Author: Julia Andrus

How AgSpire’s Incentive Programs Help Pivot After Drought

Posted on by Julia Andrus

In dryland farming, the effects of drought can strike rapidly, leaving producers searching for ways to salvage a distressed crop. 

AgSpire Technical Advisor Austin Knight recalls working with a producer facing this situation when a severe drought set in mid-season. A corn crop that stood knee-high and vibrant green quickly became withered and drooping with the lack of rainfall. It seemed as though the sky simply shut off, refusing to release another drop of water during this critical growth period.

“When drought strikes, our first step is often to try and recover the crop,” Austin explained. “In this case, we looked at applying humic acid to stimulate microbial activity in the soil and potentially unlock more plant-available water.” 

When drought stress begins, there are often ways to work with what’s left of the crop to salvage yield. Timely intervention can make a big difference. As Austin notes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” a principle that applies to every production system, not just corn. 

Stunted corn due to drought conditions. AgSpire's incentive programs can help producers pivot after a failed crop.

When Recovery Isn’t an Option

But sometimes, recovery isn’t possible. In this case, the crop was beyond saving.

Austin and the producer explored the next best use for this field and found a path forward: chop the corn and, with the next rain, plant a cover crop that could be used for grazing. 

Turning Setback into Benefit with Cover Crops

Planting a cover crop after the corn was chopped helped stabilize the field for the next year’s crop and covered the soil that was left bare.

“Establishing a cover crop helps the soil retain more moisture when rain does return and promotes deeper water infiltration,” Austin explained. 

How AgSpire’s Flexible Incentive Programs Can Help

AgSpire offers free incentive programs built to help producers meet their operation’s needs – including situations like this. Not only is the producer able to mitigate nitrogen buildup from the failed crop, but he also gains access to technical assistance and premium payments for cattle grazed on the newly established cover crop. 

Beyond the immediate recovery, the shift toward integrated crop-livestock management helps build long-term resiliency into the operation. The cover crop supports livestock forage needs – while also improving soil organic matter, enhancing microbial activity, and contributing to better water retention for future growing seasons. 

This approach emphasizes practical, boots-on-the-ground solutions paired with a vision for resiliency. “It’s about finding that balance between short-term recovery and long-term soil health,” he noted. “Producers face enough unpredictability. Our goal is to equip them with options that help their land bounce back stronger.” 

Support When It Matters Most

Drought may be unpredictable, but with the right support and strategy, it doesn’t have to be a dead end. AgSpire works alongside producers to evaluate the situation, make practical decisions, and identify solutions that support both their land, livestock, and livelihoods.

Interested in learning how AgSpire can support your operation during drought and beyond? Explore the programs we offer (click here) or talk with one of our technical advisors today (call / text 605.675.7255)

Addressing Weather Challenges: Too Much Moisture

Posted on by Julia Andrus

Too much rain can derail a season before it even starts. That was the case for one eastern South Dakota producer whose fields stayed too wet for weeks during planting season. With the clock ticking and crop insurance limitations in play, nothing seemed to fit – until AgSpire helped chart a new path.

When Fields Are Too Wet to Plant, Flexibility Matters

Farming and ranching can vary dramatically depending on your location, even within the same state. In South Dakota, this contrast is especially pronounced. While the state as a whole is known for its strong agricultural output, producers face very different challenges depending on which side of the state they call home:

  • Eastern South Dakota tends to be wetter than average, especially the east of the 98th meridian, often forcing farmers to delay planting or even miss critical windows altogether.
  • Producers in the western part of the state frequently battle the opposite problem: persistent drought and lack of moisture.

Both extremes can significantly reduce yields and pose serious threats to a farmer’s bottom line. 

Jared Knock, a South Dakota farmer and rancher, and co-founder of AgSpire, recalls a specific instance that highlights the power of adapting to conditions. He was working with a producer in eastern South Dakota whose field remained too wet to plant for weeks. They cycled through potential solutions:

  • Plan A: oats
  • Plan B: corn
  • Plan C: soybeans
  • Plan D: millet for grazing

Nothing seemed to align with crop insurance requirements or the agronomic conditions at hand. 

 

“The key to farming is being able to adapt when the conditions aren’t quite right. That is what makes us resilient as agriculturists. We know how to pivot,” Jared explained. 

