GTF Podcast: What Is Your Soil Actually Doing Right Now?

Preston Marthey works with farmers who have stopped guessing at what their soil needs between the lab report and harvest. Most fertility programs are built on snapshots. The field is doing something different every week. CropX puts sensors in the ground and streams what is happening: moisture, temperature, and electrical conductivity, at depth, in real time. Preston's work is translating that data into decisions producers can act on the same day. This is the conversation about what that looks like in practice.   What's Inside - Why point-in-time soil tests miss the variability that costs farmers yield - What real-time soil sensing actually measures and what to do with it - How producers are using in-season data to adjust fertilizer and irrigation timing - The difference between a field that guesses and a field that knows - What it takes to get started with precision soil sensing and where the ROI shows up first   00:00 Welcome to Growing the Future Podcast  02:25 Introducing Today's Guest: Preston Marthey  03:12 Preston's Early Journey in Agriculture  06:23 Technological Shifts in Precision Agriculture  09:39 Generational Wisdom and Business Evolution  13:15 Challenges and Innovations in Water Management  26:39 Balancing Family and Work in Agriculture  31:38 The Art and Science of Land Forming  47:04 Balancing Simplicity and Precision in Farming  47:28 The Impact of OptiSurface on Land Leveling  48:10 Challenges and Solutions in Soil Management  50:14 Regional Differences in Agricultural Practices  53:33 The Importance of Precision Investment  55:17 Nutrient Management and Technology Integration  01:10:06 Mentorship and Personal Growth in Agriculture  01:27:40 Final Thoughts and Reflections   Related Episodes - Your Soil Type Is Costing You Yield -- Greg Patterson on fertility planning and the variable the handbooks skip - Before You Spray: 3 Things That Could Cost You Money This Season (May 2026) -- timing and what the field actually needs   Connect with Growing the Future Website: growingthefuture.ca YouTube: Growing the Future Instagram: @growingthefuturepodcast LinkedIn: Growing the Future Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.