Field Work
Hosted by two commercial row-crop farmers and a dairy farmer, Field Work is a podcast that provides space for frank, realistic discussions about the benefits and challenges of sustainable agriculture. Hosts Zach Johnson, Mitchell Hora, and Tara Vander Dussen (who joined the team in season four) explore the successes and challenges farmers experience as they adopt new practices, while still getting into the weeds on the difficulties.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 41 minutes
- Episodes
- 71
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2022
Farmer Incentives, Mayonnaise and More!
Food companies are seeing a lot more demand from consumers for sustainably-grown food. But how is that demand translating into actual incentives for farmers to adopt conservation practices? In this e…
The New Cash Crop: Carbon
There are certain regenerative practices that help to put carbon back into the ground, which can be beneficial for crops, soil, and the broader environment. Some companies are trying to provide anoth…
Water + Us
Water plays an important role in all of our lives. But how much do we actually understand key water topics, like the share of Americans who get their water shut off or the biggest causes of pollution…
Rick Clark’s 7,000 Acre Investment in Regenerative Ag
Farmers often get the advice that they should “start small” when it comes to conservation practices. But Indiana farmer Rick Clark of Clark Land and Cattle is proof that you can do regenerative ag at…
A Visit with the Hosts of The Modern Acre
After a big bet on growing asparagus backfired, the Nuss family had to rethink their approach to running Nuss Farms. Tim and Tyler Nuss, the 5th generation on the farm and the hosts of The Modern Acr…
Agriculture in a Time of Pandemic
Like much of the world, agriculture is facing a lot of uncertainty and change from COVID-19. In this bonus episode, Field Work host Mitchell Hora hops on the mic in his home studio to talk to AgriTal…
Regenerative vs. Organic
The word “organic” is familiar to a lot of consumers -- in the last decade we’ve seen a rise in organic foods in our grocery stores and markets. And there’s a whole raft of standards, developed by fe…
A Farmer's First Foray into Hemp
Growing hemp was illegal in the U.S. for decades. But recent changes in federal law have opened the door to growing the crop. So as farmers across the country begin to experiment with hemp, hosts Zac…
The Future of Agriculture: A Visit with Tim Hammerich
Tim Hammerich is the founder of AgGrad, an agribusiness recruiting company, and the host of the Future of Agriculture podcast. He joins Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora to talk about the latest innovat…
Getting Edgy
Edge-of-field practices like bioreactors, buffers and wetlands filter a farm’s runoff before it reaches nearby waterways. Mitchell Hora and Zach Johnson bring on Professor Amy Kaleita from the Iowa S…
What's So Amazing about Grazing?
Maybe it seems crazy to some row crop farmers to add livestock into their field rotation. But for Michael Vittetoe, the benefits of adding cattle to his Iowa farm have been plentiful. Hosts Zach John…
A Chat with the New Mexico Milk Maid
The “New Mexico Milk Maid,” Tara Vander Dussen, reaches people around the world with her social media posts shedding light on the dairy industry. She’s even had the chance to speak before the United …
Back in the Saddle
Field Work hosts Mitchell Hora and Zach Johnson kick off Season 2 by catching up on what happened in their fields since they last met up in the studio. Zach tells Mitchell last fall was full of chall…
Coming Soon: Field Work Season Two
Farmers Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora are back with more honest and authentic conversations about the ups and the downs of sustainable agriculture. They’ll explore how farmers’ failures with cover c…
Season Finale: Generational Perspectives on Farming
For our last episode of the season, we bring you our first live show ever, recorded at Farmfest in Morgan, Minnesota. Zach and Mitchell round out the season by bringing back some pals you heard from …
Third Crops: Can They Pay?
We know that corn and soybeans are the most economically viable crops we have on farms, at least in the Midwest, and that’s why they dominate the ag systems here. But there are efforts underway to ad…
Cover Crops Part 3: Can They Work Up North?
Field Work host Zach Johnson has tried planting cover crops a few times on his heavy clay soils in Central Minnesota, but has had nothing but failures. In this episode, Ken Franzky, an agronomist wit…
Beyond the Wind Break: Sustainable Ag at a Community Scale
Many farmers care about soil health, water quality, and about being good neighbors to each other and to people in nearby towns and cities. But sometimes it may feel like what farmers do individually …
Consumers Want Sustainably Grown Food, But Who Pays?
Consumers are demanding more sustainably grown food. So are big food companies. But how willing are they to offset the costs — and the risks — that farmers bear as they change up their practices? Zac…
Field Work Mini-Vacation
Our production team is taking a break the week of Independence Day. We’ll be back with more great conversations July 10th.