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My wife gave me a great Christmas present this year; a book entitled Organic Soil Conditioning by Dr. William Jackson (958 pages), full of facts that are beneficial to agriculture. This information may help farmers cope with higher fertilize prices. “Mother Nature” hates to waste soil nutrients so she designed two natural organic humic compounds to improve nutrient utilization. Fulvic acid has an open carbon structure that is a light weight compound (low molecular weight) with almost miraculous properties! It comes from lightly digested plant and microbial byproducts and is not just one carbon compound, its many varied compounds. Its composition is very similar all over the world, yet it differs slightly depending upon soils, plants, weather, microbes etc. Fulvic acid, over time gets degraded, digested, and transformed into Humic acid which has a denser and tighter carbon structure (high molecular weight). These two organic compounds (fulvic and humic acid) are full of essential soil n...

As we celebrate the holidays and look forward to a new year, we have many precious natural resources in this country to appreciate. Our soils, water and air are second to none! We need to keep reminding ourselves in these turbulent times, how great a nation we are and how important our precious resources are to feeding the 7 billion plus people on this earth. As a country, we export one-third of our crops overseas, so many people depend on the USA to keep them fed. A common way to look at the importance of soils is to use an apple to represent the plant Earth. If the apple is sliced into four quarters, about 3 apple quarters or 75% of the earth is water located in oceans, lakes, and streams. The remaining one quarter apple slice represents the land area on Earth. Now cut that one quarter apple slice in half or into 1/8 sections. About 1/8 of Earth’s land is in swamps, deserts, mountainous areas, Arctic, and Antarctic areas that are not suitable for producing human food or for human hab...

The 2023 National Farm Bill discussions are now beginning. With a new administration; climate change, water quality, and new air emission standards are expected to be a big part of the discussion. Farmers need to pay attention to these discussions and get involved with making their views known before the Farm Bill becomes law. The impact of agriculture on climate change will be a key discussion. Our climate has been changing since the Earth was born. During the Wisconsin glaciation (24,000-26,000 years ago), Ohio glaciers and ice reached its maximum extent and ended roughly 12,000 years ago. However, around 55 million years ago, the artic circle was balmy with alligators and palm trees, and Ohio was mostly likely under water. Natural causes of climate change include solar variations in sun activity (sun spots), volcanic eruptions, the tilt and rotation of the earth’s axis, and other internal variability. Since the 1800’s, human climate change factors include the increased use of fossil...

Most farmers had a good corn harvest but corn tar spot (Phyllachora maydis) was an issue. Tar spot is a corn disease that came from Central America and seems to be spreading by wind into corn growing states. Tar spot is a fungus that grows rapidly when temperatures are 60-700F and humidity is 75% or higher with rainy, foggy, cloudy summer weather spreading this disease. Corn will mature early with reduced ear weight, poor kernel fill, stalk rot, and possibly lodging with yield losses ranging from 0-60 bushel per acre, depending upon disease severity. Unfortunately, not much is known about this disease.  There are several ways to combat tar spot. No corn hybrid is totally resistant but some varieties (especially early maturing) are more tolerant than others. Fungicides may help but time of application is critical for optimal success. The tar spot inoculum can survive the winter, so getting corn leaves to decompose quickly helps reduce the spread. Crop rotation helps but it appears t...

Agricultural field practices seem to be like our national politics, very much divided. Maybe 25% more fields planted to cover crop due to H20 Ohio funds. On the other hand, there appears to be more vertical tillage, chisel plowing and plowing. Green fields surrounded by bare fields. The wet fall weather, soggy soils, and tillage has created hard pans and poor soil structure. Perhaps winter freezing and thawing will mellow out our soils but tilling soils wet almost always creates more problems; especially with soil compaction, drainage, and soil structure. Farmers have many reasons for fall tillage. Eliminating ruts, burying diseased plant residue, and burying weed seed are common explanations. Stale seed beds (light fall tillage) create spring soil conditions for good seed to soil contact and slightly warmer soils which allow plants (especially corn) to germinate quickly. Corn is a warm season plant that also benefits from nutrients released during tillage. Soybeans and even wheat are ...

  Crop prices are high but fertilizer prices are rocketing even higher. Farmers are looking for ways to lower their fertilizer bill, especially on nitrogen (N). Almost all N is processed by soil microbes before being plant absorbed. About 85% of N is used to form about 20 amino acids which are converted to proteins and enzymes with about 10% of N used in plant genetics (DNA, RNA). Optimizing N fertilizer is critical.  University recommendations on N has changed over the years. University N research in the 1950’s advocated heavy N fertilizer because yield increased as N application increased?? N was relatively cheap and no researcher wanted farmers to lose yield as extra N was a cheap fertilizer insurance policy. That caused a few issues with water quality, so universities adjusted their N rates over the years. About 10 years ago, universities re-examined that original data and found little direct relationship between higher corn yields and higher N rates. The relationship betw...

