Merit or Myth

Engaging

South Dakota’s

Farming Community
in the Pursuit of

Healthy,
Functioning Soils

Working Alongside

Natural Systems

to Benefit the

South Dakota
Farmer

Exploring

Holistic Views

that help keep
the Mt. Rushmore State

Farmer

in Business

Applying the ideas of

Transformational Science

for a

Sustainable Future

Our Mission

The big-picture idea of healthy, functioning soils is so appealing: more moisture available to the plant, more nutrients recycling, fewer weeds, lower inputs… what’s not to like, right? To the busy farmer, are the ideas of healthy functioning soils just that… ideas? Put another way we should ask: “what has merit and what is myth”? At Merit or Myth our mission is, through the social media, to engage with South Dakota-based farmers, researchers and conservationists to gain a better understanding of healthy, functioning soils. We want to engage in the context of the management issues that farmers most care about including residue, soil temperature, soil moisture and weed management.

Latest News

Ep 13: Resilience (Soil Structure and Conservation)

Podcast

This podcast is the fifth in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Ep 12: Resilience (Salinity and Small Grains)

Podcast

This podcast is the fourth in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Ep 11: Resilience (Weeds, Covers and Termination)

Podcast

This podcast is the third in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Ep 10: 2020 Planting Priorities

Podcast

This podcast is the second in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Ep 09: Moisture, Rutting and Covers

Podcast

This podcast is the first in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….