Thanks for posting this video! This is a great talk by Rick Haney and a must view for farmers entering the realm of soil health. Part of our job is to demystify the subject and Rick, in his affable, humble way, does a super job. Just Google "soil health tool test" and you will see a number of options of both commercial and university-based testing facilities. A soil health test is more expensive than a conventional test, but if you have a soil that is in moderately good condition, your savings in inputs will make the payback basically instantaneous.
Nice work! Dr. Rick Haney, what about testing the products grown for nutrients? If your farmers could charge more if their products because their products were of higher nutritional value than more people would be interested? Joel Salatin charges a premium for his products.
Nutrient density would be Proportional to Soil Health, me thinks , however, indicators of Nutritional values would be rather complexed given the diversity of characteristics of organisms. Historically we know that food produced in the past would be "Whole" and "Healthy". I guess a a Scientific challenge that would certainly be of unprecedented Value.
Most state land grant universities have soil testing laboratories that can be found through your local extension office or by searching online for your state laboratory. A number of commercial laboratories also perform routine soil analyses. The Soil Science Society of America administers a laboratory proficiency testing program (NAPT). A list of certified laboratories is available at www.naptprogram.org/. The ATTRA publication Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories is available online at attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soil_testing/, as well as in print. For an overview on soil testing, check out chapter 22 of SARE's Building Soils for Better Crops at www.sare.org/soils.
Thanks for posting this video! This is a great talk by Rick Haney and a must view for farmers entering the realm of soil health. Part of our job is to demystify the subject and Rick, in his affable, humble way, does a super job. Just Google "soil health tool test" and you will see a number of options of both commercial and university-based testing facilities. A soil health test is more expensive than a conventional test, but if you have a soil that is in moderately good condition, your savings in inputs will make the payback basically instantaneous.
Nice work! Dr. Rick Haney, what about testing the products grown for nutrients? If your farmers could charge more if their products because their products were of higher nutritional value than more people would be interested? Joel Salatin charges a premium for his products.
Nutrient density would be Proportional to Soil Health, me thinks , however, indicators of Nutritional values would be rather complexed given the diversity of characteristics of organisms. Historically we know that food produced in the past would be "Whole" and "Healthy".
I guess a a Scientific challenge that would certainly be of unprecedented Value.
Excellent presentation makes the subject interesting ... can’t wait to see the future developments that no doubt will come about
Glad to see some references to Texas soil, thanks Rick!
How can I get my soil tested in this way?
Most state land grant universities have soil testing laboratories that can be found through your local extension office or by searching online for your state laboratory. A number of commercial laboratories also perform routine soil analyses. The Soil Science Society of America administers a laboratory proficiency testing program (NAPT). A list of certified laboratories is available at www.naptprogram.org/. The ATTRA publication Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories is available online at attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soil_testing/, as well as in print. For an overview on soil testing, check out chapter 22 of SARE's Building Soils for Better Crops at www.sare.org/soils.