I’M A BIT of an adventurer. In my 20s I ran triathlons, then I traveled the country as a wind surfer and for the last 15 years I’ve enjoyed getting way off the beaten path with my dirt bike. I’m certainly not afraid to try something different or think outside the box and that’s true in my farming operation, too.

FOR THE PAST 7 years, the National Corn Growers Assn. and their partners have been working to increase the confident adoption of soil health management practices today and in the future through the Soil Health Partnership (SHP).

Soggy fields and heavy grain carts are a common combination in fall, and can lead to deeply rutted and compacted fields. And it’s no joke. Soil compaction can reduce yields by up to 60% and it’s been shown to persist for up to 9 years, according to Jim Hoorman.

Mitchell Hora spent the summer of 2014 scouting corn and soybean fields for E4 Crop Intelligence, and knew then he wanted to own his own consulting business.

Married and both raised in farming families, Ian and Dianne Haggerty were shocked when they sought advice from a farm advisor on managing their fledgling operation in the drylands of southwestern Australia.