Ear to the Ground 387: Dumping the Dirt Dogma

When farmers challenged what Kris Nichols had learned from her college textbooks, the soil microbiologist didn’t dismiss them — instead, she dug deeper into the world beneath our feet (1 of 2 parts).

More Information

• LSP’s Soil Builders’ Web Page
• Kris Nichols’s Facebook Page
• Ear to the Ground Interview with Tom Cotter
• Ear to the Ground interview with Jay Fuhrer
• 2012 Ear to the Ground episode featuring Kris Nichols
• 2012 Land Stewardship Letter article on Burleigh County Soil Health Team

You can find LSP Ear to the Ground podcast episodes on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, YouTube, and other podcast platforms.

**Soil microbiologist Kris Nichols speaks to a group of farmers at a 2025 field day in southern Minnesota.**

Upcoming Events

November 2025

Friday November 7 – Saturday November 8

Emerging Farmers Conference

Friday November 7 – Saturday November 8

Emerging Farmers Conference

Brooklyn Center, MN, USA

Details on the 20th Annual Emerging Farmers Conference are available here.

Thursday November 13

8:30 am – 1:00 pm: Women in Conservation Northern Network Gathering: Stories from the Field
Thursday November 13
8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Women in Conservation Northern Network Gathering: Stories from the Field
Bigwood Event Center, 921 Western Ave, Fergus Falls, MN 56537, USA
Join Minnesota Women in Conservation and Renewing the Countryside for a relaxed, creative, restorative, and interactive day of networking and learning with fellow women conservation professionals. Breakfast and lunch are included at the lovely Bigwood Event Center. Cost is $25.

For more information and to register, click here.

Please reach out to burke@rtcinfo.org for information on scholarships before registering.

Friday November 14

9:00 am – 3:00 pm: Scaling Up Soil Health Strategies Bus Tour
Friday November 14
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Scaling Up Soil Health Strategies Bus Tour
Leatherdale Equine Center, 1801 Dudley Ave, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
Visit three farms near Northfield, Minn., to explore soil health at a larger scale. Learn about mechanized cover cropping, reduced tillage, erosion control, and using perennials and pollinator strips.

This is the third tour in a three-part soil health bus tour series. Participants can sign up for just one, two, or all three tours. Register at https://z.umn.edu/vegetablebustours. The cost is $15 (flat fee, covers 1, 2, or 3 tours). There are more details in the attached flyer.

Wednesday November 19

12:15 pm – 1:45 pm: We Can Do Better Book Discussion at Iowa Nature Summit
Wednesday November 19
12:15 pm – 1:45 pm
We Can Do Better Book Discussion at Iowa Nature Summit
Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA
The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings — is set for release on Oct. 2. The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Curt Meine will speak about the book during the 12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. luncheon at the Iowa Nature Summit on Nov 19.

Saturday November 22

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm: Farm Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Open House
Saturday November 22
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Open House
Tintah Beach Farm, Thief River Falls, MN
Please join Marcus Langevin from Tintah Beach Farm and the University of Minnesota at an open house and ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the farm scale deep winter greenhouse prototype on Nov. 22, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m.

This new deep winter greenhouse design allows farmers in cold climates to grow crops for sale to their customers throughout the winter months. The heavily insulated greenhouse utilizes a steeply sloped south-facing glazing wall to capture solar heat which is stored in an underground soil thermal mass where it is available to heat the greenhouse at night when the outside temperatures drop.

The new energy efficient greenhouse was designed to suit the needs of small and medium scale vegetable farmers. It is larger, cheaper per square foot to construct than previous designs, and is simple enough that farmers with minimal construction experience can build it themselves. Deep winter greenhouses like these allow farmers the ability to grow market crops year-round, thereby increasing their yearly revenues and allowing Minnesotans year-round access to healthy, fresh, locally grown produce.

Registration: This event is free to attend, but registration is required at z.umn.edu/TintahBeachOpenHouse. Please register by November 15.

Download farm scale deep winter greenhouse building documents. This farm scale deep winter greenhouse design is available for free download from the UMN Extension RSDP’s deep winter greenhouse website.

This work is made possible by University of Minnesota Extension; College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS); College of Design Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR); and the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension and Technology Transfer Program (AGREETT).

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