm
[00:15:55.300]to share benefits of the
[00:15:57.250]grazing. Right. And not trying
[00:16:00.180]to fit a cover crop
[00:16:01.780]behind a corn and soybean crop
[00:16:04.100]because that that's painful
[00:16:06.620]sometimes as far as
[00:16:07.860]doing it with the right timing
[00:16:10.290]and workload at that time of
[00:16:12.880]year so I pulled
[00:16:14.320]the trigger and we're doing I
[00:16:16.330]think 55 acres of whole year
[00:16:18.950]grazing mm-hmm this
[00:16:20.140]year yeah wonderful yeah you
[00:16:22.550]what you have mentioned you
[00:16:24.980]know like your dad
[00:16:26.440]being your you're the person
[00:16:28.390]that like motivates you and
[00:16:30.520]share with you all his
[00:16:31.840]knowledge and being open to
[00:16:33.680]like new practices and looking
[00:16:35.550]working with
[00:16:36.440]nature that's you know that
[00:16:38.280]that's what everybody we should
[00:16:40.080]be doing right and and and we
[00:16:42.650]are like
[00:16:43.160]really seeking for those people
[00:16:45.680]that inspire to inspire others
[00:16:48.090]right by example by by um
[00:16:50.040]by demonstrating like how
[00:16:51.880]healthy systems can be built so
[00:16:53.680]i appreciate that you are
[00:16:55.150]sharing with me
[00:16:56.200]all of these um how you have uh
[00:16:58.920]come all the way to this point
[00:17:01.640]of being like experienced uh
[00:17:04.390]social
[00:17:05.160]practitioner so looking into
[00:17:08.310]like you know let's see I know
[00:17:11.550]we have covered that so now let's
[00:17:14.230]talk
[00:17:14.520]about challenges so of course
[00:17:16.660]that nothing really has been
[00:17:18.720]like an a straight path and
[00:17:20.750]doing like
[00:17:21.420]some troubleshooting or trial
[00:17:23.450]and error has been probably
[00:17:25.500]part part of these experience
[00:17:27.580]right could
[00:17:28.080]you share with us a little bit
[00:17:29.450]like you know the challenges
[00:17:31.070]that you have faced while
[00:17:32.190]transitioning
[00:17:32.940]or like you know implementing
[00:17:34.780]the different practices in your
[00:17:36.440]land and how you have addressed
[00:17:38.260]them so this could be like
[00:17:40.100]technological or financially
[00:17:42.040]financial so whatever that you
[00:17:44.200]would like to share with me
[00:17:46.300]yeah so this is not a utopia
[00:17:48.400]the soil health journey has
[00:17:50.610]challenges
[00:17:51.700]but it's so worth it when you
[00:17:53.870]see the soil and the aggregation
[00:17:56.540]so i would say one thing i
[00:17:58.340]already
[00:17:59.040]sure was the financial piece
[00:18:00.880]and cash flow when you start
[00:18:02.330]getting into different crops um
[00:18:04.650]you know
[00:18:06.000]ideally you have a contract for
[00:18:07.910]some of these different crops
[00:18:09.760]maybe it's sunflowers maybe it's
[00:18:11.920]a specialty seed crop so but
[00:18:14.340]contracts are have not been
[00:18:16.790]real easy to find so this is
[00:18:19.000]this is not
[00:18:20.160]everyone's going to do this and
[00:18:22.420]i understand that so an easier
[00:18:25.000]button is using cattle because
[00:18:26.840]i i
[00:18:27.120]I know how to sell cattle, and
[00:18:28.780]that's pretty easy to find a
[00:18:30.220]market for livestock. And it's
[00:18:33.290]also,
[00:18:33.680]one piece I'm doing this year
[00:18:35.780]is bringing in someone else's
[00:18:38.300]cattle. So I'll be grazing
[00:18:40.070]about
[00:18:40.680]80-some head of someone else's
[00:18:42.550]livestock this year, because I
[00:18:44.240]don't want to take that
[00:18:45.520]financial risk
[00:18:46.360]to purchase animals at this
[00:18:48.260]high market. So I'm going to be
[00:18:50.470]paid for my skills in managing
