Andrew McGuire
@agronomistag.bsky.social
Views of an agronomist on soil, farming, and science. Evidence-based agriculture. Washington State University Extension. https://t.co/RZ11P3ozYm
Same @ on X.
Same @ on X.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
ken have i told u about the humble potato
I figure Ken Burns has one, maybe two big documentary series in him before he fully retires. What do you think they should be? My votes include Football, Hip-Hop, World War 1, Reconstruction (though Skip Gates did this one well), Iraq/Afghanistan, 19th Century Expansionism.
November 25, 2025 at 12:09 AM
ken have i told u about the humble potato
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
What 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 👇
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 👇
November 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM
What 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 👇
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-...
Fine-Tuning with Soil Health; Soilborne Disease?
Healthy soils produce healthy crops. right? Nope. Although it would seem the very definition of soil health, this popular thinking does not match what plant pathologists find (Janvier et al., 2007). I...
csanr.wsu.edu
November 20, 2025 at 10:23 PM
"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-...
Bluesky VS X.
Agriculture is not on Bluesky.
Agriculture is not on Bluesky.
October 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Bluesky VS X.
Agriculture is not on Bluesky.
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.
October 28, 2025 at 11:29 PM
"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.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
Whatever your research question, I can assure you it is *NOT* answered by a combination of linear mixed models, random forest, and structural equation models.
October 22, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Whatever your research question, I can assure you it is *NOT* answered by a combination of linear mixed models, random forest, and structural equation models.
The idea that we can precisely fine-tune our soils is wrong. But this has not stopped a swarm of salesmen from swooping upon budding soil micromanagers, hawking their bio-products.
csanr.wsu.edu/micromanagin...
csanr.wsu.edu/micromanagin...
Are You Micromanaging Your Soil?
mi·cro·man·age: to manage or control with excessive attention to minor details. As a means to improve soil management, I commend the high interest in soil biology among farmers and gardeners. However,...
csanr.wsu.edu
October 21, 2025 at 5:53 PM
The idea that we can precisely fine-tune our soils is wrong. But this has not stopped a swarm of salesmen from swooping upon budding soil micromanagers, hawking their bio-products.
csanr.wsu.edu/micromanagin...
csanr.wsu.edu/micromanagin...
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
How many times do I have to tell you that we are not going to solve any food crises by growing bougie lettuce indoors.
High-tech Texas farming company closes doors, cuts over 100 jobs
The grower pulled the plug on its greenhouses.
search.app
October 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
How many times do I have to tell you that we are not going to solve any food crises by growing bougie lettuce indoors.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
Distressed to see I guess I'm out of a job. AI has figured out everything there is to know about maize domestication. (Found this online when looking for images for a talk)
October 13, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Distressed to see I guess I'm out of a job. AI has figured out everything there is to know about maize domestication. (Found this online when looking for images for a talk)
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
This is the left doing its best RFK Jr. imitation, ignoring the preponderance of the evidence on a substance that they really really really want to hate.
Glyphosate's combination of safety & effectiveness makes it the best broad-spectrum herbicide we've ever had.
Glyphosate's combination of safety & effectiveness makes it the best broad-spectrum herbicide we've ever had.
Everyone: ROUNDUP IS KILLING YOU!
Me in NYT: There’s no evidence of that.
Letters to NYT: Well, the science must be biased, and anyway Roundup is killing milkweed and bacteria even if it isn’t killing us, and in any case you sound like an agribusiness shill.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/o...
🤷♂️
Me in NYT: There’s no evidence of that.
Letters to NYT: Well, the science must be biased, and anyway Roundup is killing milkweed and bacteria even if it isn’t killing us, and in any case you sound like an agribusiness shill.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/o...
🤷♂️
Opinion | Debating the Dangers of a Pesticide
www.nytimes.com
October 13, 2025 at 12:41 PM
This is the left doing its best RFK Jr. imitation, ignoring the preponderance of the evidence on a substance that they really really really want to hate.
Glyphosate's combination of safety & effectiveness makes it the best broad-spectrum herbicide we've ever had.
