Soil health school digs into details

The South Dakota Soil Health Coalition has been around since 2015, governed by a nine-member board of farmers and ranchers from across the state. With a stated goal of improving soil health, SDSHC has hosted a popular summer South Dakota Soil Health School since 2016.

According to Cindy Zenk, coordinator of SDSHC, the first soil health school was offered in Aberdeen, with field events held at the Dennis Hoyle farm. “The school came together through a collaborative effort of SDSHC, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and South Dakota State University Extension, using a template of the S.D. Grassland Coalition’s Grazing School,” she said. “The template currently has the school in a location for two years and [then] moves to a new host in another area, with directors heavily involved in the school, presenting and interacting with participants,” Zenk added.

Late this past summer, 30 producers and SDSHC board members met for the first year of a new two-year cycle at the 2020 school near Mitchell, S.D., with field events held at Stehly Farms, hosted by Craig and Gene Stehly; and Edinger Brothers farm, hosted by Chet and Charlie Edinger. “Through the two-and-a-half days, we try to provide different tools producers are able to take back to their operations, working toward our vision to increase sustainable ag production through diversification and improved soil health,” Zenk explained.

Soil health strategies work

Weather and climate patterns offer different extremes in different years, Candy Thomas, regional soil health specialist, Salina, Kan., and one of this year’s Soil Health School speakers, told the group gathered in Mitchell that heavy precipitation and years of extreme drought prove the importance of soil health strategies. “A friend of mine in northwest Kansas had just started using cover crops two years before the 2012 drought,” Thomas explained. “In 2012, his neighbors were getting around 4 or 5 bushels per acre on wheat — and he was at 20 bushels per acre. He was pretty thrilled.” Having no-till and getting into that type of system reduces risk, she added.

Soil health practices improve water infiltration, and that improves soil structure and helps with productivity. “Forty-five percent greater porosity in the soil increases infiltration rates by 167% for the first inch of precipitation, and 650% for the second inch,” Thomas said. “That’s pretty significant when you start adding these principles and start worrying about these ecosystem processes in your system.”

For Thomas, organic matter is a good visual indicator of soil health, but aggregate stability is probably the most critical indicator. “When we have stable aggregates, we have a sort of carpet,” she said. “We have water infiltration. When the aggregates break down, we get ponding, plugging, runoff — and we get water quality issues.”

Seeing is believing

“Seeing different test plots, cover crop plants and mixes, soil pits, aggregation and structure, basic field assessments as well as manure management and grazing demonstrations, provides the opportunity for participants to talk with producers, educators and professionals like Thomas and relate it back to their own operations,” Zenk added.

This kind of hands-on education, with producers sharing experiences with other producers, will affect management decisions being made by participants in the program, and will help improve the health of South Dakota soils, she said.

You can learn more about the SD Soil Health School by calling Zenk at 605-280-4190 or visiting sdsoilhealthcoalition.org.