There are more living things in a cup of soil than there are people on earth. A typical cup of healthy soil contains:
· 10–50 billion bacteria;
· 100 million types of fungi
· 100–7000 arthropods and micro-arthropods;
· 1000’s of different algae, protozoa, and nematodes.
Even more amazing, most of these organisms have yet to even be classified, never mind identified. Soil scientists don’t know exactly what they are or what they do! Yet they do know one thing, this life beneath our feet is crucial to healthy, nutritious and bountiful crops. In fact, without this life, you don’t have soil, you have dirt, and dirt what many farms have. Its is estimated that up to 40% of the world’s farmland is now unusable because of the poor quality of the soils.
Unfortunately, many modern farming practices or just a lack of awareness have destroyed our soils, depleting them of the critical life which in turn has depleted our crops ability to thrive and produce nutritious crops. Crops get all their nutrients and minerals from their roots, which in turn absorb it from the soil, so if you have unhealthy soils or dirt, you will produce a sub-par crop. It is said that an apple that your grandfather ate had 54x more nutrients than the apples we eat today. We may use chemicals and tools to make good looking fruits and vegetables, but they’re empty of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients we need.
Not only are the crops declining in nutrition, they’re less healthy and need more chemicals, pesticides, and other inputs to grow, which cost money. It’s a fact that healthy soils:
· Produce higher yielding, more nutritious, higher quality crops, making farmers more money
· Absorb and retain more fertilizers and other inputs, lowering farmer input costs
· Have less run off, reducing environmental impact to the surrounding lands and waterways
· Retain water better, which is critical for desert and drought like conditions we experience today
Bottom line, healthy soils make healthy farming profits and monitoring your soils is the first step down this path. Visit us at https://www.teralytic.com to learn more about how Teralytic’s wireless NPK soil sensors can help you improve your farm’s soil health and profitability today.
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