Rick Clark on Soil Health, Compost Extract and Eliminating Input Costs

[@thevector]

So great to hear about real results from a large scale farmer. I very much think the yield obsession has been weaponized by self interested actors (not farmers). But when you consider inputs, land degradation, and resiliency, I observe that regenerative is a better business for many farmers. Just based on what I read in various surveys an studies. And that is just looking at it from the economic side. But that is how Americans think, so hearing from farmers like Mr. Clark is super helpful in our culture. Thanks for posting it.

[@marvinbaier3627]

Thanks for the video! I saw Rick Clark in January or February 2020. The first thing I remember try something. I’ve been trying something all the time now. I try to keep ROI one of the key factors and how to work with Mother Nature and try to keep it healthy for all. My next step is putting in native pasture this coming fall/winter.

[@Mrbfgray]

Fascinating and highly encouraging, hopeful for a bright future.

[@colinjolly7502]

Well done boy keep going you are doing the right things one step at a time. i am positive that you will become a farming hero just like Robert Elliott and Sir George Stapledon .

[@RobsanSugoides]

Gday from Australia thank you for your wisdom

[@aaronswanson6719]

Glad to hear him say he’s not telling everyone they have to do this. Most farmers would find this type of farming to be impossible. I do wonder how long one can go without fertilizing for phosphorus. My land grant has had a zero phosphorus plot going for about 25 years in a 3 crop no-till rotation. The yields and soil test levels have really crashed in comparison to the plots getting a modest amount of P. Cover crops can sequester mineral nutrients and make them more crop available but they don’t add any. Best wishes to Rick and his family.

[@NB-lw4sm]

There's only so much phosphorus you can get from organic matter, the rest is all after weathering into the soil which takes time, which squeezing every bit of yield out of isn't possible, without some P application

[@michaelmanculich4004]

Well said, I appreciate ur help

[@clarissag4454]

Where do i find hat USDA seed bank? Tried googling it and I might be looking right at it, but can someone point me in the wright direction? Thanks

[@hiwasseeproducts]

This is the web site. www.ars-grin.gov/Collections#plant-germplasm

[@GlynDomingue]

I have a garden that i was at the point of not growing anything. This my second year of changing my way of growing anything. My ground is bad and hard. I have been doing a little better. Adding compost to my ground and seeing a different. Also some crops i plant dont rot quick as before also taste better.

[@stardust4459]

I was surprised to hear him say he added molasses to his extract. That will make it bacteria dominant rather than fungal dominant. I’d bet his soil has plenty of bacteria but is lacking in the fungi needed for high assimilation of nutrients.

[@timshirk6261]

The question is not how much carbon can you sequester compared to how much you burned in fossil fuels in a given year but rather how much of that sequestered carbon stays in soil as stable soil carbon for many years which aggregates the soil storing water during wet season and percolates it back up during dry season. This is the ultimate goal. I am not sure annual crops will achieve this

[@denniskemnitz1381]

Dennis here.where is this research being done. Where do you regularly report your successful C sequestration farming technique. Dennis

[@timshirk6261]

@@denniskemnitz1381 good question Dennis, Walter Jehne talks about this and if you stop and think about it annuals put most of there energy above ground and there is lots of research out there that most of surface residue will oxidize back into atmosphere and the grain that gets harvests will as well once it passes thru beef at feed lot or burned as ethanol. I am a grass fed beef farmer and when that is done correctly there is a huge long term draw down of carbon that stays in top soil as stable soil carbon and the more Forbs I have growing the deeper the aggregation goes. Diversity is key.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

@@timshirk6261 Carbon as I always knew it was the rods found in dry cell batteries. Now suddenly its found in the soils / land ???? Dont think so !

