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On Farm Trials ft. Douglas Poole
This episode of the On-Farm Trials podcast features an interview with farmer Douglas Poole in Mansfield, Washington as he describes how his trials are intended to work with the ecological systems on his farm. Douglas shares his experiences from collaring cows to harnessing soil microbes, planting alternative crops, hosting landlord parties to talk cover cropping and soil health, a decades-long legacy of biosolids, and creating/conserving sage grouse habitat on the farm.
On Farm Trials ft. Tom Conklin
In this episode we hear from Tom Conklin of Wittman Family Farms outside of Cul de Sac, Idaho on how their farm team works together to design, track, and evaluate their âfarm scientific trialsâ from cows to water and towards lower inputs and diversification goals.
On Farm Trials ft. Tracy Eriksen
In this episode we hear a career retrospective from Tracy Erikson outside of St. John, WA, and how his lifetime pursuit of learning has evolved innovation and trials on the farm along with his impact on the landscape over decades. He describes starting the fabrication of his first no-till drill up to current interests and trials looking under the microscope for signs of soil health, spray water quality, and opportunities in drone technology on the farm.
On Farm Trials ft. Clint Zenner and Kendall Kahl (pt.1)
On Farm Trials ft. Clint Zenner and Kendall Kahl (pt. 2)
This episode of the On-Farm Trials podcast features Clint Zenner of Zenner Family Farms in Genesse, ID and his collaboration as a PI on the PNW cover crops project alongside Kendall Kahl of the University of Idaho. A conversation with them highlights years of working together that has resulted in a wealth of knowledge on cover crops, cows, and even earth worms! Listen to their conversation about how they are working together to ask and answer important soil health and cropping systems innovation for the farm and region with their on-farm trials.
On Farm Trials ft. Russ Zenner
Our guest for this episode is Russ Zenner, a retired farmer from Genesee, Idaho. Listen to the conversation to hear him describe the trials from the early days of Direct Seeding in the region, value-added and identity-preserved marketing, and share his thoughts on climate change and goats, working with research and conservation partners, and the importance of life-long learning.
On Farm Trials ft. Doug Schuster and Erin Ruehl
In this episode we hear from Doug Schuester and his daughter Erin Ruehl outside of St. John, WA – as they talk about their on-farm trials in remediating eroded hilltops with compost and cover crops, growing cows and canola, and some farm succession planning.
On Farm Trials ft. Subodh Adikhari and Frank Wolf
This episode of on-farm trials features Frank Wolf of Lester Wolf farms outside of Uniontown, Washington, and his collaboration as a PI on the PNW cover crops project alongside Subodh Adhikari of the University of Idaho. A conversation with them highlights years of working together that has resulted in these collaborative on-farm cover crop trials, how they are working together to look at various mixes, get them seeded, and what and how data is being collected to measure impact on subsequent crops, soil, weeds, and insects to create a regional decision-making tool based on their findings.
On Farm Trials ft. Derek Schafer
In this episode we talk with Derek Schafer about farming between Lind and Ritzville, just around the corner from the Lind Research Station where their farm has a long history of working in partnership with researchers to advance the regional cropping system. He talks about his experience growing fall seeded peas and canola in rotation with wheat, their farmâs transition to no-till, and managing weeds like Russian Thistle with rotation and spot spray technology.
On Farm Trials ft. Andy Juris (pt. 1)
On Farm Trials ft. Andy Juris (pt. 2)
Join the conversation with Andy Juris on his Diamond J Farm, in Bickleton, WA as he discusses his trials with herbicide resistance, transitions in tillage systems, diversifying the cropping system in the face of changing conditions, why innovation is critical, and talking crop insurance and ag transportation issues with policy makers in DC and Olympia.
