A four-year study of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region is helping grain and oilseed farmers maximize soil health, crop returns and water management.
WHY IT MATTERS: Row-cropping fields using at least one soil health management practice made gains toward matching untouched reference areas, according to the study.
The study sampled crop and vegetation types two to six weeks after planting, in corn, soybeans and other crops, to be measured against “references,” such as fencerows, wooded areas, hayfields, meadows and orchards.
“The goal of this was to sample at a time when there weren’t many field operations, but also to capture soil health at the time when it’s really vital to that growing plant,” explained Jenny Bower, a Soil Health Institute research soil scientist, during the Greenbelt Foundation’s regional soil health event in Wellington County, July 14.
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