Conversations on Soil Health #16 - Keith Berns
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Webinar Details
When:
Apr 1, 2022 12:00 am US/Eastern
Length: 01:21 (hh:mm)
This live event has Ended. Most events are recorded and available for on-demand viewing usually within a week of their live showing. Check back then!
Presenter(s):
- Keith Berns
Virtual Event Format:
Group Viewing Available:
Join us for a thought-provoking presentation with Keith Berns as he breaks down the science of soil health through the lens of economics. Learn how to recognize and rebuild the natural “soil economy” by understanding the roles of plants, microbes, and soil in producing, cycling, and protecting resources. Ideal for NRCS staff and conservation professionals seeking innovative ways to promote soil health and reduce input reliance efforts!
Explore the concept of “carbonomics” and the economic framework of soil health with Keith Berns, Nebraska farmer and co-owner of Green Cover Seed. In this engaging presentation, Berns uses familiar economic principles—such as supply, demand, currency, capital, infrastructure, and defense—to explain how healthy soils function and how plants, soils, and microbes interact to create a thriving “soil economy.” Through vivid comparisons to national economies, Berns illustrates how solar energy fuels the system, how plants act as carbon producers, and how biology—especially microbial life—serves as the invisible workforce that cycles nutrients, defends plant roots, and enhances resilience. The talk highlights the critical role of diversity, active engagement from all parts of the system, and minimizing external inputs to support a self-sustaining soil environment. This session offers practical insight for NRCS field staff, conservation planners, and agronomists working to promote soil health systems. Berns emphasizes the need to “ask the right questions” when evaluating management decisions, especially how those decisions impact the biology beneath the surface.
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