Set the Stage for Soil Health with These Best Practices
Apply best management practices for long-term success
If you are adding a new farm for next season, take a hard look at soil health amid the backdrop of higher fertility and input costs. Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, says start with the canvas rather than the paint, as focusing on the soil setup can pay big dividends toward long-term success. She suggests these strategies.
1. SOIL SAMPLE BY ZONE
“When we think about flipping the soil or trying to get it in good shape, the first thing we always look at is soil fertility,” Bauer explains. “That starts with making sure soil samples are taken at the right depth and pulled by management zones or soil types.”
Always ask what soil sample depth your soil lab is calibrated to, as that can vary by lab.
2. EVALUATE AND REDUCE PH
“Once we get data from the lab we must check and manage pH because we cannot do well agronomically if we have acidic soils for raising corn and soybeans,” Bauer says. “In much of the Midwest, we need to add lime to stay in that range of 6.5 to 6.8 pH.”
3. REMOVE COMPACTION LAYERS
“A lot of fields that struggle have soil density issues or layers that impede root growth and water infiltration,” Bauer says.
For example, she says corn roots should grow down through the soil at a 35-to-40-degree angle. A simple root dig can shed light on whether those roots are being impacted by changes in density.
“In the spring, some fields will just stay saturated longer after a rain,” Bauer explains. “What happens is that water hits those density layers, and it can’t push through until it builds up enough head pressure.”
4. FIX IT, DON’T FORGET IT
While your plan might be no-till or reduced tillage, a rescue pass might be needed to fix soil density.
“Even some of our best no-tillers own vertical tillage equipment because they might have to go in and fix a field,” Bauer says. “Deep shanks with uniform spacing and shatter across the machine can take out those layers. A vertical tillage leveling tool can level it out before converting the field back to no-till.”
5. RESPECT WORKING CONDITIONS
Always aim to avoid putting stress on soil, Bauer adds. This often means respecting field conditions and the weather forecast.
“If we have a wet fall, consider the size of loads you are pulling across fields with your grain cart,” she says. “If we get a wet spring and we make those ‘dry out’ tillage passes, then we tend to have more soil compaction problems.”
6. DON’T COVER MISTAKES
When rehabilitating a field, Bauer advises to focus on the big issues first — soil pH, fertility and uniform soil density. “Then we can consider adding cover crops into the program to help improve soil aggregate stability,” she says.
Financial Support for Soil Health
USDA is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 projects under the first Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding pool. The projects, which seek funds ranging from $5 million to $100 million, include everything from flood control to building carbon markets.
According to Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary, these efforts will “increase the competitive advantage of U.S. agriculture both domestically and internationally.”
USDA says farmers can expect:
- Technical and financial assistance to implement voluntary climate-smart practices.
- Methods to quantify, monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas benefits.
- New markets and promotion in climate-smart commodities.
After sifting through 450 proposals, USDA’s funding recipients include groups such as government entities, farmer co-ops, university and conservation groups. Trust In Food, Farm Journal‘s sustainability division, is one of the recipients.
Clinton Griffiths is a TV newsman, turned magazine editor, with a passion for good stories. He believes the best life lessons can be found down a dirt road.