BENEFITS & CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY SOIL
SOIL HEALTH BENEFITS
Farmers who manage their land in ways that improve and sustain soil health will benefit from optimized inputs, sustainable outputs and increased resiliency. Healthy soils benefit all producers: from managers of large farms to people with small, organic vegetable gardens. Healthy soils provide financial benefits for farmers, ranchers and gardeners, and environmental benefits that affect everyone.

Some benefits of healthy soils are:

Increased Production: Healthy soils typically have more organic matter and soil organisms which improve soil structure, aeration, water retention, drainage and nutrient availability. Organic matter holds more nutrients in the soil until the plants need them.

Increased Profits: Healthy soils may require fewer passes over fields because they are only minimally tilled and they aren’t over-reliant upon excessive nutrient inputs such as fertilizers to grow crops. Healthy soils can increase farmers’ profit margins by reducing labor and expenses for fuel, and optimizing inputs.
Other benefits of healthy soils include:
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Added nutrients into the soil
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Improved soil structure, texture and aeration
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Increased water-holding capacity of soil
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Loosen clay soils and helps sandy soils retain watern
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Stimulation of healthy root development
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Reduction on reliance of petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides
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Reduction for need for irrigation
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Control erosion and stormwater sediment
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Reduces weeds naturally when applied as mulch
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Promotion of soil fertility
CHARACTERISTICS OF HEALTHY SOIL
Good Soil Drainage - Even after a heavy rain, a healthy soil will drain more rapidly as a result of good soil structure and an adequate distribution of different size pore spaces, but also retain adequate water for plant uptake.

Free from chemicals and toxins that may be harmful to crop - Healthy soils are either devoid of harmful chemicals and toxins or can detoxify and/or bind such chemicals making them unavailable for plant uptake due to their richness in stable organic matter and diverse microbial communities.

Sufficient depth - Sufficient depth refers to the extent of the soil profile to which roots are able to grow and function. A soil with a shallow depth as a result of a compaction layer or past erosion is more susceptible to extreme fluctuations in the weather, thus predisposing the crop to drought or flooding stress

Low weed pressure - Weed pressure is a major constraint in crop production. Weeds compete with crops for water and nutrients that are essential for plant growth. Weeds can interfere with stand establishment, block sunlight, interfere with harvest and cultivation operations, and harbour disease causing pathogens and pests.
Other characteristics of healthy soils include:
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Good soil tilth
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Sufficient but not excess supply of nutrients
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Small population of pathogens and insect pests
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Large population of beneficial organisms
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Resistant to degradation
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Presence of earthworms
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Good pH for crop
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Good water holding capacity
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Good nutrient holding capacity
You can get a Soil Health Assessment by conducting a laboratory soil test using a range of physical, chemical and biological indicators. To get your soil assessed Now please contact our offices for more details.