The Importance of Residue for Healthy Pastures

Whatever type of gardening you do, soil lies at the heart of your success. Its the soil that delivers nutrients and moisture to your plants, and how efficiently it does this is hugely dependent on what type of soil it is.   What is Soil Type?  Soil is a complex mixture of minerals, decomposing organic materials, and living microorganisms. However, the basic bulk of it is formed from the weathered, broken-down rocks of your area. Depending on local geology and climate, soil consists of

We thought this soil health minute would be helpful to folks thinking about the role that “wasted forage” plays in protecting and improving soils.  This “Soil Health Minute” is brought to you by the USDA NRCS, Ray Archuleta and Jon Sitka. Enjoy!

I’ve succumbed to the soil health bug. How do I know? Well, on a recent kayak adventure in the Adirondacks, I laid awake at night listening to the unencumbered, deafening raindrops hit our tent and envisioned the uncovered soil getting pounded as the chocolate water carried the next generation’s livelihood off the land on which it was born. My perspective heightens as I look into the eyes of my new granddaughter, Hadley. It reaffirmed for me the importance of holding on to her soil with sod. A

Are you healthy? It is easier to identify an unhealthy person or animal than it is to identify one that is healthy. So it is with soil. Who decides what healthy soil is, and how can you tell how healthy your soil is? The definition I use for a healthy agricultural soil is this: a healthy soil is a soil that is managed efficiently for crop production, and it consistently yields at or near its potential yield. Soils differ from place to place. No matter where they are, or what kind of soils they