I am a Professor of Soil Science, and a lover of nature, the Earth, sound farming, the poetry of biogeochemical cycles and the dignity of honest human beings.
Maryland, USA
Joined July 2009
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Ray R. Weil retweeted
We often overlook the life beneath our feet.
But tiny animals like dung beetles keep soil healthy and our food systems strong. 🌱
As #COP16Colombia begins, let's push leaders to #ActForOurPlanet and protect the life which sustains us. 🌍 #NaturesTechnicians
Removed from gas 50 years ago, legacy #lead still contaminates #forest #soils near roads. Tires also emit zinc to contaminate such soils. Zinc, not lead, bio-accumulated in #earthworms. @UMD_AGNR @JEnvironQual doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20642
#3 in #regenerativeag #organic corn without chemicals or tillage. Progressing nicely. youtube.com/watch?v=sg_MIeN3… Organic crop follows 4 transition strategies. But everything has to be right. Shot footage at the nearest (& best) of 4 farms. Corn at other sites looks fair to failure.
Stopping by the mailroom I saw this sign of a #soilartist hidden someplace in old HJ Patterson Hall! 🎨Beltsville silt loam tan, glauconite green, old #soilsurvey sample jars? Reminds me of when I found a handmade beta version of the Munsell #soilcolor book from the 1920s Bureau
ORGANIC REGENERATIVE FARMING #2: Soil Mulched & Full of Life as Organic ... youtu.be/qkbJikFpaF4 via @YouTube 10 days after no-till planting in high biomass living cover crop, corn emerges through protective mulch. No rain but soil is moist, full of visible life. Feels right.
Was worried about the long vetch vines wrapping around the planter wheels, but this wasn't a problem. Here's a close-up of the planter action (which was followed by rolling).
Regenerative Organic Corn No-till Planting Green without Chemicals youtu.be/nc9WbjVyzZo via @YouTube
Beautiful! Transitioning to #Organic #Grain (@USDA_NIFA)-corn bioassays 3 years of transition strategies. Amazing #soillife compared to tilled bare soil. Timing & equipment adjustment!
#PlantingGreen into Vetch-Rye #CoverCrop for Organic Corn youtu.be/Ju167AaO4rA via @YouTube
Sadly, yesterday #regenerativeagriculture lost a pioneer: Dave Brandt died in an accident. He was down to earth but looked to the stars. I gave #soilhealth talks to ~200 farmers at Dave's field day in 2015. Here's him showing his 30 yr #notill soil after 3" rain. Let us carry on!
Beautiful mixed rye-hairy vetch #covercrop soon ready to roller crimp. Each species helps the other & both help #SoilHealth & #corn crop. Thanks, @USDA NIFA & Kevin Conover of @UMD_AGNR research farm for timely interseeding vetch into soybeans, then drilling rye after harvest.
ALT Purple vetch flowers and green vetch vines growing on cereal rye stems.
This cover crop is part of a management strategy to #transition the land to certified #organicfarming so the cover needs to be killed mechanically, not chemically. Letting both species grow to full flower is a must for effective roller-crimping & #notill planting.
My students having fun (and getting great communication practice) introducing #covercrops and their #ecosystem services to urban families at the @UMD_AGNR's open house. The level of interest was encouraging for the #USDA_NIFA #Thriving_Agric_in_Urban_Landscapes project!
Deeply loosened permanent planting beds require double the labor in year1, but are #notill (and no-step) thereafter. Crop yields are doubled in the first growing season and for years after, while labor is lower due to no tillage or ridge construction.
Many #African ag #soils have a root-restrictive #plowpan at ~10-30 cm depth, often caused by annual tillage on wet soils. #Foodproduction is constrained by #water & ##nutrients available in 0-20 cm of soil.
Thanks @IsaacChavulau of Tiyeni, for showing me a few of the 1000’s smallholder farmers who have adopted their permanent deep-dug bed system, with contour-tied furrows and compost in planting holes.
Video starts in standard ridged field and pans to Tiyeni photos.app.goo.gl/Smd8tDkdjJ…
Our new paper shows aerial #Interseeding deep-rooted #covercrops early before #corn or #soybean harvest reduces #nitrateleaching on average even if stands aren't as uniform as those drilled later. Especially in wet fall (like 2018). jswconline.org/content/early…
Getting started on @FoodShotGlobal #sulfur to @protein project in Africa. Soil fertility to enhance methionine. Conducted "job interview" over soft drinks in tiny roadside shop. #Beans and #groundnuts are in bloom, so hope to do #onfarmtrials with foliar Epsom Salts next week.
Barret was one of the most remarkable students I've taught in 40 years at @Universityofmaryland. A pioneer in subaqueous @soils. My alma mater, @MichiganStateUniversity, is lucky to have nabbed him!
I'm happy to share my latest pedology publication: Application and evaluation of a subaqueous soil‐landscape conceptual model in the West River subestuary, Maryland. AKA, bootstrapping in soil survey! acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.c…