[00:18:52.660]someone
[00:18:53.040]else's cattle this year on part
[00:18:55.650]of the acres. The other
[00:18:59.260]challenge is possibly weeds
[00:19:01.070]when you don't
[00:19:02.400]have a great stand of cover
[00:19:04.240]crops because of dry weather
[00:19:06.220]because I'm in a rain-fed
[00:19:08.620]environment so
[00:19:09.360]we don't have a pivot to turn
[00:19:11.230]on to bring water and we just
[00:19:13.100]don't have the water here
[00:19:15.580]underneath
[00:19:15.760]that's not available. So part
[00:19:18.820]of it is establishing the cover
[00:19:21.990]crop and midsummer can be a
[00:19:24.470]really tough
[00:19:25.680]time to do that. So I'm
[00:19:27.790]exploring ideas on how can I
[00:19:30.520]interseed something into a crop
[00:19:33.260]earlier in the
[00:19:34.240]year when we do have more
[00:19:36.480]consistent moisture or part of
[00:19:39.350]my solution to that was to graze
[00:19:42.400]cattle
[00:19:42.800]for the whole year and get my
[00:19:45.310]summer mix planted earlier let's
[00:19:48.440]say in May instead of July
[00:19:50.830]after a
[00:19:51.520]small grain. So that can be one
[00:19:53.650]challenge. The last, not last
[00:19:56.130]year, that's the two years
[00:19:57.750]before
[00:19:58.240]I planted a cover crop and they
[00:20:00.080]were barely a foot tall because
[00:20:01.970]of summer drought. That seems
[00:20:04.080]to be more consistent and so
[00:20:06.040]how can we manage that if we
[00:20:07.900]are through our cropping
[00:20:10.300]practices.
[00:20:12.800]And then the other piece is
[00:20:14.690]just mineralization in dry
[00:20:16.710]weather.
[00:20:17.600]So, I had a, a indication from
[00:20:21.300]the year before.
[00:20:23.660]Let's say 2 years ago from
[00:20:25.880]reduced nitrogen juice that I
[00:20:28.500]could reduce it to, let's say,
[00:20:30.740]40, 50 pounds per acre and
[00:20:33.780]still, you know, get 120.
[00:20:36.920]130 bushel, sometimes it was
[00:20:39.620]150 bushel corn on some test
[00:20:43.090]plots. So that's a pretty good
[00:20:45.120]return, you know, and nitrogen
[00:20:47.700]use efficiencies.
[00:20:49.280]But then the year after, I didn't
[00:20:51.820]have the mineralization because
[00:20:54.410]we didn't get a rain storm or a
[00:20:56.860]rain event at the right time.
[00:20:59.180]So lack of mineralization
[00:21:01.110]really hurt me on yield because
[00:21:03.420]of timing.
[00:21:04.640]Right. So,
[00:21:06.920]How do we manage nitrogen? How
[00:21:09.480]do we reduce nitrogen, but yet
[00:21:11.990]not give up yield in a dryland
[00:21:14.500]environment? So that's been the
[00:21:17.050]challenge. One potential option
[00:21:19.910]is sentinel irrigation using
[00:21:22.590]satellite imagery. So that's
[00:21:24.840]something we're exploring. So.
[00:21:27.740]Yeah, plenty of challenges, but.
[00:21:33.000]We're making progress, and what
[00:21:35.250]keeps me going is the soil
[00:21:37.090]condition and the aggregation.
[00:21:39.360]And we are seeing more
[00:21:41.200]resilience with the crops
[00:21:43.090]during dry, hot weather.
[00:21:45.420]We can see that the crops are
[00:21:46.700]holding in there longer than
[00:21:47.650]the neighbors.
[00:21:48.480]Okay.
[00:21:49.360]So we're seeing that difference.
[00:21:51.180]And perhaps, do you see like a
[00:21:53.590]green effect too?
[00:21:55.280]Yeah.
[00:21:55.880]That, you know, their growing
[00:21:57.770]season is longer than the ones
[00:21:59.520]you named.
[00:22:00.360]Yeah, my corn doesn't roll like
[00:22:01.630]theirs does.
[00:22:02.260]It took two more weeks to roll,
[00:22:04.340]like the neighbors were.
[00:22:06.200]So that was substantial.
[00:22:08.240]And I don't want to say that I'm
[00:22:09.790]a better farmer than the
[00:22:11.030]neighbors.
