Cover crops are gaining more interest among Midwestern corn and soybean growers looking to improve soil quality, combat compaction, eliminate erosion and maximize soil nutrients.

The Haney test is intended to select robust soil biological activity even if the overall percent organic matter isn’t great. But it’s an open question of what “enough” biological activity is, so interpreting tests like the Haney can be difficult.

There has been a lot of talk about soil carbon farming in the last few years. The USDA describes “soil carbon farming” as “the use of specific on-farm practices designed to take carbon out of the air and store it in soils and plant material.”