News

  1. Baseline Assessment of Soil Health in Ohio

    Nov 7, 2022

    As our understanding of soil health advances, farmers are increasingly interested in assessing and improving soils on their farms. Several commercial labs now offer soil health analyses but generating values in a lab is only the first step. A frame of reference for what constitutes a typical, low, or high soil health value is essential for understanding these tests and inferring soil function. A common question farmers ask is, “What’s a good soil health number?”

  2. New eField Study Report Available

    Feb 24, 2021

    New eFields study shows soil health values across Ohio farms and how management impacts soil health. Read full report here.

  3. Updated Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations Now Available

    Dec 9, 2020

    Updated Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations Now Available
    Steve Culman, Anthony Fulford, James Camberato, Kurt Steinke, Laura Lindsey, Greg LaBarge, Harold Watters, Ed Lentz, Ryan Haden, Eric Richer, Bethany Herman, Nicole Hoekstra, Peter Thomison, Rich Minyo, Anne Dorrance, Jeff Rutan, Darryl Warncke, Cassandra Brown

  4. How do we collectively conceptualize “soil health” and how do we use that to guide meaningful research and extension?

    Dec 9, 2020

    How do you define "soil health"? How does that compare to others definitions? Former Culman lab PhD student and postdoc, Dr. Jordon Wade, and fellow OSU colleges sent out a survey to ask farmers and other researchers a few key questions:

  5. Welcome to Our New Graduate Students: Theresa and Louceline!

    Jun 15, 2020

    Welcome to our two new graduate students for fall of 2020!

    Theresa will be persuing her Master's degree and Louceline will be working towards her Ph.D. A little bit about each student and was their research will be can be found below.

     

  6. Wade

    Congrats Jordon Wade on publishing expansive soil health study!

    Jun 12, 2020

    Former Culman lab PhD student and postdoc, Dr. Jordon Wade just published an important study to help validate some important assumptions we hold about the value of soil health in agriculture. Jordon aggregated research corn N rate trials across the Midwest to ask the question "do improvements in soil health translate into increases in yield?". The answer is a pretty straightforward yes. Increases in soil health can help mitigate the risk of underfertilizing with N.

  7. Congratulations to Leo Deiss for Advancing IR Methodology!

    Jun 8, 2020

    Establishing best practices for diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (mid-DRIFTS) of soils is a high priority to enable robust soil testing. Our aims were to determine suitable experimental parameters to optimize analytical and predictive applications of high-throughput mid-DRIFTS in soil analysis. Based on a series of three papers that evaluated A) sample preparation, B) instrument setup for spectra acquisition, and C) data processing (chemometrics), we provide recommendations on how to improve mid-DRIFTS efficiency to measure soil properties.

  8. What to do about Nitrogen Fertilizer in Corn?

    Jul 8, 2019

    The most recent Agronomic Crops Network C.O.R.N. newsletter contains an article addressing common questions about nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications in corn. The article addresses concerns due to persistent rain this year causing concern about N loss from denitrification and leaching. Common questions being asked are addressed and include:

    Do I need additional N?

    What tools can help me determine if I need additional N?

    How late and how much N should be applied?

    What is the best N source to use?

    The full article can be accessed HERE

  9. New fact sheet reporting relationships between soil test extractants published by Culman Lab

    Jun 18, 2019

    The Soil Fertility Lab has published a fact sheet reporting their results investigating the relationships between commonly used soil test extractants in the Tri-State Region. The fact sheet reports findings for soil samples collected in Ohio and Indiana from a diverse range of fields. Soils were tested for Mehlich-3, Bray-P, and ammonium acetate extractable nutrients for phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg). The summary of findings can be found in the full news article and the fact sheet can be found HERE

  10. The Soil Fertility Lab has two new graduates!

    Apr 30, 2019

    We are excited to announce that the Culman Lab has two new graduates! Congratulations to Jordon Wade and Noely Gonzalez-Maldonado on completing their graduate degrees. Jordon's PhD dissertation, entitled "Soil Health and Nutrient Dynamics in Agroecosystems of the Midwestern US", focused on elucidating how soil health measurements influence and are influenced by fertilizer applications. Noely's MS work, entitled "Evaluating the Effects of Long-Term No-Till and Crop Rotations in Soil Health and Corn Productivity, focused on determining the effects of half a century of continuous no-till and crop rotation on soil health and its relationship with crop productivity. Both theses will be made available on our website soon!

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