[00:22:11.880]That's not my point.
[00:22:12.880]My point is what we're doing is
[00:22:14.720]affecting the way the plant is
[00:22:16.230]behaving.
[00:22:17.080]Right.
[00:22:17.820]And hopefully that would lead
[00:22:19.290]to more profit.
[00:22:20.280]Yeah, I know this, you know,
[00:22:22.230]and I appreciate that you're
[00:22:24.060]sharing with me.
[00:22:25.380]As you said, this is not a utopia
[00:22:27.590]and it's not a perfect road.
[00:22:30.080]but having like the goal set
[00:22:32.080]and looking into like you know
[00:22:34.280]it's still a business right
[00:22:36.310]even
[00:22:36.660]though that we're trying to
[00:22:38.460]farm with nature we're looking
[00:22:39.900]into efficiency in different
[00:22:41.620]ways so i have
[00:22:42.460]heard from you highlighting
[00:22:44.380]nitrogen use efficiency like
[00:22:46.380]making efficient use of the
[00:22:48.220]land and of the
[00:22:49.240]you know the benefits that we
[00:22:51.080]could get from the plant so so
[00:22:52.320]you you you have the strategy
[00:22:53.860]in place
[00:22:54.380]that has been you know working
[00:22:56.150]on your benefits so that's
[00:22:57.460]wonderful and and and and yeah
[00:22:59.170]i mean
[00:22:59.520]And with the drought and these
[00:23:01.850]big changes in climate, it's a
[00:23:04.360]little bit tough, even though
[00:23:06.640]for a resilient system to cope
[00:23:09.150]with that.
[00:23:10.160]And mineralization is depending
[00:23:12.610]on the amount of water present
[00:23:15.510]in the field.
[00:23:16.880]So thank you for sharing.
[00:23:20.680]So was there any support you
[00:23:22.690]received from any local
[00:23:24.770]communities regarding the
[00:23:26.910]implementation of soul
[00:23:28.260]practices?
[00:23:29.380]Or have you been involved in
[00:23:31.220]like some communities?
[00:23:32.580]Or who has been, you know, in
[00:23:34.720]collaboration that, you know,
[00:23:37.200]how has this collaboration
[00:23:39.120]benefited you?
[00:23:40.520]So I know that you highlighted
[00:23:42.530]like one UNL Extension educator.
[00:23:45.020]Terry Gomper.
[00:23:46.780]Terry Gomper, yes.
[00:23:48.340]But have you been involved in
[00:23:50.440]other communities that are like-minded
[00:23:53.420]people that are really
[00:23:55.180]interested in farming with
[00:23:57.970]nature?
[00:23:58.540]Yeah. So about five years ago,
[00:24:01.100]an extension educator named
[00:24:03.380]Jenny Reese reached out and
[00:24:05.480]asked if I would be part of a
[00:24:07.490]peer group that met
[00:24:08.970]occasionally during the spring
[00:24:11.480]and summer to discuss these
[00:24:14.200]different types of farming
[00:24:15.930]methods.
[00:24:18.340]highlighting biology or
[00:24:20.180]highlighting cover crops, just
[00:24:21.870]how can we collaborate, work
[00:24:23.660]together,
[00:24:24.460]maybe share resources or really
[00:24:26.690]just share ideas at the time.
[00:24:29.080]And it's been such a benefit.
[00:24:32.040]And I'm
[00:24:32.640]involved in about three
[00:24:34.480]different peer groups. And that's
[00:24:36.090]actually one before that time,
[00:24:37.980]a friend
[00:24:38.500]of mine had connected me with
[00:24:40.510]two other friends of his. And
[00:24:42.700]so there's about four or five
[00:24:44.730]of us
[00:24:45.120]that met and that group grew
[00:24:47.410]and these groups come, you know,
[00:24:50.230]they can grow or they can
[00:24:52.230]reduce,
[00:24:53.120]it just depends on interest and
[00:24:55.370]what we're wanting to achieve,
[00:24:57.960]what everyone's goal is,
[00:24:59.680]but that's the beauty of it, it's
[00:25:01.640]flexible and I've made so many
[00:25:03.390]friends over the years because
[00:25:05.300]of this, so I can reach out to
[00:25:07.370]a number of people, if I know
[00:25:09.430]this person deals with this
[00:25:11.530]issue,
[00:25:12.180]I can give him or her a call
[00:25:14.020]and say, what did you do here?
