Field Work

Field Work is a podcast that showcases frank, realistic discussions about the benefits and challenges of adopting sustainable ag practices. It’s hosted by two commercial row crop farmers, Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora. …

Conservation tillage can provide a lot of benefits. It increases water filtration, reduces erosion, and improves soil productivity. But some farmers …

In this episode, you’ll learn about our hosts and what drives their interest in sustainable agriculture. Zach Johnson, a farmer near Alexandria, …

We explore the benefits and downsides of drain tile with Rodney Rulon, an Indiana farmer, and Matt Helmers, the director of the Iowa Nutrient …

There are a lot of big questions to consider for farmers interested in trying out cover crops. Perhaps the most important one, according to cover crop coach Steve Groff, is this: what do you want to accomplish? Zach and …

Sometimes the hurdles to sustainable practices come from people right in a farmer’s network: family, landowners, neighbors, seed dealers, and lenders. Bryan and Lauren Biegler, farmers in Minnesota, join Zach and …

Nutrient management is an art as much as it is a science. And nitrogen, in particular, can be a difficult nutrient to manage. Understanding how it …

Many farmers have heard the alarming statistic that we’re losing topsoil to erosion about 10 times faster than it can be replenished. We want to keep our soil healthy and intact so we can continue farming and be more …

Farmers collect a lot of data on fields, inputs, and yields. But many questions remain about how to use the data and who to share it with. Zach and …

Cover crops blanket the soil from the time you harvest one crop until you plant the next. And there’s a long list of benefits they provide: they can replenish soil in between planting, prevent soil erosion, slow water …

There are a lot of technologies available these days like sensors, geo-mapping, robots, and all sorts of other big data tools. The idea behind them, …

Our production team is taking a break the week of Independence Day. We’ll be back with more great conversations July 10th.

Consumers are demanding more sustainably grown food. So are big food companies. But how willing are they to offset the costs — and the risks — that farmers bear as they change up their practices? Zach and Mitchell talk …

Many farmers care about soil health, water quality, and about being good neighbors to each other and to people in nearby towns and cities. But sometimes it may feel like what farmers do individually doesn’t make much of …

Field Work host Zach Johnson has tried planting cover crops a few times on his heavy clay soils in Central Minnesota, but has had nothing but …

We know that corn and soybeans are the most economically viable crops we have on farms, at least in the Midwest, and that’s why they dominate the ag systems here. But there are efforts underway to add in a third crop. …

For our last episode of the season, we bring you our first live show ever, recorded at Farmfest in Morgan, Minnesota. Zach and Mitchell round out the season by bringing back some pals you heard from in earlier episodes, …