For years, farmers have been using soil analysis to analyze the chemical attributes of soil, such as nutrient and pH levels. It hasn’t been until recently that analyses for measuring physical and biological components of soil have been available outside of the research community. A soil health assessment is a comprehensive way to monitor all three aspects of your soil’s health and make effective management decisions.
Dairy One is proud to offer a variety of analytical services that will give you a comprehensive profile of your soil’s health.
Chemical
There are 16 nutrient elements required to grow all plants and crops. However, soils vary in their ability to provide the correct balance of nutrients for a number of reasons including soil type, environment, crop removal, and application of soil amendments such as manure, compost, commercial fertilizer, or crop residues. Dairy One offers a variety of packages that use either Morgan, Modified Morgan, or Mehlich-3 extraction methods as a chemical analysis of soil to determine pH and nutrient levels.
Physical
Solvita VAST (Volumetric Aggregate Stability Test) measures quality of soil structure or “tilth”. Soil tilth takes into consideration the size of soil particles and the size and variety of the space, or pores, between particles. These pores are what allow for the movement of air, water, roots, and other living organisms in the soil. If a soil has good tilth, it is spongy, porous, and aerated, making it favorable for plant growth. Tilth determines a soil’s water-holding capacity, infiltration of rainfall, air movement, rooting depth, and soil productivity.
Biological
Solvita SLAN (Solvita TM Labile Amino Nitrogen) measures organic nitrogen compounds easily mineralized or made available as nutrients for plant growth. Mineralization is the process in which living organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, breakdown organic elements in the soil into their mineral, or inorganic, forms. It is through this process that proteins in the soil are transformed into plant available forms of nitrogen, such as ammonium and nitrates.
Solvita CO2 Burst measures active respiration by soil microorganisms in lab incubation of wetted soil samples over 24 hrs. Organic matter makes up 1-6% of soil and consists of living organisms, fresh residues (dead), and well-decomposed residues (very dead). Living organisms make up about 15% of organic matter and consist of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, insects, and larger animals. Higher Solvita CO2 Burst numbers indicate viable diverse populations and more organic matter to feed organisms.
A comprehensive view of your soil is provided by adding Solvita VAST, SLAN, and CO2 Burst analyses to your chemical soil analysis. It’s recommended that you sample the soil from 5 or 10 fields every year to help identify the effectiveness of your management practices.
The majority of organic matter is found in top soil and as it increases, so will crop yields. Healthy soil can require fewer artificial fertilizers, irrigation, pesticides and machinery use- all of which can be detrimental to topsoil health. Unfortunately, it is also the top soil that is most damaged by erosion, wind, or even salinity in arid climates. Management techniques such as reduced tillage, cover cropping, crop rotation, and the application of manure are ways to reduce the loss of, and replenish the valuable organic matter in soil.
For more information on how you can incorporate a soil health assessment into your cropping program, visit our Soil Lab page. Dairy One is proud to offer professional soil sampling services, soil analysis, and Cornell University nutrient recommendations (for New York state samples). Dairy One nutrient recommendations are also available for select states. Email [email protected] or call 607-375-9962 to learn more.