A four-year University of Nebraska cover crop research project is exploring whether winter cover cropping in no-till corn and soybean systems can benefit soil quality despite their short growing season.

Kansas State University Extension explains how earthworms benefit soil fertility, organic matter and physical properties, and what to do to increase their population.

Michigan State University Extension explains how applying compost can help increase the soil’s organic matter content, which in turn increases its water-holding capacity.

A study found that crop rotations, in isolation from other management factors, can increase the functions performed by soil microbial communities that benefit plant growth.

When salts are present at normal levels, they help to stabilize soil particles, buffer soil pH and serve as a source of soil nutrients, according to South Dakota State University Extension.

More farmers, ranchers and others who rely on the land are taking action to improve the health of their soil

Manure is a valuable asset to livestock farmers who grow crops. It provides nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and potash - and helps maintain or increase soil health.

Beneath the snow now blanketing Michigan's corn fields lays a valuable but underused commodity: corn stover.

Change isn't always an easy sell to farmers who have relied on the same methodology for years or even decades, especially if they've had success. Farmers tend to rely on the two T's -- tillage and tradition, Minnesota strip-tiller David Legvold told me during a recent visit to his farm. In my opinion, you need to shift away from the traditional, and from practices that are damaging the soil.

In order to develop variable-rate prescriptions for crop inputs like seed and fertilizer, it is first necessary to delineate fields into regions of distinct yield potential (Butzen, et al., 2012), also known as management zones (MZ).