SEED BED: Soil quality is a long-term investment

Even though it’s difficult to show that changes in soil quality have affected yield, investing in it does make sense, even if only from the perspective of risk management



by KEITH REID

I’ve written many times in these pages about the need to improve soil health or soil quality, and I really do feel it is critically important for the long-term productivity of our soils.

The trouble is that it’s difficult to show a consistent yield response to practices like cover crops or no-till that should improve soil quality. The challenge, then, is to prove to the skeptics that soil quality is more than “motherhood and apple pie” and can have a real impact on the bottom line.

Better Farming - February 2010