About the Series

A practical walk through the fundamentals of soil fertility, from pulling a good sample to building a complete nitrogen plan. Unlike Corn College, this series covers the same core material every year.

Sessions

1. Session 11DecemberTuesday

   The Foundation of a Good Soil Test

   Schools of thought on sampling and recommendations, the method Crop-Tech uses and why, building management zones from imagery, LiDAR, yield maps and soil lines, and knowing how, when and where samples were pulled.

2. Session 23DecemberThursday

   Reading Between the Lines on Your Soil Test

   How to read and interpret your organic matter, cation exchange capacity, P1 and P2, base saturation and pH on a soil test.

   A Deep Dive into Phosphorus

   Availability and uptake, its role in the plant, tie-up and management effects, and starter fertilizer.

3. Session 38DecemberTuesday

   Drilling Down on Calcium and pH

   Calcium in the plant, using pH to decide when, how much and what type of lime to apply, and causes of false or variable readings.

   Sifting Out Lime Surprises

   Evaluating lime sources, reading a lime analysis, state quality standards, and why spread pattern matters.

4. Session 410DecemberThursday

   The ABCs of Potassium

   Availability and uptake, its role in the plant, identifying deficiency, and imbalances from excess potassium.

   All Things Nitrogen

   Nitrogen forms and conversions, volatilization and leaching, extenders, the ISNT and variable-rate N, and VRT nitrogen’s effect on soil health.

5. Session 515DecemberTuesday

   Understanding the Soil Ecosystem

   Soil microbes and crop growth, bacteria and fungi, stages of organic matter, the carbon cycle and C:N ratio, and the timing of nutrient cycling.