[00:25:16.180]So it's really about networking
[00:25:18.350]and being willing to be
[00:25:19.870]vulnerable.
[00:25:20.980]And that's what makes this
[00:25:23.340]space so attractive,
[00:25:25.440]is that there are farmers that
[00:25:27.670]are willing to share, and it's
[00:25:30.040]not a competition.
[00:25:31.040]So this is a collaborative team
[00:25:33.470]effort.
[00:25:34.440]Right.
[00:25:36.840]So this is wonderful.
[00:25:38.200]you know i i i'm so happy that
[00:25:40.180]when i arrived to nebraska to
[00:25:42.280]see like people so well
[00:25:44.430]connected
[00:25:44.900]of course that there's still
[00:25:46.950]like people that feel isolated
[00:25:49.180]and and and and want to
[00:25:51.120]struggle
[00:25:51.440]alone right but through these
[00:25:53.580]networks uh increasing the bcb
[00:25:55.790]i mean like the awareness
[00:25:57.660]that you know the power that
[00:25:59.480]the networks have now people
[00:26:00.950]are more interested in like you
[00:26:02.770]know
[00:26:03.120]coming to the social events or
[00:26:05.120]like reaching out to you or
[00:26:06.890]like you know the others from
[00:26:08.810]from these
[00:26:09.640]peer networks um and have you
[00:26:11.480]seen like you know from all of
[00:26:13.080]these times that you have been
[00:26:14.880]farming
[00:26:15.500]have you seen that the change
[00:26:17.430]like in terms of like the
[00:26:19.040]communities how how people have
[00:26:21.720]evolved
[00:26:21.900]and now are like coming out in
[00:26:23.920]and not you know leave their
[00:26:25.980]like you know their solo flight
[00:26:28.130]and
[00:26:28.460]want to like join the community
[00:26:30.300]and want to like participate
[00:26:31.610]and want to like even like get
[00:26:33.320]advice
[00:26:33.820]from others or they seek advice
[00:26:35.690]so have you seen like a big
[00:26:37.190]change in like you know in
[00:26:38.690]terms of
[00:26:39.260]like this society or in terms
[00:26:41.120]of how people are like you know
[00:26:43.050]now interacting with each other's
[00:26:45.540]in in like here in Nebraska
[00:26:47.380]yeah I think there is a steady
[00:26:49.360]growth but I don't think it's a
[00:26:51.650]tidal wave
[00:26:52.280]okay and it is a it can be a
[00:26:54.450]difficult path to do something
[00:26:57.280]different and i would say a lot
[00:26:59.980]of it is
[00:27:00.740]social so this is not
[00:27:02.580]necessarily that oh these
[00:27:03.800]things don't work and so we're
[00:27:05.800]working around
[00:27:06.900]fear and we're working around
[00:27:08.740]social pressures family and
[00:27:10.170]such right i mentioned how
[00:27:11.740]blessed i
[00:27:12.360]am to have a family that's open
[00:27:14.200]and willing to do something
[00:27:15.790]different right and so that is
[00:27:17.470]maybe not
[00:27:18.240]unique or isn't unique and or I
[00:27:21.460]should say it is unique it's
[00:27:24.470]not common and so uh I I've
[00:27:27.130]been
[00:27:27.740]allowed to spread my wings that
[00:27:29.790]way but not everybody has that
[00:27:31.820]luxury and often I hear well
[00:27:33.660]dad doesn't even want to talk
[00:27:36.110]about right or my brother is
[00:27:38.770]really upset that we lost three
[00:27:42.370]bushel
[00:27:42.820]on the corn crop because we
[00:27:44.660]tried something. That's hard to
[00:27:46.910]overcome. Right. And so, um,
[00:27:50.060]I think in time, this will gain
[00:27:52.910]more traction and it is, and I'm
[00:27:56.280]seeing more, uh, excitement
[00:27:58.770]about
[00:27:59.120]it and these events are getting
[00:28:01.310]larger. So it, I don't think
[00:28:03.730]this is going away. And as we
[00:28:05.950]focus
[00:28:06.600]more on soil health and food I
[00:28:10.700]think once that happens then
[00:28:14.630]our farming methods are going
[00:28:17.450]to
[00:28:17.640]change drastically yeah these
[00:28:22.480]these I a future you think
[00:28:26.350]these with me and and you know
[00:28:30.580]I see that
[00:28:31.380]Yes, it's tough for some that,
[00:28:33.710]you know, they are very
[00:28:36.010]conservative in the way that
[00:28:37.610]they manage and rule by, you
[00:28:39.620]know, traditions or
[00:28:41.250]expectations from several
[00:28:43.210]relatives, right? There is less
[00:28:45.860]independence in making
[00:28:47.500]decisions, right, and changing
[00:28:49.870]the way that they manage their
[00:28:52.020]land.