On Farm Trials ft. Garett Heinick and Garrett Moon (pt. 1)
On Farm Trials ft. Garett Heinick and Garrett Moon (pt. 2)
Join the conversation between Garrett Moon of Moon Family Farms in the Horse Heaven Hills, WA and Dr. Garett Heineck, Cropping Systems Agronomist with the USDA-ARS CAF LTAR network research program. The interview dives into how they are working together on the farm to answer questions about the âdown-side production potentialâ of perennial wheatgrass Kernza, cover crops, and mapping cheatgrass in a region where fog counts as significant precipitation. What are they measuring and what data matters from the research side and on the working
farm – and how are they making it work? Listen now to find out!
On Farm Trials ft. Wade Troutman (pt. 1)
On Farm Trials ft. Wade Troutman (pt.2)
In the first of a two-part episode, host Carol McFarland visits with cropping systems innovator and award-winning conservationist Mr. Wade Troutman. Check out episode one of the two-part interview to hear about his adventures trying things on his farm in Bridgeport, WA – from being one of the first to grow canola in WA, to direct marketing of organic âWadeâs Wheatâ, finding sunflower pans for the combine, and how ag and his neighborhood have evolved over his decades of On-Farm Trials!
On Farm Trials ft. Jesse Brunner
In this weekâs episode we interviewed Jesse Brunner whose farm near Almira, WA has been under No-Till management for over 20 years. Jesse grows canola, wheat, and several other rotational crops, including his experimentation with re-crop winter wheat in an otherwise crop-fallow system. In this episode you can hear about his favorite drill for direct-seeding canola, residue management in No-Till, his strategy for making trials happen, and the record-keeping he uses to determine if a practice is something worth repeating. He also describes experimenting with his Weed-it system over the last year, optimizing nozzle selection and what heâll be trying next year.
Host Carol McFarland visits with Amy McKay from McKay Farm and Ranch in LaCrosse, WA sharing her experience with full, two pass and no-till production across their operation, precision spray application strategies, trying intercropping, and running cows on her cover crop trial. Listeners can hear how she navigates the moisture limitations in her area. What happened when she mowed the cover crop to seed wheat into? Check out the episode to find out!
On Farm Trials ft. Chris Eckhart
Join this conversation on Eckhart Farms outside of Deer Park, WA where we talk about cover crops, reducing synthetic fertilizers, building organic matter, mycorhizzal fungi, and farming with the next generation.
On Farm Trials ft. Moses Boone and Oscar Rodriguez
Host Carol McFarland returns to Holland-Boone Farms to speak with Moses Boone and student Oscar Rodriguez about the co-production of research around a field scale pH survey featuring the research and extension experiences for undergraduate students and the use of in-field pH meters and experimental design to capture pH variability across the field and within the soil profile and a discussion of low pH symptoms in lentils, nitrogen fertilizer contribution to low pH, and the benefits of the co-production of research.
On Farm Trials ft. Moses Boone
In this episode, host Carol McFarland talks with Moses Boone of Holland-Boone Farm outside of Palouse, Washington on experimenting to overcome no-till seeding spring crops into high residue and other barriers to full adoption of no-till practices, balancing soil health with production
goals, why he isnât currently growing cover crops, return on investment for experimentation, and what keeps farmers from experimenting today.
On Farm Trials ft. Eric Odberg
Join this conversation in Genesse, ID as Eric describes the features of his new Ag Pro drill, increasing his ROI by reducing his inputs, his experiences growing and marketing sunflower, millet, cover crops and more as part of his wheat-based system. We also hear about how Shepherdâs Grain has enabled producers to account for their cost of production with identity-preserved regional marketing.
On Farm Trials ft. Sheryl Hagen-Zakarison
On this episode, we visit Zakarison farms and chat with Sheryl Hagen-Zakarison about the farm that’s been in her family for 4 generations! This episode includes her experience with their enterprise’s recent and big transitions into thinking about their farm near Palouse, WA within an ecological framework, including No-Till adoption, reducing inputs, diversifying and intercropping crops, and their farm’s alternative marketing strategies. She discusses partners in their experimentation as well as lessons learned in what they’ve tried.
On Farm Trials ft. Dusty Walsch
Join this conversation as Dusty shares his trials using a ânewâ planter, and growing wheat, canola, and sunflowers, cover crops and cows, and flowers and kids outside of Colbert, WA.