[@JimHerman-o3q]

@@timshirk6261 As a farmer myself...... rotational grazed milk cows for 45 years. Regenerative Ag does not exist !!!!! Its Degenerative Ag !!!!! Anything you do with the soil......no matter what...as long as you have rain / water and oxygen the soil Degenerates !!!! The soils eat themselves out of house and home ! An example...... if you have land that is " beach sand " ....... You can do what ever you want to improve this soil. No matter what you do....after so long....maybe a year....you have the same thing ::: SAND ::: This is true with all soils. This does not mean you should allow soils to erode away..... but to manage the soil ! A farmer should take advantage of what is there in front of them " now " not later. Because later it will be gone ! Again.......soil management ! With pasture lands.....take advantage of cutting hay.....baling hay from those lands. Then......fertilize !!!!!!! Keep a cover.......and with rain you can more then double your grass production ! Manage and utilize what an acre of land can produce with out jeopardizing the soil / land !

[@timshirk6261]

@@JimHerman-o3q carbon is always cycling thru it’s many phases which include, sugar, wood, C02 and fossil fuels which come from CO2 that a green plant took CO2 and turned it into sugar a long time ago. Yes carbon exists in soil in a big way and proper management can greatly influence this and the more liquid carbon you get in soil the more water you can hold and everything gets much better including yield and quality

[@RobsanSugoides]

I am a bio char resurcher and i build equipment to make great charcoal that can be uploaded with compost and mycelium to then call it biochar also i make wood smoke vingar If it comes from biomass pre life organic back into carbon in the soil I love your channel

[@mikehunte398]

I would think the first step towards becoming a researcher, is learning how to spell the word researcher.

[@RobsanSugoides]

@@mikehunte398 dyslexic am I sorri spelling is not everything is that all you got to find fault is easy

[@JimHerman-o3q]

As a farmer myself...... rotational grazed milk cows for 45 years. Regenerative Ag does not exist !!!!! Its Degenerative Ag !!!!! Anything you do with the soil......no matter what...as long as you have rain / water and oxygen the soil Degenerates !!!! The soils eat themselves out of house and home ! An example...... if you have land that is " beach sand " ....... You can do what ever you want to improve this soil. No matter what you do....after so long....maybe a year....you have the same thing ::: SAND ::: This is true with all soils. This does not mean you should allow soils to erode away..... but to manage the soil ! A farmer should take advantage of what is there in front of them " now " not later. Because later it will be gone ! Again.......soil management ! With pasture lands.....take advantage of cutting hay.....baling hay from those lands. Then......fertilize !!!!!!! Keep a cover.......and with rain you can more then double your grass production ! Manage and utilize what an acre of land can produce with out jeopardizing the soil / land !

[@veziqiniso4425]

I also believed similar to what you are stating; but after 10+ years of exposure to regenerative agric I know that it works and this is why we need education on how soils function and how to manage soils for healthy soil functioning; without sound understanding of some of the ecology and biology and how to manage regeneratively for soil health and productivity we do run the risk of degenerating soils; but it is possible and there are many farmers who can attest to this. Examples: Gabe Brown of N Dakota, late David Brandt of Ohio, Rick Clark of Indiana. Gabe and Dave have both had scientific studies done of their soils and the improvements in soil organic matter (soil carbon content - organic matter is about 58% carbon), soil aggregation, porosity and water infiltration rates, nutrient availability etc is astounding. Gabes soils advanced from about 1.7% om to 6-8 % om; topsoil depth went from 4-5 inches to 20 inches; soils are now well aggregated to 48 inches; carbon content to 4 foot is >90 tons/ acre, infiltration rates changed from 1/2 inch an hour to >20 inches / hour. The atmosphere is 78%N; once soil biology is working there is no need for synthetic N fertilization. Dave Brandts soils were re-classified by USDA after 30+ years of regenerative farming methods due to the significant changes that occurred with the increased soil life and carbon and aggregation. The color, structure, infiltration rate, water holding capacity, drainage etc were all vastly improved. I know of a dairy farmer who has gone from 650 kg/ha N (13 x 50 kg N /ha) on his irrigated pastures under centre pivot irrigation to strategic application of only 20 kg N / ha in winter when the microbes aren't delivering sufficient N to the plants, with minimal reduction in production and greatly improved herd health of his dairy cows. He maintains a multi-species forage mix now of >15 varieties of forages and has practices minimum till (does very shallow surface tillage when he re-seeds some species annually), his profitability is highest of all the producers in their dairy study group. He also practices high intensity short duration grazing ('AMP' grazing - adaptive multi-paddock grazing) with continuous monitoring of forage production (using calibrated pasture disc meter) and multiple herd parameters. With >700 cows in milk. Gabe and associates set up 'Soil Health Academy' and 'Understanding Ag' to provide training and consultancy services to support farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture. Google these names and find out more. Green Cover seeds have great educational resources on their website and KZbin channel too.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

