It’s imperative that soil be protected and conserved as much as possible because the simple fact is that we no longer have the luxury of leaving our degraded soils in the dust as we go in search of new ground. We must take care of the soil if we have any hope that it will continue to provide for us.

Corey Chicoine of Elk Point, S.D.; Brandon Hope of Sinai, S.D.; and Brandon Fast of Mountain Lake, Minn., had a surprisingly good harvest, despite a dry start to the growing season.

Agricultural producers often base their land management decisions on the living things they can see above the ground – crops, livestock, forage, weeds, insects, wildlife, etc. However, new research is showing they should also consider life found in the soil.