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Rochelle Arnold is a freelance journalist whose article, Don’t Kill the Dandelion Messenger, appears in the #1040 December issue of River Cities’ Reader.
Pursuant to her article, Arnold conducted phone interviews with Ed Thomas, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Fertilizer Institute; Monte Bottens, a sixth-generation farmer who lives with his wife, Robyn, in Cambridge, Illinois, and are both advocates of regenerative crop and animal farming and soil health; and Pat Miletich, a UFC Hall of Famer in mixed-martial arts and coach to thirteen world champions, who turned his lifelong fascination with the effect of nutrients upon the human body into a literal religion, a 508c ministry, called Soil Saviors — more on that presently.
In September 2025, TFI issued a news release that reads:
TFI Statement on Release of Second MAHA Report
ARLINGTON, VA – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today released the following statement in response to the publication of the second Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report. The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) welcomes the opportunity to make soil health a larger part of the public dialogue concerning agriculture and the overall health of the American people. American agriculture shares many of the MAHA movement’s goals, such as improving the health of our children, as well as ensuring we are taking great care of the health of our land. We are only as healthy as the soil our food comes from and there is a role to play for both industry and the public sector. TFI has for years been supportive of and actively promotes both expanded farmer adoption of 4R nutrient stewardship plans and the implementation of other conservation practices such as the use of cover crops and no-till farming. TFI has promoted stewardship practices through the ongoing 4R Advocate program, as well as the industry’s collective goal of having 70 million acres of US cropland under 4R nutrient stewardship management by the year 2030. Congress can help promote healthy living and farming by ensuring that conservation funding and a focus on grower education and adoption of nutrient stewardship practices remain a cornerstone of the ongoing Farm Bill discussions. TFI thanks the Trump Administration and the MAHA Caucus for the opportunity to provide feedback and insights into the report and looks forward to continuing towards our shared goal of healthy soils and healthy Americans.”