@@veziqiniso4425 Regenerative works....... Soils are constantly Degenerating ! Thats the soils purpose ! To give off nutrients so there can be plant life ! Therefore in realty there is no such thing as Regenerative. Fertilizer can be added...and at that point that fertilizer starts to either be utilized by plants or degraded into the water supplies. Soils only have a short period of time that fertility can be held. UNLESS there is limited water. Then yes....soil fertility can be preserved for a much longer period of time provided its incorporated into the soil. As a former Peace Corps volunteer to Liberia Africa.......I can say this for a fact ! There its called the slash and burn farming method. In Liberia along with many other countries ( and parts of the USA ) the soils are equal to ( midwestern ) gravel roads. Farmers growing rice get little from nearly nothing for rice yields. The only way to change that is to " spoon " feed the rice. During the rainy season everything is washed away ! And with high humidity even a dead animal might last three days and the fertility would be gone ! As a dairy farmer myself.. I know about manure overload. Cows will not eat where they pooped for up to 2 years after the fact !!!! Cows can " smell " ! It has nothing to do with soil life and breaking the manure down. So...... pasture ground must be rotated out for a period of time to be hayed.... and then back to pasture. There is a reason stock cow farmers dont do dairy. Their cows would go dry ! They dont seem to notice the lack of milk production in the cows... of which limits the calves rate of gain. Along with keeping the pastures at below 6 inches for the calves to have tender grass to eat ! True.......some of what these so called Regenerative farmers say is true. But they say and do what they do is for " money " A clear example is Greg Judy. ( better called Mr. Glyphosate ) stating his neighbors soils are " dead " ???? And goes on to say they have no earth worms ??? Meanwhile where I live....on the county gravel road.... if its been wet for a few days I can count up to 15 earth worms per square yard. And the worms are coming up from the road surface ! A county road is one of the most toxic sights around ! But its still teaming with life ! Mr. Glyphosate is making these statements for only one reason~! MONEY ! No one dare step on his KZbin enterprise ! If anyone askes a question that suggests anything negative at all..... its blocked ! I question why! As a farmer and a former Peace Corps volunteer.....I have learned to keep an open mind....and work with many types of soils. Bottom line.... harvest what you can from the soils as soon as you can....with out destroying the very foundation....the soil itself !

[@ralvis20]

Instead of add fert you can layover terminate the cover crop and it feeds the soil. Same with the compost extract

[@666bruv]

Nice

[@TonyBrady-u1o]

I've never seen dirt chang color

[@seandoherty4236]

Soil that is more water-saturated will appear darker. I.e., Dry soil is lighter in color. Soil with more microbial and insect life will be darker as well. So in his example, the deeper you plow, the darker it would get.

[@danherrmann8755]

Soil bank in the 50’s and 60’s. Created a lot of pasture, for cattle. In later years. But. This program was stopped. Big money stressing out the land.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

As a farmer myself...... rotational grazed milk cows for 45 years. Regenerative Ag does not exist !!!!! Its Degenerative Ag !!!!! Anything you do with the soil......no matter what...as long as you have rain / water and oxygen the soil Degenerates !!!! The soils eat themselves out of house and home ! An example...... if you have land that is " beach sand " ....... You can do what ever you want to improve this soil. No matter what you do....after so long....maybe a year....you have the same thing ::: SAND ::: This is true with all soils. This does not mean you should allow soils to erode away..... but to manage the soil ! A farmer should take advantage of what is there in front of them " now " not later. Because later it will be gone ! Again.......soil management ! With pasture lands.....take advantage of cutting hay.....baling hay from those lands. Then......fertilize !!!!!!! Keep a cover.......and with rain you can more then double your grass production ! Manage and utilize what an acre of land can produce with out jeopardizing the soil / land !

