Crop Management
Why Biomass Matters for Your Farm and How to Measure It
Biomass is the total amount of living plant material in your field. Learn why it matters and how to measure it.
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Loam Soil
Loam is the soil every farmer wishes they had more of. The challenge is keeping it that way — not fixing it.
Loam is a rough mix of sand, silt, and clay. It drains well enough to work early, holds enough water to carry through dry weeks, and the nutrients stick around. Almost any crop grows well on it. The risk isn't low fertility — it's slow erosion of soil capital from years of row crops without organic matter coming back in. Loam farms well for decades, then yields quietly plateau because the organic matter gave out.
Where this soil fights you
And what we do about each one.
Organic matter slowly falls with continuous row crops.
The fix — Keep something in the rotation that puts organic matter back. Don't let the soil give more than it gets.
Compaction from heavy equipment reduces rooting.
The fix — Manage traffic patterns. Avoid wet-field passes. Controlled traffic helps where feasible.
Hidden micronutrient drawdown on high-yield fields.
The fix — Annual soil tests and occasional in-season tissue checks catch it before yields drop.
How we approach it
Match the product to the crop, not the soil. Loam is forgiving, so the decisions are straightforward. Balanced nutrition plus an organic-matter input keeps the soil where it is. Swap to a phosphate-focused product for soybeans so you're not overshooting on nitrogen. A cover crop every few years keeps the biology active.
How each crop performs here
Programs we’d run on loam soil for the major rotation crops.
Corn
AgroForce
3 tonnes/ac
Loam is already productive — the job is maintaining it. Balanced AgroForce keeps the soil capital intact; a light MicroBoost starter drives early vigor.
Soybeans
MicroBoost
0.8 tonnes/ac
Strong bean yields on loam come from a simple, P-forward program. MicroBoost delivers phosphate and micros — nothing more needed.
Be the next happy customer
Talk to someone who knows your area
Our advisors live in Southwestern Ontario and farm here too. Reach out by phone or email.
From the Knowledge Hub
Longer reads on the same topics.
Farming on loam soil? Bring us a recent soil test.
Share your soil tests and rotation. We’ll put together a program tailored to your ground — rates, timing, and placement.
Talk to our team→