Plan E: A Creative Cover Crop Solution

Ultimately, they pursued plan E: rather than trying to squeeze in a traditional crop that might not mature in time or qualify under insurance guidelines, Jared suggested planting a cover crop blend instead. The farmer used Ranch Hand, a cover crop mix rich in legumes and designed to thrive in tough conditions, securing forage for the next season’s cattle while promoting long-term soil health. 

A multi-species cover crop - a great grazing solution when too much rain prevents planting a cash crop

Photo: A multi-species cover crop like this one pictured provides benefits for your land and grazing cattle – a win when too much rain prevents a cash crop.

By shifting from a cool-season to a warm-season planting strategy then back to cool-season, the farmer gained flexibility with planting and harvest timing without jeopardizing insurance coverage.

Maximizing Benefits with AgSpire’s Cover Crop Programs

Better yet, by utilizing the Grass is Greener Program through AgSpire, the producer received:

  • an incentive payment for planting the cover crops
  • a premium on his cattle for grazing on the improved pasture
  • technical assistance and tailored solutions based on his field conditions and operational realities

“At the end of the day, it’s all about meeting producers where they are and helping them move forward,” said Jared. “Through our programs and practices, we focus on solutions that make sense on the ground and improve your operation’s resilience over time.” 

AgSpire Advisor Jared Knock on a cattle ranch in South Dakota

Photo: Jared Knock on a cattle ranch in South Dakota. Our team visits with producers to understand their operations and help find the best solutions for their operational needs or goals.

>>> Interested in seeing how AgSpire programs can help in other adverse weather conditions? Read here about helping a producer respond after a hail storm.

At AgSpire, we’re here to help you navigate the challenges, whether you’re dealing with drought, excess moisture, or unexpected hail. Our team brings real-world experience and proven sustainability tools to support your goals and boost long-term profitability. Get in touch today to explore how our programs can support your farm or ranch. 

Get Started

Turning Loss into Resilience: How a SD Farmer Recovered from Hail with Help from AgSpire

Posted on by Julia Andrus

In crop production, severe weather remains one of the most unpredictable and costly threats. A single hailstorm can compromise an entire growing season, destroying yield potential or even total crop loss, and forcing producers to make high-stakes decisions under stress. For one South Dakota wheat producer, that threat became a reality when a late-June hailstorm decimated his spring wheat crop at the heading stage, obliterating grain yield and leaving little crop to salvage.

Severe storm over a summer wheat field leads to total crop loss - giving way to new opportunities for cover crops and forage production.

From Crop Loss to New Opportunity

Producer Advisor Cole Baloun recalls arriving on the operation just days after the storm. “The crop was a total loss,” he said. “There was stem breakage, defoliation, and bruising well past the point of recovery. Even partial grain development was no longer feasible.”

While the financial and emotional toll was high, Cole knew that this field could still serve a purpose. And, despite the economic setback, the producer was eager to move forward.

Turning to AgSpire for On-the Ground Guidance

Cole worked closely with him to explore practical next steps and introduced him to AgSpire’s available programs designed to support producers through situations just like this. Through AgSpire’s Grass is Greener program, he helped the producer pivot from disaster response to resiliency planning.

“We reviewed the herbicides and chemical applications he had used on the wheat to determine a compatible mix for cover cropping,” Cole explained. “By understanding what had already been done to the field, we were able to tailor a solution that worked with the current conditions and positioned the field for a successful recovery. We decided to plant Premium Graze was a good option.”

Adding Value through Forage

This mix was selected not only for its compatibility with residual herbicides, but also for its fast forage accumulation, drought tolerance, and ability to suppress weeds and rebuild soil structure. Premium Graze offers a blend of warm season grasses and forage brassicas that will develop a summer annual grazing system by providing high levels of dry matter and high overall protein.

A multi species cover crop improves soil health while also providing nutrient dense forage for cattle

The benefits of the program extended beyond soil health. By converting the field to a cover crop, the farmer was able to generate forage for his cattle operation, adding an immediate source of value. Additionally, he was eligible to claim crop insurance on the failed field, allowing his operation to remain financially viable and more resilient in the face of future weather risks.

A Trusted Advisor for Your Operation

This experience highlights how even in the wake of disaster, the right support and adaptive strategies can turn hardship into hope, helping producers not only recover, but emerge more resilient for the future.

