Elevate Ag

Do you pull soil samples at the same time every year?

Soil tests shift with moisture, temperature, and biological activity, so a spring sample and a fall sample from the same field can read very differently. Sampling in the same window each year gives you trends you can compare.

Timing is only half of it. The test you choose matters just as much. A standard chemical test shows what nutrients are in the soil, but not how alive it is or how available they are to the plant. Tests like the Haney and TND go further. The Haney measures things like biological activity and nutrient availability, while TND reveals the total nutrient bank in your soil.

So we want to know: when do you usually sample, and which soil tests are you running?

Those white threads running through the clod in the first photo are fungal hyphae, and you can see them without any magnification. The second photo shows the same clump under the microscope. The hyphae weave between soil aggregates, binding them together and leaving open pore space for air, water, and roots.

This sample was dug in April, but the work started the fall before, when HyprCycle+ went in-furrow with a cover crop.

Fall is a great opportunity to get biology working on your ground before winter sets in. Whether it goes on residue after harvest or with a cover crop, the work you start now is what you’ll find in your soil come spring.

Fall residue is next year's fertility, if the biology is there to unlock it.

Stalks are high in carbon and lignin, which makes them slow to break down. Fungi are the main decomposers of that tough material. Their enzymes break down lignin and cellulose that bacteria struggle with, and their hyphae move nutrients through the soil as they work. When fungal activity is low, residue tends to sit on the surface into spring and keeps its nutrients locked up longer.

HyprCycle+ pairs a fungal-dominated microbial population with the food sources it needs to get that process moving, so residue breaks down and nutrients cycle back into the soil ahead of next season.

Questions about fitting it into your fall plan? Send us a message or reach out to your Elevate Ag advisor.

How do you measure whether a season of applied biology improved your soil?

Long before the combine rolled, the biology was doing jobs like cycling nutrients, extending roots deeper into the profile, and unlocking tied up nutrients in the soil.

Want to check for signs of healthier soils yourself? Dig a shovel of soil and see how it holds together. Look for earthworms and other beneficial insects. Pull a plant and check how far the roots went. These are the signs that microbial population did its job.

If what you find isn't where you want it, that biology can be built back. Post-harvest is one of the better windows to introduce biology, before the ground closes up for winter. In this fall window, there's a blanket of carbon for microbes to utilize, and a population started now has all winter to establish before the next crop needs it.

What signs are you checking for on your own ground this fall?

Now hiring - Plant Manager! 🌱

Elevate Ag is on a mission to help farmers build healthier soil and stronger crops, and we need the right person to lead our Herington, KS plant. This isn't just a job running equipment, it's a chance to be part of something that's actually making a difference in agriculture.

Looking for someone who's:
✅ Hands-on and mechanically inclined
✅ Experienced in plant, warehouse, or manufacturing work
✅ Ready to grow with us and eventually lead a team
✅ Detail-oriented - because quality matters in everything we make

If that sounds like you, we'd love to chat! Link below to view the full job description and apply. 👇
https://form.jotform.com/262564167590161

Both of these corn plants were treated with the same Elevate Ag products in-furrow. The difference? The plant on the right was also treated with HyprGerm Dry.

That one extra step gave this plant a bigger foundation to work with all season, more surface area to pull nutrients and water, more resilience built in before conditions ever got tough. This is how a programmed approach can really begin to move the needle.

When you look at your own fields, are you seeing a single application’s worth of roots, or a program’s worth?