Growing the Future

GTF Podcast: What Is Your Soil Actually Doing Right Now?

Episode Summary

Dan Aberhart chats with Preston Marthey of CropX, a precision ag expert specializing in soil sensors and water management. Preston shares insights on RTK GPS, data-driven farming, and the evolution of ag tech. He emphasizes precision ag as an investment, not an expense, and highlights the importance of balancing innovation and support in ag startups. 📩 Contact Preston: Preston@pmwmc.com | 📞 +1 (870) 819-7151

Episode Notes

Water on a field goes wrong in three ways: too much, not enough, or in the wrong place. Preston Marthey has spent his career on all three, and his view is that the answer is not always the one the industry wants to sell you.

Preston grew up in his father's land leveling and water management business, saw the technology move from laser to GPS, and now splits his time between design consulting and his role as a territory manager at CropX. In this conversation with Dan Aberhart, he walks through how surface design and subsurface drainage can work together, what changed when whole-field grading replaced dragging dirt from the high spots, and what he tells producers who want to cut technology spending when margins tighten.

What's Inside
• Growing up in a laser land-leveling business, and the moment GPS changed how he saw the technology
• Why a farmer benefits from a field design done by someone who is not also paid to move the dirt
• What grading the whole field does differently from dragging dirt off the high spots
• How taking pressure off the surface can reduce how much subsurface tile a field needs
• The limits of land forming: topsoil, residue and timing, and why some projects never get done
• Why he calls data management and precision inputs the meat of the budget, not the fat
• How moisture and nutrient data can help time nitrogen so it reaches the crop
• What he learned from his father and his mentors: keep plugging, treat everyone the same, and sell the vision

00:00 Welcome to Growing the Future Podcast

02:25 Introducing Today's Guest: Preston Marthey

03:12 Preston's Early Journey in Agriculture

06:23 Technological Shifts in Precision Agriculture

09:39 Generational Wisdom and Business Evolution

13:15 Challenges and Innovations in Water Management

26:39 Balancing Family and Work in Agriculture

31:38 The Art and Science of Land Forming

47:04 Balancing Simplicity and Precision in Farming

47:28 The Impact of OptiSurface on Land Leveling

48:10 Challenges and Solutions in Soil Management

50:14 Regional Differences in Agricultural Practices