Read More about How Producers are Using AgSpire Programs to Benefit Their Operations:

Crop Diversity to Address Soil and Agronomic Challenges

Posted on by Julia Andrus

The hum of planters can be heard on farms across the country this time of year, as farmers are busy getting their crops planted.

The USDA estimates that over 178 million acres will be planted into corn or soybeans this season. But, some farmers are looking to break that rotation – and looking at their operation with a new lens.

“What we’re trying to get away from a little bit is just doing that same rotation… raising corn and beans,” said a South Dakota farmer who is enrolled in our Grass is Greener program. “So this year, we were able to get some spring wheat planted. That really enables us to get a cover crop in and try to heal the soil a little bit.”

In addition to the soil benefits from the cover crop, the producer plans to graze cattle, helping improve his on-farm forage by the natural process of disturbance that plants require to flourish.

When meeting with farmers to learn about their operation and goals, our advisors often hear these same sentiments. Through our free incentive programs like the Grass is Greener Program, we help producers accomplish this by implementing practices like cover crop establishment, forage plantings, or adding small grains or oilseeds for a more diverse rotation.

How Crop Diversity Can Benefit Your Operation

A well-planned, diverse crop rotation offers many benefits: breaking pest and disease cycles, greater soil health, better nutrient cycling, and improved water efficiency. A diverse rotation includes three or more crops, ideally from different plant families and with different root structures, growth habits, and nutrient demands. Here’s how that plant diversity benefits your land:

  • Soil Biology: Different crops feed different communities of microbes in the soil through their root exudates. Diverse rotations encourage broader microbial activity, which leads to better soil structure and function.

  • Nutrient Use: Alternating deep-rooted crops with shallow-rooted ones helps access nutrients at different depths.

  • Weed and Pest Suppression: Each crop changes the timing, canopy structure, and chemistry of the field. That shift can help break weed and pest cycles.

  • Water Efficiency and Drought Resilience: Rotations that include crops with varying water demands and rooting depths help manage moisture better, especially in dry climates. Deep-rooted crops access subsoil moisture, help break up compaction or tightly bound soil aggregates, and improve infiltration; while crops with high water-use efficiency can help supplemental irrigation go further.

Get Started

AgSpire offers free incentive programs to help farmers and ranchers meet their land and business goals through regenerative and conservation practices – including adding diversity to your crop rotation. Sign up below to talk with one of our advisors about how these programs could benefit your operation.

The Currency of Co-Benefits: Why Biodiversity Enhancement Matters More Than Ever in Agricultural Resilience 

Posted on by Julia Andrus

by Abby Snyder

Regenerative agriculture delivers many ecosystem and economic benefits, not just carbon reductions and removals. Biodiversity enhancement, which may come through diverse crop rotations, enhanced pastures or perennial plantings, cover crop establishment, or pollinator support, for example, can correlate to on-farm improvements such as:  

  • reduced pest pressure 
  • lower input costs 
  • enhanced drought resilience 

These outcomes improve overall operation resilience while opening doors to new co-benefit revenue streams in emerging environmental markets.  

Putting Numbers to Nature 

Despite its importance, carbon accounting captures only a fraction of nature-based solutions’ true worth. Regenerative agriculture practices that promote biodiversity generate positive externalities that new frameworks, like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), now help to internalize, quantify, and claim. 

AgSpire is working alongside leading companies to capture these multiple ecosystem co-benefits through documented species diversity improvements. These metrics represent measurable natural capital assets that strengthen both agricultural resilience and corporate reporting of intervention impacts. The shift from focusing solely on carbon to measuring comprehensive biodiversity outcomes transforms how we value agricultural landscapes and producer-led interventions. 

Whole-Systems Thinking in Agricultural Landscapes 

Biology operates through interconnected cycles. A regenerative farm that increases soil organic matter doesn’t just sequester carbon—it enhances water infiltration, supports beneficial microbial communities, and creates habitat for natural pest predators. Research from the Northern Plains demonstrates this effectively: regenerative farms showed 10-fold lower pest populations than conventional operations while maintaining profitability through reduced input costs. 

Attempting to optimize for carbon alone risks creating ecological blind spots. True regenerative systems embrace complexity, recognizing that healthy soils, diverse plant communities, and abundant wildlife create self-reinforcing positive feedback loops. 

