Soil Testing 2.0: Build your Soil, Cut Costs, & Increase Profits with Regenerative Agriculture

Traditional soil testing relies on the concept that a certain balance of nutrients in the soil will create healthier, more productive soils. Growers have traditionally used these soil test results to make nutrient application decisions to improve the health of their soils. But while that strategy may have been effective decades ago, new work is showing that that may not be the case in today’s microbially dead soils where nutrients cannot get absorbed properly.
In this webinar, John Kempf explains the connection between soil biology and nutrient absorption and explain why a different approach to testing and building healthier soils may be in order. This approach will not only help growers reduce input costs by cutting unnecessary fertilizer applications but it can also help bring your soil back to life and increase productivity.
www.advancingecoag.com

[@fisherh9111]

John is brilliant. I love looking at all his data.

[@ThePermacultureStudent]

SO GOOD!!

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

Thank you John. I have never felt the need for a soil test, we focus on soil health and it seems redundant since the fruits show me that soil health works. Thank you for making my explanations to organic certifier easier to explain during questioning.

[@vyoufinder]

Same. I've never needed anything other than compost, manure, a few amendments here and there, and worms. I did have one year I lost a crop to blight, but that was my experimenting and listening to someone instead of trusting what I knew. I've had a few watering issues over time, but nothing that ever required chemicals. Till in the manure and compost in the fall, and again in the spring then top it. That's all I've ever done. I live next to a river and large pond, and never had a bug. I just try to keep my plants cared for like they're at a 5 star hotel until harvest in every way I think they like, and doing it for their happiness, not my yield, seems to work.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Funny, so many of these things correlated here on my soil with my plant sap analysis. Big changes in plant health and growth when I took AEA recommendations and added iron, manganese, copper, zinc, boron, calcium and sulfur to my program. Most of it through foliar feeds. Another excellent webinar John! Thank you! Plant sap analysis is so much more than soil testing!

[@nicholasrega142]

Please revisit all presentations if your new, I hear new things every time I listen.

[@priestwright]

Wow couldn't have came across this at a more perfect time! Thank you for this info!

[@jonstevensmaplegrovefarms3754]

Oh man 4th one here. Very good as usual. Next time you are in Mn or at Lorans in Iowa i would enjoy meeting up.

[@richardruss7481]

I understand why you do not want to state that chemical companies have "nefarious" purposes, but i think that it is naive to think that they had no idea that the soil tests that they promote are causing farmers to use more of their products than is needed or good.

[@nobakwaas5161]

these chemical companies are evil

[@inigomontoya8943]

Absolutely true, they know what’s going on. It’s common in this mega corps. Johnson and Johnson knew for 20+ years there was asbestos in it’s baby powder.

[@careyjamesmajeski3203]

This is so helpful. Why we don’t have decades of data comparing soil and sap analyses for nearly every crop is completely lost on me. I feel like we’re barely emerging from the Stone Age wrt farming.

[@inilegnam]

This is exactly why I've adopted Nicole Masters 5 M's framework when it comes to soil/plant health triage: Mindset Management Microbes Minerals organic Matter

[@stevelarson4925]

Great webinar. I'd love for you to write a blog post on the geological analysis. I struggled to find a lab last summer and ended up having OSU do a mixture of different tests to get something similar.

[@marksavoia3687]

Summary- Soil analysis should be biological and structural, rather than chemical..........create an abundant soil to almost eliminate inputs

[@jekesainjikizana9734]

That eliminates the need for soil samples sent to labs, biological and structural analysis should then therefore be done in situ in the cropping field and is best done in collaboration between perhaps farmer and agronomist rather than sent away to some analytical lab somewhere.

[@marksavoia3687]

@@jekesainjikizana9734 thats a good insight... Ultimately, our ancient ancestors used their spiritual senses to steward the earth.... we have a spiritual connection to our mother earth, just like we do with our mom.

[@nobakwaas5161]

there should be no soil analysis in the first place...

[@gavinmatthews5618]

Very interesting

[@nobakwaas5161]

Brilliant. I never tested my soil because deep down I didn't feel a need to. I thought: Who checks soil in the forest?

[@bobthrasher8226]

How would you define Agronomy from the consumer perspective - in other words in the consumer's best interest? How would this include "food as medicine" metrics?

[@vyoufinder]

Like anything else in every industry; the farmer needs to know that there are gimmicks aplenty. Being able to sift through them based on knowledge is required, and against pressure from seemingly knowledgeable others. Corporations care about their profits with no regard for yours.

[@oztraliangrown8208]

It seems there's alot to be unlearned from these tests ♻️ watch the plant, manage biology and soil structure

[@xx7101]

The breathless lionizing of SAP analysis! Isnt It curious that sap analysis isnt subjected to the same rigorous examination as chemistry based soil analysis. Sap analysis data is predicated on non standardized, proprietary protocols. The data often shows consistent skewing of particsluar values, Fe and Cl come to mind.

[@James-ol2fr]

Hey there, I know this is an old comment but I was hoping you'd expound. First, I'm not sure he is "ionizing," as I've heard him call sap analysis "the least innacurate" form of testing. Having said that, and considering the introductory information in this video, my understanding is that ALL tests are skewed at some points, and therefore bare some inaccuracy. If that's true, how can you know that sap analysis is skewed on these two particular minerals? What other tests are you holding it against to say you know those numbers are inaccurate? Thanks!

[@bobthrasher8226]

To a degree, doesn't foliar sprays approach plant nutrition from a "chemistry/hydroponic" perspective? Ideally, we would like soil biology to handle plant nutrition. In another podcast John Kempf made an astute observation that adding soluble fertilizers is to approach plant nutrition from a "hydroponic" perspective.

[@paulbraga4460]

how did i miss this? is it possible to get the slides presented here, particular the correlations charts for nutrients...blessings to all

[@AdvancingEcoAgriculture]

Hi Paul Braga, thanks for your interest. We are not releasing the slides in a public document, but the video is here if you need a refresher at any point :) - The AEA Team

[@mushethecowboycook9353]

Cant hear

[@oztraliangrown8208]

the love of money is the root of all evil