Farming Video | How Tile Drainage Boosts Soil Health & Crop Nutrition

19 Jul 252m 56s

Tile drainage ain’t just about yield—it’s about healthier soil, better crop quality, and real dollars. Kelly Garrett explains why adding oxygen to your soil pays off big.

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00:00:00 A benefit of tile drainage you might not even have thought of. We're talking about soil health 00:00:04 because of better aerobic activity down deep and how it might make for a better crop and ultimately make you more money 00:00:10 for a more nutrient dense crop that you produce. I'm talking to Mikayla Tott here with a DS and Kelly Garrett. 00:00:16 And usually, let's face it, I'm the one that comes up with these brilliant topics. I gotta admit Kelly came up with this one. 00:00:22 So anyway, it's a big thing for you. It's kind of really been your, your thing for the last six to 12 months about nutrient density, soil health, 00:00:30 how it goes from the soil to the plant, the plant to the say the cow, the cow to our dinner plate. And it all ties together. And a lot 00:00:36 of folks don't think about this, but having the right soil drainage can change and help you achieve better crop, not just yields, 00:00:46 but the actual components in the crop. Yes. You know, we talk about my number one priority is to balance the soil and the base saturation. 00:00:53 We wanna have good biological life, things like that. I call it farming in tune with mother Nature. Well, if the soil is too wet, then goes anaerobic it, 00:01:02 no oxygen in the soil. Uh, we have a huge yield penalty. We have a huge quality penalty, 00:01:07 we have a huge erosion penalty. It's across the board, it causes a problem. Alright, Kelly and I can talk about the benefits 00:01:13 of tile drainage all day long. We both put drainage tile on our farm. You're the one that goes on, talks to farmers, right? 00:01:19 When you show up at the farm, what do you tell them? So another thing that we can add is the importance of oxygen in the soil. 00:01:25 So when your soil suit's too saturated, your plants do need oxygen to breathe. So if it's too saturated, 00:01:30 you're not gonna get, you know, the best yield that you can. So when you add drain tile, 00:01:33 you are adding oxygen back into your soul to help you with that. Uh, in addition to all the other nutrients 00:01:38 that are important to, to plant health. I, I'd agree with all of that. We spent a lot of time talking about fertility. 00:01:44 We tell, you know, farmers love the, you know, more fertility, more fertility, more crops sometimes, as you say. 00:01:48 Kelly, what about air? What about carbon? What about exchange? What about balance? I think the right drainage makes you get there, helps 00:01:57 You get there. We're, as farmers, we're conditioned to think that NP and K are the most important nutrients. 00:02:01 The most important nutrients we have in row crop production are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. 00:02:06 And without the proper amount of oxygen in the soil, the biological life suffers. And when the biological life suffers, 00:02:12 there isn't plan available. Nutrients for your root system to take up the tile solves this 00:02:17 problem, amends this problem. It should be your first priority. The soil. You gonna be putting in more drainage 00:02:23 tile as time goes on? Absolutely. We do some every year. Got it. His name's Kelly Garrett, joined 00:02:27 by McKay Todd with a DS. We're coming at you from the Miles Farm, field Day, McGee, Arkansas. 00:02:32 This is our second field day of the season. If you happen to be watching this before the last one, we run these through August. 00:02:37 You can find out all the dates and locations at Extreme Ag Farm. We would love to see you at one of our field days. 00:02:42 They're free to attend, always informative, always fun. We want you to be there. Till next time, thanks for joining us. 00:02:47 Check out all of our great stuff@extremeag.farm, hundreds 00:02:49.735 --> 00:02:51.335