The Opportunity Ahead 

Biodiversity markets are emerging alongside carbon markets, with protocols creating standardized units of biodiversity improvement. Advanced monitoring technologies are making measurement more accessible, but the key to success lies in starting with producer-centric design that aligns ecological benefits with operational realities. 

For example, agricultural operations implementing regenerative practices can potentially “stack” carbon, and biodiversity outcomes from the same parcel of land – giving greater credence to the full value of these interventions.  

At AgSpire, we believe the future of agricultural resilience lies not in single-metric optimization but in recognizing and rewarding the full spectrum of ecosystem services. By quantifying co-benefits and building them into project design from the start, we create more resilient supply chains and landscapes that truly thrive. 

Learn more about our approach to program design and implementation >>>  

About the Author

ABBY SNYDER, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS

As Director of Environmental Assets, Abby brings over 15 years of experience in GHG accounting and regenerative agriculture expertise to lead initiatives that balance practical on-the-ground implementation with corporate net-zero goals.

A Yale School of the Environment graduate with certifications in LCA and IPCC emissions accounting, Abby is dedicated to advancing producer-focused, scalable solutions for meaningful and lasting climate impact. Her expertise includes developing innovative guidance and standards for scalable Scope 3 interventions, driving transformative sustainability initiatives, and collaborating with producers on regenerative practices across domestic and international contexts.

Soil Health: A Practical Advantage for Your Farm

Posted on by Julia Andrus

Discover how AgSpire helps farmers and ranchers improve soil health through regenerative agriculture practices like reduced tillage, cover crops, and livestock integration. Boost productivity, resilience, and profitability from the ground up.

Invest in Soil Health for a More Profitable, Resilient Operation

At AgSpire, we believe healthy soil is more than a conservation goal. It’s a powerful tool for building a more productive, profitable, and resilient farm or ranch. When the soil beneath your feet is functioning at its best, everything above it can function better too: crops grow stronger, forage lasts longer, water works harder, and your business is better equipped to handle whatever comes your way.

That’s why we help producers across the country take a functional approach to improving their soil’s productivity, addressing their operation’s unique challenges or needs.

What Healthy Soil Can Do for Your Operation

Think of soil as the engine that drives your productivity. When it’s well-tuned, it:

  • Holds more water during dry spells and drains better after heavy rains.
  • It also feeds itself, reducing your need for inputs like fertilizer and irrigation.
  • Creates more optimal conditions to help buffer against crop stress

In short: healthier soil means greater stability and better returns.

You might see it in a thicker stand of grass, less runoff after a storm, calves gaining faster weight, or fewer hours spent replanting or chasing weeds. These are the day-to-day advantages of investing in soil health.

Core Principles of Soil Health

There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for success, but soil benefits from these principles:

  • Protect the soil surface — Using residue, cover crops, or perennial plantings to shield the soil from erosion, wind, and heat keeps moisture in place and builds organic matter over time.
  • Limit disturbance — Reducing tillage or grazing with intention improves the soil’s structure and helps it retain nutrients and water more effectively.
  • Diversify what’s growing — Whether through smart crop rotation, interseeding, or pasture mixes, adding plant variety boosts soil biology, balances nutrient cycling, and disrupts pest and disease patterns.
  • Keep roots active — Maintaining living roots in the ground for more of the year feeds soil microbes and builds fertility naturally.
  • Integrate livestock — Where it fits, livestock grazing can help cycle nutrients, improve plant growth, and add long-term fertility to your soil.

These aren’t new ideas. They are the 5 Principles of Soil Health – a time-tested and research-backed way to think about soil improvements as a natural system.

Soybeans growing into cover crop residue, showing a field that used soil health principles.

The Unofficial 6th Principle: Patience

Although these practices work in unison to rebuild soil health, the results from these practices do not express themselves overnight. When agricultural soils have been considerably degraded, it can take many seasons to fully see the benefits from these principles and practices. “As farmers and ranchers, we need to remember, ‘Rome was not built in a day.’ The relationships between the microorganisms that call the soil home take time to redevelop,” said Senior Conservation Agronomist and CCA Derek Ver Helst.

He continued, “To understand this concept, let’s use an earthquake as a metaphor. The day after a devastating earthquake, the region will not be at full capacity. They are in survival mode, cleaning up after the disaster. It will take years for the region to rebuild and regain its functionality.

