Soil health has become a national focus and Cornell University professor of Soil and Water Management Dr. Harold van Es believes it is something that impacts everyone. “We need to reach a lot of people, it’s not just farmers,” said van Es during the first ever Soil Health Summit in St. Louis this week organized by the Soil Health Partnership … Read More
USDA-NRCS at Soil Health Summit
The deputy chief for science and technology with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services is a strong believer in the value of partnerships, especially when it comes to improving the health of our nation’s soils. “When you look at all of the demands, the production, the breadth of the country, the climatic zones, the different types of cropping systems – it’s … Read More
First Soil Health Partnership Summit Held
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was officially launched at last year’s Commodity Classic so it will just be one year old in another month. But Nick Goeser with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says the concept had a relatively long gestation period. “The idea for the Soil Health Partnership started in 2011, so within three years we came to … Read More
Farmers to Share Their Soil Health Decisions
Farmers attending this year’s Iowa Power Farming Show in Des Moines February 3-5 can learn how other Midwest farmers are making decisions that improve the health of their soil, along with yields, profits and environmental outcomes. An educational program “Building Farmer Wealth with Soil Health” will focus on what “soil health” means, practically, when farmers make decisions about soil sampling, … Read More
International Year of Soils Kicks Off at USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has kicked off the International Year of Soils, a time to highlight the importance of healthy soils for food security, ecosystem functions and resilient farms and ranches. “Healthy soil is the foundation that ensures working farms and ranches become more productive, resilient to climate change and better prepared to meet the challenges of the … Read More
NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive
Scheduled for launch on Jan. 29, 2015, NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) instrument will measure the moisture lodged in Earth’s soils with an unprecedented accuracy and resolution. The instrument’s three main parts are a radar, a radiometer and the largest rotating mesh antenna ever deployed in space. Remote sensing instruments are called “active” when they emit their own signals … Read More
Iteris ClearAg Prime
Intelligence. It’s vitally important to national security and your crop’s security. Iteris has just released ClearAg Prime, which they call “Next Level of Intelligent Agriculture Decision Support.” To learn more about it I visited by phone with Tom Blair, Senior Vice President, Iteris. He says that ClearAg Prime is the latest in a series of API’s that customers can readily … Read More
Farm Foundation Group Celebrates Int’l Year of Soils
The United Nations has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS) to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of healthy soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. Soil Renaissance, a group led by our friends at Farm Foundation, is celebrating IYS and its first year in existence as a movement to make soil health the cornerstone … Read More
2015 International Year of Soils
The Global Soil Partnership (GSP) at the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. In celebration, the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is coordinating a series of activities throughout 2015 to educate the public about the importance of this precious natural resource. “When GSP recognized the urgent need to … Read More
Corn Growers’ Soil Health Partnership Fosters Conversations
Farmers in the Midwest are talking about more than just the weather these past few weeks. The National Corn Growers Associaton’s Soil Health Partnership (SHP) has been busy lately holding field days in Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana, the Soil Health Partnership was busy holding field days, encouraging some real farmer-to-farmer conversations on how to best take care of soil health … Read More