NCERA_old13: Soil Testing and Plant Analysis
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
Date of Annual Report: 05/23/2017
Report Information
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 05/22/2017
Participants
Culman, Steve – Ohio State UniversityDahl, Jon – Michigan State University
Florence, Robert – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kaiser, Daniel – University of Minnesota
Laboski, Carrie – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mallarino, Antonio - Iowa State University
Nathan, Manjula – University of Missouri
Ruiz-Diaz, Dorivar – Kansas State University
Stammer, Andrew – Kansas State University
Brief Summary of Minutes
- The meeting began at 1 pm, 2/14/2017.
- Committee membership discussion: Some states do not have a representative, and some current representatives are not in the NIMMS web site. A new Nebraska representative is listed on the NIMMS web site but the committee Chair was not contacted. Mallarino will contact the person listed and will include the name in the committee email addresses list. Illinois and South Dakota have no representative since previous ones left retired. North Dakota and Ohio have representatives but are not listed in the NIMMS web site. The new Chair will make contacts to update representation and listing.
- Update about the 2017 North-Central Region Soil and Plant Analyst Workshop will be held after this committee meeting ends, from 1 pm February 14 until noon February 15. Everything is ready, and its organization through committee members’ work with Brent Pringnitz, Coordinator of the Iowa State University Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Programming Office has been very good. A specific website for the workshop includes information. Attendee fees were set at $70 or $90 for early or late (and on-site) registrations.
- Committee website update: Nothing to report. Nathan posts information when needed
- NAPT report: Robert Florence is the current NCERA-13 representative until Fall 2018. There was discussion about improving plant analysis proficiency. Solvita (CO2 burst) is offered by some labs separately or as part of the Haney’s assessment tool. There is ongoing research in the region about its actual significance for N fertilization needs and as part of a soil health assessment tool. There is concern in that if the NAPT includes proficiency testing for the Solvita test, it will suggest that it should be done. For any test, there should be at least 6 labs doing it.
- Hot topic discussion 1: 360 SoilScan for field measurement of soil nitrate – Several issues were discussed. There are no university or USDA/ARS comparisons of this method with the traditional laboratory method. Since this is a field test, involving sample handling procedures and extraction/analysis methods, how should we evaluate/certify this and others like it? Should we develop a one page set of criteria for adding a method to our methods publication? The committee decided that Culman will lead a subcommittee to discuss this.
- Hot topic discussion 2: Challenges created by a colleague from another state of the region saying things that discredit the value of soil testing and suggest using only nutrient removal only for fertilizer recommendations. Could this be addressed with a joint newsletter article?
- Hot topic discussion 3: Value of a public laboratories – Is a regional NCERA-13 white paper needed? Could use a as a starting point a very good article written by David Kissel. There was no decision; perhaps a topic for next meeting.
- Next committee meeting: It was decided that it will be held on November 14-15, 2017.
- The meeting adjourned at 11:45 am 2/15/2017. Members will attend the Workshop which begins at 1 pm.
Accomplishments
<p>The main outreach activity of the committee is the North-Central Region Soil-Plant Analyst Workshop that is held every two years. The 2017 workshop was completed successfully, with 77 attendees from private laboratories, soil-testing equipment industry, and universities of the region. All attendees paid a registration fee to support workshop costs. A proceedings of the workshop with articles or abstracts is being prepared to be posted online.</p><br /> <p> The committee advanced work to update several chapters of the committee publication Recommended Chemical Soil Test Procedures for the North Central Region. In the previous year we completed the update of the sulfur methods chapter. During this year, we continued work in the chapters Organic Matter, Micronutrients, Phosphorus, and Potassium.</p>Publications
<p>Dick, W.A., and Steven W. Culman. 2017. Biological and biochemical tests for assessing soil fertility. Soil Fert. Manag. Agroecosyst. p. 134-147.</p><br /> <p>Jones, J.D., and A.P. Mallarino. 2016. Influence of source and particle size on agricultural limestone efficiency at increasing soil pH. p. 91-96. In 65th North-Central Extension-Industry Soil Fertility Conf. Proceedings. Nov. 2-3 2016. Vol. 32. Des Moines, IA. International Plant Nutrition Institute, Brookings, SD.</p><br /> <p>Sawyer, J.E., and A.P. Mallarino. 2016. Using manure nutrients for crop production. Publ. PMR 1003 (Revised). Iowa State Univ. Extension. Ames.</p><br /> <p>Sutradhar, A.K., D.E. Kaiser, and L.M. Behnken. 2017. Soybean response to broadcast application of boron, chlorine, manganese, and zinc. Agron. J. 109:1048-1059.</p><br /> <p>Sutradhar, A.K., D.E. Kaiser, C. Rosen, and J.A. Lamb. 2016. Boron for crop production. Publ.AG-FO-0723-C (Rev. 2016). Univ. of Minnesota Extension.</p><br /> <p>Sutradhar, A.K., D.E. Kaiser, C. Rosen, and J.A. Lamb. 2016. Zinc for crop production. Publ. FO-0720-C (Rev. 2016). Univ. of Minnesota Extension.</p>Impact Statements
- The committee website was updated with information on soil and plant analysis methods and information on education activities, such as the North central Region workshop.
