008: How Soil Stewardship Provides Solid Solutions for Climate Change and Food Security with Sarah Wentzel Fisher

Essential Ingredients Podcast

“Soil health can be complicated but it's also super simple and something that everybody can participate in.” —Sarah Wentzel Fisher

Soil health is the foundation of our food systems and ecosystems. Yet many are disconnected from the living soil that sustains us. The soil is a complex web of microbial and ecological activity below our feet, working constantly to cycle nutrients, sequester carbon, and support plant life above and below ground. When soil health declines, it impacts water quality, biodiversity, our ability to grow nutritious food, and ultimately all living beings.

In this episode, Justine interviews Sarah Wentzel Fisher about the transformative potential of getting more people involved in agriculture and stewarding soil health.

Sarah is the Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition and a regenerative farmer. Through her work with the Carbon Ranch Initiative, she aims to improve soil health on rangelands and educate farmers and ranchers on the importance of soil stewardship.

Listen in as Justine and Sarah discuss the importance of soil health for functioning ecosystems and its central role in mitigating climate change, the impact of research in providing practical solutions, ways to inspire conversation around soil health, and more.

Meet Sarah:

Sarah has worked in food and agriculture planning for over a decade with a focus on supporting young and beginning farmers and ranchers. She was the editor of Edible Santa Fe from 2011 to 2017. From 2013 to 2015 she worked for the National Young Farmers Coalition as an organizer and is currently on the board of the Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. She is a committed champion of the local food movement and of resilient and regenerative agriculture. In her free time, you can find her feeding pigs, turkeys, and cows, checking the compost pile, or possibly weeding a patch of beans at Polk’s Folly Farm where she lives.

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Episode Highlights:

02:21 Creative Conveing and Food Systems

06:27 Soil Health and Its Impact on Ecosystems

10:40 The Importance of Understanding Soil Health

15:03 How Soil Health Impacts Climate