“The same can be said about the soil. Full tillage, for example, destroys the soil structure, acting as a kind of ‘earthquake’ for beneficial microbes in the soil. It renders the microbes shelter-less. Plus, without a growing root in the soil as all times feeding the microorganisms, they don’t have the energy needed to rebuild. Through practices that impair these microbes, we have effectively stopped the soil from functioning the way it was intended to.”

Agronomist discusses soil health with farmer after pulling soil samples from an improved pasture. Second side of photo shows healthy soil up close.

Start Where You Are

Every acre is different, and every producer faces a unique set of decisions. One thing holds true across the board: when you invest in the health of your soil, you’re investing in your operation from the ground up.

At AgSpire, we’re here to help you take the next step. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to scale what’s already working, our team can work with you to build a plan that fits your land, your goals, and your bottom line.

Ready to get started?

Reach out today and let’s talk about how we can support your soil — and your success.

How Cover Crops Can Work for Your Farm

Posted on by Julia Andrus

There is a lot of buzz about cover crops. But, they aren’t a fad. They also aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, cover crops can be a powerful way to address real operational challenges when used strategically. 

Technical Advisor and farmer Austin Knight explains, “Cover crops aren’t a trend – they are a tool. The key is making them work within your farming system, not against it.” That means fitting them into your operation in a way that adds value and supports your cash crops. 

VIDEO: AgSpire Technical Advisor Austin Knight shares how cover crops and simple data tools can enable long-term success >>>

Cover crops can offer a variety of benefits for your land or for your livestock. For example: 

  • Reducing erosion – When rain or wind hit bare ground, it often runs off, taking topsoil with it. Cover crops help keep topsoil in place during a wind event and slow rainwater down, letting it soak in instead of washing away. 
  • Improving water holding capacity – When cover crops break down, they add organic matter to the soil. This improves soil structure and turns it into more of a sponge. Soils with higher organic matter can hold more water. 
  • Breaking up compaction – Cover crops, especially those with deep tap or fibrous roots, help break up compacted layers and leave behind channels and root pathways as they decompose. 
  • Increasing or improving forage – Extend your grazing season or use a diverse mix to improve nutrition for grazing livestock. Plus, while cattle or other livestock graze, they incorporate biomass and manure into the soil to help cycle nutrients. 

Tracking Progress

Since so much of this improvement is happening below the surface, it can sometimes be hard to track the impact. As Austin has worked with producers to incorporate cover crops into their operation, he has found that consistent field notes, yield maps, or even something as simple as taking photos from the same field edge each season can help capture progress over time. 

Here’s an example, where photos taken a year apart show a big difference.  

Jared Knock – VP of Agriculture Innovation and SD rancher – points to these photos to show the impact of cover crops and perennial plantings, livestock integration, and thinking about a field from a new perspective. What had once lost productivity due to soil salinity, now has become a profitable part of a diverse operation. Jared shares more about the transformation, here: 


Bottom line: Cover crops aren’t just buzz. When used right, they can improve your ground, leading to better soil, better crops, and a more profitable operation. 

Get Started 

Ready to get started with cover crops? AgSpire offers free and voluntary programs to help producers establish cover crops, among other practices. Learn more about the programs we offer here >>>  

Or fill out the form below and one of our advisors will reach out to discuss how our programs could benefit your operation. 

Building Producer Resilience: Why It Matters & How to Get It Right

Posted on by Julia Andrus

by Drew Slattery

Many farmers and ranchers across America are facing mounting pressures, including volatile markets, extreme weather, rising operational costs, generational transitions, and dwindling public support. As companies engage with their agriculture supply chains through sustainability projects, it is critical to support producers to address these challenges head on, rather than adding new burdens. Embedding producer resilience into sustainability project design isn’t just beneficial, it’s essential.

When producers thrive, supply chains gain:

  • Reliable and secure sourcing
  • Reduced risk from price fluctuations
  • Enhanced stakeholder trust and credibility
  • Global competitiveness
  • Predictable delivery of environmental outcomes, including carbon reduction and co-benefits—all essential to Scope 3 success

Why Many Sustainability Programs Miss the Mark 

Value chain initiatives often fall short because they prioritize corporate objectives and frameworks over on-the-ground production realities.

