Online Reference Sheets Help Guide Soil Health Tracking

The Montana State University Extension Soil Fertility Program recently released three online resources to help growers interpret soil test reports, calculate fertilizer rates, and understand the soil health gap concept. First, the “Soil Test Interpretation” reference sheet can help growers determine how soil test levels impact plant production and whether levels of particular nutrients are low or sufficient. Meanwhile, the “Fertilizer Rate Calculations” reference sheet explains how to determine fertilizer rates based on soil test results. A third reference sheet, “Soil Health Gap between Cropland and Uncultivated Soil,” details a method to evaluate land management based on a soil health benchmark provided by minimally disturbed land. This reference proposes that tracking the soil health gap every five years over the course of 15 to 20 years can identify how much soil health may improve with specific changes in field management.
Related ATTRA publication: Soil Health Indicators and Tests