News
Bus tour to feature soil health, conservation practices
PIERRE, SD – A two-day bus tour beginning in Spink County on Aug. 3 is sure to appeal to people with an interest in soil health, conservation practices and regenerative agriculture. The tour will visit Menoken Farm, a conservation demonstration farm near Bismarck, ND,...
Workshop to help producers manage saline soils
PIERRE, SD – Many producers have unproductive areas in their fields due to saline or sodic soils. If not managed correctly, those areas cost producers money and can grow larger over time. On July 28, the Opportunities for Saline Cropland workshop will be held near...
Soil Health School: Changing farms, changing lives
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition It’s hard to know which events will change the course of a person’s life. For Austin Carlson, one of those events was Soil Health School. In 2018, a neighbor invited him and his father to attend the 3-day School. Now,...
Expanding Mesonet weather network to focus on soil moisture
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition PIERRE, SD – What’s better than real-time weather data? More real-time weather data, of course. The South Dakota Mesonet currently has 32 weather stations in the state, according to Mesonet Director Nathan Edwards, and...
Finding the right water solutions for a rotational grazing plan
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition PIERRE, SD – What does a pasture have in common with a marathon runner? According to Natural Resources Conservation Service State Grazing Lands Soil Health Specialist Tanse Herrmann, they both need time to recover. “A...
Reap the value of beneficial insects through soil health
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition Fifty-seven billion dollars. That’s the annual monetary value a 2006 economic study published in BioScience attributed to just four services performed by wild insects in the United States – pest control, pollination,...
Soil health gardening: Less weeding, more fun
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition Wouldn’t it be nice to have a large summer garden without all the weeding? By using a few soil health practices, South Dakota gardeners might just be able to pull that off while improving the structure and fertility of...
Planting green: Rethinking cropland management
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition PIERRE, SD – If you overhear farmers at the local coffee spot talking about “planting green,” they’re probably not discussing the paint on their equipment. They’re more likely referring to a new way of thinking about...