Let’s enter a very strange world. Dark, silent, microscopic, underground. The soil – on which our crops and forages depend – is a veritable Amazon jungle teeming with thousands of species of animals and plants and something that’s not quite either: fungi.

Wheat growers in Idaho are losing a surprising 3.5 to 4 bushels per acre every year due to widespread zinc deficiency that results in slow emergence and a lack of seedling vigor. While most now recognize that zinc is widely deficient in the soil profile, the larger issue of how to solve it still remains.

In seven years, organic matter content in Matthews’ fields has gained a point and a half, and the curve is getting steeper now. “So it’s not taking us decades to make that organic matter change,” he says. “It can happen faster than people think. I mean, we’re farming in a desert, after all … but we’ve changed the soil. And you can change the soil, even in a desert.”

Tyrell visits with Mark Thallman from the USDA's Meat Animal Research Center about the merits and drawbacks of implementing terminal crossbreeding systems. Then, the Noble Research Institute's Josh Gaskamp joins Carrie to chat about how educational opportunities for producers to better their land for long-term profitability. Finally, join the gang as they discuss the joys of county fair season, weigh in on what tattoo Paul should get (and where), and debate the viewing value of various Olympic sports.

Should growers be treating their fields more like golf courses? A common solution to this problem in golf courses is the application of products known as soil wetting agents that reduce the surface tension of soil.

PFAS are a family of chemicals known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment. They’ve been in use since the 1940s and are designed to repel or displace water.

Soil aggregate stability is critical to the soil’s ability to infiltrate and hold water.

A long-term vision came to life on Feb. 20 with the grand opening of the Idaho Center for Plant and Soil Health, which replaces aging and dilapidated infrastructure at the University of Idaho’s (U of I) Parma Research and Extension Center.

Timing of alfalfa cutting is a critical management practice to maximize yield potential, quality, and profitability.

Producers who have crops and livestock are finding that annual crops can fill some grazing gaps and help get the soil in better health before replanting a pasture or the next crop.