Episode Details

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Groff, a farmer and cover crop pioneer who has also worked with the University of Maryland on extensive cover crop research. Steve founded Cover Crop Coaching in 2016 and has spoken to audiences across North America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and many other parts of the world on the use of cover crops across the full range of agricultural applications.

In this episode, we talk about important management tools to incorporate with cover crops, the causes of erosion in a soil system, and how farmers can supply consumer demand for nutritional value. We also discuss farm economics, the books Steve read that started him in cover cropping and a step by step guide for growers who want to start developing healthy soil.

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Resources recommended by Steve

• Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life by David R. Montgomery
• The Biological Farmer: A Complete Guide to the Sustainable & Profitable Biological System of Farming by Gary F. Zimmer
• Stubble Over the Soil: The Vital Role of Plant Residue in Soil Management to Improve Soil Quality by Carlos Corvetto Lamarca
• The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka

Episode 7 - Steve Groff - Highlights

3:00 - What are some of the memorable moments that have lead Steve to where he is today?

• Steve started no till in the early 80's - Solely to stop soil erosion
• A key moment for Steve was 3 years into doing no till - He noticed his soil was beginning to "mellow out"
• Today we can transfer to no till much faster than ever before
• In 1995 Steve started researching cover crops - he noticed after a drought year that he had 28 bushels more of corn preceding the previous 3 years
• Steve is all-in on cover crops!

8:20 - Erosion is a symptom of a bigger problem

• Healthier soil isn't going to blow or wash away
• We don't have a runoff problem, we