NUTRIENT-BASED yield theories have served agriculture for more than 150 years, but the problem, some soil scientists say, is those models were created without any concept of soil biology.

No-tillers are busy in the fall harvesting their crops and applying fertilizer and may have little time for anything else before winter sets in. However, fall really is a good time to evaluate fields and assess the soil’s physical, chemical and biological conditions.

Soil health seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. We read stories about it, agencies are funding research and education about the topic, experts are giving presentations, scientists are conducting experiments and agronomists and farmers are being trained on it.