Excessive administrative requirements, complex data protocols, and impractical practice recommendations deter producer participation. Poorly structured benefit-sharing incentives may even demotivate producers from engaging at all. Once trust is lost, future programs struggle to gain traction before they begin.

Programs weighed down by unrealistic expectations, misaligned incentives, and practices that do not directly create economic, productivity, or efficiency wins often lead to low adoption and limited outcomes. That’s why trust – and the design decisions that shape it – matters so much.

Designing Programs Producers Will Embrace 

Effective initiatives start with authentic collaboration. Bringing producers into the design process from the beginning reveals critical insights about operational challenges, financial constraints, and practical limitations. The most successful programs are:

  • Operationally Compatible: Aligned with current practices and beneficial to the operation long-term
  • Financially Attractive: Offering clear, near-term benefit sharing agreements
  • Scalable: Flexible enough to be adopted across diverse farm and ranch operations.

To realize the full value of sustainable supply chain and Scope 3 investments, companies must prioritize producer-centric design. Partnering with farmers and ranchers as co-creators, not just participants, leads to more feasible, impactful, and resilient programs.

Case Study: A Look at Data Demands 

We recently worked with a food and beverage client to streamline data collection in a Scope 3 project. Our corporate sustainability technical team knew which data points were most important and which were not needed to support the project’s alignment with various corporate sustainability and reporting protocols. By bridging internal corporate sustainability expertise with producer-centric approaches, we reduced the producer’s expected time commitment for data capture from 2.5 hours to just 15 minutes.

AgSpire’s unique blend of internal end-to-end value chain expertise allowed the team to develop a project that met key corporate reporting needs while also aligning with producer priorities, ultimately enhancing both data quality and operational efficiency.

In a complementary approach, we identified opportunities to apply existing industry averages while maintaining alignment with key corporate reporting standards to lighten the producer data burden and enhance program scalability. These practical shifts made participation significantly more feasible, without compromising program integrity.

Agronomist collects data while visiting a farmer's field.

AgSpire’s Producer-Centric Approach 

At AgSpire, we bridge corporate sustainability goals with real-world agricultural implementation. Our team combines deep agricultural expertise with cutting-edge sustainability strategies to develop programs that are practical and impactful, measurable, and scalable:

  • Outcome-Oriented Strategies: Measurable results aligned with business needs and sustainability priorities
  • Collaborative Program Design: Grounded in producer input and practical application
  • Comprehensive Implementation: Technical assistance, simplified data collection, and full-service project support drive adoption and results
  • Business Case for Change: Practices, financial incentives, and increased global competitiveness that create program durability.

The Path Forward 

True resilience is built on trust, collaboration, and practical solutions rooted in the realities of agriculture. Companies that invest in producer-centered resilience strategies strengthen their sustainability outcomes and take steps to future-proof their supply chains.

Ready to build resilience into your supply chain? AgSpire helps turn your ambitions into tangible, lasting outcomes. Connect with us to explore custom solutions designed for impact: e-mail  |  call/text (605) 675-7255

About the Author

DREW SLATTERY

With extensive experience in regenerative agriculture and corporate sustainability, Drew leads our Business Partnerships team with a commitment to improving the impact on natural resources and the climate across global supply chains. Raised on a cow-calf operation in Texas and spending most of his life immersed in the beef seedstock industry, Drew brings a producer-centered approach to ensure that agricultural producers are supported in their path to continuous improvement.

Soil Sampling to Optimize Soil Productivity

Posted on by Julia Andrus

As any farmer knows, soil isn’t just dirt; it’s a living, breathing, complex ecosystem that plays an essential role in efficient production.

Soil sampling gives us invaluable insights into that ecosystem. At its core, soil sampling is the process of collecting small amounts of soil to analyze its physical, chemical, and biological makeup. This data can be used to inform decisions that improve yields, reduce input costs, and protect your land. That makes soil sampling an important tool for farmers and ranchers who want to get the most out of every acre.

Senior Agronomist Derek Ver Helst works with farmers and ranchers in AgSpire’s programs to better understand their soil. Here are some of his key takeaways about soil data.

