Making sense of your soil report
Soil testing can help you make better farm management decisions, whether the goal is to improve crop yield, plant vigor, the 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. Our cover story this month explains the most common soil parameters found in a soil test report and how to use that information to make informed decisions on the farm.
Variety choice influences soft red winter wheat yield more than seed treatment
The use of a seed treatment is common practice in most major crops in the United States, yet there is little research on the benefits of seed treatment usage on soft red winter wheat in the North Central United States. The purpose of this research trial was to evaluate how the use of a seed treatment influenced winter wheat canopy cover, yield, and test weight in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.
Earn 1.5 CEUs in Integrated Pest Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.
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Halloween podcast special
Managing sorghum aphid
Sorghum is an important crop in the United States, grown for grain, forage and bioenergy purposes. However, its production is facing several challenges due to abiotic and biotic factors with aphids emerging as a significant pest in last decade. Once considered a minor pest, sorghum aphids have become a major threat to sorghum cultivation due to susceptible varieties and insufficient pest management strategies.
In this episode of the Field, Lab, Earth podcast, several experts share their insights on current research efforts and new methods to combat sorghum aphids.
Earn 0.5 CEUs in Integrated Pest Management by listening to this podcast episode and taking the quiz.
Nitrogen stabilizers and fertilizer enhancers are not all equal
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant metabolism, forming the backbone of amino acids, proteins, and chlorophyll, but despite its abundance in the atmosphere, plants often experience nitrogen deficiency due to its limited bioavailability. The nitrogen cycle—driven by soil, microbial, and environmental interactions—regulates nitrogen transformations and losses through processes like volatilization, leaching, and denitrification. To improve nitrogen use efficiency, modern fertilizers and additives have been developed to slow these loss mechanisms, extend nitrogen availability, and support sustainable crop productivity. Earn 0.5 CEUs in Nutrient Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.
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Cover crop performance in dryland wheat production systems of the Pacific Northwest
In the semi-arid areas of the dryland Pacific Northwest (PNW), cover cropping has been promoted to reduce fallow periods and improve soil quality. However, with annual precipitation less than 17 inches, the risk of water loss from the soil profile is a main barrier to adoption. This article evaluates the performance of various fall- and spring-sown cover crops in dryland winter wheat production systems across low- and intermediate-precipitation zones of the PNW.
Earn 1 CEU in Soil & Water Management by reading this article and taking the quiz.
Making sense of your soil report
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.
Strategic planting decisions for soybean success
New special collection of papers provides insights from research across multiple regions
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.
Soil fertility, fertilizers, and crop nutrition: Past, present, and future
Society has made (and will be making) significant demands on agriculture in the not-to-distant future. Meeting future sustainability goals and environmental regulations while simultaneously continuing to meet requirements for food, feed, fuel, and fiber requires a firm understanding of how “we” have collectively arrived at our current status as it relates to our fertility principles and beliefs as well as the processes that address them. This series intends to describe crop nutrition and fertilizers from where we have been to where the authors believe that we will likely need to be prepared to go if we are to support world demands into the foreseeable future.
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