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Sharing Soil Science

Working in conjunction with Ohio State University professors, Fairfield County Farm Bureau hosted three soil scientists from India to share information and concerns about soil management. Fairfield County Farm Bureau members Larry Hoover and Roger Wolfe invited the scientists to their farms to share their soil management programs.

Also on hand for the day of soil examination were Joe Stieger, retiree of the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District; George Hall and Frank Hall, Ohio State soil scientists; and Tim Street, OFBF organization director for Fairfield, Licking, Ross and Hocking counties.

"We had much in common and shared the same concerns for soil health, proper balance of nutrients, crop production, pollution and the importance of sustainable agriculture and food production," Wolfe said.

The scientists from India were interested in the members’ soil management and were eager to examine the soil. Several holes were dug to examine the corn root system and the soil structure. The scientists were impressed by the number of earthworms and the large wormholes in the soil. The Indian scientists investigated Wolfe’s soil strip/ridge tilling and no-till practices. They also looked at the different tillage tools and planters sold by the Hoover family.

The scientists returned to India impressed with the Fairfield County Farm Bureau members’ regards to sustainable agriculture, food production and the environment.