Date of Annual Report: 12/20/2017
Report Information
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 09/30/2017
Participants
Frank Casey, North Dakota State University, Administrator NCERA-13Antonio Mallarino, Iowa State Univ. Chair, Iowa rep
David Franzen, North Dakota State Univ. Recording Secretary, ND rep
Renuka Mathur, Iowa State Univ., visitor
Anthony Bly, South Dakota State Univ., SDSU rep
David Karki, South Dakota State Univ., visitor
Sakmi Subburayalu, Central State Univ., visitor
Manjula Nathan, University of Missouri, Missouri rep
Shiny Mathews, North Dakota State Univ., visitor
Jim Camberato, Purdue, visitor
Carrie Laboski, Univ. of Wisconsin, Wisconsin rep
Dorivar Ruiz-Diaz, Kansas State Univ., Kansas rep
Jon Dahl, Michigan State Univ., Michigan rep
Dan Kaiser, Univ. of Minnesota, Minnesota rep
Andrew Stammer, Kansas State Univ., visitor
Steve Culman, The Ohio State Univ., Ohio rep
Bijesh Maharjan, Univ. of Nebraska, Nebraska rep
Brief Summary of Minutes
Accomplishments
<p>Short-term</p><br /> <p> Farmers and ag-industry professionals learn about soil testing and recommendations to farmers and ag-industry professionals in the North Central Region.</p><br /> <p> </p><br /> <p>Outputs</p><br /> <p> State recommendations are updated regularly and soil testing/plant analysis themes are woven into presentations by member faculty.</p><br /> <p> </p><br /> <p>Activities</p><br /> <p> A complete overhaul of fertilizer recommendations is in progress at North Dakota State University, and will be finished by Jan 1, 2018. Other institutions are continually assessing soil test calibration to make certain that current recommendations and soil testing/plant analysis methods support a high level of commercial agriculture, environmental stewardship and utility for site-specific nutrient application.</p><br /> <p>Milestone</p><br /> <p> A circular will be published in 2018 and available on the web to explain deficiencies in the soil testing method interpretations for soil sulfur availability to corn and other crops.</p>Publications
Impact Statements
- Modernization of North Dakota nutrient recommendations There have been two important changes to North Dakota fertilizer recommendations. The first is the end of yield-based nutrient recommendations. First reported by researchers at Oklahoma State University about 15 years ago, then incorporated in the ‘return to N’ models adopted by Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio about 10 years ago, nitrogen rate is not related to yield between sites. Recent work in North Dakota has also found that eliminating yield goal as a factor in nitrogen, phosphorus and other plant nutrient recommendations was important in building a more environmentally friendly and profitable recommendation system. Changes in all crop nutrient recommendations will be completed about January 1, 2018. This will result in greater farm profitability as farmers realize that the same fertilizer rate necessary to produce an average yield will also produce the highest possible yield in a more favorable year controlled by amount of precipitation, precipitation timing, and favorable growing season temperatures. In addition, the potassium response of corn was related to soil test results in North Dakota, but only if the ratio of smectitic clay to illite clay chemistry was considered. In a two-tiered recommendation, with the smectite/illite ration of 3.5 considered as critical, higher ratio soils require a higher soil test compared with soils with a lower ratio. Following these new recommendations will produce up to 30 bushels per acre more corn in a dry summer compared to following the old potassium soil test recommendations, and will result in more reasonable potassium fertilizer rates and a more profitable potassium fertilizer input system.