[@JimHerman-o3q]

Soil banks..... the change was because large sized farmers ...row crop farmers didnt want to deal with " haying ". And the government ( through Chuck Grassley ) had to find a way for those farmers to have an income from those lands instead of the equipment and time needed to work with those lands. This is prime " conservative " farming ! Spend more money with the government in control ! Conservative ????? Yah right !

[@mikehunte398]

Great video, but the music was obnoxious and distracting. I want to hear the farmer not some copyright free elevator jingle.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

Cover crops.........they are great for holding soils. However then farmers have to increase nitrogen application to make up for what the cover crop removed. Where does that nitrogen end up ??? The water supplies !

[@stromantiling8122]

You're doing it wrong if you have to increase N. Most cover croppers are decreasing N applications

[@JimHerman-o3q]

@@stromantiling8122 Thats what my neighbors told me too. That I dont need to apply more nitrogen. Before doing an entire field I tried a few strips. Tada !! The corn was in a world of hurt where the Rye grass was. YELLOW ! And a foot shorter while the others was nearly 5 foot tall. Oh.... then I notices the four neighbors I talked to about the nitrogen issue all had saddle tanks on the planter tractors...and they also applied Anhydrous before planting. Rye grass is a nitrogen hog ..... because it is a grass ! They out right lied to me ! Later I confronted them about adding nitrogen. Its as if then didnt know what I was talking about ! Cover crops serve one primary purpose.....erosion !

[@markneuman2070]

By reading your posts, your paradigm is threatened, we all have our own bias from past experiences. I have farmed for over 40 years and I continually look to improve and learn new things to implement and understand how to keep moving in a positive direction. I'm glad that you have it all figured out.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

@@markneuman2070 As you know....no one has it all figured out ! This is why most folks post comments . I have also been farming for 47 years. Im always looking for improvements ! After all... I only farm 160 acres ......and have time to play. From rotational grazing to working with pure sand .....since I live next to a rock quarry. Also worked as a Peace Corps volunteer to Liberia Africa for two years.............where soils there are like the county gravel roads here........hand heavy rains. Up to 160 inches of rain a year. Here in the USA....farmers have no idea what difficulties are out there regarding soils erosion heat etc. Whats interesting is the folks that talk about regenerative farming. When in fact its " degenerative " farming. All soils degenerate ! Soils eat themselves out of house and home !

[@twc9000]

He lost me when he started talking about carbon footprint. We shouldn't even acklowledge the hoax of "carbon footprint" or "climate change."

[@fidelreyesh]

Politics is what is at the root of this, the politics of selling pesticides, fertilizer and other Agri Quemicals ...

[@marcheussi7110]

Are you an idiot?

[@LtColDaddy71]

He is one of the guys doing this in my region, I’m N. Illinois, he is central IN. It’s a small community. I personally am all about putting more plant food in to the air. But it has to be integrated in to a cycle. Taken up by crops and cover crops, a little stays in the soil, some vents back in to the atmosphere, but some also is taken up by the plant life immediately. Hell, corn plants have little slits specifically for vacuuming it up as it leaches out of the ground. The regen concept is designed to bring everyone to the table. Including the greenies. But it’s something different for everyone. For me, it’s about freedom. Cashing checks, not writing them. Setting prices, not taking them. Most main line conventional operations who do trials on no till and cover crops, do it all wrong, and I can blow holes in their findings, go on their land and do the same thing for 2-3 yrs and make more money. So Rick is talking about some practical ways of going about it. This is for people who seriously want it. I tell many people not to do it, because if they do, they will go broke. One needs to do a lot of research, become a believer, then start trying things out.

[@Melidontcare]

Your ignorance lost me sir.

[@chuckbowen5024]

Calling it something else is just another PC name to remember. Digging it black, tiling or draining it and watching it blow away and wondering why is just insanity.

[@jimmartindale]

Until you address the curse of Genesis 8:21 and face the destiny of man which God declared in Genesis 2:5 you are destined to face frustrations which are completely avoidable.

[@666bruv]

Hey buddy, you've made a comment on the wrong page

[@jimmartindale]

My apologies​@@666bruv