Tag Archives: soil amendments

22Nov/21

Can We Quantify Soil Biological Activity Without a Lab?

As part of the Soil Health Nexus Digital Cafe Series, Dr. Amy Schmidt and Karla Melgar from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln present “Can We Quantify Soil Biological Activity Without a Lab?”. This presentation was originally broadcast on November 17, 2021.

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27Nov/19

Cover Crop Recipes Being Developed by States in the Midwest Cover Crop Council

A number of states within the Midwest Cover Crop Council have developed cover crop recipes. These publications are intended to provide a starting point for farmers who are new to growing cover crops. With experience, farmers may fine-tune the use of cover crops for their systems. Additional states will be coming soon.

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28Sep/18

Maintaining soil fertility is important for soil health

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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01May/18
Research demonstrates that animal manures can produce both environmental and productivity benefits over the commercial fertilizer it replaces.

Manure’s Impact on Yield, Nitrogen, and Carbon

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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03Jul/17
soil with earth worm

Manure Impact on Soil Aggregation

If manure increases formation of larger (macro) and more stable soil aggregates, several benefits may result for fields fertilized by manure compared to commercial fertilizer including: Reduced runoff and soil erosion; Increased water infiltration into theRead More…