PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA, NE PERMIT NO. 36
Volume VI, Statewide Issue 3
June 2013
Less oil and less toil Ray Archuleta, a Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation agronomist from North Carolina, discusses the results of a soil health experiment conducted during a program at the Boulders Conference Center in Denison on June 4. Archuleta and Ohio farmer Dave Brandt also conducted soil health programs in Ames and Cedar Rapids on June 5 and 6. Photo by Gordon Wolf
Archuleta teaches NRCS employees, farmers how to build healthy soil by Gordon Wolf In “the Soil Guy’s” view, crop production is about soil health with the goal to farm in nature’s image. This involves using diverse cover crop mixes and learning how the soil’s ecosystem works. Standing in front of a filled room at the Boulders Conference Center in Denison on June 4, Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation agronomist Ray “the Soil Guy” Archuleta demonstrated how healthy soil, when dropped into a container of water, will maintain its integrity and stay intact, while a sample of the same
type of soil, conventionally farmed a mile away from the no-till sample, will fall apart. During the demonstration, Archuleta threw out terms such as biotic glue and cementing agents to the NRCS agents and farmers present, teaching them about holistic, regenerative farming. The soil sample used in the demonstration came from a farm that had been no-tilled for 40 years, had not been treated with inorganic fertilizer and is treated with only one herbicide. The land has been no-till drilled since 1971. Continuing with the
demonstration, Archuleta commented, “We don’t want the soils to fall apart. We want to see which one holds its integrity. As we drop soil (into the water), the water is going to rush in to fill in. If the soil falls apart, it’s lost its integrity. The biotic glue and cementing agents have fallen apart.” Archuleta continued that Ohio farmer Dave Brandt (who also spoke on June 4) is growing corn at inputs of $1.10 a bushel. Even if the price goes down to $3 per bushel, Brandt is still making money, he commented. “The key indicator of
a healthy soil – show me the cost of your inputs - what are you growing your grain for,” Archuleta stated. “That’s the bottom line. I want you to make money.” He explained that healthy soils, healthy plants, healthy animals and a healthy watershed are all connected. Archuleta continued that the moment soil is tilled, the natural system is disturbed. “What brings the (soil) tilth is the biotic glues, the biotic cementing agent, the organo-mineral complexes built by the organisms and the plants, the
earthworms, bacteria and fungus. They change the environment around them. “Without them we would just have sand particles and clay. It would be a dead medium. This is called niche construction. Organisms change environment,” Archleta stated. He said that by tilling, farmers wake up bacteria that eats the biotic glues and organic matter in the soil, the copiotrophic bacteria. “The moment you put manure on top of the surface, they multiply. The moment you till, you feed the house. Tillage is like cancer of the soil,” Archu-
leta stated. “You take a normal metabolic process and you cause it to feed upon itself. They multiply and very quickly eat the glues, and then the soils collapse.” Archuleta stated learning how to build healthy soil involves understanding how to facilitate the collaboration of the natural ecosystems. He said he began promoting soil health and cover crops when he saw farmers going broke and he began to question things, including modern agriculture. SOIL, Page 14