The University of Minnesota Extension Crops team has launched a new website that offers research-based resources to help producers improve soil and crop productivity while minimizing environmental risks.

The Soil Management and Health website features articles and videos in four primary sections:

Soil properties. This includes descriptions of Minnesota soils and how they are formed, the importance of soil structure and the roles of organic matter and soil biology in building structure.

Tillage and soil management. This includes resources for reducing soil compaction and erosion, managing crop residue and evaluating tillage systems.

Cover crops. This includes discussions on the benefits of cover crops, and resources for selecting, establishing and maintaining them.

Soil fertility. This provides a direct link to the U-M Extension nutrient management website, which houses current crop fertilizer suggestions and data from the university.

The website also includes presentations, an "A-to-Z library" to find topics more easily, and links to other university soil websites. It includes a calendar of events and links to presentations given at past meetings, such as the annual Conservation Tillage Conference.

Extension members of the soil management and health team are Jodi DeJong-Hughes, Extension educator, [email protected], 320-235-0726, Mid-Central Research and Outreach Center, Willmar; Liz Stahl, Extension educator, [email protected], 507-372-3900, Worthington; and Scott Wells, Extension forage/cropping systems agronomist, [email protected], 612-625-3747, St. Paul campus.

Visit the new soil management and health website at z.umn.edu/soil.

Source: U-M Extension