I was really happy to be part of the DLG podcast about soil health and the ReGenfarm digital-twin work. The conversation felt like a great chance to bring together farmer experience, field measurements and models to talk about how we can better understand and manage soil processes at farm scale. During the discussion, we talked about why soil health monitoring is so important today, and how a digital twin can bring together farmer knowledge, field data and models to turn complex soil processes into practical, actionable insights. We also touched on real-world monitoring strategies, the uncertainties and limitations of modelling, and how to translate scientific results into simple indicators that genuinely support on-farm decision-making.
A few things I took away from the episode:
Co-design matters: building a digital twin only works if farmers, researchers and partners design monitoring and management together — otherwise the model outputs aren’t actionable on the ground. Models are tools for decisions: the digital twin should help prioritise where to invest (cover crops, residue management, deeper rooting species) to rebuild soil carbon and increase resilience, not just produce maps.
Thanks to the hosts and everyone involved — it was a pleasure to share the field perspective and to talk about concrete steps for rebuilding soil carbon and resilience.