Events, Events, EVENTS!

Spring is upon us, and we’ve got some great events to keep you occupied well through the start of summer! Soil Regen will be hosting a number of upcoming events with a variety of topics including digital tools, soil testing, agriculture and brewing, management, and direct marketing. Find the one (or all) that fits your operation, and we will see you there!

Regenerative Verified Webinar - Mitchell Hora

Are you looking to learn more about soil testing, how you can use digital tools to understand your soil’s health, and learn how you can increase your profitability by taking care of your soil? Join Soil Regen as they meet with special guest Mitchell Hora to discuss these related topics and show you some helpful tools that you can use for your own operation. This event will be held online on March 28th, from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Central. You can register for this FREE event here.

Farm to Brew

Farmers, growers, supporters, beer drinkers, community… everyone is invited! We will see you at Textile Brewing Company in Dyersville, IA to learn about agriculture and it’s connection to the brewing industry. With The Big Show on WHO Radio, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Indigo Ag

, Soil Regen, Regen Mills, Sand County Foundation and ISU. Learn about the Regenerative Verification, THE BIG SOIL HEALTH EVENT, and the Iowa Leopold Award! This event will be held on March 30th, 2022 from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM. You can register for this event here.

Regenerative Verified Webinar - Russell Hedrick

Join Soil Regen as guest Russell Hedrick talks with us about using soil testing on his farm, nutrient management plans, farm management, direct marketing, and how to break the corn and soybean records utilizing regen ag in your own state. This FREE webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 13th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Central time.

Regenerative Verified Webinar - Adam Daugherty

In our final webinar of the Regenerative Verified series, Soil Regen will be joined by guest Adam Daughterty of the NRCS, where he will share his incredible knowledge about cover crops, soil testing, and regenerative ag management. This FREE webinar will be held on Wednesday, April 27th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Central time.

Farming for the Future

Join in an interactive experience with leading soil health experts and regenerative ag farmers to find solutions on your operation. This two day workshop will feature Rick Haney, Rick Clark, Adam Chappell, Lance Gunderson, Russell Hedrick, Jimmy Emmons, and Liz Haney as they discuss SHOP TALK! Farming for the Future will provide detailed information on advanced ag techniques, soil health testing and interpretation, and soil carbon and nutrient cycling. This event will be held in person at the Shady Villa Hotel in Salado, Texas on June 1-2. You can purchase tickets and register for this event at the link listed here.

Beyond the Yield

Brought to you by Regen Ag Lab and Soil Regen, Beyond the Yield brings you THE ENTIRE REGENERATIVE JOURNEY. From soil testing, to practice implementation, to marketing…… how do you actually make it happen. Join us to find out how! This event will be held June 27th - 28th in Kearney, Nebraska. You can purchase tickets and register here.

Soil Regen is proud to provide these events to the public and teach others the importance of regenerative ag practices. For more information on Soil Regen and our upcoming events, please visit our website listed below.

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Soil Regen

Your soil health legacy starts here

https://www.agsoilregen.com/

The Haney Test - Truth, Lies and Between

The Haney Test is a soil test that is often misunderstood. Here is the truth, lies, and in between. The Haney Test was originally developed by Dr. Rick Haney to help farmers reduce input costs naturally associated with farming. He had witnessed year after year, his friends and family struggling with a volatile market, unpredictable weather, high input costs, and threats of bankruptcy. BETWEEN all these factors it’s not a surprise that the farmer suicide rate is so high. While many believe that it was created as a soil health test, the TRUTH is that the Haney Test was initially developed to reduce nutrient inputs.

After many more years of test development and as the soil health movement began to grow, the concept of the Soil Health Nutrient Tool (SHNT) was born. I wanted to call it the Soil Health Integration Tool, but the acronym is not socially acceptable, although it would make a great t-shirt. Measuring soil health in a laboratory requires a multifaceted approach, which includes the measurement of chemical, physical and biological properties. Current laboratory protocols focus primarily on the former with little or no regard for the biological components playing a vital role in crop production and the overall quality and function of the soil ecosystem. The foundation of most conventional soil tests LIES within measuring chemical properties of soil is related to fertilizer responses seen in crop trials. Furthermore, conventional soil tests often rely on extracts composed of various chemicals not readily found in soil environments (really strong acids). The Haney test uses naturally occurring organic acids (common plant root exudates) to extract P, K, and micronutrients. Water, which happens to fall from the sky, is used to extract nitrate-N, ammonium, and water extractable organic N and C. Biological activity is assessed by measuring the amount of CO2 respiration coming from the microbes in the soil, because yes, they breath in O2 like us, and breathe out CO2, like us.

