“What should I plant this year?”
“How often should I soil test?”
“Should I till before I plant?”
How many questions a day do you ask yourself? Of those, what percent of them do you answer? Management really boils down to a game of constant questions, and progress comes from continuing to ask questions.
As I write this, I’m sitting in my hotel room after three full days of annual conference for the American Forage and Grassland Council.
The sessions were full of great information and even better discussions during the question-and-answer periods. It’s a privilege to be in an industry that is constantly looking to evolve, but an even better feeling to know our peers are willing to help answer those questions and be better managers tomorrow.
Our December issue featured Emily Fulstone and the work she is doing with a “worm tea” brew to improve the health of the soil. (See the full article at Brewing better soil). Emily is thrilled with the number of people who have contacted her and are jumping at the chance to make a positive change in their management practices.
When I took over as managing editor last summer, Lynn encouraged me to set a goal for what type of content I wanted to provide readers with, and this week I finally got my answer. My goal is for each issue to open a conversation that encourages you to ask questions. Questions that inspire change, questions that help justify your current practices or even questions on how to connect with producers in the same situation you are facing.
This issue features an article by Dustin Sawyer on PFAS and the regulations that could be on the horizon concerning the amount found in the soil (see “The curveball of PFAS”). When Dustin and I planned this article, he commented that he didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but he thought it was information producers needed to hear sooner rather than later and would most definitely start a conversation and stir up some questions. At this point, it will lead to more questions about the future than answers, but it’s worth opening the conversation.
Albert Einstein summed up my vision perfectly when he said, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to never stop questioning.”
Please let me know if you have any questions you would like to start a conversation with and inspire you to ask even more questions and, as always, thanks for reading.
