To Soil Sample Or Not To Soil Sample?

As you start to pivot from 2024 harvest to 2025 planting, it's time to start thinking about soil fertility. During this episode of the Pioneer Agronomy podcast, to soil test or not to soil test in drought conditions?

"I wouldn't delay it. There's the option, but if you're usually sampling after Harvest, do it then. Understand that those results might be skewed a little bit. You could make an argument to wait for more moisture in the ground. But if it's my ground and I have the time to get across the field, I'm going to do it in that weather window. I'm in favor of getting it done," says Pioneer Agronomist Ben Jacob.

It's harder to take soil samples when the ground is dry, and some of the numbers could be skewed slightly due to the lack of moisture. If you're going to sample now, podcast host and agronomist Brian Shrader reminds us that soil samples need to be taken at the same depth, even if it's hard to drive the probe to full depth.

Find more resources on nutrient management in the soil from Pioneer here: https://www.pioneer.com/us/agronomy-science/topic.nutrientManagement.html