Across the northern Great Plains and Canadian Prairies, weather patterns have ranged from too dry to too wet. For the too wet parts, excessive spring and summer rainfall has resulted in extensive stretches of unplanted (Prevented Planting) acres or drown-out acres. As people think about the fall soil sampling season ahead, we are starting to […]
As harvest gets underway, savvy soil samplers are following right behind the combine and starting to collect soil samples. These soil samplers understand the many reasons why taking soil samples right behind the combine gives them the best quality soil samples and data. In the past, the reasoning to wait until later in the fall […]
The interest in early summer topsoil grid sampling (1.0- to 2.5-acres per grid) continues to increase, especially in traditional corn-soybean growing areas. In Minnesota alone, 30-40% of all grid soil samples are now collected in the summer months. The early summer period (late May to late June) is an excellent period of time to collect […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Winter 2024 Newsletter. A number of new handheld sensors have hit the market, claiming to accurately and precisely measure soil nutrient content in the field, similar to traditional wet chemistry analysis at a soil testing laboratory. The draw for any person soil sampling is the ability to […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Fall 2024 Newsletter. Do you have challenges collecting good quality soil cores in sticky wet soils? You are not the only one! WD-40 has been the soil probe lubricant of choice for over 30 years to help obtain better quality soil samples. University researchers have also tested […]
Zone soil sampling has become a standard practice in precision nutrient management, but the grand question remains – How many zones should you be soil sampling? Well, it depends! It just makes sense that a field with more variability requires more zones than a field with little variability. Zone soil sampling separates parts of fields […]
Snowfall in late October and November slowed harvest and soil sampling across the region. This means some fields will be soil sampled in December and maybe January as harvest for late-season crops continues in the snow. The right equipment is the key to any project, and winter soil sampling is no different. AGVISE heavy-duty (HD) […]
This article originally appeared in the AGVISE Laboratories Fall 2022 Newsletter Soil test results are only as reliable as the soil samples collected in the field. A crucial part of soil sample quality is consistent sampling depth. This is important because all the soil test calibration research and fertilizer guidelines for non-mobile nutrients (e.g., phosphorus, […]
Spring planting is clipping along in some parts of the region, while other parts are still waiting to hit the field, as excessive rainfall and cold temperatures have delayed spring field work and planting. Who would have thought last fall that this is what spring 2022 would look like, after the worst region-wide drought in […]
If you have ever had a soil probe come off while in the ground, you have experienced a rare but stressful event! A customer recently called with this situation and a success story about how he recovered the soil probe “MacGyver” style. I think his solution involved barb wire, duct tape and some chewing gum. […]