We all know that farmers have to be extremely clever and resourceful in order to survive as business people. But I have a challenge even for you Ag Einsteins. OK. I heard about this concept. In fact, Extension Crop Specialist Jodi DeYoung-Hughes says soil organic matter is good for crop production and the environment. Supposedly, it’s directly related to soil fertility and agricultural productivity potential. Before we go any further, what is soil organic matter? According to informed sources, soil organic matter is the organic matter component of soil. It can be divided into three general pools: living biomass of microorganisms (is that amoebas), fresh and partially decomposed residues (dead worms and ants and stuff), and humus. According to DeYoung-Hughes - there are a number of advantages to increasing or maintaining a high level of soil organic matter in fields: “It does help with compaction. It helps loosen the soil to give it a lower bulk density, organic matter does help make soil structure, better water infiltration, better release of nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorous to the plants, there’s about  900-1000 pounds of nitrogen per percent of organic matter per acre, not all of that’s going to be released to the plant per given year.”

 Maintaining organic matter - DeYoung Hughes says - also helps in carbon sequestration.