soil

Soil science is a relatively new field and becoming more critical in the work to keep soil healthy and productive. The discovery of century-old soil samples at a land-grant university could offer big clues into how soil has changed over time. (This story first published July 22, 2024.)

Much of the research on regenerative farming practices, such as no-till or cover crops, has looked at the benefits to the environment and the soil. Now a new study finds these farming practices also have economic benefits for farmers.

Generations of tilling and planting on the same land have left the nation’s soil in poor shape. And if farmers don’t change the way they grow crops,…

With a little work you can eat homegrown spinach, salad greens and carrots earlier than ever before with a low-cost cold frame. The Columbia Center for…

Farmers and scientists have long understood that what lives beneath the soil affects how crops grow. Often, they work to fight plant diseases—warding off…

The world’s soil is in trouble, even in the fertile Midwest. Some experts warn that if degradation continues unchecked, topsoil could be gone in 60…

The world’s soil is in trouble. Ecologists say without dramatic changes to how we manage land, vast swathes of grassland are at risk of turning into…

The world’s soil is in trouble, even in the fertile Midwest. Some experts warn that if degradation continues unchecked, topsoil could be gone in 60 years.…

On Friday, I left the rolling hills of Columbia, Mo., and headed northwest, to the flat farmland of Saline County. The purpose of the drive was to get a…