Welcome back to the Port Pearls Almanac. This is Andy, and today we're joined by Dr. Jim Ippolito, a renowned expert in soil health

and fertility from Ohio State University.

We're talking about the innovative use of soil bacteria to enhance nutrient availability.

Our discussion challenges traditional farming practices and unveils how leveraging natural

soil biology can revolutionize sustainable agriculture,

potentially reducing reliance on external fertilizers.

We dive into the fascinating connections between soil microorganisms and human biology,

drawing parallels that underscore the profound interconnectedness of all life forms.

Jim has a visionary approach using bacteria to reshape agriculture

and addresses the economic and practical challenges faced by producers transitioning to sustainable methods.

Lastly, we explore the potential and challenges of biochar and biosolids in agriculture,

and how integrated agro-ecosystem management or agroecology can pave the way for eco-friendly farming.

So please take a listen, let us know what you think.

And if you haven't yet, please give us a review on iTunes or Spotify, wherever you're listening to this,

because it does help us rank higher in searches. With that said, let's dive in.

Jim, thanks so much for joining us. I came across a bunch of your papers, found what you're

doing really interesting. I'm really excited to have you on. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Yeah, Andy, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. So my name is Jim Ippolito right now. I'm currently a professor of soil health and fertility at the Ohio State University. I spent 25 years of my life at Colorado State University in the soil science realm.

And somewhere in between, I spend about 10 years of my life working as a soil scientist

for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Idaho.

Awesome.

So yeah, it's nice to see academics that actually go out and then do the work,

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