111. Thinking Outside the Box: How a "Crunchy" Approach to Agronomy Can Boost Your Farm's ROI with Faith Pierson

Welcome back to Beyond the Crops, where farm life meets real life! Join your hosts, Jena Ochsner and Mary Pat Sass, as they "think outside the box" with special guest and agronomist, Faith Pearson. In this eye-opening conversation, Faith Pierson (aka "The Crunchy Agronomist") challenges conventional wisdom and draws fascinating parallels between holistic human health and the health of our soil.📌 What We Cover in This Episode:✅ Holistic Soil Health vs. Traditional Agronomy✅ Rethinking the Soil Test✅ The "Makeup" Effect of Nitrogen✅ The "Fence Row Effect"✅ Challenging "The Way We've Always Done It"✅ A Candid Conversation About Roundup (Glyphosate):* Its history (did you know it was originally an industrial pipe cleaner?).* How it works as a chelator and its potential impact on crops and soil biology.* The importance of stewarding chemistries to combat weed resistance.* Discussing how it's possible to farm with less, or even without, Roundup.✅ Faith's "Hot Take": Her biggest challenge to the industry revolves around nitrogen rates and rethinking what's enough versus what's too much.💡 Key Takeaways:✨ Just like in human health, addressing the root cause of an issue in the soil is more effective and sustainable than repeatedly treating the symptom.✨ Traditional soil tests may not be giving you the full picture. A more holistic test can reveal your true limiting factors and prevent you from applying inputs that aren't providing a return on investment.✨ Over-reliance on synthetic fertilizers can disrupt the natural soil microbiome, making your farm more dependent on inputs over time.✨ Challenging "the way we've always done it" and being open to new methods is crucial for long-term soil health, resilience to weather events, and farm profitability.✨ Taking one small, informed step—like getting a different kind of soil test—is the best way to begin the journey toward a healthier, more resilient farming operation.This episode of Beyond the Crops is brought to you by Beck's Hybrids. Built on faith, family, and a love for agriculture since 1937, Beck's is committed to helping farmers succeed for generations. From localized support to research-backed insights, learn more about what they offer at beckshybrids.com.🙌 Join the Conversation!What did you find most interesting about this conversation? Are you rethinking how you look at your own soil health? Share your thoughts and tag us @beyondthecrops_.You can connect with Faith on X (formerly Twitter) @FaithLois12.#SoilHealth #Agronomy #RegenerativeAg #BeyondTheCropsPodcast #FarmWife #WomenInAg #FarmingForTheFuture #HaneyTest #TheCrunchyAgronomist #Roundup #Glyphosate #FarmLife #Beckshybrids #SponsoredThank you to the sponsor of this episode, Fieldview. Both Jena and MP have used Fieldview on their farms for the past several years and it's been an integral data and decision making tool for their operations. Check them out here