Brinton quoted in BDN article on soil health, effects on potatoes
Will Brinton, the CEO of Woods End Laboratories in Mount Vernon and a soil scientist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Bangor Daily News for the article, “Healthier soil for the sake of larger spud crop.” Several researchers and farmers attended a recent soil health field day in Presque Isle, organized by the Central Aroostook Conservation and Water District, which is working to share best practices in soil management that can increase potato yields and reduce fertilizer pollution, according to the article. “You don’t need to necessarily revolutionize all your methods, but by making some small changes, like a winter cover crop, over time, the (soil) system is changing,” said Brinton, who has developed several soil health tests available to farmers and labs. Earthworms and microbes feeding on decaying roots from cover crops “work to make the soil deeper and spread,” Brinton said.