The Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and partners throughout the state have worked with the Gulf Hypoxia Program (GHP) to develop a no-cost program with a focus on increasing the knowledge and use of soil sampling as a nutrient management practice to benefit farm operations. The program, titled Indiana’s Mississippi River Basin Soil Sampling Program, is open now for applicants through November, 1st, 2024.
ISDA promotes the importance of nutrient management and the principle of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework. The 4R framework incorporates using the “Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place” to achieve cropping system goals. The program focuses on soil sampling and testing because it is a key component, and the first step, in developing a plan for nutrient management.
Soil sampling provides an assessment of the soil’s fertility which can be used for making fertilizer application recommendations, assessing available nutrients over time, increasing farmer profitability, and enhancing environmental protection by reducing the risk of nutrient loss. This project was developed to help further Indiana’s State Nutrient Reduction Strategy efforts.
This program includes row crops, pasture, hay, and specialty crop fields located within Indiana’s portion of the Mississippi River Basin. Eligible landowners will be prioritized by acreage enrolled (i.e., 100 acres or less), fields that have never been soil sampled, and fields that haven’t been sampled regularly (i.e., within the last 4 years). Further prioritization may be implemented based on ISDA’s workload capacity. This program excludes hobby gardens and private lawns. Interested farmers can sign up online at ISDA’s website or by reaching out to soilsampling@isda.in.gov.
Sign-ups begin Monday, September 23rd, 2024, and ISDA is accepting registrations until Friday, November 1st, 2024. To sign up, or if you have any questions, contact Ophelia Davis at 317-232-0305 or soilsampling@isda.in.gov.
This program is meant to demonstrate the importance of soil sampling and the valuable information it can provide. This program is not meant to act or replace an operation’s existing soil testing schedule. This program was made possible by ISDA, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Agriculture Nutrient Alliance (IANA), Indiana Conservation Partnership (ICP) members, farmers, and crop advisors.
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