Observations 2020
2020 AgriGro Observations
Did you know?
There are more microbes in one teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on earth! 1 teaspoon of productive soil contains billions of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and anthropods. Soils that are more biologically active, have a higher rate of carbon recycle and provide more plant available nutrients.
Soil Health
The foundation of productive, sustainable agriculture.
Works to increase organic matter which mineralizes into crop nutrients. Increase and feed soil microbiology!
Minimize disturbance by minimizing tillage. • Maximize soil cover by keeping soil covered whenever possible.
Maximize biodiversity through crop rotations, cover crops, incorporating livestock.
Positive Impacts of Improving Soil Health
Improve soil structure to better absorb and retain water.
Increased nutrient availability to be used by crops.
Reduced inputs due to increased fertilizer efficiencies.
More productive soil = increased yield environment.
Increase crops ability to combat stress – insects, diseases, heat, drought
Microbiometer Readings
A Microbiometer captures the biomass of the microbiome. The results are shown in units of microbial biomass carbon, which means it's showing how much carbon (in micrograms) is within the fungi and bacteria per each gram of soil.
Research shows that microbial biomass (fungi and bacteria) is the leading indicator of soil health. Living soil fixes nutrients, improves plant immunity, stores water more efficiently and builds soil structure, therefore, a healthy level of microbes increases productivity while reducing inputs.
Microbiometer readings give us an overall sense of our soil health.
www.microbiometer.com
LaBrandt Road Field
West Side of field – 3 years No till and AgriGro prebiotics + AgriCal • East Side – newly acquired, past conventional tillage, no soil health products
West Side - Better aggregation on the west side. Moisture probe could be pushed in to 2 ½ feet. Increased nutrient and water holding capacity.
East Side – soil structure was more compact, moisture probe to 10 inches.
Crop Productivity Index
The CPI (Crop productivity index) is a map that is generated through satellite imagery that captures the vegetative productivity within a boundary. The CPI shows the amount of variability compared to the mean. So a narrower window demonstrates less variability.
Since incorporating AgriGro prebiotics into the crop management strategies, we have reduced our variability across fields and increased evening out the field at a higher productivity level.
