Sharing the Inspiration for Shared Soil

We hope you have been enjoying Seasons One and Two of the Shared Soil podcast. We are busy planting the seeds for Season Three. We thought you might want to know how we got here and the inspiration for starting this project. 

The Inspiration

The Shared Soil Podcast was inspired by a series of learning circles for women farmers hosted by UVM Extension. These virtual sessions brought farmers from across the US together to discuss common obstacles, frustrations, and learning moments while being a manager, owner, or leader on a farm. 

While there were some unique challenges like employee cellphone use, hiring woes, and training needs, there was one sentiment that stuck out as a problem Extension could solve: the need for a sense of community. The farmers in those learning circles noted that spending time in the fields, greenhouses, on tractors, or working the land by themselves meant they were often lonely or felt isolated. If they didn’t have employees, the opportunity to get off-farm for socialization or professional development was limited during the peak seasons. Our offering to these farmers is to share in a podcast which is friendly and conversational, yet upholds a strong educational standard. 

This podcast is dedicated to creating community, honoring challenges, and promoting personal and professional growth for ALL people in agriculture. Noted in our episode openings, this mantra represents our guiding principle for choosing episode topics. While there is so much to explore in the agricultural world, we look for ways to include guests that represent the breadth of our industry including farmers, service providers, food enthusiasts, law enforcement, natural resources professionals, volunteer managers, and our own Extension specialists. We’ve had some fascinating conversations with folks like Charley Cummings, CEO of Walden Mutual Bank, Lauren Judd, Executive Director at Cornucopia Project, and John and Erin Maynard, owners and farmers of AOR Farmstead. While we love to explore new topics and capture educational content, the heart of this podcast is the people that we have the honor of interviewing!

After two great seasons of Shared Soil in 2024 and 2025, we are already looking forward to the third season launching in February 2026. We plan to stick with our monthly release schedule and can’t wait to feature more educational and community focused topics. As always, we welcome feedback and ideas sent to us via email. 

Meet Your Hosts 

Kendall Kunelius (2015, 2025G) is a proud UNH Wildcat who loves serving the NH agricultural community through Extension work and volunteering for 4-H. As an agricultural business management field specialist, her skills help farmers translate decisions to dollars especially when it comes to purchasing equipment and facility/land planning. Her family has a farm in Connecticut and Kendall spent many years there learning about business management, equipment operation and safety, land management, retail operations, and production planning. Coupled with her years in the feed and grain industry post-graduation, Kendall is passionate about relating to farmers and their work by providing an empathetic viewpoint to the topics covered in the podcast. She is an avid gardener and poultry enthusiast who enjoys volunteering for her county 4-H program in the hopes of inspiring the next generation of Extension professionals. 

Rebecca Dube (1990, 1992G) is also a UNH alumni who utilizes her skills in technology, marketing and communication to help Extension specialists share their knowledge and experience with the people of New Hampshire through the many programs and projects they offer. She has worked in corporate, non-profit, and educational environments, focusing on connecting people to information that can improve their lives. Raised by avid gardeners and bird-watchers, she works with and volunteers for the Natural Resources Stewards and Master Gardeners. With a strong interest in art and nature, Rebecca also teaches Nature Journaling to various groups to help increase our observation and wonder of the natural world around us. She enjoys using the podcast format to reach out to New Hampshire farmers and provide a community of conversation and learning.