Latest News From Soil Health

The Scoop Podcast: Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover In Agronomy
The Scoop Podcast: Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover In Agronomy

Tyler Mitchell, agronomy account manager at River Valley Cooperative in Davenport, Iowa, details the daily complexities he and his team unravel for farmers as they serve as boots on the ground.

The 4 Rs of Fertility
Farmer Asks How To Improve P and K On Rental Ground

A Minnesota grower asks Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, how to improve upon the soil fertility on 90 acres he is renting for the first time this year.

Seed Technology and Evolving Farming Practices Win Against Drought's Grip
Seed Technology and Evolving Farming Practices Win Against Drought's Grip

It’s been said high-yielding corn needs 25" of moisture per acre per year. In 2023, when Mother Nature didn't cooperate, management strategies to retain moisture coupled with new traits made a difference at harvest.

8 Field Activity Data Types You Need to Collect Now
8 Field Activity Data Types You Need to Collect Now

Data — a word that packs a punch but can be hard to define. From planting to irrigation, it's necessary to have a digital record of these field activities to participate in sustainability and crop traceability programs.

Soil Genomics Company Catalogs More Than 24 Million Microorganisms
Soil Genomics Company Catalogs More Than 24 Million Microorganisms

Biome Makers said it pairs artificial intelligence with its soil database to decode soil biology and provide growers with more actionable information.

Bayer Announces 2024 Carbon Program, Expanding Opportunities
Bayer Announces 2024 Carbon Program, Expanding Opportunities

“Our mission is to improve and expand our program to create additional opportunities for even more American farmers,” said Leonardo Bastos, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Services at Bayer Crop Science.

Ferrie: Freezing and Thawing Cycles Can Help Or Hurt Compaction
Ferrie: Freezing and Thawing Cycles Can Help Or Hurt Compaction

A sudden change in soil density that occurs from the freezing-thawing process can cause problems with corn root growth this spring and impede water movement in the soil during the growing season.

How To Increase Your Potential SAF Tax Credits Now
How To Increase Your Potential SAF Tax Credits Now

The practices used during the 2024 growing season will have a direct impact on the ability to take advantage of these incentives. Mitchell Hora of Continuum Ag shares what you need to know.

Helena Expands Zypro For Sidedress Applications
Helena Expands Zypro For Sidedress Applications

In research trials in corn, Helena says Zypro in a sidedress application provided an 83% win rate and a 5.8 bu/acre increase. Zypro is compatible with fungicides, insecticides, and other common tank-mix partners.

Complete These 8 Steps To Transition to Vertical Farming
Complete These 8 Steps To Transition to Vertical Farming

You’ve removed dense and compacted soil layers, balanced fertility and pH through the profile and set up your soil for vertical farming. Here are the final boxes to check to move away from horizontal farming.

2024 Top Producer Next Gen Award Winner: Finding Opportunities Between the Rows
2024 Top Producer Next Gen Award Winner: Finding Opportunities Between the Rows

Working and training with her mother, in 2019 Hallie Shoffner took the lead as CEO and continues to focus on growing the business, searching for opportunities in specialty crops and value-added production.

5 Ways Truterra Wants To Break The Carbon Market Adoption Plateau
5 Ways Truterra Wants To Break The Carbon Market Adoption Plateau

“We can move so much faster. By our estimates, less than 2% of farmers are participating in these programs industry wide,” Truterra president Jamie Leifker says.

Helm Introduces Two New Products to Plant Advantage Portfolio
Helm Introduces Two New Products to Plant Advantage Portfolio

The company introduces Contour and UpLink with the intention of increasing yields through increased nutrient utilization and efficiency in plants.

Iowa Study: Soil Conservation Practices On The Rise
Iowa Study: Soil Conservation Practices On The Rise

The survey uses records from ag retailers to measure the use of cover crops, nutrient management and conservation tillage and no-till by Iowa growers.

Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System
Nutrients Where Needed: How to Prep Your Soil Fertility for a Vertical System

Once you balance fertility and pH in the soil profile, and adjust to making small, more frequent lime applications, you probably won’t need to mix fertilizer into the soil, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

Nominations Open for The Fertilizer Institute's 4R Advocate Program
Nominations Open for The Fertilizer Institute's 4R Advocate Program

Nominations for the program will be accepted through March 30.

Utah CCA Named Certified Crop Advisor Conservationist of the Year
Utah CCA Named Certified Crop Advisor Conservationist of the Year

Through his work, Russell Taylor has focused on being an advocate for conservation practices in agriculture – partnering with several different organizations to change laws and draft language for the farm bill. 