Farmers are seeing fertilizer prices soar in 2021 and 2022. Extreme weather, plant shutdowns, sanctions, and rising fuel and energy costs, and high grain prices are driving fertilizer prices higher. Fertilizer prices are at their highest level in more than a decade. Fertilizer prices for nitrogen (N) have soared from around $400 to $450 per ton for anhydrous ammonia (82% N, 1640# N/ton) to currently $1100 or more. The cost per pound of actual N in anhydrous has gone from $.27 to about $.67 per pound. Many farmers use 28% liquid N (560# N/ton) which is safer to use and current costs are around $475 per ton or $.85 per actual pound of N. Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) prices have also soared. Phosphate fertilizer (60% P, 1200# P /ton) is currently being priced at $829 to $840 per ton or about $.70 per pound. Potassium (K) or potash (60%, 1200# per ton) is at $725 per ton or $.60 per pound. Manure can be an alternative to fertilizer but putting a value on manure is dependent upon how mu...

  This of the time of year when farmers are considering options for buying seed, fertilizer, various pesticides (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides) and other products for next year’s crop. Now farmers may want to consider buying agricultural microbiology products which require even more specialized knowledge. This article will attempt to give some basic information about agricultural microbiological products and what they do. Microbial products have many names including crop probiotics, bio-fertilizers, bio-stimulants, bio-controls, or bio-fungicides. They can be applied to the soil, seed, or as inoculants; with or without carriers like compost, peat, or stickers. Buying microbiological products is like moving to the wild west. While almost all products generally will or can work, they are fickle and may not work every year due to various environmental conditions. Handling, storage, and applying the microbes at the right time, place, and rate to soil, seeds, and plants can be ch...

  As crop prices increase, generally fertilizer prices increase as well. Farmers who are booking nitrogen (N) for next year are paying at least twice as much. N use efficiency is critical as farmers try to cut back on N usage while attempting to maintain crop yields. Building soil organic matter (SOM) and improving soil health improves N use efficiency. Soil health and regenerative farming systems develop healthy soils with robust microbial communities that recycle soil nutrients efficiently to meet a crop’s nutritional requirements. In healthy systems, photosynthesis is maximized which produces large volumes of soil carbon as a food source for the soil biology. The soil biology then recycles those soil nutrients to the plant as plant available nutrients. Keeping soils high in SOM or carbon are a key factor in buffering N and keeping it plant available (Larry Phelan). Inorganic N fertilizers are usually applied as salts which can be damaging to plants. “Inorganic” means it does not...

Farmers had several state and national opportunities to receive payments or premiums from planting cover crops. Some deadlines are past, others have been extended. Farmers may want to review some of these programs and look at the current benefits from planting cover crops yet this fall. Ohio H20 Program: Due to a late harvest and adverse weather conditions, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) extended the 2021 H2Ohio Program deadline for planting overwintering cover crops to November 1st , 2021. Theses cover crops include small grains and manure incorporation. H2Ohio producers enrolled in any of the 24-county Ohio area will have until November 1, 2021 to plant their overwintering cover crops and complete all manure incorporation requirements. ODA recommends to adjust seeding rates to reduce to the risk of planting failure. According to the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Appendix A, seeding rates should be increased by 20% when planting cover crops this late in the s...

  Soil health and plant health are closely related. Most pest issues are due to inadequate plant nutrition and poor plant health. Most weeds thrive where at least one plant nutrient is lacking. Healthy plants have adequate nutrients levels to repel insects and disease organisms. Healthy soils promote healthy plants by providing adequate plant nutrition for plants to thrive. The first step to improving plant health is producing carbohydrates which are the building blocks for proteins. About 50% of a plant’s carbohydrates are allocated to above ground growth and 50% to root growth. Plants convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars using sunlight as the energy source in photosynthesis. Plants allocates sugar to the roots to produce root exudates to feed the soil microbes which make soil nutrients plant available for building proteins. In the second step, the plants are looking for nitrogen to form amino acids, peptides, and proteins. Here is where plant health often starts to declin...

  Farmers in a conventional tilled corn-soybean rotation often ask how they can improve soil health. It is not easy but also not impossible. Improving soil health starts with evaluating your soil and then fixing those problems. Fall is an excellent time to evaluate your current soil health and to start making management changes for next year. First, evaluate your soil structure. Take a shovel and look for hard pans and soil that does not crumble easily. Dig down at least 12-15 inches. Often at least 2-3 layers of hard dense soil may be visible. Between 6-8 inches, the old plow layer is almost always found; either visually, by probing the soil with a steel rod, or by breaking soil apart. Tillage tools often smear wet soil and create these dense soil layers which restrict roots, water movement, gas exchange, and mineral nutrition. Second, evaluate your drainage, both surface and subsurface. On the surface, look for areas that had or has ponding water, surface crusting, and a lack of ...

Weeds often tell a story about how a farm is managed. Most weeds grow really well in soils low in calcium with low humus. Often potassium and/or magnesium levels are high, but not always. Many weeds act as collectors of minerals that are deficient in the soil. When weeds die, they often improve the mineral nutrition of the soil. If farmers can understand what the weeds are telling them, they can change their management to reduce weed populations. Two problem weeds are giant foxtail and Canada thistle. Both these weeds thrive in soils that are highly saturated, poorly drained, have low porosity, and have low humus. These soils have low oxygen levels and contain anaerobic bacteria which are generally harmful to crop health. Low calcium and phosphorus are common problems in these soils. For Canada thistle, copper is also often low. Thistle roots can grow 20 feet deep and are a perennial plant, so they are trying to add humus and get oxygen deep into the soil. Foxtail roots have shallow fi...