Date of Annual Report: 06/07/2019
Report Information
Period the Report Covers: 11/14/2017 - 02/27/2019
Participants
Antonio Mallarino, Iowa State Univ. Chair, Iowa repDavid Franzen, North Dakota State Univ. (Attended over phone 0n 25 and joined on 26th -ND rep
Carrie Laboski, Univ. of Wisconsin, Wisconsin rep
Jon Dahl, Michigan State Univ., Michigan rep
Jason Clark, South Dakota State University rep
Andrew Margenot- Illinois rep, attended only on the 2nd day the Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Workshop and presented
Dan Kaiser, Univ. of Minnesota, Minnesota rep- attended via skype meeting
Andrew Stammer, University of Wisconsin., visitor
Steve Culman, The Ohio State Univ., Ohio rep
Sakthi Subburayalu, Central State Univ., visitor
Brief Summary of Minutes
Accomplishments
<p>Short-term outcomes: We have no short-term outcomes to report with firm metrics.</p><br /> <p>A white paper on the problems with the sulfur soil has been added to the NCERA-13 publications on the website.</p><br /> <p>A draft of phosphorus methods has been completed and is being circulated among members.</p><br /> <p>Activities: The biannual Soil testing and plant analysis workshop was held Feb. 26-27 in Iowa City, IA. The meeting was well attended by industry with about 50 attending. The agenda is included in the minutes and on the NIMMS website.</p><br /> <p>Milestones: The draft revision of phosphorus methods have been completed, with the goal of uploading the revision by November, 2019.</p>Publications
Impact Statements
- The laboratories in the North Central Region represented in NCERA-13 have continued to represent the standard in soil testing procedures in the region. The evidence for this is the attendance at the 2019 Soil Testing Workshop of representatives from most of the soil testing laboratories in the region. The soil and plant analysis methods recommended by the committee are used by most of the soil/plant testing laboratories in the region.
Date of Annual Report: 03/05/2021
Report Information
Period the Report Covers: 11/06/2019 - 01/08/2021
Participants
Francis Casey, Administrative Advisor, North Dakota State UniversityDavid Franzen, NDSU, chair
Manjula Nathan, University of Missouri, recording secretary
Steven Culman, The Ohio State University
Jon Dahl, Michigan State University
Daniel Kaiser, University of Minnesota
Jason Clark, South Dakota State University
Carrie Laboski & Andrew Stammer, University of Wisconsin
Sylvie Brouder, Purdue University
Andrew Margenot, University of Illinois
Antonio Mallarino, Iowa State University
Bijesh Maharajan, University of Nebraska
Dorivar Ruiz-Diaz, Kansas State University
Brief Summary of Minutes
Accomplishments
<p>Objectives- stated in renewal document-</p><br /> <p> 1. Develop a regional guidance manual explaining appropriate methods or strategies for soil sampling, including the pros and cons of the various methods available to producers and the agronomic professionals that work with them.</p><br /> <p> Activities conducted regarding objective 1. All of the procedures in our soil testing manual are still appropriate. Modification of recommendations for potassium have been made with consideration of clay chemistry of soils in North Dakota. This modification is being explored in Minnesota and South Dakota. The soil testing method itself is unchanged from our manual. Mehlich 3 extractant was discussed in our meeting and its use has been investigated by most states in the region. Not all states are able to use the extractant for all crop nutrients. It varies state by state.</p><br /> <p>2. Develop a regional guidance document for the concepts and rationale used to develop phosphorus and potassium fertilizer recommendations. The ultimate objective of this activity will be to develop fertilizer recommendations that are based on differences in crop, soil, climate and management rather than state boundaries.</p><br /> <p> Activities conducted regarding objective 2. The modifications of the North Dakota potassium recommendations is the primary focus of work, due to its importance in linking recommendations with clay chemistry. The clay chemistry is not bounded by state boundaries, thus having adjacent state investigate its utility is important to farmers working both sides of state lines as well as the rest of the farm populations in those states.</p><br /> <p>3. Develop a more formalized structure for information exchange between university and commercial soil test laboratory personnel throughout the region. This will likely include alternating the time for annual meetings every other year to allow for more commercial soil testing laboratory personnel input.</p><br /> <p> This objective was not able to be addressed in 2020. The Covid outbreak and subsequent restrictions on travel and research in most states made it impossible to hold a meeting in that year, particularly with independent laboratories. The 2020 meeting scheduled between the southern, northeast and northcentral regions has been postponed until June 2021 in a virtual format.</p><br /> <p>4. Develop and improve a website to improve the marketing of the products and activities generated by this committee.</p><br /> <p> The website hosted by University of Missouri continues to be our location for posting our soil testing procedures manual and any other publications that might be of interest to soil testing laboratories</p><br /> <p>5. Organize every other year a soil testing and plant analysis conference/workshop targeted to public laboratories to foster the use and understanding of improved soil/tissue testing methods and interpretations in the North-Central region.</p><br /> <p> This conference/workshop is tentatively planned for winter 2022.</p><br /> <p> </p>Publications
<p>No new publications.</p>Impact Statements
- The NCERA13 Soil Testing Committee continues to support soil testing for crop nutrient status and forms the foundation for any commercial or organic fertilizer amendment recommendation in the North Central States of the USA. The work by the members of the committee supports the validity of hundreds of thousands of soil analyses conducted in the region annually. The soil analyses values have a research basis and have been calibrated and correlated with positive crop responses. This ensures that soil analyses values have meaning in terms of what they mean for crop production and enables economical and environmentally sound nutrient management decisions by farmers. The existence of these procedures and the continuing research into possible improved procedures and modifications of the recommendations based on these procedures results in greater farm profit and sounder environmentally friendly crop nutrient decisions from farmers utilizing soil testing than farmers who do not.