David Hula Hit Another New Record Corn Yield With 623 BPA, Now Thinks 900 BPA Is Possible
David Hula Hit Another New Record Corn Yield With 623 BPA, Now Thinks 900 BPA Is Possible

Virginia farmer David Hula is known for growing big yields and he's doing so once again. He won the 2023 NCA National Corn Yield Contest with a new record yield, beating his previous world record set in 2019. 

Scoular and Regrow Partner on New Regenerative Agriculture Program
Scoular and Regrow Partner on New Regenerative Agriculture Program

According to Scoular, the new program will generate climate smart wheat and corn for food production and growers will be incentivized for new and continued adoption of regenerative ag practices.

Five Tips For Reviewing SCN Soil Test Results
Five Tips For Reviewing SCN Soil Test Results

To help growers create an effective management plan for controlling soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the SCN Coalition shares five key steps to take.

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time
Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

A chocolate layer cake is good. Layers of dense or compacted soil aren't so good. Once you've probed or dug and found the layers put in place by horizontal farming tools, it's time to remove them. Here's how.

Resources Available to Stack Conservation Programs
Resources Available to Stack Conservation Programs

Layering federal and private conservation programs has potential to add extra cash to your bottom line.

Soybean Seed Treatment Features Enzyme-based Technology
Soybean Seed Treatment Features Enzyme-based Technology

Helena says the product provides an 8:1 return on investment. 

Regenerative Ag: How Ag Retailers Can Help Programs Find Scale
Regenerative Ag: How Ag Retailers Can Help Programs Find Scale

Ag retailers can add acres and income streams by seeking out partnerships for funding and education.

Financial Discounts for Regenerative Ag
Financial Discounts for Regenerative Ag

Could new incentives be the tipping point to adoption?

Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System
Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

What is vertical farming and how can it set you up for future government incentives? Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist, explains it often requires mixing and matching tools for primary and secondary tillage.

I-80 Harvest Tour:  Missouri Drought Hurts Statewide Yields but Harvest Results in Some Areas Buck That Trend
I-80 Harvest Tour: Missouri Drought Hurts Statewide Yields but Harvest Results in Some Areas Buck That Trend

Corn harvest in Missouri is at 28% complete, with soybean harvest at only 4%. While Missouri was hit by drought this year which will cut yield average, some areas are bucking that trend.

The Scoop Podcast: One Ag Retailer Is Bringing Climate Smart Grant Work To the Fields
The Scoop Podcast: One Ag Retailer Is Bringing Climate Smart Grant Work To the Fields

Here are examples of how Star of The West has built connections and expanded opportunities for farmers. 

Pattern Ag Expands Its Analytics to Include Foliar Diseases
Pattern Ag Expands Its Analytics to Include Foliar Diseases

“No other company can offer such integrated testing to predict what risks farmers face in the coming growing season,” Danielle Watts, vice president of data, said.

Hitting Pay Dirt with Regenerative Ag
Hitting Pay Dirt with Regenerative Ag

By layering disciplines in agronomy, environmental sciences and data analysis, ag retailers are unlocking new opportunities to work with farmers.

Life-Saving Find: How This Missouri Soil Unearthed A Golden Medical Discovery 75 Years Ago
Life-Saving Find: How This Missouri Soil Unearthed A Golden Medical Discovery 75 Years Ago

Missouri soils unlocked a ‘golden’ antibiotic 75 years ago that’s still used in livestock today.

What’s The Best Word? Farmers and Advisers Share Preferences Around Conservation Agriculture Terms
What’s The Best Word? Farmers and Advisers Share Preferences Around Conservation Agriculture Terms

To better understand the word choices preferred by farmers and ag retailers/crop advisers, Farm Journal conducted online surveys this fall asking both groups.

John Deere and Cargill Partner To Expand Regenerative Ag Practices
John Deere and Cargill Partner To Expand Regenerative Ag Practices

Via the partnership, farmers who participate in RegenConnect can easily synchronize their in-field practices and data record keeping via John Deere’s Operations Center.

What Is a Carbon Intensity Score?
What Is a Carbon Intensity Score?

Here are the FAQs for farmers who are exploring carbon’s next chapter on the farm.

3 New Technologies to Increase Insights and Reduce Costs
3 New Technologies to Increase Insights and Reduce Costs

Products from John Deere, Soiltech and EarthOptics can help growers learn more about their fields while reducing input and operating costs.

