Tag Archives: water quality

28Apr/23

New Whitepaper Explores the Connection between Soil Health and Water Quality

The Soil Health Nexus is excited to debut two new resources on the Soil Health Toolbox! Two Soil Health Nexus members, Francisco Arriaga, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Anna Cates, Assistant Professor and State Soil Health Specialist at the University of Minnesota, recently published a long-awaited whitepaper exploring the connection between soil health and water quality.

Read More...
18Jan/23

Prairies and Landscape Change: Notes from the Underground

Restoring prairie from cropland has well-known benefits to soil health – at least to the soil directly underneath the prairie. In this presentation, Dr. Marshall McDaniel, Associate Professor at Iowa State University, shared how might prairie strips, or contour plantings of native prairie species embedded in row crop fields, affect the surrounding soil and crops. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

Read More...
08Jun/22

Soil Health’s Link to Water Quality

The agronomic benefits of improving soil health are well known, but when it comes to the specific impacts on water quality off field, there are more unknowns. In June, the Digital Cafe Webinar Series took a break to encourage folks to attend The Current webinar series, on Soil Health’s Link to Water Quality. That webinar is featured below. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

Read More...
18May/22

Understanding Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices

The April edition of the Digital Cafe series featured Linda Prokopy, Professor and Department Head in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. Linda is a Professor and Department Head of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University and directs the Indiana Water Resources Research Center. Linda also leads the Natural Resources Social Science Lab (NRSS) that examines how human interactions with the environment impact natural resources. In this webinar, Linda summarizes decades of research examining what motivates adoption of conservation practices in agriculture. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

Read More...
16Nov/19

Poultry manure improves profits, soil health

A 20-year study by Iowa State University researchers shows fertilizing cropland with poultry manure can benefit soil health and farm profits when compared to a commercial fertilizer. The study looked at long-term impacts of poultry manure on soil quality, crop yield, production costs and water quality in conventional Iowa cropping systems.

Read More...
02Sep/18
Stan Boltz demonstrating infiltration with jars of soil

Demonstrations Teach Soil Health Comparisons

Have you ever wondered how to demonstrate differences in the health of soils? At a recent meeting of the Soil Health Nexus team, Stan Boltz of the South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service shared tips and tricks he uses when demonstrating soil health principles to producers and other farm advisors.

Read More...
02Jul/18

Soil Health Parameters and Water Quality

As measuring soil health becomes more of a common practice, there are a variety of factors to consider based on location, soil type, and cropping system. So, which tests makes sense for you? To help address this question, Francisco Arriaga and Donna Brandt of the Soil Health Nexus team presented on Soil Health Parameters and Water Quality for the North Central Region Water Network’s The Current Webinar Series.

Read More...