What Soil Sampling Tells Us

It provides a clear picture of what’s happening beneath the surface, enabling more precise management of the field. For example:

  • Nutrient management: By identifying and correcting nutrient deficiencies, soil sampling contributes to optimal plant growth and yields. Additionally, the precision enabled by soil data improves fertilizer efficiencies and reduces the risk of nutrient runoff.
  • Monitoring organic matter: Organic matter levels are a crucial indicator of soil fertility, structure, and water-holding capacity. Tracking changes in organic matter helps assess the effectiveness of management practices like cover cropping or reduced tillage.
  • Overall management decisions: The data derived from soil sampling empowers producers to make informed management decisions, such as  crop rotations to complement each other and enhance soil fertility.

Best Practices for Soil Sampling

Soil sampling isn’t something to do on a whim. The most useful results come from having a clear goal in mind. Are you checking for general fertility? Targeting a specific nutrient issue? Looking to track changes over time?

Your objective guides the entire process, from how you divide your fields, to how deep you sample, to when and how often you take samples.

To get accurate results, a few key steps matter:

  • Stratification: How a field is divided for sampling is crucial. Consider factors such as soil type, topography, yield, and past management maps. Homogenous fields may warrant a single composite sample, while more varied fields require division into zones or grids, ensuring representative data from each distinct zone.
  • Create a System: Sticking to a pattern, like a zigzag or a grid, is helpful to ensure ample coverage of the sample area
  • Avoid unusual spots: Stay clear of eroded areas or fertilizer bands that could skew results
  • Use clean, quality tools: Like soil probes or augers
  • Timing: Fall or spring are preferred due to stable soil conditions (although specific tests may require alternative timing)
  • Label and ship promptly: Send samples to a reliable lab with proper labels for fast, accurate results.

Soil Sampling in AgSpire Programs

Good soil sampling isn’t just about today’s yields. It’s a vital piece of managing long-term soil health. Tracking changes in organic matter, bulk density, or microbial activity helps farmers gauge whether their management practices are building a healthier, more resilient soil profile.

As such, soil sampling is an important part of many of the programs we offer at AgSpire. Technical advisors like Derek, alongside our program partners, help you understand what your soil is telling you – and how to optimize your management based on that information.

Get started with AgSpire to learn more about available programs >>>

 

Video

Soil Insights

After pulling a soil sample on a Minnesota farm and ranch enrolled in the Grass is Greener program, Senior Conservation Agronomist Derek Ver Helst shares insights into what the soil is telling us.

Experts Say Ranching Resilience Relies on Maximizing Grazing & Herd Efficiencies

Posted on by Julia Andrus

By Lura Roti for AgSpire

There are three things the most profitable cattle producers do:

  1. Wean the highest percentage of exposed cows
  2. Wean the heaviest calves
  3. Never skimp on bulls

This data was collected from CattleFax surveys of nearly 20,000 cattle producers. And it was shared with South Dakota cattle producers by Mike Miller the Chief Operating Officer of CattleFax, the world’s leading beef industry research and analysis firm during the Ranching Resilience workshop hosted in Huron, S.D., by AgSpire this February.

“So, to recap, they are paying very close attention to their genetics. They are taking care of the calves that hit the ground. And they are doing their darndest to make sure that when it’s all said and done, they’re selling the most pounds,” Miller explained. “And for those of us who have room to graze or grow cattle, there is money in that segment of the industry each and every year.”

 

For those of us who have room to graze or grow cattle, there is money in that segment of the industry each and every year.

Mike Miller, CattleFAX

In addition to sharing the survey findings, Miller presented an in-depth market outlook.

Miller’s message resonated with Greg Hofer, a fourth-generation Hitchcock cattle producer. “You are never too old to learn something new. That’s why we attend these workshops, to bring new ideas home to our operation,” said Hofer, 65, who attended the workshop with his son, Dwight.

New information matters to Hofer because of the next generation. He and his wife, Lisa, raise crops and cattle with his dad, Eldon, their sons, Ethan and Dwight, and their grandchildren.

“There have always been four generations on this farm since I was born,” Hofer said. “We are not a large operation, but we are large enough for everyone to be involved if they want to be.”

Cattle operations like the Hofer’s are the reason AgSpire invited nationally renowned experts to Huron, explained Jared Knock, a cattle producer and AgSpire’s Vice President of Agriculture Innovation.

“Over the last several decades, the cow herd has taken secondary position of priority behind crop farming, and our landscape reflects this,” Knock said. “With this workshop we wanted to bring some of the best experts in the country to provide cattle producers with long-term forecasting on the state of the beef industry and provide them with research-based advice on how to increase their operation’s resiliency moving forward.”

