James River Valley soil salinity affects crop production for area farmers

  • South Dakota state soil health specialist Kent Vlieger shows the water table and salinity level of the soil in a field south of Andover Sept. 29. The area falls in the James River Valley region which since the 1990s has seen an increase in saline affected soil. Reporter & Farmer | Leyton Beardslee
    South Dakota state soil health specialist Kent Vlieger shows the water table and salinity level of the soil in a field south of Andover Sept. 29. The area falls in the James River Valley region which since the 1990s has seen an increase in saline affected soil. Reporter & Farmer | Leyton Beardslee

    Since the 1990s salt content in the soil of the James River Valley region of South Dakota which includes parts of western Day County has been on the rise, decreasing crop yield.

    Kent Vlieger, a South Dakota state soil health specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) who studies the area, said the valley, which used to be a sea bed, has always had soil salinity but because of …