Alva Review-Courier -

This is the time of the year that the fields lie fallow, waiting for the September planting and the regrowth of wheat, a crop vital to the economy of this region and the nutrition of the nation. We see soil as a necessary evil, something to be valued but often overlooked.

Low till and no till farming has largely replaced the garden-like horticulture practiced by our forefathers. Soil, according to the Noble Research Institute, is “a vital, living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans,” They go on to say that “healthy soils with effective nutrient and hydrologic cycles were functi...