4 The Soil: A Conversation Eric Scott Bendfeldt

Ennis and Phil Carter of Flip Charts and Social Impact Studios bring together their expertise in social sciences and education to amplify a simple message that soil health and music are for everyone. We can all "literally" dig soil health and music in a multitude of ways. In part II, Ennis and Phil explain how memories and stories help us find common ground, connect dots, and stir our imaginations. Ennis spoke of the recent 4 The Soil coloring book developed by Social Impact Studios and the playful characters of an owl and a worm (Hoot and Annie) that stirred their imaginations for a 4 The Soil song and a musical hootenanny.  

You are encouraged to bring your musical instruments (banjos, guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, etc.) and lawn chairs to the Hoot-n-Annie event that will be held this Sunday, June 23, 2024, in celebration of National Soil Health Day, Sunday. The Hoot-n-Annie will be held from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Camp pHyre in Rice, Virginia. Ennis and Phil provided a teaser of the schoolhouse-style 4 The Soil song to inspire and remind us soil health and music are for everyone. To learn more about Flip Charts, the 4 the Soil cartoon characters, and the Hoot-n-Annie event, please refer to our recent 4 The Soil blog post at https://www.4thesoil.org/post/join-the-flipcharts-and-camp-phyre-s-hoot-n-annie-event

To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. Again, we would love to hear and see pictures of how you celebrated National Soil Health Day.  

In anticipation of National Soil Health Day, Ennis and Phil Carter of Flip Charts and Social Impact Studios composed a fun 4 The Soil song to celebrate and emphasize how we can all take action for the soil and planet. Ennis and Phil bring together more than forty years of life and creative work. Their collaboration and creativity integrate music, culture, anthropology, graphic design, and community organizing. Ennis and Phil highlight how music and art translate our emotions and hearts into action.

The upcoming Hoot-n-Annie event will be held on National Soil Health Day, Sunday, June 23, 2024, at Camp pHyre in Rice, Virginia. During our conversation, Ennis and Phil shared a snippet of the schoolhouse-style 4 The Soil song to engage and inspire all of us. To learn more about Flip Charts and the Hoot-n-Annie event, please refer to our recent 4 The Soil blog post at https://www.4thesoil.org/post/join-the-flipcharts-and-camp-phyre-s-hoot-n-annie-event

To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you celebrated National Soil Health Day and the ways you are taking action to support soil health and the planet. 

The aroma of freshly milled and ground grain is distinct and inviting whether in preparing bread, pizza, or a vat of beer. Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance offers a freshly milled perspective on a range of topics needed to strengthen the regional food system and build the supply of regional grains to meet consumer demand. Madelyn says that bakers and chefs are often the best storytellers of why local grains are so important to their businesses, however, it is often the taste, flavor, and aroma of the food and beverages that create a lasting love and commitment to local and regional grains.

The Common Grain Alliance is a growing network of over 120 farmers, millers, bakers, and food businesses throughout Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region. For more information about the Common Grain Alliance and the many new video resources on growing and marketing small grains, legumes, and dryland rice, please visit https://www.commongrainalliance.org/

To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are supporting soil health, local farmers, bakers, chefs, and a stronger regional food system and grain economy. 

How can we reinvigorate the local and regional grain economy? What is possible if grain farmers, millers, maltsters, bakers, brewers, pasta makers, educators, and researchers dream and work together? Why are local, high-quality, sustainably raised small grains like rye, oats, and others not more easily available in the Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region marketplace? Mary Sketch Bryant, Jeff Ishee, and Eric Bendfeldt speak with Executive Director Madelyn Smith of the Common Grain Alliance (CGA) about these questions and the growing effort to reinvigorate the local grain economy. Madelyn shares her journey of working on conservation and facilitating policy development for soil health and conservation practices. She also shares how CGA started in Virginia and continues growing as a network of over 120 farmers, millers, bakers, and food businesses from southern Pennsylvania to northern North Carolina.  

For more information about the Common Grain Alliance, its membership, upcoming gatherings, and shopping for Mid-Atlantic small grains, please visit https://www.commongrainalliance.org/

To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are diversifying your cropping and farming systems for soil health and a stronger local economy.

Can we emulate nature with our soil health-building systems? Where do local small grains fit in the soil health puzzle? Ray Archuleta of the Soil Health Academy and retired soil health educator with USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service discusses why working in concert with nature is important to farming. Ray is a big proponent of no-till farming and putting life back into systems. Tillage disrupts and kills soil fungi and sets the system back. Ray sees food and the health of the soil as medicine and critically intertwined with nature. 

Dr. Heather Coiner of the Common Grain Alliance adds to this discussion and shares how small grain crop rotations are another essential piece to the soil health puzzle and biological pathways. In addition, a stronger local grain economy can provide multiple benefits to farmers, communities, and the overall health of people. 

For more information about the Soil Health Academy and Common Grain Alliance, please visit their websites at https://soilhealthacademy.org/  and https://www.commongrainalliance.org/

To access the 4 The Soil blog and the more than seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you are working with nature and what you are doing to know your farmer in support of local and regional agriculture.

Have you ever been on a walk and observed a dung beetle or two rolling a bit of dung down the path? Have you wondered what conditions make a good steady rain? While many things are out of our control, we can control some things if we are willing to learn and work together as a community.

Dr. Elizabeth Heilman, Professor of Education at Wichita State University, elaborates on the power of observation in ecology and farming with Mary Sketch Bryant, Jeff Ishee, and Eric Bendfeldt, specifically as the power of observation relates to weather patterns, peer-to-peer learning, and creating more stable farming systems. 

Dr. Heilman shares how a "community of practice" can be a safe place to share experiences and build relationships that can help farmers "balance out the weather cycle" and "reduce drought and flooding."   

For a description of Dr. Heilman's teaching, research, and recent publications, please visit https://www.wichita.edu/profiles/academics/applied_studies/School_of_Education/Heilman-Elizabeth.php 

For the free soil health resource guides that Dr. Heilman referenced, please visit Green Cover Seeds at https://greencover.com/freeguides/  The tenth edition is currently accessible. Copies of the fifth edition are available in English, French, and Spanish.

To access the seventy episodes of the 4 The Soil: A Conversation podcast and additional resources on soil health-building principles, please visit https://www.4thesoil.org/. To learn about the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, visit https://www.virginiasoilhealth.org/. We would love to hear how you work to balance the water cycle on your farm, ranch, or garden.