Soil Test – Covid Test
With the arrival of the Novel Corona Virus Disease which is called COVID-19, testing for the virus has become very commonplace. However, the relative success of the testing for the COVID-19 virus has been questioned quite extensively. The article in The Growers Solution Early Fall 2020, Volume 33 Issue 4 discusses in detail the similarities of problems related to both COVID and soil testing.
This article discusses how soil testing has been a problem for farmers when it comes to making fertility decisions that are both economically and environmentally correct. In the author's opinion, the problems with the soil test are related to the fact that the soil test is chemically based with very little consideration given to the microbiological life in the soil. With this in mind, Growers Mineral, Corp. felt it was necessary to try and work with a soil test type that based its results on that microbiological life in the soil. With the establishment of the Growers Research Team, a search began to find the type of soil test which reflected the health of the soil, since soil health is fast becoming an idea embraced by consumers. As a company, this type of search has been conducted in the past; however, it resulted with very little to no success. Therefore, we know that these types of searches do not always achieve success. The company's most recent search uncovered a test called the microBIOMETER.
The microBIOMETER results measures the amount of active biomass in the soil sample. Although the company that manufactures the microBIOMETER is considered an outlier company by some in the soil testing world, the company's ideas seemed to correspond with the principles Growers has seen work over the years that the Growers company has been in business.
For example, the idea that a soil sample can be shipped to a different geographical area over a number of days while still not influencing the live portion of the soil seems not to be correct. The microBІOMETER tests the soil in "real time." Also, the idea that the soil's characteristics are not manipulated by physical disturbance of the soil seems to be counter-intuitive to occurrences that happen with tillage and rainfall. Almost all soil testing labs grind and rewet soil samples, while the microBIOMETER does neither of these procedures.
Finally, the philosophy of the microBIOMETER is to make comparisons of various soil areas and then compare biomass numbers. This approach is very similar to the idea of doing test strips in the field.
Growers Mineral, Corp. does not know if the microBIOMETER is the proper soil test. That is why the Growers Research Team was established: to investigate the methodologies that will be helpful to the GMS customer.
This is an excerpt from the Spring Growers Solution (2022) written by Jim Halbeisen, Director of Research.
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