{"id":3702,"date":"2017-03-14T13:39:17","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T17:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.localhost:10003\/?p=3702"},"modified":"2017-03-14T13:39:17","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T17:39:17","slug":"3702-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/de\/3702-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Organic Matter: The Lifeline of Soil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-3703\" src=\"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"242\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow.jpg 948w, https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow-787x1024.jpg 787w, https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow-768x1000.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 242px) 100vw, 242px\" \/>February 20, 2017&nbsp;| Posted in&nbsp;<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Cover Crops,&nbsp;Soil Health,&nbsp;No-Till 101<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source:&nbsp;<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Kansas State University Extension<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man\u2019s inventions, but long before he existed, the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed by earthworms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in history of the world as these lowly organized creatures.\u201d \u2013 Charles Darwin<\/p>\n<p>By Anserd \u201cAJ\u201d Foster, Southwest Area Crops and Soils Specialist<\/p>\n<p>Farmers are well-versed in how to select a variety and plant it; how to control weeds, pest and diseases; and how to fertilize and water plants. So why does the ability to grow 300-bushel corn, 100-bushel soybean and 100-bushel wheat still seem outside the grasp of many farmers?<\/p>\n<p>To answer this question,&nbsp;I will start by asking another question. How many farmers know about the health and condition of their soil? Considering that the soil is the foundation of the entire farming operation, it is not surprising that our most successful farmers, those who consistently produce high yields, are focused on growing the soil.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Why don\u2019t more farmers \u201cgrow the soil\u201d? It is just like with our bodies \u2014 we can get by with supplements and medications without investing in cultivating a healthy lifestyle. But eventually our health declines and our demand for supplements and medication increases just for us to remain functional.<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, we all know what to do to stay healthy, but it is not until we find ourselves in a doctor\u2019s office or in a hospital bed that we are forced to change and do what we already know we should be doing. It is the same with the soil. All farmers know or have heard many times the importance of growing the soil, improving soil health, and increasing soil organic matter.<\/p>\n<p>In my opinion, organic matter is to a soil like blood flowing through our bodies. For example, if you\u2019re a blood donor and you give blood regularly, but your body does not replenish itself, donating blood will eventually weaken or kill you over time, despite your good intensions. This is what we do to our soil each time we put a plow or other tillage implement to it. Soil management practices can have a significant effect on organic matter levels in the soil.<\/p>\n<p>Soil organic matter affects both the chemical and physical properties of the soil and its overall health. The composition and breakdown rate of soil organic matter affects the diversity and biological activity of soil organisms, plant nutrient availability, soil structure and porosity, water infiltration rate, and water holding capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Building organic matter in a soil system is a function of numerous factors: 1) organic matter inputs (above-ground residues and roots), 2) climate (rainfall and temperature), 3) physical and chemical properties of the soil, and 4) land use and management.<\/p>\n<p>Back to the question of why more farmers don\u2019t grow the soil? I think there are two main reasons:<\/p>\n<p>Building soil organic matter through appropriate farming practices may take several years, especially in dryland areas where limited moisture reduces biomass production and soil biological activity.<br \/>\nIdentifying soil management practices that promote soil organic matter formation and moisture retention, and that ensure productivity and profitability for farmers in the short-term can be very difficult.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br \/>\nContrary to the two points above, it is not impossible to build soil organic matter, although it might be difficult and require some change in farming practices. In my opinion, cover crops, use of manure, and no-till are good starting points for anyone interested in building soil organic matter. In taking steps to build soil organic matter, don\u2019t forget that regardless of the practice used, green growing material does not build organic matter, but brown dead material does.<\/p>\n<p>In sum, it may be time to start thinking about growing your soil as well as your crop. You can start evaluating your soil by monitoring soil organic matter. [Emphasis added]<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; To see full article click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.no-tillfarmer.com\/articles\/6456-weekly#sthash.TS3fmfNY.dpuf\">here<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Soil health is the greatest frontier facing farmers and producers today.&nbsp; We need more production and higher quality produce and grain.&nbsp; Growing the soil is just like growing cattle, you must feed it regularly and give it minerals and vitamins to ensure its health and consistent growth, to reach maturity.&nbsp; The eco-system in the soil is alive and we are not treating it that way, we let it starve when there is not a crop growing on it and even then we many times do not provide enough carbon material to feed the microbes.&nbsp; Monty\u2019s Activated Humic\u2019s and line of products provide an incredible catalyst to stimulate and motivate the acceleration of the microbial community.&nbsp; Consider the many Monty\u2019s products that provide solutions to farmer\u2019s soil issues and crop production challenges today.&nbsp; Visit www.montysplantfood.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;February 20, 2017&nbsp;| Posted in&nbsp;Cover Crops,&nbsp;Soil Health,&nbsp;No-Till 101 Source:&nbsp;Kansas State University Extension \u201cThe plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man\u2019s inventions, but long before he existed, the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed by earthworms. It may be doubted whether there are many other&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-montys-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Organic Matter: The Lifeline of Soil - Monty&#039;s Plant Food<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/de\/3702-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Organic Matter: The Lifeline of Soil - Monty&#039;s Plant Food\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp;February 20, 2017&nbsp;| Posted in&nbsp;Cover Crops,&nbsp;Soil Health,&nbsp;No-Till 101 Source:&nbsp;Kansas State University Extension \u201cThe plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man\u2019s inventions, but long before he existed, the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed by earthworms. It may be doubted whether there are many other&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/de\/3702-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monty&#039;s Plant Food\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-14T17:39:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/montysplantfood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"louderadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"louderadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"louderadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/07f301d28e5fe0e159720da4ec49c6bb\"},\"headline\":\"Organic Matter: The Lifeline of Soil\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-14T17:39:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":837,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/Muscle_Plant-Narrow.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Monty's Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/montysplantfood.com\\\/3702-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"Organic Matter: The Lifeline of Soil - 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