Ottawa County Kansas Conservation District

09/04/2026

I love Renata! She has the best plant care information on her website. Now she has a podcast! 😱💕

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

Our Kansas Soil Health School, "Dig into the Fundamentals of Soil Health," is less than two weeks away! Join us September 16-17 in Axtell, Kansas for two days of soil health education.

Follow along as we spotlight our speakers.

Learn more and register here: https://kssoilhealth.org/event/soil-health-school-dig-into-the-fundamentals-of-soil-health/

09/04/2026

The USDA Service Center in Minneapolis will be closed Monday, September 7th for the Labor Day holiday. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, September 8th.

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

We’re incredibly grateful for the support of Kansas County Farm Bureaus and Conservation Districts across the state who invest in agricultural literacy through their generous donations to KFAC.

Your commitment helps us provide free resources, hands-on kits, and training for teachers, empowering classrooms to explore the importance of Kansas agriculture every day.

Thank you for helping us grow the next generation of ag-literate Kansans!
Kansas Farm Bureau
Kansas Association of Conservation Districts
Norton County Conservation District
Norton County Farm Bureau
Labette County Farm Bureau
Labette County Kansas Conservation District

09/03/2026

You can spend thousands of dollars testing your soil and still wonder what is actually happening beneath your feet.

Maybe your crops are struggling. Maybe water is not infiltrating like it should. Maybe you suspect compaction, poor root growth, or a lack of biological activity.

The problem is, if you never look below the surface, it can be hard to know where to start.

One of the best tools for understanding your soil might be sitting in your shed.

A shovel.

Grab a spade and insert it into the ground as deep as you can. Make several cuts so you can pry up a block of soil. Then break that sample in half and look at the middle, not just the smooth edges created by your shovel.

As you dig, pay attention.

How easily does the shovel enter the ground? Do you hear roots tearing as you pry up the soil? Are there earthworms and other macro arthropods? How deep does aggregation extend? Can you identify compaction layers? How deep are roots growing, and do you see healthy rhizosheaths around them?

Sometimes, the first step toward solving a soil problem is simply taking the time to see what is happening below the surface.

Before you make another decision about your soil, grab a shovel and start digging. You might be surprised by what your soil has been trying to tell you!