I've been farming my entire life apart from school. Our family raised commercial broiler and broiler breeder chickens. We recently got out of poultry, and now it it just my brother and I working 300 acres. We rotate corn, soy, winter wheat followed by red clover or a cover mix. The last couple years, I've been composting manure in hopes of stabilizing nutrients and introducing more biological diversity to our system. I use a microscope to quantify microbial populations in soil, compost, extracts etc. Compost has allowed us to eliminate tillage where previously we worked in raw manure to mitigate nutrient loss and odours. While no-till and covers have virtually eliminated erosion losses, the jury is still out on whether compost is having a meaningful impact on biology. I've trialled a few biological inoculants and biostimulants but have not seen any positive yield effects. Home-made extract applied to cover seed shows some promise. I'm planning more trials this season. reducing tillage, using cover crops and composting. As mentioned, I have yet to document meaningful change to soil biology in response to compost application. Using the microscope I can assess the diversity shift in soil shortly after compost application, but populations quickly return to baseline. Disappointing, but perhaps not surprising as we are introducing relatively few microbes into an established ecosystem: without some sort of competitive advantage, new arrivals may have little chance of getting a foothold. My focus is therefore shifting to the micro-environment around the planted seed. Perhaps introduction of "keystone" species at germination will allow populations to propagate along with the developing seedling. My approach thus far is to make an extract as microbially diverse as possible, mix it with seed and hope that plant signalling via root exudates will recruit and foster the appropriate microbe populations. I've read some things and talked to a few people that make me hopeful this approach could work. This year I also want to try some foliar nutrition. Opinions vary as to whether foliars work, but the best information I can find suggests that they can if you pay attention to details (water quality, pH, EC etc.). I'm working with Joel Williams to put a program together. My thinking here is to provide to the plant what biology cannot, which will be especially important during the transition to better soil health. Success stories in the "regenerative" sphere suggest we can decrease inputs if the soil biology is functioning properly. Often missing from these stories, however, are the details of transition, ie how do we bolster soil health and decrease inputs all while maintaining economic yield? I think exposing the plant to a diverse microbe population from which it can recruit, ratcheting back on soil-applied nutrients, and using foliars to address micronutrient deficiencies as they arise is the best path towards healthier soil and efficient use of inputs. We shall see if we can put those ideas into practice!