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Soil Compaction in Upper Midwestern Crop Production

Fact Sheet

Gabrielle Bolwerk
Water Resources and Soil Health Educator
University of Minnesota
Cloquet

Team Members: Bolwerk, G*1, DeJong-Hughes, J*2, Daigh, A3
  1. Water Resources and Soil Health Educator, University of Minnesota Extension, Cloquet, Minnesota, 55720
  2. Soil Health Educator, University of Minnesota Extension, Willmar, Minnesota, 56201
  3. Associate Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68583

Abstract

Soil compaction and the associated natural resource and agronomic issues that accompany it continue to be an issue in Upper Midwestern cropping systems. Compacted soils can lead to increased precipitation runoff, soil erosion, root growth restriction, and crop nutrient deficiencies. To inform audiences about soil compaction in cropping systems, Jodi DeJong-Hughes and Aaron Daigh created a 48-page publication, the Upper Midwest Soil Compaction Guide. Gabi Bolwerk (primary author, Carlton County, Minnesota) transformed this guide into a 2-page fact sheet targeted at a broader, more casual audience of farmers and agricultural advisors. Co-authors Jodi DeJong-Hughes and Aaron Daigh provided revisions. This fact sheet offers the audience simplified information on the causes, effects, diagnosis, and management of soil compaction. To improve accessibility to this broader audience, the fact sheet has a grade 8 readability score, which is in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). The University of Minnesota’s University Digital Conservancy houses this fact sheet, and in its 5 months of publication has received 44 file views. In the future, the fact sheet will be distributed at soil health-related field days and conferences to amplify the message of healthy soil management.

Factsheet