  The 2021 crop year has been quite variable. A dry winter/spring followed by periods of excess rain and dry hot weather has caused considerable plant stress. Corn plants typically give us many tell-tale signs of soil conditions. One current debate is about the purpose of corn brace roots. Corn brace roots help keep the plant upright and also help with nutrient, water, and gas exchange. Shallow planted corn utilizes brace roots to prevent the corn from lodging. So, brace roots are at least beneficial for maintaining corn yields.  When corn with brace roots is dissected, however; a different story may emerge. Cut across the and stalk at the first leaf and then down through the center of the stalk to the root tip. Observe the lower part of the corn roots. Often the root tip up to the first brace root is brown and hard with few root hairs which is an unhealthy sign. Healthy corn plants without brace roots are typically white. The corn’s vascular system or plumbing for moving nutr...

  Farmers do not often think about how their management practices can influence the rate of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis has always been assumed to be constant, but it is not. Photosynthesis does not occur at a constant rate, it varies each second, depending on light, carbon dioxide (CO2), water availability, temperature, leaf chlorophyll content, microbial impact on plant nutrient availability, and genetics. Some factors can be manipulated directly, others indirectly. Farmers can manage many of these factors, but not all, to improve yields. In a given year, water may be either limited or in excess supply while temperatures can also be extreme, either too cold or too hot. These factors often reduce nutrient cycling, resulting in reduced plant growth and yield. Soil compaction and poor soil structure can have a direct impact on microbial activity plant nutrition, water availability, soil temperature, and CO2 storage. Fall tillage is a major disrupter of the carbon and water cycle....

  Many pests and diseases are rearing their ugly head this year. Fall armyworm, aphids, soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), sudden death syndrome (SDS), and white mold are common problems. Weather and management play a key role in the severity of these pests. Fall armyworm blow in from the south, most likely on tropical storms. Each female moth lays 10-20 eggs up t 100 eggs which hatch in 5-7 days and live 7-21 days. Eggs have been observed on fence posts, lawns, hayfields, corn, soybeans, and vegetable crops. The eggs hatch and the hungry larvae or caterpillars tend to move in waves, consuming everything in sight, even sometimes their own kind. There are two natural predator wasps that help control fall armyworm. Other options include bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which is a natural control, neem oil, and pyrethrin insecticides. Aphids in soybeans are a problem especially during the reproductive stage (R5-R6) with an aphid threshold of 250 per soybean plant. Check 5 plants in 10 locations...

A new break-through in soil health testing has occurred which may allow researchers and farmers to instantly measure soil health and microbial activity. A group of Washington State University researchers are using small electrical currents to assess soil microbes and soil health impacts. Soil microbes process 90% of the soil’s energy and nutrients. Each microbe is like a soluble bag of fertilizer, supplying plant roots with nutrients, amino acids, proteins, and even whole enzymes. Measuring soil health has been difficult. Soil scientist, fertility specialist, and farmers have used soil chemistry and harsh chemicals to make nutrient analysis. They also measure soil texture and pH to try to understand a soil’s chemical and physical properties. While chemical and physical measurements may be valuable, they do not always measure soil productivity directly. Soil biology is extremely important as well. Unfortunately, there has not been many good tests to measure both biological activity and ...

  Slugs and voles are becoming major problems on some farms. One farmer lost 80 acres to slugs, another 40 acres. Slugs and voles prefer moist, wet conditions, slow crop growth, and lush vegetation. Unfortunately, there is no one management practice that reduces either pest. It requires a coordinated attack which begins in the fall as grain crops are being harvested. Both slugs and voles have several weaknesses. First, their populations are cyclical, peaking and crashing about every 2-5 years. Extremely cold winter weather with little protection, greatly reduces both pests. Slugs burrow deep into the soil, but when the soil frost line meets the water table during a deep freeze, many slugs perish. Voles do not hibernate but need 40% more energy in the winter to survive. Cold weather without snow or heavy vegetation greatly reduces pest numbers. Mowing a cover crop down to 8 inches or planting species that 50% winter kill helps reduce pest populations. Mowing reduces cover (insulatio...

  The H2O Ohio program is a state conservation program that pays farmers for conservation practices. It includes overwintering cover crops and a small grains program to help keep nutrients out of Lake Erie. Farmers are now signing up for these programs but may not know or remember all the details. Here is a summary of the key points for each program. The purpose of these two programs is to encourage the establishment of overwintering cover crops program or a small grain. The primary goals are to reduce sheet, rill, and wind erosion and improve water quality by reducing excess nutrient flows to surface water. Adding overwintering cover crops and small grains also increases crop and soil diversity to improve soil health. Some key points on the overwintering cover crop program: The overwintering cover crop must be established no later than October 15th. Some farmers may need to hire a plane, helicopter, or a highboy applicator to get the cover crops planted in time, depending on time ...