By James Hoorman, Hoorman Soil Health Services

Due to a lack of rain, the soil is getting hard. When soil gets dry and lacks adequate soil organic matter (SOM), clay particles set up like cement. Most farmers do a fall tillage, which will increase water infiltration in the short term, but long-term, the soil just gets denser as the soil compaction gets worse.

Brian Doughtery, a consultant for Understanding Ag, LLC, says three things cause soil compaction: 1) too much heavy equipment, 2) not enough biology, and 3) nutrients and/or a lack of nutrient balance. Soil compaction is common on most farms, but it is not a natural or inevitable problem.

On heavy equipment, when a piece of machinery crosses a field, the weight pushes the air or pore space out of the soil. Without pore space, the s

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