[00:28:52.620]But yeah, I hope that, you know,
[00:28:55.130]these peer groups will
[00:28:57.460]demonstrate, increase the
[00:28:58.920]awareness, right, of social
[00:29:01.330]practices and also the benefits
[00:29:03.570]that not only the land will get,
[00:29:05.920]but also the family and the
[00:29:07.880]whole community, like health
[00:29:10.150]will improve overall, I will
[00:29:12.330]say.
[00:29:13.240]Even water quality.
[00:29:14.780]Exactly.
[00:29:15.440]And then we have to shift
[00:29:16.750]toward, well, am I growing food
[00:29:18.590]for somebody or is this going
[00:29:20.280]to ethanol?
[00:29:21.320]So, you know, I'm not against
[00:29:23.400]ethanol, but I'm saying there
[00:29:25.520]needs to be a focus on nutrient
[00:29:27.550]density in our food.
[00:29:29.040]Yes, I agree. Yes. And that
[00:29:31.400]takes, you know, a community
[00:29:33.660]effort to really bring back
[00:29:35.270]what are the priorities of, you
[00:29:37.210]know, producing in this land
[00:29:39.130]for these people and for like,
[00:29:41.120]you know, protecting the
[00:29:43.460]resources. Right. So everything
[00:29:45.260]is connected.
[00:29:46.580]I can grow non-general corn,
[00:29:48.430]but if there's a 30 cent
[00:29:50.150]premium, that doesn't pay me
[00:29:52.030]enough to put it in a grain bin
[00:29:53.660]and wait for a trucker to pick
[00:29:55.600]it up on an inconvenient snowy
[00:29:57.490]day.
[00:29:58.160]So nothing against truckers.
[00:30:02.760]That is not the point.
[00:30:04.480]I'm just saying when the market
[00:30:06.630]demands it, it's not always
[00:30:09.320]convenient, which is fine.
[00:30:12.100]But I'm willing to do those
[00:30:13.940]things and grow these crops
[00:30:15.350]that might have higher value,
[00:30:17.220]but there needs to be a market
[00:30:18.960]premium. And that's going to
[00:30:21.050]come down to consumer choice
[00:30:22.830]and what they value. So you're
[00:30:25.040]spot on. What does a community
[00:30:27.060]value? Do they value their
[00:30:28.890]health? And if so, then how can
[00:30:30.850]we help support that through
[00:30:32.740]farming practices?
[00:30:34.340]Right, yes, yeah, I keep
[00:30:36.180]reminding my students that all
[00:30:37.770]depends on what we're eating
[00:30:39.450]that, you know, will make, you
[00:30:41.410]know, diversify our markets.
[00:30:43.500]We keep buying just potatoes
[00:30:45.560]and, I don't know, meat, then
[00:30:48.110]what are the grains are going
[00:30:49.930]to be produced or like, you
[00:30:52.200]know, who cares about grains?
[00:30:54.480]So, yes, it's all depend on
[00:30:56.320]also like what we eat and, yes,
[00:30:58.090]as you highlighted, what are
[00:30:59.870]our values.
[00:31:00.900]So, wonderful.
[00:31:02.400]So now going into the last part
[00:31:05.240]of reliability, how do you
[00:31:08.580]manage the – so we talk a
[00:31:10.330]little bit about these, about
[00:31:14.180]managing some of the financial
[00:31:16.820]aspects of implementing these.
[00:31:19.740]but what are the costs
[00:31:21.580]involving, you know, in turning
[00:31:23.820]in like a farm into one that
[00:31:25.660]has soil health practices in
[00:31:27.770]place?
