Soil testing can help you make better farm management decisions, whether the goal is to improve crop yield, plant vigor, harvest quality, or general soil health. When you send your soil to be tested, the lab sends you back a report with valuable information.

Soil reports can be hard to interpret and translate into action without proper understanding of technical terminology and various soil parameters. This article reviews the most common soil parameters found in a soil test report and how to use that information to make informed decisions on the farm.

Earn 1 CEU in Soil & Water Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.

Achieving high soybean yields starts with planting and the decisions surrounding planting. A new special collection of papers from the journal Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management brings together a comprehensive collection of recent research and management insights focused on soybean planting decisions across diverse U.S. production environments. Together, these articles provide a robust foundation for data-driven, regionally adapted soybean planting decisions that support sustainable productivity and profitability.

High-yielding hybrid canola cultivars are grown widely across Canada, demanding higher nitrogen (N) inputs to support increased yields with high seed oil and protein content. While the improved N use efficiency of modern cultivars suggests high yields are achievable with less fertilizer supplies, the yield potential and N uptake efficiency of new canola hybrids are highly dependent on soil nutrient status and weather conditions, and these factors are difficult to assess before N application. These uncertainties complicate the precise N management practices for hybrid canola. In this study, we examined the yield response of a range of hybrid canola cultivars to N fertilization from 50 site-year field trials across Canada. We also evaluated the benefits of a split-N application strategy under both abundant and limited precipitation conditions. Based on these findings, AI models were developed to enable site-specific N recommendations.

Earn 1 CEU in Nutrient Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.