In South Dakota, saline and sodic soils are a serious problem as they inhibit plant growth and productivity. These soils affect an estimated 7.6 million acres of farmland across the state, concentrated mostly in the Upper James River area. Due to increased precipitation over the past decades the problem continues to get worse.
The South Dakota NRCS estimates that from 2007-2011, Beadle, Brown and Spink counties experienced an economic loss of $26.2 million due to saline/sodic soil conditions.
To help farmers alleviate and better manage this growing problem, the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council has invested check-off dollars to research possible amendments and management practices to make troubled ground once again productive in some capacity.
In the past two years, South Dakota State University Extension has held four workshops and field tours to educate farmers on how to tackle this soil health problem.
If you happened to miss those events or would like to review the material, South Dakota Corn has made available the six most recent presentations from those workshops to help farmers manage and better understand saline and sodic soils.
The different presentations include:
Research Page: http://www.sdcorn.org/for-farmers/corncouncilresearch/