Potato Grower

September 2017

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42 POTATO GROWER | SEPTEMBER 2017 Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In Diggin' In SOIL| By Dominic LaJoie & Andrew Plant Soil maintenance and refurbishment A Little TLC At the end of a long growing season when temperatures drop, crops get harvested and put into storage, and thoughts (daydreams) stray to traveling to warmer destinations or taking a snowmobile trip, growers are often snapped back to the reality of one last thing to do: Put things away for the winter. All the tools, implements and tractors need to get serviced and put under cover in preparation for next year's crop. Growers do it because it's the right thing to do. They are investments. They cost money. The need to last as long as possible in order to maximize their financial efficiency. Think of the greatest investment you have on your farm, and think about how you care for it. Did you pick land as your investment? If you answered "Yes," that's good. If not, here's why you should. (More specifically, it's not necessarily the land, but the soil that resides on that land.) Your land (soil) is the piece of equipment that—when properly cared for—won't depreciate in value, and should grow much more valuable in the future considering future global land and food needs. Often, however, it isn't considered as the investment it really is; it's a tool, an instrument, an implement, a piece of equipment that helps you grow your crops. It may not have the single greatest monetary value of the things you own, but it's the one thing common to producing the crops you make your living from year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation. Our point? Treat it like your greatest on-farm possession. Consider ways to maintain it, improve it, update its operating system, grease its wheels. At a recent Soil Health Initiative meeting sponsored by the National Potato Council and Soil Health Institute, soil and its health in potato production systems was discussed and defined as a vital, living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans. Five principles for soil health were discussed at this meeting. They are listed them below, suggestions of how to fit them into potato production systems. 1. Minimize Soil Disturbance • Every time we till, we burn off soil carbon and negatively impact soil physical structure and microbiology. • Minimize tillage: One-pass hilling, chemical tillage, improved tillage timing • No-till: Incorporate no-till systems such as grains, beans and cover crops, into crop rotations 2. Cover Your Soil • Much like we put our equipment and implements under cover for the winter months, we should also do the same for our soils. Essentially, think of this as keeping

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