Making Agronomy Fun with Jason Hanson & Kyle Okke

In this episode we take you back one more time to Agronomy on Ice in Devils Lake, North Dakota. We hear from the man who started it all, Jason Hanson, along with his partner in crime on the Agronomist Happy Hour podcast, Kyle Okke. Jason has been a regular contributor to Soil Sense and we featured both him and Kyle on our Agronomy on Ice episode last April. We talk to the guys about their knack for making things fun when it comes to learning about agronomy and soil health, their approaches to soil health as independent agronomists, Jason’s experience with the Trusted Advisor Partnership, what they’ve learned from their podcast, and more. 

“It feels to me to some degree, like how Agronomy on Ice started. It's just like, here's an idea. We implement something that gets more people involved, ideas come in and then all of a sudden, boom, it takes off. And then you’ve got people like, “Hey, I wanna be a part of this. I’d like to join. I see what you're doing.” Or they kind of hang back and then it registers.” - Jason Hanson

Both Jason and Kyle have left corporate ag retail jobs to start their own independent agronomic consulting businesses: Jason several years ago with Rock and Roll Agronomy in Webster, ND; and Kyle Okke just this past year with Agile Agronomy in Dickinson, ND. The two also joined forces with Bridget Readel to form Ag Mafia which put on Agronomy on Ice and is offering training, coaching, and other media services.  

“I absolutely really enjoy what I did before and I'm very thankful for the opportunity I was given and the development I got and just everything, crop protection and adjuvants and all that. But for me it was time. And doing this on my own has been the best move I felt like I could make because it's a lot of fun to be able to be impactful to the local group of farmers and retailers that I work with.” - Kyle Okke

This Week on Soil Sense:

Join Jason Hanson of Rock and Roll Agronomy and Kyle Okke of Agile Agronomy, both hosts of the Agronomist Happy Hour podcast

Discover their career journeys and what projects they are working on right now

Explore the future of biological inputs to better manage water, soil and pests