[00:31:28.440]And how have you seen like, you
[00:31:30.890]know, benefits, economic
[00:31:33.520]benefits from these type of
[00:31:36.020]practices?
[00:31:37.200]Yeah, so like, so you're asking
[00:31:39.350]what type of costs are involved
[00:31:41.400]in converting to this style?
[00:31:43.580]Yes.
[00:31:44.220]Yeah, so part of it could be
[00:31:46.320]hiring your neighbor to do some
[00:31:49.060]drilling of cover crops after a
[00:31:51.170]corn or soybean crop.
[00:31:53.180]You know, so it doesn't
[00:31:55.020]necessarily have to be
[00:31:56.100]equipment, but I chose to
[00:31:58.020]purchase a drill.
[00:31:59.080]And so there's, that is an
[00:32:00.920]option because it allows me to
[00:32:03.100]do things timely.
[00:32:04.460]And I do a lot of diverse
[00:32:06.300]things and different times of
[00:32:07.940]year.
[00:32:08.540]So it just depends on what your
[00:32:10.790]goal is.
[00:32:12.640]But when it comes down to where
[00:32:15.190]do I find that dollar.
[00:32:17.260]So that drill 1 thing that I've
[00:32:19.690]seen with soybeans is planting
[00:32:22.100]green into right? That seems to
[00:32:24.800]be.
[00:32:25.180]Hands down simple.
[00:32:29.020]Entry level type system.
[00:32:32.560]And last year, I wasn't able to
[00:32:34.680]get away with just do herbicide
[00:32:37.400]applications, but that's the
[00:32:38.940]goal.
[00:32:39.580]It's this spray, the spray just
[00:32:42.820]once.
[00:32:43.780]In the soybean, so plant
[00:32:45.990]soybeans into rye.
[00:32:47.920]Probably the end of April.
[00:32:51.100]And then let those soybeans
[00:32:53.640]grow with the rye.
[00:32:55.600]Until I determine that the rye
[00:32:58.070]is, it needs to be terminated
[00:33:00.540]and then terminate.
[00:33:02.500]And let the soybeans take over
[00:33:04.430]and not have to post spray.
[00:33:06.340]So it's really just one post
[00:33:08.310]spray is what I'm after. So if
[00:33:10.540]you can reduce two or, you know,
[00:33:13.060]one or two herbicide
[00:33:14.900]applications, that's big
[00:33:16.280]dollars over several acres. So
[00:33:18.540]you can afford
[00:33:19.620]to put some rye in. So we need
[00:33:22.300]to use these tools as
[00:33:24.660]aggressively as offense tools
[00:33:27.780]to reduce weeds
[00:33:30.020]and to help mineralize the
[00:33:32.340]nutrients that our roots can
[00:33:34.880]reach.
[00:33:35.780]Those are the few savings that
[00:33:39.130]is easily do with soybeans.
[00:33:42.480]Corn is another animal. There's
[00:33:46.360]lots to
[00:33:47.140]learn there yet, but definitely
[00:33:49.390]doable with rye, but it might
[00:33:51.720]take a little more nitrogen up
[00:33:53.420]front.
