Plants make sugar. Yes, really. Through photosynthesis, plants create sugars and send some of that energy into the soil, feeding microbial life below ground. In return, those microbes help cycle nutrients, release CO2, and support the carbon cycle in ways most people never see. But here’s the real question: what happens when soil can’t breathe? When soil becomes compacted, oxygen drops. And when oxygen drops, you start losing the aerobic microbes that do much of the heavy lifting in healthy soil. Aerobic microbes are the workhorses. They thrive where oxygen is present, especially around plant roots, and they play a major role in nutrient cycling and plant support. In a healthy system, they should dominate. That said, anaerobic microbes also have a role. You generally want a much smaller anaerobic population, roughly 20%, with the remaining 80% being aerobic. Anaerobic microbes are usually found in and just below the compaction layer, where oxygen is limited. Their role is to begin breaking down that compacted zone and opening the soil back up. In other words, they help turn six inches of breathing soil into six and a half. That matters. Because without that function, the soil does not start to reopen. The aerobic microbes cannot do that job alone. So both groups matter, but they matter in different places and for different reasons. The plant, however, prefers some distance from the anaerobic crowd. Anaerobic microbes are not generally meant to be close to the root zone. They do not work with plants in the same productive way. Their role is more structural and transitional, helping make the soil more hospitable over time. The aerobic microbes are the ones closely tied to the roots. They need oxygen. They need a food source. And that food source comes from the plant. That’s the beauty of the system. Plants are not just growing in soil. They are actively managing relationships underground, feeding the biology that feeds them back. Healthy soil is not just dirt.

Alfalfa often gets talked about as a high-protein feed, but what really matters is why that protein can be useful. Alfalfa is rich in amino acids, which play an important role in muscle repair and recovery. That makes it especially helpful for horses in work, growing horses, or those needing extra nutritional support. It is also naturally high in calcium. Calcium can help buffer stomach acid, which is one reason alfalfa is often used as part of a feeding programme for horses prone to gastric ulcers. By helping create a more balanced environment in the gut, it may support better digestive comfort. Another major benefit of alfalfa is its high vitamin A content. Vitamin A is important for growth, development, immune function, and overall health, which makes alfalfa particularly valuable for young, growing horses such as foals. Used properly, alfalfa can be an excellent forage option. It is nutrient-dense, supportive of growth and recovery, and can play a useful role in digestive health. Like any feed, it works best when balanced with the horse’s age, workload, condition, and overall diet. Questions for discussion: 1. Do you currently feed alfalfa to your horses? Why or why not? 2. Have you noticed a difference in condition, recovery, or digestion when using alfalfa? 3. Do you prefer feeding alfalfa as hay, cubes, or pellets? 4. For young or performance horses, how do you balance alfalfa with the rest of the ration? 5. What is the biggest misconception you hear about alfalfa?

https://www.no-tillfarmer.com/ext/resources/2026/02/17/NTF_Benchmark-Report-2026_NTFMR83_0426_DE.pdf

With everything going on this spring, I find these reports really interesting to read. It's time for a change in how we Farm!

Fertilizer prices are doing a very rude thing right now. They are forcing farmers to get honest. Because when input costs spike, all the weak spots in a system suddenly start glowing like a check engine light. And the truth is, the farms that are going to stay ahead will not just be the ones that can afford more fertilizer. They will be the ones that have built systems that need less of it in the first place. That is the real game. Over the past decade, on our mixed grain and cattle operation, we have been working to reduce our reliance on synthetic fertility by focusing on something a lot more durable than product. We have focused on biology, rotation, diversity, and management. Not theory. Not a conference panel. Not a nice idea in a PDF. What actually works in the field. One of the biggest missed opportunities, in my view, is rotation. When I think about rotation, I am really thinking about carbon and nitrogen, and whether we are setting biology up to do its job or making it work overtime with no support. Soil microbes need balance. The sweet spot is around 24 to 1 carbon to nitrogen. But most monocrop systems do not live anywhere near that neighbourhood. Take fall rye. It can sit around 82 to 1. That is a lot of carbon and not much nitrogen. So when biology goes to break that residue down, it needs extra nitrogen to pull it off. If you throw synthetic nitrogen at the system, some of that nitrogen gets hijacked to deal with last year’s leftovers instead of feeding this year’s crop. That is why rotation matters. If you follow a high-carbon crop with something lower in carbon and higher in nitrogen, like peas, lentils, or another legume, the whole system starts to breathe easier. Residue breaks down better. Nutrient cycling improves. Input pressure comes down. That is not just good agronomy. That is good business. Intercropping is another place where things get really interesting, because now you are not just planting a crop. You are building a relationship. Peas and oats are probably one of the easiest examples. It is simple, practical, and especially useful on mixed grain and cattle farms because it gives you flexibility. You can take it off as a cash crop, you can use it as feed, and either way you are combining a higher-carbon plant with one that contributes nitrogen and balance. That usually means better biomass, solid grain production, and less dependence on synthetic inputs.