News > Day Two > Untested soils tell no tales
"Soil testing is a way to monitor how your fields are doing," said Dr. Raymond Ward, soil scientist and owner of Ward Laboratories in Kearney, Neb.

Nebraska soil scientist Raymond Ward described intensive tillage as the No. 1 environmental enemy in production agriculture. -- Alexis Kienlen photo

"Think of it as a management of fertility to track a pattern of what is going on in your fields."

Nitrate, sulfate and chloride are all soluble ions that can move in a wave like pattern through the soil. As the wave moves down, it gets flatter and lighter.

"When you get some rain, you'll always have some nitrogen or nitrate left in that soil," he said.

Plant roots' active uptake is affected by the amount of available oxygen and the temperature of the soil. Roots grow at their tips as cells divide and elongate and push the root forward. Root hairs grow to increase absorption and act as a conduit to take nutrients up to the leaves.

Knowing how a root system works can help a producer determine where to place fertilizer. Ward says he often uses a tile spade to dig up plants and see how root systems grow and develop.

The No. 1 environmental enemy in production agriculture is intensive tillage, he says. The process creates a slow burn and disturbs organic matter in the soil, destroying plant residue, which is a potential source of carbon.

Organic matter in the soil cannot be built up without nutrients, he says, and it's important to know the fertility of the soil so plants take up nutrients out of the soil, not out of potential organic matter.

-- Alexis Kienlen is a field editor with Alberta Farmer in Edmonton.