As spring arrives and the soil warms up, it comes to life and becomes very vibrant and begins to thrive. One of the by-products of this process is the release of nutrients tied up in plant residue and microbial and insect biomass. But the primary source of creating this thriving...
It’s almost planting season! Know your ideal soil conditions before you begin
Understand your soil moisture conditions before trafficking, tilling or planting this spring. What are exactly the right soil conditions for spring tillage, fertilizer application, spraying and planting? Farmers start going to the field in March or April when conditions are right for the task they want to do. Till when...
The benefits of achieving optimal soil health
I have been thinking a lot lately about soil health and its ability to sustain crops. Sure we know fertilizer and water are important as well as applying good management practices. But I believe there is more to a soil’s potential that is directly tied to optimizing soil health. And...
Can soil degradation be reversed by gypsum?
One of the concerns today is that soils are being degraded by intensive agricultural production, salinity or contamination. Soil degradation can be generally defined as a decline in soil quality caused by its improper and unsustainable use. Soil degradation is slowly becoming a serious global problem and is exacerbated by...
What is soil?
A pretty basic question for the ground under our feet. Plus, Dr. Dan Davidson explains Calcium Compartmentalization below. What is Soil? By Dr. Dan Davidson, Agronomist & Farmer When you pick up a hand full of soil did you ever think about what it contains? Soil contains minerals, organic matter,...
Understanding the Calcium Cycle
Most minerals important to biological life follow a natural cycle that tracks how they enter the soil and their fate once there. Understanding these cycles is important because it helps you manage the mineral and influence the way it interacts with other factors on the farm. Let's take a look...
How Can I Tell If Gypsum Is Working?
I have been interested in gypsum for nearly a decade now and we have applied it on our family farm in Nebraska – following a 3 year cycle with 1 ton applications every third year. I had heard all the stories how it improves soil structure, particularly in tight clay...
Can Gypsum Remediate Dense, Deflocculated Soils?
One of gypsum’s primary benefits as a soil amendment is that the addition of calcium will flocculate the soil. Flocculation causes soil particles to come together and form natural aggregates and peds that improves soil structure and porosity. When soil particles disperse (deflocculated soils), natural aggregates breakdown and disperse, damaging...
Soil pH! Does Gypsum Help? Read Below To Find Out
Calcium sulfate (or gypsum) is a soluble inorganic compound. Gypsum has been used for many years to improve aggregation and inhibit or overcome dispersion in sodic soils. One of the many misnomers about calcium sulfate, or gypsum, is that it can effect soil pH. That misnomer arises from the fact that limestone, another calcium-containing...
Salting the Earth – Counteract Contamination with Calcium Sulfate
“Salting the earth” was a practice of ancient conquering armies. They poisoned farmland with salt so that crops would not grow. To the best of my knowledge, no one has intentionally “salted the earth” for many years. However, there is much unintentional soil contamination. Major sources of contamination include irrigation...