You Can’t Product Your Way Into Good Soil Health
Adam Jones, a conservation agronomist at MFA Inc., came on The Scoop podcast to share how he helps farmers implement an entire system of soil health, conservation, and yield success on their farms.
In his role, he’s part of an integrated agronomy team—an approach he says has been a differentiator for MFA’s business.
“We want to be on the cutting edge of what our member owners are enacting on their farms. So our staff needs to know the practice in and out and be able to provide technical expertise on the practice,” he says.
As an example, he says carbon markets are a conversation that are bringing soil heath practices to the forefront.
“Carbon has been a great tool for outreach on core soil health system practices, and that's how I always talk about it because it's a great way it's a way to bring up talking about cover crops, about reducing tillage, and how do we make these practices work,” Jones says.
He says along with increasing these types of conversations, carbon markets have also set a framework for additional opportunities such as edge of field practices and biodiversity credits.
Key for 2022, Jones is encouraging farmers to not overlook opportunities and stay committed to their plans for their farms.
“Persistence and attention to detail pays off for sure in 2022,” he says.
In that vein, it’s not a single product or single practice that will bring farmers to reach their goals.
“You certainly can't product your way into good soil management,” Jones says.
It’s the intersection of conservation and agriculture that Jones believes will be a big part of the future.
“I hope folks do business with us because they see how our company is ran, which direction that we're going, and how we incorporate these practices company wide,” Jones says.
Listen to the full interview on The Scoop podcast:
