Soil health tests often include a variety of new and diverse soil measurements. They can help you understand whether you have the microbial activity to supply nutrients to plants or whether your soil structure is sufficient to allow air and water to flow.
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Many of us take the soil we stand on for granted, including myself. I mean, it’s everywhere – especially on my carpet with 2 boys in my house. However, without soil, we can’t grow crops. Farmers know that soil is a critical part of farming, and making sure that soil can continue to grow crops for many years to come is at the forefront of every farmer’s mind – sometimes without even realizing it.
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Soil health conferences in South Dakota and Nebraska will take place on February 14, 2019.
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As the season approaches its conclusion and harvest conditions are most challenging, there are a few things worth remembering to protect and sustain soil health. Consider attending the 2019 Soil Health Conference held on February 4-5.
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Maintaining soil fertility is important not only for profitable crop production, but also soil health. In a long-term P and K fertility trial, we can see that there is much greater residue cover in plots that have received adequate potash applications over time compared to where no K was applied. Application of P had minimal to no effect on residue cover.
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Manure is often viewed by many as an environmental liability. However, if manure is applied at rates equal to or less than the nitrogen (N) requirement of a crop, can manure produce environmental benefits over commercial fertilizer? This was the focus of an Asian research group which summarized the results of 141 published studies from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. comparing manure substitution for fertilizer. This article summarizes the “Take Home Messages” from this research paper.
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Over the past several years, state and federal agencies and researchers have been trying to come up with a definition for soil health. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service defines soil healthRead More…
Tunsisa Hurisso and Steve Culman, School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University In short, the answer is usually both. Soil organic matter is a mixture consisting of various compounds (e.g. simple sugars, cellulose, proteins,Read More…