Soil Health
Labs that Conduct Soil Health Tests for NRCS CEMA 216
Soil testing can help producers understand what their land needs to function well. Soil fertility testing is a common practice to assess nutrient availability. Soil health testing is a more recent NRCS practice to help monitor soil health processes and indicators, including changes in soil structure, nutrient cycling, and water infiltration that might result from the use of cover crops. This document is provided to help producers select labs and soil health tests.
Download DocumentsLake Decatur Watershed Cover Crop Guide
This resource, created by The Nature Conservancy as part of the Lake Decatur Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), details cover crop seeding rates, dates, management, economics and suggested mixes in the Lake Decatur Watershed.
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Digging Deeper – Limiting Nitrate Loss with Successful Nutrient and Cover Crop Management
Nitrogen loss from agriculture is a primary source of water quality issues in Illinois and Midwestern states. Management considerations such as 4R Nutrient Stewardship and integrating cover crops can help reduce the potential for loss throughout the year. In addition to helping reduce nitrogen loss, effective integration of cover crops can also provide significant soil health and agronomic benefits.
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Digging Deeper – Cover Crops & N2O Emissions
A pair of short-duration studies on Illinois fields suggested that cover crops reduce nitrate leaching (a win for water quality) but may increase nitrous oxide (N2O, a greenhouse gas). ISAP wanted to dig deeper into potential trade-offs and understand the environmental costs and benefits of cover crops.
This guide describes denitrification, a microbial process that is responsible for most N2O emissions from agricultural soils, and breaks down scientific literature to understand the larger picture of cover crops and N2O.
Find the link to the two-page factsheet on the right. A longer version is also now available at the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00224561.2025.2580218.
Digging Deeper – More Than Trash – Why Residue Matters
More Than Trash – Why Residue Matters breaks down how residue from each crop impacts soil nitrogen availability. The resource explores key questions related to decomposition of residue, soil microbial activity, and why certain crop rotations require more N fertilizer than others. Ever wonder how soybean residue influences nitrogen availability for the next crop? Check out this resource to answer this question and many more!
To explore more resources, visit ISAP’s Digging Deeper page to access more soil health focused resources. The Digging Deeper series skips the basics, and digs right into the issues at hand. These resources provide detailed science-backed information for farmers and their advisors.
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Field Day Toolkit
This Field Day Toolkit is the product of Iowa Learning Farms’ many years of planning and hosting field day events across the state of Iowa. While ILF utilizes many different outreach approaches, the importance of farmer-to-farmer interactions cannot be overstated. Field days do matter!
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