Jay Baxter, a fourth-generation farmer in Delaware, says a couple of well-timed torrential rains became ‘ah hah! moments’ that ultimately led him to switch all of his cash crop production to no-till with the use of cover crops.

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Though Scientists have been studying soil for decades, the microscopic nature of fungi, bacteria and nematodes has veiled the important role they play in agriculture. But new tools are emerging all the time to uncover what’s going on in the soil.

Direct Driller magazine has been hosting a Soil Farmer of the Year competition for the last 5 years. The goal is to find, promote and champion farmers putting soil health at the center of their farm business management. 

When Marion Calmer bought his first farm back in the 1980s, a quote attributed to British mathematician Lord Kelvin was top of mind: “We can’t improve on things we don’t measure or research.”

Cover crops offer multiple mechanisms for helping to suppress weeds in a cropping system, from out-competing weeds to allelopathy.