New Soil Test

"What if you had soil data that told you how much food was available for your soil microbes that build soil health? Well, a new soil test is gaining early traction among cover-crop users and no-tillers who reap the benefits of healthier soil, but truly lacked the right test to tell them about their available nutrients.

This new comprehensive soil analysis from Ward Laboratories costs triple that of Ward’s conventional N, P and K package, but what it reveals appears to save users money on every acre. Developed by Rick Haney, a USDA-ARS researcher at the Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, Temple, Texas, it may be the missing link in soil evaluation, especially with cover crops.
Between January and June of this year, Haney processed 3,200 samples in his ARS lab. Participating growers reduced their N applications by $15 per acre, for an aggregate savings of $3.2 million. The savings came from a better understanding of available inorganic and organic nutrients, including organic carbon (C) and the biological health of the soil.

"Standard soil tests told us we needed to apply P and K, but the Haney test came back suggesting we had plenty of both," says Dave Brandt, longtime Ohio no-till and cover-crop practitioner. "I've been no-tilling since the early 1970s and using cover crops since 1978, but only in the last two years with the Haney test have I begun to understand what those practices are really doing. "Two years of using the Haney test let him cut fertilizer purchases by 50% on 1,200 acres.

Ray Archuleta isn't surprised at Brandt's findings. The conservation agronomist with the NRCS National Soil Health and Sustainability Team has long been frustrated with conventional soil sampling in no-till and cover-crop situations, even when they included organic matter analysis."

I am looking at this as well as a new plant tissue analysis from CSI Labs in Stewartsville, Minnesota to refine my fertilizer applications.  I will talk in depth about the SAP test as it becomes available in the next year or so.

My soils test low enough I am still using quite a bit of K but less P.  Balancing Calcium, nitrogen and sulfur as well as balancing micro-nutrients have created better soil health in my fields and better yields and grain quality.  This will change over time.

SNAP and SAP is in my farm's future.

Do you think either will be in yours?

Ed Winkle