LATAH SWCD provides research, monitoring and evaluation support to address soil health concerns on working lands.
Soil Health Program
Farmer- Driven Approach
Facilitating Learning
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Latah SWCD facilitates the development of coordinated learning communities within the area to connect growers with local resources by engaging with other growers, researchers, conservation agencies, private companies and other interested stakeholders.
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Evaluating Soil Health Characteristics
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Latah SWCD provides technical service to local growers designed to evaluate soil health monitoring tools and practices through field scale demonstration and interpretation.
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Supporting grower based research and evaluation
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Grower innovation is supported by Latah SWCD through the implementation of on-farm field trials developed by individual growers who seek a better understanding of soil health.
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Building Conservation Partnerships
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Information gained through through grower-driven strategies are the foundation for an expanding effort coordinated by Latah SWCD to build conservation partnerships with area growers and interested stakeholders, both private and public.
Soils
Soil Health from the Ground Up Promoting Locally-led Innovations in Soil Management
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The Latah SWCD is positioned to lead and provide opportunities for integrating soil health principles and practices into Palouse dryland cropping systems. Building local expertise and conservation partnerships in soil health will also strengthen regional and national efforts to improve soil health management at the farm scale.
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The Goal of the soil health program is to develop educational, demonstration and research programs that advance the science and art of soil health and promote innovative grower-led solutions to soil health problems.
Our Program Approach is to strengthen the abilities of regional growers and land managers to understand and solve on-farm soil health issues by engaging conservation partners and implementing the following program:
Soil Health Projects
Soil Acidification
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Latah SWCD established strip trials on four growers fields in 2012 to evaluate the effect of different lime materials and rates on soil pH, other nutrients, and crop yields. Latah SWCD continues to monitor these strip trials for long-term impacts. Additionally, Latah SWCD worked with growers to develop and implement variable rate lime applications and emerging technologies for field scale soil pH monitoring. This project was initially funded through an Idaho NRCS Conservation and Innovation grant.
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Soil Health Monitoring
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The Latah SWCD conducted a 3-year demonstration of soil health testing methods with funding provided by an Idaho NRCS Conservation and Innovation grant. Through this project several commercially available soil biological, chemical and physical tests were evaluated for applicability to growers in the area. A database of regional soil quality indicators is being developed to help inform interpretation of soil test results. Latah SWCD soil scientists continue to work with growers to refine the use of traditional and emerging soil tests to support innovation and adoption of soil health building farming practices.
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Diversifying Crop Rotations
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Latah County growers are experimenting with diversifying wheat-based cropping systems by integrating perennial crops, cover crops, and livestock grazing into rotations. Latah SWCD soil scientists are working with growers to help evaluate the effect these alternative management practices have on soil properties. These alternative farm management systems will be further evaluated for their potential to be more resilient under projected climate variability.
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Soil Phosphorus
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Some Latah County growers have raised questions of current recommendations of phosphorus fertilization rates and lack of yield response. Recent research suggests that soil phosphorus availability may be interacting with changing soil pH in agricultural lands in complex and unexpected patterns. Latah SWCD is beginning to engage in this research to support growers in improving efficiency of phosphorus fertilizer applications and to mitigate potential risks to regional water quality.