Growers Who Rely Upon Cover Crops Say Diversity is Key to Maximum Soil Health Benefit
Growers Who Rely Upon Cover Crops Say Diversity is Key to Maximum Soil Health Benefit

Eighty percent of U.S. growers participating in the 2022-23 National Cover Crop Survey report trying cover crops. Two Indiana farmers share what they've learned along the way and some recommendations.

Truterra Unveils Four Sustainabilty Programs For Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana Farmers
Truterra Unveils Four Sustainabilty Programs For Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana Farmers

Here are further details about each program, enrollment requirements, and geographic specifics.

Across All The Acres: How to Maximize Your Time Soil Testing
Across All The Acres: How to Maximize Your Time Soil Testing

Here’s how the pros approach soil sample seasons.

Agoro Carbon Marks Two-Year Milestone Totaling $15 Million in Payments
Agoro Carbon Marks Two-Year Milestone Totaling $15 Million in Payments

Last year the company said its payments totaled $9 million so far. 

New Name For Its 50th Anniversary: Bio Huma Netics is Now Huma
New Name For Its 50th Anniversary: Bio Huma Netics is Now Huma

“We’re merging our family of brands to streamline our offerings, and ultimately, demonstrate a consistent company fabric across all the industries we touch,” said Huma CEO Lyndon Smith in the company’s announcement.

Dust Storms Shouldn’t Happen in the Corn Belt
Dust Storms Shouldn’t Happen in the Corn Belt

The recent soil dust cloud catastrophe in central Illinois is a wake-up call from Mother Nature suggesting all of agriculture needs to implement more sustainable production practices. We owe it to future generations.

World’s Largest Soil Archive Brings History to Life
World’s Largest Soil Archive Brings History to Life

Nestled in an old barn sat 8,000 mason jars filled with soil dating back to 1862. Now the plan is to revisit the 450 sampling locations spanning 21 million crop acres for insights into soil fertility and conservation.

Nutrien Ag Solutions and Bunge Announce Soybean Program to Connect the Value of Sustainabilty
Nutrien Ag Solutions and Bunge Announce Soybean Program to Connect the Value of Sustainabilty

For 2023, the geographic focus is to enroll 100,000 acres around two Bunge crush facilities: Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Decatur, Indiana. 

Climate-Smart Collaboration: Researchers Put Soil “FRST” With USDA Grant
Climate-Smart Collaboration: Researchers Put Soil “FRST” With USDA Grant

Farmers and crop consultants will be able to select a soil type, crop type, geographic region, and soil test extractant on the FRST website to receive unbiased soil test recommendations.

Truterra Pays $5.1 Million to Farmers for 2022 Carbon Program Payments
Truterra Pays $5.1 Million to Farmers for 2022 Carbon Program Payments

Since its launch, the Truterra carbon program has now paid farmers more than $9 million for more than 462,000 metric tons of carbon.

Carbon’s Next Chapter On The Farm
Carbon’s Next Chapter On The Farm

“If you raise 200 bu. corn with a CI score of 0, that’s $1.57 per bushel and an extra $314 in value. Now, the ethanol plant isn’t expected to share 100%, but it could be 25% to 30%," says Paul Neiffer, a farm CPA.

Be More Than Oh-K: How To Manage Your Field’s Potassium Levels
Be More Than Oh-K: How To Manage Your Field’s Potassium Levels

Potassium (K) is a fascinating macronutrient. In corn, it sets the stage for a healthy and vigorous plant that produces a beautiful ear. 

What The Soil Has to Say
What The Soil Has to Say

By turning biological test results into gigabytes of data, Pattern Ag has developed the largest soil metagenomics database with more than 200 billion DNA reads. 

Big Oil is Teaming Up With Big Ag, And it Could Turn Cover Crops Into the New Cash Crop for Farmers
Big Oil is Teaming Up With Big Ag, And it Could Turn Cover Crops Into the New Cash Crop for Farmers

Renewable diesel is revving up interest from both agriculture and the oil industry, and now oil and agriculture companies are teaming up to find additional crop sources to fuel the growing demand.

The Carbon Games: Agricultural Producers Still Looking for the Leaderboard
The Carbon Games: Agricultural Producers Still Looking for the Leaderboard

“What we need to do to move carbon past the starting line is to show farmers the scoreboard and tell them exactly what they need to do to earn their points,” said Mitchell Hora.