Soil depth has a big impact on where the majority of beneficial microbes live. Most soil microbes live in the top 0-10 inches of the soil profile, concentrated heavily within the O (organic) and A (topsoil) horizons. The highest density of microbial activity is typically found in the top 2 inches of soil. As you move deeper into soil, microbial abundance and diversity drops exponentially fast. In soil profiles, the O Horizon (Surface Litter, 0-2 inches) is a hotspot for microbial activity; with decomposing plant litter, leaves, organic debris, and oxygen. Next, the A Horizon (Topsoil, 2-10 inches) holds the highest concentration of stable organic matter, nutrients, and oxygen; supporting dense populations of bacteria and fungus. Moving down, the B Horizon (Subsoil, 10-30+ inches), microbial populations plummet dramatically due to less organic material, compacted clay, and significantly less oxygen. The C & R Horizons (Substratum/Bedrock) have even less microbes, and ha...

  Diesel fuel and fertilizer prices are soaring motivating farmers to look for ways to reduce costs. This past year, many Midwest farmers started no-tilling to reduce fuel costs. With healthier soils, fertilizer costs should decrease. Healthy soils promote higher microbial levels. Each soil microbe is a soluble bag of fertilizer and your nutrient use efficiency improves, so less commercial fertilizer is needed. The soil has a huge bank of tied up plant nutrients just waiting for healthy soil microbial populations to release them to plant roots. Starting no-till is the first step. Soil compaction is usually a big problem. Excess tillage and a lack of roots in the soil profile causes soil to lack the soil organic matter (SOM) to form healthy soil macro-aggregates. The roots form macro-aggregates with the help of soil microbes. The macro-aggregates store active carbon (glues for good soil structure), improve water infiltration, increase water storage. Micro-aggregates allow good gas e...

In the last few weeks, some areas have received a considerable amount of rain, some would say excess rain. While all microbes live on water films in the soil, too much water changes the microbial community. Excess water also displaces oxygen in the soil which is detrimental to both certain types of microbes and also to plant health. Roots need to be able to absorb oxygen for respiration to break down the root sugars for energy. Oxygen is the fuel to making both fires burn hotter and also for plants and animals to burn oxygen and sugars to produce energy. In flooded soils, the majority of obligate aerobic microbes die within 24-72 hours. As dissolved oxygen is depleted; biological activity drops by 50% within 48 hours. Then facultative and obligate anaerobic organisms take over. Obligate means that either oxygen is totally required (obligate aerobes) or not required (obligate anaerobe). Aerobe mean oxygen loving, anaerobe means absence of oxygen. Facultative microbes may live in either ...

  Spring is always a fickle thing when it comes to weather. Late March and April weather was more like May and May was more like April even March at times. The difference this year is cold, wet, and windy are common themes. Some farmers have a lot planted, some a fair amount planted, some for the first time. Others are already replanting. Although a week old, USDA's crop progress report is probably fairly accurate but behind for the weekend plantings. Estimates at that time were 34% of corn acres are planted in Ohio (much higher by now), with 20% of corn emerged. For soybeans, 34% of soybean acre were planted and 16% of soybeans emerged. Planted and emerged acres are probably much higher by now and warmer weather is expected. After a drought last year which lasted most of last fall and winter, most areas have recharged but that is highly variable. Along US 30, rain has been steady since March 10th with over 26 inches reported. Some areas North are less than half that amount. On cor...

  Jim Wiesemeyer (wiesemeyer@gmail.com), Washington DC agricultural insider, Virginia, spoke recently about US agriculture. Email him for free daily insights. Jim offered insights on E-15, Aviation fuel, and projections for the US Farm Bill. Jim is optimistic that Congress will pass a US ag farm provision for year-round E-15 Ethanol. While some Congress members are opposed, the majority want this legislation passed. The effect on corn markets may be slow though because it takes time to build new facilities for increased ethanol production. The aviation fuel (45Z) seems to be stalled. It is set to expire soon (2029) but no rules have been made. This would be a boon for USA agriculture if 45Z was a reality. It will stay stalled until a new farm bill is enacted. The 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit provides a tax incentive for producing low-emission fuels including Sustainable Aviation fuel made from grain. Jim also reported on the USDA crop estimates. Currently the way USDA collects ...

Farmers first used cultivation to mechanically kill weeds. Hand hoeing, pulling weeds, then horse and tractor driven cultivators. Then they started using chemicals starting with 2-4D to chemically kill broad leaf weeds. New chemicals were developed and then came along glyphosate (Roundup) which became the most popular herbicide, especially when the glyphosate resistant gene was introduced into many crops. But like all new innovations, sooner or later they are replaced due to limitations.   Cultivation disturbed the soil and took a lot of fuel and time. Every time you disturb soil, you replant weed seed and you lose carbon in the form of soil organic matter. There can be as many as several hundred thousand weed seeds per square yard in soil. This weed seed can remain viable for a few years, a decade, or even longer. Weed seed with thicker coats and buried deep with tillage survive longer than those left on the soil surface with no-till. On the chemical herbicides, herbicide resistan...

  Soil testing methods are still about the same as they were 100 years ago and researchers and farmers are still struggling to interpret the numbers. However, a soil test is a good place to start to optimize crop yields. However, follow that up with scouting, tissue tests, and sap tests to verify and refine your analysis. Most standardized soil test report values for pH, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). Soil test values are reported in Parts Per Million (PPM) or pounds per acre. The PPM times 2 equal pounds per acre. Actual soil nutrient levels generally are much higher; however, not all soil nutrients are available for plant uptake. Soil pH measures the acidity of a soil. A soil that is neutral has a pH of 7, while an acid soil has lower values and a basic soil has higher values. The pH values can range from 1 (highly acid) to 14 (highly basic), although most soil range from pH 5.0 to 8.0. To improve soil productivity and the release of nutrients, a...