Glyphosate's combination of safety & effectiveness makes it the best broad-spectrum herbicide we've ever had.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea
October 7, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea / Brassica oleracea
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
🌱 Here’s one of the tropical pumpkin hybrids I bred last year. It was easy to grow, productive and very early. I harvested this one just 78 days after transplanting. It’s also delicious – incredibly sweet and nice balance of floral and savory notes.
October 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🌱 Here’s one of the tropical pumpkin hybrids I bred last year. It was easy to grow, productive and very early. I harvested this one just 78 days after transplanting. It’s also delicious – incredibly sweet and nice balance of floral and savory notes.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
The irony is, the advocates pushing "justice" in food systems are usually pushing low-yield organic/regenerative approaches that are nice for Chez Panisse but make food more expensive for the poor and more damaging to the planet.
October 3, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The irony is, the advocates pushing "justice" in food systems are usually pushing low-yield organic/regenerative approaches that are nice for Chez Panisse but make food more expensive for the poor and more damaging to the planet.
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
If something is bad, don’t make it sound even worse
If something is good, don’t make it sound like the One Weird Trick that can fix everything
If something sounds like it could be right, but you know it’s wrong, don’t write or reshare it
Double check stuff before amplifying
We are the algorithm
If something is good, don’t make it sound like the One Weird Trick that can fix everything
If something sounds like it could be right, but you know it’s wrong, don’t write or reshare it
Double check stuff before amplifying
We are the algorithm
September 29, 2025 at 1:16 AM
If something is bad, don’t make it sound even worse
If something is good, don’t make it sound like the One Weird Trick that can fix everything
If something sounds like it could be right, but you know it’s wrong, don’t write or reshare it
Double check stuff before amplifying
We are the algorithm
If something is good, don’t make it sound like the One Weird Trick that can fix everything
If something sounds like it could be right, but you know it’s wrong, don’t write or reshare it
Double check stuff before amplifying
We are the algorithm
"There are probably few sciences that are so closely identified with a specific ideology as is the science of ecology." True.
Yet Weiner goes on to argue that both the science and the ideology of ecology are needed, a dangerous proposal...
jacobweiner.dk/download/2me...
Yet Weiner goes on to argue that both the science and the ideology of ecology are needed, a dangerous proposal...
jacobweiner.dk/download/2me...
jacobweiner.dk
September 26, 2025 at 8:19 PM
"There are probably few sciences that are so closely identified with a specific ideology as is the science of ecology." True.
Yet Weiner goes on to argue that both the science and the ideology of ecology are needed, a dangerous proposal...
jacobweiner.dk/download/2me...
Yet Weiner goes on to argue that both the science and the ideology of ecology are needed, a dangerous proposal...
jacobweiner.dk/download/2me...
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
If this works, it's a new day for beekeepers.
So awesome: Greenlight Biosciences, the startup featured in my book for its RNA biopesticide that constipates potato beetles to death, gets approval for a new one that stops bee-killing “destructor mites” from reproducing. Science!
finance.yahoo.com/news/greenli...
finance.yahoo.com/news/greenli...
GreenLight Biosciences Launches Norroa, the First RNA-Based Treatment for Varroa Mites, Offering New Hope Amid Record Bee Losses
GreenLight Biosciences ("the Company" or "GreenLight Bio") today announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) registration of Norroa™, the first-ever nature-based treatment specifically ...
finance.yahoo.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:02 PM
If this works, it's a new day for beekeepers.
Cover crop mixture research, 5 states, 17 site-years, concludes that CC mixture diversity and seeding rate did not consistently improve CC performance, measured soil parameters, or cash crop yields.
But they cost more.
Open access.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...
But they cost more.
Open access.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...
September 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Cover crop mixture research, 5 states, 17 site-years, concludes that CC mixture diversity and seeding rate did not consistently improve CC performance, measured soil parameters, or cash crop yields.
But they cost more.
Open access.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...
But they cost more.
Open access.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10...
Dramatically? 🤔 Fertilizers yes, fungi not so much.
SPUN spin.
SPUN spin.
