Soil Health Highlights

Soil Health is going to become a major talking point this year in agriculture. We must improve our soils in order to sustain feeding ourselves, our country, and the world. We cannot maintain the practices used in the past and keep production profitable. Fuel and time are becoming too valuable.

Ray Archuleta is heading the push for the understanding of soil health. He has taken all the research and information we have on soils and soil ecology and tied it together. I recently had the opportunity to listen to his presentation.

Ray is introducing a concept. He has worked with farmers all across the country to help them improve their soil health, and every farm has to use different techniques and practices in order to do so. There are too many variables in farming to prescribe one plan to cover everyone. Do your research, use common sense, and start with a small test plot on your farm.

Here are the highlights from Ray's presentation. These are not my opinions, but I do agree with what he is saying.

Tillage is the most destructive thing we can do to our soils. When we till we let air in which activates the copiotrophic organisms, also known as R-Strategists. Once activated they eat the "glue" that holds the soil together. This is a very rough description, but it is the simplest way I could describe it. Research it!

The second most destructive thing we can do is spray fungicides and insecticides. Chemical fertilizers are third.

The number one reason people go no-till is time.

Yield will make us a slave

The more you emulate nature, the less inputs you need.

Efficiencies for crop production is going down. This is due to the decline in soil health.

Don't promote the tool. No-till is a tool. It is a component of soil health, not the only answer.

It takes less energy(fuel) to till than to make and use herbicides.

Our conventional nutrient tests were based on tilled systems. Some universities are now giving a nitrogen credit of 50 units for no-tilled soils. There are also some new soil tests emeging that goves us a clearer picture of what is going on beneath the surface.

Our soils are not a chemical set that we can manipulate at will.

Enzyme activity shuts down at  113 degrees fahrenheit

Diversity is key. Monocultures will not do it. Currently 10 and 12 species cover crops are being used successfully.

The overall gist of Ray's presentations were that we are killing(literally) our soils. We have to change. Cover crops and no-till are currently the best tools we have to do this with. We are learning and evolving. Nothing is set in stone.