  Crops are starting to grow faster with warmer temperatures after a cool wet spring with entering rapid nutrient uptake and plant growth. Most plant nutrients are absorbed through the roots. Some nutrients get locked up in the soil making them unavailable to the plant. There are many factors that contribute to nutrient soil immobilization. If the fertilizer solution pH is too high or too low, nutrient deficient, or excessive; some nutrients might not be absorbed. Low soil organic matter, reduced microbial activity, damaged root systems, excessive water or a lack of water can all lead to lower rates of plant nutrient uptake and absorption. Many farmers regularly use some foliar feeding with herbicides or fungicides to enhance crop growth and yield. The leaves, and sometimes even the stems, of many plants are equipped with tiny, pore-like structures called stomata. Stomata open and close at certain times of the day. Stomata have two major functions. Stomata allow oxygen and water v...

May has been a cold and wet and many farmers are struggling to get crops planted. Some for the first time. Others are already replanting. Although a week old, May 18th USDA's crop progress report is probably fairly accurate with the recent rains. Estimates are that only 34% of corn acres are planted in Ohio, with 22% of corn emerged. Emerged acres are probably higher by now. Corn planting progress was behind the 5-year average (48%), but corn emergence was slightly ahead (20%) as of May 18th. For soybeans, 40% of soybean acre were planted and 24% of soybeans emerged. On corn, some farmers got a few acres planted in late April when the air temperatures for a short period of time were warmer. but soil temps were cool. That corn either emerged, rotted or the soil got hard and struggled to emerge. Corn needs to come up within 3 days of each other for optimal yield. Cold wet weather causes many mineral deficiencies since the microbes in the soil are not warmed up and repopulating. Yello...

A new trend emerged at the CTTC conference last month. At least one third of presentations had soil health, regenerative farming, or cover crops in the title. A big change in farming practices started with soil and health and cover crops from 2010-2020, but that trend has slowed down. Was it just a fad? The last 3-5 years have been tough. Dry weather and volatile crop and input prices makes change difficult. Slowly, more research is being started and a new generation is interested in soil health and regenerative topics. More farmers and researchers are looking at the advantages and disadvantages of new farming techniques. Dr. Oslo Cotez, a new OSU cover crop and corn production specialist is researching this change. Dr. Cortez says the biggest problem with farmers planting cover crops is getting them seeded and established after harvest. He is actively researching farmers transitioning to no-till and cover crops. Dr. Oslo has set up several long-term field scale sites throughout Ohio....

Dr. Vinayak Shedekar, Ohio State Drainage Specialist shared additional information on water quality. Dr Shedekar showed improved soil health, cover crops, and no-till had both direct and indirect effects on water quality. A direct effect is increased soil organic matter (SOM) over time. The gain is slow, but on long term research plots, no-till plus cover crops increased SOM from 2.3% (conventional tillage for 75-100 years) transitioned to no-till and cover crops with 4.3% SOM after multiple years. A research question was: Does no-till and cover crops improve water quality? Dr. Kevin King has 41 paired water quality sites with over 200 years of site data. He measures both surface flow and subsurface (tile) flow on these paired plots, comparing conventional tillage to no-till fields. Tile discharge was similar however less nitrogen (N) leaves the no-till fields and on soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), there was no difference. No-till by itself had some gains for N but no difference for...

  Dr. Vinayak Shedekar, Ohio State Drainage Specialist recently shared some information. He compared the last 30 years of subsoil moisture conditions and confirmed that soil moisture levels down to 1 meter (roughly 3 feet) are only about 5-10% of average levels. Streams are very low especially in Southeast Ohio, but also Northwest and Central Ohio. In Northwest Ohio, the advantage of heavy clay soils higher in soil organic matter (SOM) helps retain moisture better than other areas.  Dr. Shedekar also shared that 70% of all crop losses come from water extremes. Usually, excess water is problem and accounts for 50% of all crop losses, while dry weather accounts for 20%. Improved drainage helps remove excess water but also improves soil aeration. Roots need access to oxygen to burn carbohydrates and sugars for energy.  Some farmers are now installing irrigation to help with dry conditions. Farmers first need a good source of water. Rivers and streams can be a source but you ...

  Dr. Alan Franzluebbers, North Carolina Extension has a YouTube video showing farmers how to look for healthy soils and then improve it. There are several obvious soil health indicators like looking for earthworms, earthworm burrows, and their middens. Also, remove surface residue and look for white spiderweb like matts which are beneficial fungi. Crop fields with small mushrooms growing are a good sign because those are beneficial fungi just spreading their spores. However, the hardest to see are the soil bacteria which can be over 1 billion per teaspoon of soil. Soil Biology has been understudied and is extremely important.  Soil biology can be measured by looking at the soil biological activity, measuring the total biomass of living organisms, and by looking at the diversity of these organisms. The biology has four main functions: decomposers of crop residue, cycling of water and nutrients, controlling gasses like carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and oxygen fo...

  A nationwide study of 30 USA farms show how improving soil health helped farmers economically while also creating resilience to adverse weather. These farms covered the USA and included both crop farms, livestock farms, orchards, grazing systems, and vineyards. The study was conducted by the Soil Health Institute (SHI), the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), and USDA-NRCS. This was a multi-year study looking at farms that had adopted soil health management systems (SHMS) long-term. The Midwest farms used practices like no-till and cover crops to improve soil health. Crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay were primarily studied in the Midwest along with dairy, hogs, and chickens. Farmers were interviewed over several years comparing the economic costs and benefits of their system before and after adoption of conservation practices. The goal was to determine how resilient the farms were and what were the costs, risks, and overall benefits or detriments to ada...