September 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Dramatically? 🤔 Fertilizers yes, fungi not so much.
SPUN spin.
SPUN spin.
Fertilizer DOES NOT burn up soil organic matter.
Long-term study finds "NP fertilization substantially augments both the quantity and stability of soil organic carbon stocks."
scienmag.com/long-term-n...
Long-term study finds "NP fertilization substantially augments both the quantity and stability of soil organic carbon stocks."
scienmag.com/long-term-n...
Long-Term N and P Boost Soil Carbon Storage
In the unrelenting battle against climate change, soil organic carbon (SOC) stands as a pivotal ally, intimately linking terrestrial ecosystems to global carbon cycles. Despite its vital role in climate mitigation and agroecosystem productivity, the persistent decline of SOC
scienmag.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Fertilizer DOES NOT burn up soil organic matter.
Long-term study finds "NP fertilization substantially augments both the quantity and stability of soil organic carbon stocks."
scienmag.com/long-term-n...
Long-term study finds "NP fertilization substantially augments both the quantity and stability of soil organic carbon stocks."
scienmag.com/long-term-n...
AI is right up there with biofertilizer as a deceptive marketing term.
AI is just A.
Biofertilizer is just bio.
AI is just A.
Biofertilizer is just bio.
September 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
AI is right up there with biofertilizer as a deceptive marketing term.
AI is just A.
Biofertilizer is just bio.
AI is just A.
Biofertilizer is just bio.
Ecologists, agroecologists, and regenerative agriculture advocate for biodiversity as a solution to many agricultural challenges. However, the research supporting this approach is often not directly applicable to crop production. Read on to learn why...
csanr.wsu.edu/why-ecologic...
csanr.wsu.edu/why-ecologic...
August 18, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Ecologists, agroecologists, and regenerative agriculture advocate for biodiversity as a solution to many agricultural challenges. However, the research supporting this approach is often not directly applicable to crop production. Read on to learn why...
csanr.wsu.edu/why-ecologic...
csanr.wsu.edu/why-ecologic...
How dare they focus on yield to reduce hunger, poverty, and the destruction of biodiversity.
Productivity drivel!
🙂
Productivity drivel!
🙂
@hannahritchie.bsky.social explains why increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most pressing problems: ourworldindata.org/africa-yield...
Increasing agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important problems this century
Agricultural productivity across Sub-Saharan Africa needs to improve to reduce hunger, poverty, and the destruction of biodiversity.
ourworldindata.org
August 12, 2025 at 11:40 PM
How dare they focus on yield to reduce hunger, poverty, and the destruction of biodiversity.
Productivity drivel!
🙂
Productivity drivel!
🙂
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
Still shocked that a senior official would endorse biodynamic farming. I don’t know a single serious ag or environmental expert who supports it. Some back organic or regenerative—I disagree with them, but at least there’s debate. But biodynamic? It's based on mysticism, not science.
t.co/4ZNJ5gv4rq
t.co/4ZNJ5gv4rq
https://www.agriculture.com/partners-rfk-jr-rollins-stress-improving-soil-health-at-first-capitol-hill-maha-roundtable-11772946
t.co
July 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Still shocked that a senior official would endorse biodynamic farming. I don’t know a single serious ag or environmental expert who supports it. Some back organic or regenerative—I disagree with them, but at least there’s debate. But biodynamic? It's based on mysticism, not science.
t.co/4ZNJ5gv4rq
t.co/4ZNJ5gv4rq
Reposted by Andrew McGuire
New paper published this week! "Herbicides Have Minimal and Variable Effects on the Structure and Function of Bacterial Communities in Agricultural Soils" enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Herbicides Have Minimal and Variable Effects on the Structure and Function of Bacterial Communities in Agricultural Soils
In vitro analysis of glyphosate impacts does not reflect dynamics in the agroecosystem. This study indicates the importance of a diverse, cooperative microbiome in field soils that could improve resi...
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM
New paper published this week! "Herbicides Have Minimal and Variable Effects on the Structure and Function of Bacterial Communities in Agricultural Soils" enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...