[00:33:54.180]right right there's so much to
[00:33:56.540]learn in the space right right
[00:33:59.020]yeah soybean is more like
[00:34:00.890]resilient
[00:34:01.860]right it's more like it's a
[00:34:03.700]tougher crop uh and also by
[00:34:05.170]being like a legume after
[00:34:06.750]coming from a
[00:34:07.620]grass like there is you know
[00:34:09.500]this there's the man and and
[00:34:11.360]and yeah so yeah i have heard
[00:34:13.230]that you
[00:34:13.940]know many people are advised to
[00:34:16.280]plant um before soybean core
[00:34:18.780]crop there is some yield
[00:34:20.240]penalty i
[00:34:20.980]thing on the if it's planted
[00:34:23.750]before corn it can be it doesn't
[00:34:27.210]have to be so there's again
[00:34:29.690]every
[00:34:30.260]there's so many variables it's
[00:34:32.100]hard to just say oh it's
[00:34:33.410]forever right yes not said on a
[00:34:35.170]stone
[00:34:35.540]and that's why this is a
[00:34:37.480]difficult path because you are
[00:34:40.380]becoming a an agronomist now as
[00:34:42.640]a farmer
[00:34:44.340]and it is not as simple as a
[00:34:47.820]recipe and so it has made me a
[00:34:51.590]better farmer right right yes
[00:34:56.170]but that
[00:34:57.060]that's an example that through
[00:34:58.800]the years and through the
[00:34:59.760]experience that you have become
[00:35:01.540]patient and also acknowledge
[00:35:03.390]that it's not you know farming
[00:35:05.220]it doesn't take into account
[00:35:06.980]like
[00:35:07.380]one or two factors right there
[00:35:09.460]are like several several
[00:35:11.200]factors involved that as you as
[00:35:13.600]you're
[00:35:13.940]just highlighted with the corn
[00:35:16.220]example, every year is not
[00:35:18.550]going to be the same and not
[00:35:20.170]always you're
[00:35:20.820]going to have like, you know, a
[00:35:23.240]yield effect. Yes, a yield loss
[00:35:25.860]in there. Okay, wonderful. And
[00:35:28.850]then,
[00:35:28.980]you know, like, final question.
[00:35:31.160]So based on your experience,
[00:35:33.060]what advice would you give to
[00:35:35.140]other
[00:35:35.140]farmers looking to start or
[00:35:36.980]improve their soil health
[00:35:38.290]practices? Or, you know, what
[00:35:40.250]could you
[00:35:40.900]recommend if someone would like
[00:35:43.230]to do you know the similar
[00:35:45.110]approach that you
[00:35:46.400]have been using like these last
[00:35:48.850]couple of years so figure out
[00:35:51.400]what your goal is
[00:35:52.840]first why would you even plant
[00:35:55.280]cover crops you know is it
[00:35:57.680]because you want to
[00:35:59.320]hold your soil because you want
[00:36:01.860]to aggregate deeper are you
[00:36:04.190]wanting to save
[00:36:05.520]money so it really comes down
[00:36:07.380]to what's your goal first and
[00:36:09.230]then start small and
[00:36:10.900]And and experiment and observe,
[00:36:13.240]so it's really about
[00:36:14.980]observation and that's that's
[00:36:17.120]what we should be as.
[00:36:18.500]As farmers observers.
[00:36:22.180]It's, um, it's really important.
[00:36:24.970]So you understand.
[00:36:26.680]What you did and why it didn't
[00:36:28.520]work this year and maybe you
[00:36:30.030]don't figure out that answer,
[00:36:31.790]but.
[00:36:32.440]When you can manage a small.
[00:36:36.400]piece first, maybe that's 10
[00:36:38.310]acres, maybe that's an acre,
[00:36:40.010]maybe it's 200, whatever your
[00:36:42.590]context is. And just experiment.
[00:36:45.980]Once you see the benefits of
[00:36:48.280]soil aggregation and the better
[00:36:51.660]water cycle and the greener
[00:36:54.350]corn, because it survived the
[00:36:57.880]drier temps, that's addictive.
[00:37:01.400]And it's hard to go back. But
[00:37:03.810]this is a multi-year process.
