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Why Manage Soil Organic Matter?

In this publication

What is organic matter? What does organic matter do? How to build organic matter levels. Why are C:N ratios important? Pests and other problems.

If you were looking for productive farmland, you would want an ideal soil in which:

• crops would thrive, even through dry spells,
  
  
• roots would grow extensively,
  
  
• implements would pull easily, and
  
  
• the soil would resist erosion and compaction.

In other words, you would look for soil with high organic matter levels. Soil organic matter, and the soil organisms that live on it, are critical to many soil processes. It allows high crop yields and reduced input costs.

Yet some farmers neglect this valuable resource by tilling excessively or by not regularly adding back organic matter. Here is part of what happens to soil performance when organic matter levels decline.

Soil texture If organic matter decreases from Nutrient holding capacity may decrease by

loamy sand (5% clay) 2% to 1.5% 14% silt loam (20% clay) 4% to 3.5% 4%

What are you doing to your soil organic matter?

Building soil organic matter may be the most important thing you can do to enhance long-term soil performance. This publication will help you understand the dynamics of organic matter and will examine how you could improve soil organic matter on your farm.