Andrew McGuire
Views of an agronomist on soil, farming, and science. Evidence-based agriculture. Washington State University Extension. t.co/RZ11P3ozYm
Same @ on X.
- Reposted by Andrew McGuire[Not loaded yet]
- New Extension publication: Cover Crop Mixtures vs. Monocultures: What the Research Shows. pubs.extension.wsu.edu/product/cove...
- What will happen to glyphosate? Nice report. www.breakthroughjournal.org/p/the-clock-...
- Why am I skeptical about soil microbiome testing? Microbial communities vary dramatically at tiny scales: root tips, inside aggregates, where plant material decomposes. These microsites host unique communities, yet most tests only give a broad snapshot, missing these critical microsite differences.
- A reminder that the soil micro-environment is much more diverse than our soils tests tell us. "At this scale, pH can vary by more than 1 unit over mm or sub-mm distances, driven by localized microbial activity or organic matter decomposition." bsssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- What they did is show that nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for plant growth, even for reforesting, even after 20 years of letting biological-N fixation occur. scitechdaily.com/this-hidden-...
- A reminder that the soil micro-environment is much more diverse than our soils tests tell us. "At this scale, pH can vary by more than 1 unit over mm or sub-mm distances, driven by localized microbial activity or organic matter decomposition." bsssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Here's the new food pyramid if you look at the actual # of recommended servings and not at the graphic. bsky.app/profile/hhso...
- Today's NEW Dietary Guidelines deliver a clear, common-sense message to the American people: EAT REAL FOOD. The 2025–2030 Guidelines reestablish food as the foundation of health and reclaim the food pyramid as a tool for nourishment and education. NEW Dietary Guidelines for Americans📲 realfood.gov
- “We did our absolute best to get the best possible outcome from these products.” but “The biggest surprise of anything is that nothing worked anywhere,” says Naeve. “Even among cynical people like me, that was really shocking.” Me too. blog-crop-news.extension.umn.edu/2026/01/do-b...
- Reposted by Andrew McGuireThis chart documents one of humanity’s greatest achievements, in my view. We just lived through the fastest population growth in human history. It would have been impressive if food supplies had merely kept pace — but on every continent, they grew even faster than the population.
- A key question in sustainable vs regenerative ag is the goal itself. If we define regeneration as restoring soil to its pre‑conversion state, that’s likely unachievable in annual crop rotations.
- Saturday, Grand Coulee near Lake Lenore. Lichen, fungi, moss, etc.
- Reposted by Andrew McGuireI just published: In praise of experts: distinguishing sense from nonsense in the age of AI Can chatbots flag bad science? In a sea of polished, plausible noise, expertise matters more than ever. medium.com/p/in-praise-...
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- Reposted by Andrew McGuireWhat is the most profitable industry in the world, this side of the law? Not oil, not IT, not pharma. It's *scientific publishing*. We call this the Drain of Scientific Publishing. Paper: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Background: doi.org/10.1162/qss_... Thread @markhanson.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy 👇
- "Healthy soils = healthy crops" sounds great for social media, but reality is more complex. Soil health matters, but so do genetics, weather, management, etc.. Agriculture isn’t a one-variable equation. csanr.wsu.edu/fine-tuning-...
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- Bluesky VS X. Agriculture is not on Bluesky.
- "Fertile soil"’ is mostly a myth. Crops need water, light, and nutrients—these can be managed even on sandy soils with just 0.5% SOM and irrigation. What’s often called ‘fertile’ is just mining old nutrient stores post-conversion. Management matters more.
