Acid pH in many Mississippi soils challenges plant growth regardless of scale, from a 400-acre row crop field to the back yard. While alkaline pH soils present some issues in the Blackland Prairies and some salt-impacted areas in the state,
The best business managers have long-term, pro-active strategies to achieve their goals. Soil carbon (C) may not appear on the top, or even near the top of pressing concerns at this point in the season for growers. But this crop
All photos courtesy of Tucker Miller Flooding is challenging Mississippi families, homes, and farms again, hence, this should be a review for many readers. The first Mississippi Crop Situation post about flooded soils was published in May 2011. There is
Photos courtesy of Dr. Mary L. Tagert The third part of Avoid, Control, and Trap agricultural environmental stewardship practices for nutrients and sediment is trapping them, literally keeping them on the land, reducing excess inputs to water bodies. Best Management
The greatest challenges for agricultural water management are getting water on fields, and then getting water off fields in the warm humid mid-South. Exiting water contains dissolved nutrients and sediments that may pose issues. Controlling the nutrient (or sediment) movement
Newspapers were all paper and sometimes quite thick when I was younger. I trained myself to ignore almost all the advertisements in them to speed things along, particularly with Sunday editions. It may chagrin the business community to learn that
Get to Know Your Soil The soils in Mississippi are diverse, reflecting parent material differences, the warm, humid climate, very active soil biology because of the warm, humid climate, and the unique topography. Agriculture in each part of the state
Wait a minute, aren’t we just now planting the 2021 crop? True, however, some fields being planted now will suffer from soil acidity issues this year. There may be short term band-aids available, but long-term solutions will be necessary. One
Healthy soils have thriving biological populations busy recycling nutrients. Just as good working environments aid human productivity, good working environments foster the soil biological population. Soil physical factors that impact this work environment include aggregation, bulk density, and water holding
Private and public sector stakeholders are striving to boost soil carbon (C) as a climate migration strategy. This note will focus on the science of soil C, and management practices that may increase it. Carbon markets, public policy, and individual
We in Extension sing the praises of soil testing constantly because it provides a snapshot in time of the ability of a soil to provide nutrients to growing plants. The results, along with a research base, are the basis for
Most growers know the soil benefits from applying animal manures to their land. Some farmers have used municipal sludge (biosolids) as a fertilizer to provide nutrients and organic matter that improves soil properties. The biosolids have been treated to stabilize
It takes time to change soils. After making the business decision to actively manage for soil health, producers often are frustrated that results are not immediately apparent! We did all this, and nothing happened! Alternatively, we may see some changes in
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