Date of Annual Report: 07/02/2021
Report Information
Period the Report Covers: 01/08/2021 - 06/29/2021
Participants
David Franzen, North Dakota State UniversitySylvie Brouder, Purdue University
Daniel Kaiser, University of Minnesota
Jon Dahl, Michigan State University
Andrew Margenot, University of Illinois
Antonio Mallarino, Iowa State University
Jason Clark, South Dakota State University
Bijesh Maharjan, University of Nebraska
Manjula Nathan, University of Missouri
Steven Culman, The Ohio State University
Carrie Laboski, University of Wisconsin
Andrew Stammer, University of Wisconsin
Dorivar Ruiz-Diaz, Kansas State University
Brief Summary of Minutes
This series of meetings was in a virtual setting, hosted by Clemson University. The meeting was jointly held with the SERA-6 Southern Region, and the Northeast soil testing/plant analysis group NECCE-1012 on consecutive Tuesday mornings, June 15, June 22 and June 29. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange recently developed information and focus of each of the groups, with the objectives of understanding each other's activities and look for synergies between the committees.
June 15-
Deanna Osborne, NC State and Nathan Slaton, University of Arkansas- Development of national database of P and K rate trials. This presentation was to explain the progress being made in developing a national database of P and K rate trials and the minimum requirements of a data set to be included within the database. It was generally agreed that such a repository had its strengths, but that the data might be open to abuse if one thought that all responses of crops to P and K were similar nationally. In our own NCERA-13 committee discussions after the meeting, it was generally agreed that forming a database within region, with similar climate, generally similar soils had more merit than soils with vast national differences.
Quirine Ketterings, Cornell. Presentation was based on the assumption that corn yield and N rate are related and that the current NY formula for corn rate based on yield goal was a legitimate basis for recommendations. There has been and continues to be a large amount of time and energy committed to developing modern yield goals for soil types in NY. Our committee laments the use of yield goal as a basis for N recommendations and has gone to relative yield-based economic production functions. These relative yield based, economic functions consider the efficienty of N use in good years and bad and the profitability of N application based on N cost and crop price. These ideas were conveyd to Dr. Ketterings following the meeting, but I think she was not convinced.
Antonio Mallarino explained the difficulty in K recommendations and K nutrition in corn in Iowa. He explained the history of K soil testing in the state, from a moist-soil-based test to a dry-test, and then back to a moist-test. He is aware of the influence of clay chemistry in North Dakota on the critical K values required; however, his soils are largely smectitic-based, which is perhaps why the moist-soil test has been most effective for him. Potassium nutrition is much more complicated than most people credit.
The NCERA-13 had a short meeting virtually after the joint meeting. It was decided to meet virtually perhaps in July and discuss the National Database once again, as well as a meeting in February 2022 with a day for industry involvement from the region.
June 22
Frank Sikora provided information regarding hemp testing services for CBD and soil fertility recommendations.
Andrew Margenot provided information regarding development of soil health testing in Illinois to help benchmark and track progress in soil health activities in his state.
Charlie White in the NE group provided information on N recommendations, again based on yield goal. It is generally perceived that the NE group is fixated with yield goal, and they may need to consider the vast amount of literature accumulated in the midwest on relative yield before real progress in recommendation advancement is achieved.
June 29
Newell Kitchen provided a presentation from USDA-ARS, Columbia, MO on an 8-state private-univeristy study on N recommendations. The bottom-line was that one N recommendation system for the entire region is not possible, and that N recommendations probably need to be made at the state or intra-state level for most effective recommendations.
Audrey Gamble, Auburn University
Provided a report on soil health testing in the Southern Region, encouraging her colleagues to become involved in sharing data from their soil health testing research.
Kristin Hicks, North Carolina
Provided a report on progress in developing hemp plant analysis critical ranges for all nutrients. The effort is based on gathering data from several studies and using a quartile histogram as a basis for determining sufficiency ranges, in addition to using studies that identified plant analysis data associated with nutrient deficiencies.