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S02 E06: The Ground Truth: Why Healthy Soil Pays on the Prairies

2026-06-1739:49


Healthy soil is nature’s sponge, pantry and recycling system all in one. In this episode of Digging In with UFA, host Don Shafer speaks with Tannis Axten and Blain Hjertaas about how stronger soil translates into more resilient, and profitable, farmland. The conversation brings the unseen side of soil to life, from how it holds water to how plants get the nutrients they need, grounded in real experiences from the land. Whether you farm, ranch or simply want to understand the systems behind your food, this episode offers a fascinating look at the world beneath our feet.

Your Guests

Tannis Axten

Tannis Axten is a nationally recognized leader in regenerative agriculture and co-owner of Axten Family Farms near Minton, Saskatchewan. She and her family have transformed their operation through low-disturbance farming, intercropping, cover crops, pollinator habitat and livestock integration, always with a focus on rebuilding soil health and giving back to the land each season.

Axten Family Farms became the first Canadian farm to earn Regenified Certification. Through that work, the family has seen major changes in soil structure, aggregation, infiltration and biological life, including more earthworms and living roots throughout the year. Alongside their agronomic work, the Axtens have also built a food-grade seed cleaning plant, flour mill and packaging line to add value to their grains. Tannis Axten is known for her curiosity, honesty about the ups and downs of regenerative farming and her commitment to finding what works in the real world.





Blain Hjertaas

Blain Hjertaas is a Saskatchewan rancher, educator and regenerative agriculture consultant with Understanding Ag. After spending his first 25 years farming in a conventional high-input system, he transitioned to a grass-based, holistic management approach centered on adaptive multi-paddock grazing, plant diversity and rebuilding soil function.

Today, Blain Hjertaas works with producers across the Prairies to measure and improve soil carbon, water-holding capacity and ecological function on working farms. His experience includes work on the General Mills Oat Pilot Project, one of the largest agroecological efforts to assess carbon sequestration and ecological function in North American grain systems. A frequent keynote and field-day speaker, he has also served as a Holistic Management educator and instructed at the University of Manitoba. In 2018, Blain and his wife Naomi received the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association Environmental Stewardship Award in recognition of the work on their family operation near Redvers, Saskatchewan.





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