[00:37:06.400]process and you're not going to
[00:37:08.880]see it the first year
[00:37:11.030]necessarily but it's
[00:37:12.300]important to use a shovel and
[00:37:14.120]dig and understand how your
[00:37:15.480]soils interacting
[00:37:16.660]with plants that was well put
[00:37:19.360]you know it's a multi-year
[00:37:22.880]process it's something
[00:37:24.820]that people should not like
[00:37:26.660]give up just because not seeing
[00:37:28.390]big differences in
[00:37:29.620]one year mother nature doesn't
[00:37:31.700]work in like you know in an
[00:37:33.380]annual base it takes
[00:37:34.800]like at least like i don't know
[00:37:37.060]you tell me three years is
[00:37:39.000]right that's you know i keep
[00:37:41.050]hearing in
[00:37:42.000]every in every different
[00:37:43.840]setting that is like those
[00:37:45.440]three years that really will
[00:37:47.360]make those
[00:37:48.160]make changes visible to our
[00:37:50.330]naked eye and i've been using rye
[00:37:53.000]on some of these acres uh
[00:37:54.960]taken over from uh not taken
[00:37:57.820]over that i was allowed to rent
[00:38:00.730]my family and i've had rye on
[00:38:03.600]those acres before but it's not
[00:38:05.840]until you do diverse cover
[00:38:07.800]crops that you see results. So
[00:38:10.080]rye is great
[00:38:11.200]but it's one plant and it's a
[00:38:13.090]monoculture and it's great to
[00:38:15.280]do something so I don't want to
[00:38:17.360]throw shade on those who are
[00:38:19.200]just doing rye but if you want
[00:38:21.120]to see real results or the I
[00:38:22.880]shouldn't
[00:38:23.680]say real if you want to see the
[00:38:26.110]results the fastest it's a
[00:38:28.520]diverse cover crop with cattle
[00:38:31.120]on the cropland that will bring
[00:38:33.890]results the most the fastest
[00:38:36.470]yeah fastest yeah yeah yeah
[00:38:38.950]well but
[00:38:39.760]for an entry level farmer i
[00:38:41.900]think that cereal rye is a good
[00:38:44.600]start don't you think oh
[00:38:46.260]absolutely we
[00:38:47.600]got to do something yeah so
[00:38:49.690]again what's your goal is if
[00:38:52.210]your goal is to is to improve
[00:38:54.060]your soil yeah
[00:38:55.280]do rye maybe graze it it's a
[00:38:57.120]first step right this whole
[00:38:58.940]thing is addictive once you
[00:39:00.810]start doing rye
[00:39:02.000]oh well what if i add this or
[00:39:04.020]that or some clovers and now my
[00:39:06.630]cattle have better feed you
[00:39:08.450]know and oh
[00:39:09.380]this still grew and it still
[00:39:11.200]came up and it's not a problem
[00:39:12.500]oh so there's a lot of fear
[00:39:14.220]involved in
[00:39:14.720]some of this too right right so
[00:39:16.820]once you get your toe in in
[00:39:18.630]there a little bit with some rye
[00:39:20.950]then
[00:39:21.260]you can you can build on that
[00:39:23.430]each year right right but it's
[00:39:26.100]wonderful you know you're
[00:39:27.900]sharing
[00:39:28.680]with us all of your experience
[00:39:30.520]and your journey that have led
[00:39:32.310]you to to be at the senior
[00:39:33.750]level
[00:39:34.200]you know advanced uh self-help
[00:39:36.960]practitioner um but it's it's
[00:39:39.630]like you know starting when
[00:39:42.230]when
[00:39:42.600]when a painter starts to like
[00:39:44.060]just like draw with like just a
[00:39:45.550]pen and then as they're moving
[00:39:47.230]along
[00:39:47.460]they are able to pay with like
[00:39:49.910]oil and do some canvassing and
[00:39:52.960]oh my gosh, right?
[00:39:55.100]So you're at that stage that
[00:39:56.380]you could like, you know, all
[00:39:57.910]the benefits of these different
[00:39:59.720]plants
[00:39:59.840]and you could play with them at
[00:40:01.230]your own advantage and for like,
[00:40:02.800]you know, building a healthy
[00:40:04.450]system.
[00:40:04.820]This is wonderful, Brian.
[00:40:06.640]Thank you so much for sharing
[00:40:08.480]with me this and, you know, for
[00:40:10.300]answering this question for
[00:40:12.000]this interview.
[00:40:13.280]I don't know if you have
[00:40:14.580]anything else to share with the
[00:40:16.260]students and with the audience
[00:40:18.120]that, you know, this will be
[00:40:19.700]summarized and presented in the
[00:40:21.490]class.
[00:40:22.140]Yes, but also we're going to
[00:40:23.980]have it in our Grow Watch page.
[00:40:25.640]Sure. Now, I would just say if
[00:40:26.990]you care about your health, you
[00:40:28.320]should care about soil.
[00:40:29.500]Yeah, that's a great ending.
[00:40:32.040]Yeah. And yeah, everything
[00:40:34.340]turns back into soil, right?
[00:40:36.600]Yeah.
[00:40:36.920]Yeah. Thank you so much, Brian,
[00:40:39.060]for this interview.
[00:40:40.480]Let me close it for now.

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Soil Health Stories: Lessons from Regenerative Farmer Brian Brhel

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