We break down what soil organic matter really is, from living microbes to old, dark humus that can take years to form. We also explain why that small slice of soil drives soil health through better structure, nutrient cycling, and water holding capacity.

We discuss
• defining soil organic matter as the biological legacy of a field
• connecting soil composition to the “critical” 5% organic fraction
• explaining humus as a stable end product of decomposition
• improving soil aggregation and aggregate stability for better structure
• boosting water retention and water holding capacity
• increasing negative charge and cation exchange capacity to hold nutrients
• chelating micronutrients like iron, copper, and zinc for plant availability
• releasing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur through organic matter breakdown
• feeding soil microbes by expanding the soil food buffet
• building organic matter with compost, residue, manure, cover crops, and reduced tillage

Tune in next time for a tiny bite of knowledge from GK Technology, where we have a map and an app for that.

https://gktechinc.com/

High fertilizer and seed costs make field-by-field efficiency feel urgent, so we walk through how variable rate technology turns “I know my field” into something your equipment can actually run. We also share the simplest places to start, what details matter with controllers and file exports, and how older gear can still deliver real ROI.

In this episode, we talk
• spring 2026 recap through the lens of input costs, weather, and markets
• asking field-level questions that reveal profitable variability
• building the workflow from boundary to variability map to prescription
• choosing between zone maps from imagery and grid sampling maps
• understanding why controller type changes how a shapefile must be written
• reducing frustration by matching prescriptions to controller capabilities
• starting with variable rate seeding for corn and soybeans
• adjusting populations on droughty hilltops and sandier soils
• making air seeders and multi-tank carts part of a precision ag plan
• using research, forums, and testing to make older controllers work

If you're interested in how GK can help you get started implementing VRT on your farm, check out our website for more information.

https://gktechinc.com/

We take a practical trip into satellite imagery and explain how Landsat and Sentinel support real agronomy work like NDVI analysis and variable rate mapping. We break down what makes these datasets reliable, how resolution changes what you can see, and why revisit timing matters when clouds get in the way.

In this episode, we tackle:

• free government-operated imagery through NASA USGS and the European Space Agency
• using multi-band satellite data to calculate NDVI for crop vigor mapping
• why sun-synchronous orbits create consistent lighting and shadows
• resolution explained as ground area per pixel and why 10 m shows more detail than 30 m
• Landsat program timeline and the Landsat 7 data gap problem
• constellations as a backup plan and a way to increase image frequency
• Sentinel revisit cadence vs Landsat revisit cadence and what that means during the season

Tune in next time for a tiny bite of knowledge from GK Technology, where we have a map and an app for that.

Related episodes:

• S1 20.5 Tiny Bytes: Choosing Quality Imagery https://www.buzzsprout.com/2297340/episodes/16135793
• S2 1.5 Tiny Bytes: Check Out GK Technology's Imagery Library https://www.buzzsprout.com/2297340/episodes/16524859

GK Technology Info on obtaining satellite imagery: https://gktechinc.com/data-links/

https://gktechinc.com/