The following resources are available to share our research results, along with basic information on soil health that is related to the use of soil balancing.
About Soil Balancing
- Printable Primer on Soil Balancing and its Application
- Soil Balancing Call-in Conversations
Researchers, educators, and farmers come together to talk about soil balancing. Series of three programs recorded in the fall of 2018. - Soil Balancing: Worth Another Look
Long article about our project posted on Acres' EcoFarm Daily news site.
Research Results (non-Academic)
- News article with Recommendations and Results
- Brief Two-Page Handout Summary of Project Results
- Five-Year Study Results article from VegNet, May 2019.
- Farmer and Practitioner Conceptions and Experiences with Soil Balancing
White paper summarizing results of surveys and interviews with soil balancing users. - Elephant in the Room: Why do so many farmers practice soil balancing despite the lack of scientific evidence?
Presentation by Doug Jackson Smith and Caroline Brock - Can weeds be managed with calcium amendments?
Presentation by Doug Doohan - Into the Weeds with Soil Balancing
Article investigating relationship between weeds and soil balancing, posted on Acres' EcoFarm Daily news site. - The effects of manipulating Ca:Mg ratios on Ohio crop yields and soil health
Presentation by Steve Culman - Return On Investment With Using Gypsum
Dr. Subbu Kumarappan, OSU Associate Professor, ATI
Soil Health 101
- Calculating Soil Cation Exchange Capacity
12-minute video with Steve Culman, Ohio State soil specialist - More soil health resources at soilhealth.osu.edu
Research Results - Published Academic Articles
Sprunger, C. D.,Culman, S. W., Deiss, L., Brock, C., & Jackson-Smith, D. (2021) Which management practices influence soil health in Midwest organic corn systems? Agronomy Journal
http://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20786
Brock, C., Jackson-Smith, D., Culman, S., Doohan, D., & Herms, C. (2021). Soil balancing within organic farming: Negotiating meanings and boundaries in an alternative agricultural community of practice. Agriculture and Human Values, 38, 449–465.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-020-10165-y
Culman SW, Brock C, Doohan D, Jackson-Smith D, Herms C, Chaganti VN, Kleinhenz M, Sprunger CD, Spargo J. Base cation saturation ratios vs. sufficiency level of nutrients: A false dichotomy in practice. Agronomy Journal, 2021; 1−11.
https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20787
Brock, C., Jackson-Smith, D., Kumarappan, S., Culman, S., Doohan, D., & Herms, C. (2021). The prevalence and practice of soil balancing among organic corn farmers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000381
Chaganti, V. N.,Culman, S. W., Herms, C., Sprunger, C. D., Brock, C., Leiva Soto, A., & Doohan, D. (2021) Base cation saturation ratios, soil health, and yield in organic field crops. Agronomy Journal (in review)
Chaganti, V. N., Culman, S. W., Dick, W. A., & Kost, D. (2019). Effects of gypsum application rate and frequency on corn response to nitrogen. Agronomy Journal, 111(3), 1109–1117.
https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.10.0683
Leiva Soto, A. (2018). Effects of soil balancing treatments on soils, vegetable crops and weeds in organically managed farms (thesis, Master Thesis, Ohio State University).
http://etd.ohiolink.edu/
Chaganti, V., & Culman, S. (2017). Historical perspective of soil balancing theory and identifying knowledge gaps: A review. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 3(1), 1–7.
https://doi.org/10.2134/cftm2016.10.0072
All work is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, grant no. 2014-51300-22331 / project accession no. 1003905.