Soil recordkeeping initiatives are helping farmers increase understanding of their most important asset.
The Soil Health Benchmark Study, led by Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, and the Million Acre Challenge from Future Harvest CASA are yielding insights for improving soil and showing farmers where they still need to improve.
Farmers discussed their use of records in a mid-March Future Harvest CASA webinar.
The benchmark study was designed in part to compare no-till and tillage systems.
The study uses four types of records: soil disturbance, usually related to equipment activity; livestock activity, pasturing and moving herds; planting and termination dates; and soil amendments â probably the most common record kept by farmers.