101 AgEmerge Podcast With Jay Fuhrer, Conservationist

Thanks for joining us, today we welcome Conservationist, Jay Fuhrer, a name I’m sure most of you recognize. Jay has dedicated his life to taking care of the soil. He credits his parents for instilling in him a land ethic that has lead to decades of work and research that we all benefit from today. Jay’s approach to solving the problems of soil health is, as he says, doing most of his work with a spade, in a field with his clients. Oh and don’t miss this important quote, Jay says, “diversity is the holy grail to go after.” We may need to nickname him the Indiana Jones of soil health. This is a great episode full of wisdom and practical solutions that you won’t want to miss. As a long time Conservationist growing up in the Dakota’s on a small grain and livestock farm, Jay Fuhrer built a career taking care of the soil. Working at the Natural Resources Conservation Service/USDA from 1980 – 2020 out of Bismarck, North Dakota, Jay particularly enjoyed working from the pickup end gate on the field edge, with a spade and the client. Conservation planning one field at a time. Watch episode: https://youtu.be/7UuWtSiyIZk Building on his experience, Jay had the opportunity to share his knowledge and passion for the resource by holding and participating in countless Soil Health based farm visits, tours, and workshops. While many workshops were held in the United States, Jay’s enthusiasm to connect with farmers and ranchers took him across the globe to places including: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, Argentina, South Africa, and Canada. Building relationships through soil health education and conservation created many career highlights and friendships. Currently, Jay spends his time supporting soil health efforts through the Menoken Farm. The Menoken Farm is a conservation demonstration farm and is Jay’s favorite place to work. Here, the 5 Soil Health Principles can be applied while monitoring plants, animals, and soils. Jay continues to share the soil health principles and how healthy soil serves as a foundation for cropping systems, grazing systems, cover crops, wildlife, gardening, pollinators, insects, soil food web, and quality of life. His work in this field allows him - and others - to farm forever. https://menokenfarm.com/ Got questions you want answered? Send them our way and we’ll do our best to research and find answers. Know someone you think would be great on the AgEmerge stage or podcast? Send your questions or suggestions to [email protected] we’d love to hear from you.