For farmers, managing their soil well means giving exactly what it needs. No more, no less.
Now they have updated guidelines to do that from CFAES researcher Steve Culman and team.
The guidelines’ goal is healthy soil — and healthy crops and water too.
The next monthly breakfast program by the CFAES-based Environmental Professionals Network will have you “Digging in With Ohio’s Soil Experts”—including Rattan Lal, CFAES’ 2019 Japan Prize laureate and Glinka World Soil Prize recipient—on the hows and whys of having healthy soils. It’s set for Wednesday, Dec. 4, the day before World Soil Day. Unearth details and register to join us.
Wilmington College in southwest Ohio plans a two-part Cover Crops Symposium on Thursday, March 21. The college’s Agriculture Department, CFAES’ OSU Extension outreach arm, and the Clinton County Soil and Water Conservation District are the sponsors.
The third in a series of three Soil Balancing Call-In Conversations, organized by CFAES’s Soil Balancing Team, is set for Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 1:30-3 p.m. The theme is “The Questions Matter.” It’s free to join in. Details.
The next “Soil Balancing Call-in Conversation,” organized by CFAES’s Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program, is today, Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 1:30-3 p.m. The theme is “Soil Balancing: What Do the Numbers Say About Its Effects on Soils, Crops, Weeds and Farms?” There’s still time to register to participate.
The third conversation in the series, called “Soil Balancing: The Questions Matter,” is set for Dec. 12.
Discover new and better ways to manage manure — methods that boost soil fertility, crop yields and farm profits while protecting water and the environment — at the annual Manure Science Review on Aug. 2 in western Ohio.
CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, is a co-host of the event.
CFAES’s Glen Arnold and Sam Custer have developed a way to spread liquid manure on young growing field crops like corn. Their new design serves to (1) boost the plants’ uptake of the valuable nutrients in the manure, (2) save farmers money on manure disposal and fertilizer costs, all while (3) reducing the risk of the nutrients getting into water. Read the story.
Organic matter’s good for the soil. And also for crops and water. But it’s not all created equal. At next week’s annual conference of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, CFAES scientist Steve Culman will talk specifically about active organic matter: how it cycles rapidly, how it plays a big role in providing nutrients to crops, how soil tests measure it, what CFAES research is learning about it, and how you can enroll to have your soil tested for free in an ongoing study. “Active Organic Matter in Your Soil,” Session V, 1:30 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11. Complete conference schedule.
Rattan Lal’s work, you could say, is very fertile. The CFAES scientist, who’s a Distinguished University Professor of soil science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, was recently profiled as one of Thomson Reuters’ Highly Cited Researchers. “For nearly four decades,” says the story by Sarah Tanksalvala, “Lal has been a leader in addressing soil as a key aspect of the biggest issues facing our planet today.” Read the story.
How will the Utopia East gas pipeline in northern Ohio affect farmland? Scientists from CFAES will be digging for answers soon. The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s James F. McCarty has the story…