A new 90-second ad on YouTube looks to bring new respect and admiration for the soil beneath our feet. As part of its “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” campaign, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released a new, 90-second public service announcement that encapsulates “The hope in healthy soil.” According to Ron Nichols, the campaign’s communications coordinator, the … Read More
Texas A and M Hosts “Year of Soils” Event
Texas A&M University is hosting the Global Soil Security Symposium on their campus this week. The event is scheduled as part of the United Nations Food and the Agriculture Organization’s Global Soil Partnership as they declare 2015 the International Year of Soils. “This is an opportunity to recognize the importance of soil science in our current global challenges of human health, … Read More
Agren Announces SoilCalculator App Update
Farmers looking to maximize soil conservation and economic return need only look to Agren. The company has just announced a new version of its SoilCalculator application to estimate erosion and its associated economic cost. I spoke with Agren CEO Tom Buman about his company and this new application. He says, “SoilCalculator is the first software of its kind to estimate … Read More
Precision Means Speed and Sustainability
Corn farmers made planting progress last week that was unimaginable even just a decade ago. Martin Barbre, Chairman of the National Corn Growers Association, says he is close to 75% planted on his farm in Carmi, Illinois. “We’ve got guys all the way from 50 percent to 100 percent done,” he said. “Things are really rolling good.” Barbre adds that … Read More
Using Nitrogen for “Mo Fo Lo Po”
Nitrogen is an important element in agriculture, and managing the nutrient’s levels in soils has been the focus of much attention for a while. This news release from the American Society of Agronomy says recently a group of scientists, industry representatives, farmers, and government and non-government organization members met to discuss managing nitrogen on farms with the goal of “Mo … Read More
Precision Ag Helps Save Soils, Makes Them Work Better
Precision agriculture techniques are helping farmers get the most out of their soils, while preserving them for the future. In that same vein and in honor of the 2015 International Year of Soil (IYS), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is coordinating a series of activities to educate the public about the importance of soil, with March’s theme of … Read More
Iowa Corn Farmer at Soil Health Summit
The National Corn Growers Association is the administrator for the Soil Health Partnership which was launched at the 2014 Commodity Classic and Corn Board member Kevin Ross believes it’s a very worthwhile initiative for farmers and all involved. “I’m really pleased with the direction it’s heading,” said Ross at the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis. “It’s … Read More
Soil Health Partners Pleased with Progress
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was launched just shy of a year ago with seed funding in part from Monsanto and technical support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). At the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis, Monsanto Sustainability Business Development Lead Kevin Coffman said having partners in the environmental community is very helpful to the effort. “They’ve … Read More
Importance of Quantifying Cover Crop Benefits
A common theme at last week’s 2015 Soil Health Summit in St. Louis was the need to quantify the benefits for farmers of using cover crops. Purdue University economics professor Dr. Wally Tyner is trying to do just that. “I’ve worked in a lot of different areas in economics and this is the hardest nut to crack,” he said. “Because … Read More
Soil Health Hinges on Farmers
The first year of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) enrolled 20 farmers in six states to be demonstration sites for the effort and by the end of five years they expect to have 100. These farmers have agreed to basically be the “guinea pigs” to help other farmers learn from their experiments and innovations. One of those farmers is Tim … Read More