More farmers are devoting more attention, time and resources to their soil — everyone from Amish elders to McCain Foods’ potato growers.
Farmers and others in the agriculture field came to the University of Maine Presque Isle last week for a soil and agronomy conference to learn and talk about cover crops, rotations, tillage, soil microbiology, potato diseases, soil worms and precision agricultural.
“Soil health is a hot topic,” said Lakesh Sharma, a soil and crops specialist with the UMaine Extension in Presque Isle who’s also teaching courses in UMPI’s newly created sustainable agriculture program. Speakers at the conference included UMPI professor microbiology expert Larry Feinstein, UMaine Extension educator and cover crop specialist Andrew Plant, and Jake Dyer, an alternative crops specialist with the Maine Potato Board who also helps run the Benedicta Grain Co.
Sharma helped organize the conference around the broad issue of soil health because soil, and the awareness of managing and nurturing it, are in the midst of a renaissance in American agriculture. Practices like cover crops are gaining traction even among the giant soybean and corn growers of the Midwest whose operations are linked to water pollution from fertilizer and pesticide runoff.
Healthy soil is so important to the nation’s farming industry that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services has been expanding its ranks of soil experts and is running an “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” campaign with public service announcements around the country.
“On the basis of the soil, you can decide what kind of crop to grow and seasons for rotation crops or potato varieties,” Sharma said. “There are many choices.”
For instance, he said, well-suited soil can help maximize beneficial qualities in crops, such as the protein content of wheat, a staple crop Sharma worked with in North Dakota before coming to Presque Isle last summer.
The focus on soil health comes at the same time that large farms around the country are adopting “precision ag” practices. These farmers might use a soil survey to determine the parts of a field that need more or less fertilizer or lime, Sharma said. Tractors with software and GPS can control the “variable rate” application of fertilizers, lime or herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
Soil surveys might also be used to help revitalize fields and rebalance the soil characteristics. For instance, a high clay soil, Sharma said, is prone to losing nitrogen and releasing nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.
Sharma grew up in the Punjab region of India, where farmers cultivate everything from wheat to citrus fruits, and has spent time researching and breeding a number of crops, including oranges. He’s now spending about 80 percent of his time with the UMaine Cooperative Extension and has 20 percent teaching at UMPI, drawing college students as well as farmers and others in the industry.
Last semester he taught sustainable agriculture principles, this semester he’s teaching soil science, and next spring he’ll be teaching integrated pest management.
“We’re teaching everything about soil profile, development, odors, fertility management, variable rate lime application, and how to use a soil survey as a tool to know more about your farm.”
