3:30 WATCH: If the soil health movement has taught us one thing it’s that healthy soils produce healthy crops. But when we say “healthy soils” what does that actually mean? Well… in short, it means THEY’RE ALIVE! In the second video of our three-part series with Dr. Mike Lehman, we dive head first into the…
15 Trillion Laborers (Microbes) w/ Dr. Lehman – Intro (1/3)
We met with Research Microbiologist Dr. Mike Lehman (ARS) on the research station in Brookings, South Dakota to talk soil microbes. Dr. Lehman isn’t just a well-respected scientist, it turns out that he’s also a great communicator. In this and the next two videos, Dr. Lehman takes a shovel full of soil and talks about…
Merit or Myth: Season 2
In our first Merit or Myth season, we discussed the issue of no-till in the context of residue management, soil water (mainly infiltration), soil temperature, weeds and economics. In reality, a companion between no-till an conventional till system is very difficult to compare is one only looks at one factor (e.g., residue). When we spoke…
Economics: Jorgensen Land and Cattle Case Study (Part 3)
In our previous video of the Jorgensen Land and Cattle Economics Case Study, Nick Jorgensen discussed some of the economic savings they were able to realize in their long-term, no-till fields where typically Organic Matter measured over three percent. What the Jorgensen land and cattle operation was able to do in this analysis was save…
Economics: Jorgensen Land and Cattle Case Study (Part 1)
Economics are a complex issue. At Merit or Myth, we have found that getting farmers to talk about money can be tricky, so we were particularly grateful to find that Bryan and Nick Jorgensen were willing to talk dollars and cents with us! This is the first in a 5 part series on the money…
South Dakota Soils And The Families That Call Them Home
This past week, we were blessed with another opportunity to visit the Mount Rushmore State and pick the brains of several leading farmers in East River. Unlike trips of the past, this go around we paid less attention to the isolated nuts and bolts of farming. These oft-discussed “nuts and bolts” include individual topics like…
What are SD No-Tiller saying About Soil Temperatures
In the previous three videos we have looked at and discussed some soil temperature data from the 2016 growing season in Vermillion, SD. In this video we speak to some long-term no-till farmers from Crooks in the east to Box Elder in the west of South Dakota and gauge their opinions. While all recognize that…
Soil Temperature Part 2: How do No-Till Temperatures Catch Up to Conventional Till?
In our previous video we saw that by the end of the season, there is no difference in the number of heat units and temperature as seen by a conventional versus a no-till soil. In fact any differences in cumulative heat units between the two systems disappears by the first week of July. In this…
Soil Health = Record Yields?
It’s been said that what comes easy doesn’t last, and what lasts doesn’t come easy. This adage is especially true when it comes to change. Any change worth making isn’t going to be done overnight and it isn’t going to be realized without difficulty. One Iowa farm is showing the Midwest though that, when it…
The Economic Effects of Biodiversity
Extinction is a perfectly normal part of nature. Scientists of all backgrounds, belief systems and areas of study can agree on this. What is often overlooked, however, is the potential cost of extinction – whether within a single ecosystem or multiple. Still, no one plays a larger role when it comes to the loss or…