Dr. Jill Clapperton, Rhizoterra Inc.
Healthy productive soil is the foundation of all agriculture- it doesn’t matter how many traits corn has- it still needs to grow and be productive in soil.
When we read books on how to have a successful business there are only original paths. Every farm, no matter how big or small, grazing and/or cropping, new conventional or organic is an original. There is no recipe. Each of you have put your stamp on the family farm (or are trying to), most of you will want to be successful enough have a multi-generational business.
In this presentation I attempt to address the question: what is the value of soil health? I will approach answering this question as an entrepreneur and science educator. Too many people think that soil health is an “airy fairy” concept because it is not easily measured. Well there are good indicators we can easily measure. Let’s look at the trends to soil health over time on some “conventional” farms you may not have heard about, and examine what it takes to reap the financial, family, and future rewards or regenerative agriculture.