To provide cattle producers with research-based information to maximize resilience through herd efficiencies, grazing and ultimately profits, Miller was joined by Cliff Lamb, reproductive physiologist and Texas A&M director of AgriLife Research and Justin Fruechte, ag product expert for Renovo Seed.

Improved herd efficiencies help produce more food on less land

Increasing production efficiencies to produce more products and profit on less land is an overarching focus for Lamb in his role with AgriLife Research.

“We focus on sustainable production systems. And it’s not just environmental, its economic …because you cannot have a sustainable system if you don’t have economic viability,” Lamb said.

And when it comes to increasing herd efficiency, Lamb said of all the genetic traits cattle producers select for, research shows pregnancy has the greatest impact on profits.

“Pregnancy is the number one trait beef producers should be thinking about,” Lamb said. “Pregnancy is about four times more economically important than any other production trait.”

Lamb shared additional research that showed heifers that get pregnant in the first 21 days of breeding season maintain their fertility longer – producing the equivalent of three quarters of a calf more in their lifetime than heifers that became pregnant the second half of a 42-day breeding season.

“Whatever you can do to figure out ways to get more cattle pregnant early on is extremely important,” Lamb said.

Some recommendations Lamb shared based on research trials were:

  • Reduce breeding season to about 62 days
  • Implement synchronization and AI to help reduce the length of breeding season
  • Reduce heat stress during breeding season

In addition to breeding season efficiencies, Lamb also discussed research-based technologies and genomic testing to improve feed efficiencies.

Financial incentives & market premiums available to sustainability-focused producers

Herd efficiency not only matters to researchers and producers, but it also matters to major beef purchasers like McDonalds. And they are willing to offer incentives to cattle producers working to improve efficiencies because they have a vested interest in a sustainable U.S. beef supply, explained veterinarian Kristina Porter, AgSpire’s herd management technical advisor.

“McDonalds is interested in having a strong, robust beef supply domestically. That’s in their best interest. That’s in your best interest. So, they have some money set aside because they believe in what you are doing,” said Porter, referencing the Ranching for the Future program.

Ranching for the Future is one of several sustainability-focused incentive programs cattle and crop producers can sign up for through AgSpire.

AgSpire was founded in South Dakota in 2021. It is a national company that provides technical expertise, educational resources, and access to practical incentive programs to help producers succeed with regenerative and conservation practices.

“There are all these buzzwords with sustainability, efficiency, resiliency that have gotten very popular over the years. But these are the things you all have been doing your entire career,” Porter said.

Healing the Land for Better Forage

“It is good to see that companies are wanting to endorse beef production and not just say they don’t think it is good for the environment,” said Michael Mendel, a fourth-generation cattle producer who manages his family’s cow/calf herd near Carpenter, S.D.

 

It is good to see that companies are wanting to endorse beef production and not just say they don’t think it is good for the environment.

M. Mendel, Event Attendee.

Because he implements rotational grazing, Mendel had a particular alkali patch in mind when he listened to Fruechte’s forage and grazing presentation.

“They talked about correcting saline areas with grasses and using it for hay or a grazing opportunity. It would be such a better use of land than trying to plant and nothing gets produced,” Mendel said. “I am always looking for areas that are not making money farming, that we can plant to grass for grazing.”

Fruechte has been helping operations to heal up saline and sodic soils for more than a decade. “With the right mix of perennials, you can fix that water cycle and your saline areas will stop spreading because you’ve got a water cycle improvement and you’ve got the roots structure that’s going to allow for needed drainage.”

The ag product expert for Renovo Seed also encouraged cattle producers to consider mixing grass species with new alfalfa seedings as another way to improve soil health and enhancing forage opportunities. “When you take that alfalfa off, you start to realize just how much exposed soil there is – whether saline soil or not – I highly recommend people plant grass in the alfalfa mix.”

During his presentation, Fruechte shared the benefits of different plant species and their role in maximizing grazing, forage production and overall soil health.

Virtual Event Recording

Cattle producers who were not able to attend the February 18 Ranching Resilience Workshop can watch video recordings of Fruechte, Lamb and Miller’s presentations. Fill out the form here to get access to the event recording.

Virtual Event Recording