Healthy Soil & Clean Water: The Nutrient Connection / Webinar 20 Oct @ 7 pm CST
Nutrients get a bad rap—but here's the thing: they're not the villains. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the very ingredients that feed our crops and keep farms productive. The trouble starts when too much of a good thing slips off the field and into our rivers, lakes, and streams—where excess nutrients can fuel harmful algal blooms that turn healthy waters green, murky, and often dangerous.
In this Sierra Club one hour webinar, agronomist Gus Plamann untangles the journey of nutrients through soil and water. We'll start with the basics of nutrient cycles (and why nutrients aren't always the bad guys), then dig into the real-world factors that send them wandering—from soils that flood again and again, to "legacy" phosphorus that's been quietly banking up in farm fields for decades. You'll learn why even no-till farming, a practice celebrated for protecting soil, can sometimes crank up phosphorus runoff. And we'll explore one of the more exciting tools in the toolkit: biochar, and how it can help lock nutrients where they belong.
Whether you're a farmer, a scientist, or just someone who cares about healthy soil and clean water, you'll walk away with practical soil health strategies—and a fresh appreciation for the delicate balance beneath our feet.
About the speaker:
Gus Plamann is a technical agronomist steeped in regenerative agriculture, agroecology, and soil health. As Agronomy Operations Lead for Tidal Grow AgriScience—a company that cleverly upcycles seafood waste into sustainable crop nutrition products—he's on the front lines of farming in harmony with nature. Gus also serves on the board of the Florida Soil Health Coalition, connecting farmers, ranchers, scientists, and conservationists across the state. He holds an MS in Agriculture and Environmental Science from the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley and a BS in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Florida. With family roots in Midwest farming and a lifelong curiosity about the natural world, Gus loves exploring where agronomy and ecosystem science meet.
Please register here.