Get right with nitrogen

I have written a lot about nitrogen and its production in and out of the soil. My knowledge is always expanding because it's only recently that humanity has been rethinking how we make and apply this key nutrient.

Recall that the Haber-Bosch Process makes atmospheric nitrogen that is available to plants via a chemical reaction using a fuel feedstock such as natural gas. This industrial process is neither efficient nor benevolent, but provides great short-term returns on poor land in which the soil food web has been sundered.

Nitrogen-fixing is another popular facet of the discussion: the use o...