As the SHNT began to gain in popularity (or notoriety), people started to refer to it as The Haney Test. No Haney was involved in this decision. The TRUTH is, it’s quite awkward.

One common argument among academics is that the Haney test is not calibrated. The TRUTH is that the Haney test is calibrated to plant nutrient uptake under highly variable soil, biotic and climatic conditions. We have challenged many academic institutions to provide their so-called “calibrated” standard soil tests. To date, we have not received any of the data used in their plot trials. Who farms a 3 meter x 3 meter plot anyway? Our independent research did, however, did dig up these results, displaying the LIE that all standard soil tests are calibrated. The data below show a shotgun pattern response of yield with conventionally tested N availability. A shotgun pattern indicates that there is no relationship between yield and measured N.

The data in the graph below shows yield response to N fertilizer from 170 plots. The yield response is highly variable, yet recommendations are generated from that line going across the graph.

Research by this Dr. Haney (that would be Liz) showed high variability in yield and fertilizer applied to long-term wheat trials. Below, the gain in yield compared to fertilizer additions over 14 years indicates that additional fertilizer does not necessarily result with an increase in yield.

So what’s up with that? Well, it means that plant growth relative to fertilizer application varies with changing environmental conditions and cannot be predicted reliably. The interesting thing about this is that standard tests don’t account for changes in environmental conditions because they don’t account for soil biology. As it turns out, microbial communities do account for varying climatic conditions and these microbial communities are responsible for nutrient cycling and in turn, plant growth. Another interesting fact is that the Haney test analyzes for these microbial responses, hence the Haney test is calibrated to plant nutrient uptake under varying environmental conditions.

Is the Haney test perfect? No. Nobody ever said it was. It is however a better indicator of available nutrients and the health of the soil than conventional soil tests. On average, Mitchell Hora’s group saved farmers over $100 / acre in fertilizer costs using the Haney test. In over 100,000 samples, the Haney test found an additional 34 lbs of available N per acre over standard testing, resulting in a savings of over $37.4 / acre. So, your 1,000 acre farmer can save $37,400 in N costs alone. Stick that in your bank and spend it.

Regenerative Verified

Soil Regen Introduces Regenerative VerifiedTM Label

The first rigorous and scientifically backed Regenerative VerifiedTM process is now available to the agricultural and food industries.

Salado, Texas: Soil Regen announces Regenerative VerifiedTM, a new scientifically rigorous process to validate labeling of food products grown and produced using regenerative farming practices. Using a two-step system of certified soil testing analysis, along with production management verification, this innovative process confirms and validates the use of the Regenerative VerifiedTM label. Soil testing analysis will be conducted by Regen Ag Lab and regenerative farming practices include but are not limited to: cover crops, rotational grazing, mob grazing, reducing fertilizer inputs, reducing synthetic chemical inputs, diverse crop rotations, minimizing mechanical soil disturbance.

Recent studies suggest food grown using regenerative farming practices contain increased density of mineral micronutrients, higher omega-3 fats, and a better-balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in beef and pork (Montgomery et al., 2022). This research supports Steffan et al., 2017, assertion that soil has a profound effect on human health. Furthermore, research indicates consumers are willing to pay a premium for food products grown using methods to improve water quality and reduce carbon footprints.

Our Regenerative VerifiedTM process provides traceability, transparency, identity preservation, and increased profitability for hard working farmers will satisfying the consumer demand for nutritious food which is also good for the environment - Dr. Liz Haney, co-owner of Soil Regen.

Farmers, Ranchers, and food companies are encouraged to partner up with Soil Regen, the first company to offer Regenerative VerifiedTM with Regenerative Certified laboratory testing by contacting Liz Haney, Ph.D. - liz@agsoilregen.com or Russell Hedrick - russell@agsoilregen.com or by visiting www.agsoilregen.com

About Us: Soil Regen is the conviction that the foundation of agriculture starts from the ground up with soil/plant interactions. By partnering with nature and utilizing holistic management practices, our team of experts and consultants work with farmers and ranchers to improve farmer/rancher profitability, human health, resilience to climate, carbon storage, water quality, and quantity. Devoted to American Farmers regenerating the land, Soil Regen puts farmers first by verifying and validating Regeneratively GrownTM grain and Regenerative VerifiedTM products.

References

Montgomery DR, Biklé A, Archuleta R, Brown P, Jordan J. 2022. Soil health and nutrient density: preliminary comparison of regenerative and conventional farming. PeerJ 10:e12848 DOI 10.7717/peerj.12848

Steffan JJ, Brevik EC, Burgess LC, Cerda A. 2017. The effect of soil on human health: an overview. Eur J Soil Sci. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejss.12451/full

The Regenerative Verified Process