Indiana Ag News Headlines Publication Released on Managing Reclaimed Mined Soils for Farming Indiana Ag Connection - 03/18/2010 A widely diverse work team recently has completed a new guide to help farmers manage cropland that is returned to production agriculture after it has been mined and reclaimed. This is the second publication the group has released. This team is comprised of soil scientists, agronomists, coal mine operators, coal mine regulators, and farmers. They have met and worked over a period of years to produce the information in this guide, plus an earlier publication, "A Citizens Guide to Mined Land Reclamation." The new publication, "Farm Management Practices for Reclaimed Cropland," was developed for the soils in the southern Indiana and Illinois where surface mining operations are common on agricultural lands. "A high percentage of the soils in this area are classified as 'prime farmland,' which means they are highly productive before they are mined. Our efforts focused on returning the land to ag production," says Bob Jones of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Reclamation. "We pulled this group together because it spans all the organizations that know mining operations, soil science, agronomy, and production agriculture," says Russ Miller, Office of Surface Mining. According to NRCS State Soil Scientist Travis Neely, "Along with all the other specialists, several producers who are farming reclaimed mine land were part of this effort. They gave us a very real and very practical perspective, because they work with these management recommendations in their farming operations. So we can already see the realities of these farm management practices in both grain and livestock operations." "Soil properties change when they go through reclamation," said Drew Brand, a local farmer on the team. "We put this guide together to help farm operators understand how they can change management practices to adapt their operations successfully. Reclaimed soils can be productive again, and this guide can help get them to a condition so that they are productive." Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.