Soil Health Institute

At the recent National Black Growers Council Field Day at Warren James’ farm in Perry, Georgia, Soil Health Educators Jessica Kelton and Jared Conner presented on soil health benchmarks and the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund’s efforts to advance soil health in the area. To set goals for improving soil health, farmers need locally relevant information for their soil and cropping system that shows what’s achievable by changing how they manage their land. Learn more about our benchmarking approach here: https://lnkd.in/d--K7Wyr

At the recent National Black Growers Council Field Day at Warren James’ farm in Perry, Georgia, Soil Health Educators Jessica Kelton and Jared Conner presented on soil health benchmarks and the U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund’s efforts to advance soil health in the area. To set goals for improving soil health, farmers need locally relevant information for their soil and cropping system that shows what’s achievable by changing how they manage their land. Learn more about our benchmarking approach here: https://lnkd.in/d--K7Wyr

It was wonderful to see so many friends at the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research 10th anniversary celebration! It is amazing how much impact they've had in such a short period of time. Thinking back on the significance of FFAR's support for the Soil Health Institute, they were instrumental in our research to identify effective measurements of soil health that are now supported by USDA-NRCS financial assistance programs for farmers & ranchers in all 50 states. FFAR's model of public-private partnerships helped make that happen!

Are you an Arkansas cotton farmer looking for free support with your soil health questions? It’s Technical Specialist Tuesday, which means we get to introduce U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund Technical Specialist Dr. Bill Robertson, who’s here to help! During his Extension appointment at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Dr. Robertson focused on sustainable cotton production that emphasized soil health before retiring in 2023. Technical Specialists assist in designing soil health management systems specifically for cotton production and offer guidance on cover crop selection, seeding and termination methods, and planter adjustments. They also recommend locally relevant resources for those interested in learning more about soil health. To connect with Technical Specialists across other USRCF states or ask them about soil health and cotton systems, visit our Contacts page: https://lnkd.in/eR8NmgxD

As #ClimateWeekNYC wraps up, we’re sharing another way our work advances climate goals through soil health. Our partnership with Yard Stick PBC is developing an affordable, user-friendly probe to measure and monitor soil organic carbon stocks in the field, providing real-time data that can aid in carbon removal and sequestration programs. Supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, Yard Stick recently made its debut on Capitol Hill, where ARPA-E Director Dr. Evelyn Wang tried out the handheld probe.

You’ll see SHI’s U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund among the efforts detailed in this report. We’re grateful for Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation’s support!

How can dairy farmers become leaders in implementing climate solutions? Researchers with Dairy Management Inc. and Soil Health Institute are looking into management practices and technologies that enable dairy farmers to reach their sustainability goals and set the stage for new market opportunities, incentives and investments in dairy sustainability. They're taking a #holistic look at yield, #soilhealth, water and #GHG measurements, compared to differing management practices elsewhere. Knowledge is power. And researchers are enabling the #dairy industry to have the decision-making tools it needs to be #climate leaders. Read more about these insights through the link in the comments.

Education and outreach are at the heart of our strategy for increasing adoption of soil health systems to benefit farmers and the environment. At the recent Carbon and Cover Crops workshop hosted by Iowa Corn, Soil Health Educator Shannon Moeller used samples from her own farm to demonstrate our free Slakes smartphone app. Slakes measures aggregate stability – one of our essential indicators of soil health. Download Slakes and find out why aggregate stability matters: https://lnkd.in/gX_zJuBM #ClimateWeekNYC

Participating in #ClimateWeekNYC? So is our Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Cristine Morgan, who will be part of a panel about climate-smart agriculture. Throughout the week, we’ll highlight the connections between soil health and climate – and how our work advances climate goals. Many management practices used to improve soil health also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To significantly reduce emissions, we need to increase adoption of these practices. One way we do this is to show that soil health systems make economic sense for farmers. Find our economics fact sheets and webinars here: https://lnkd.in/eaDaetBM

Join us on a five-year project supporting potato growers in Wisconsin and Maine! We’re seeking a Soil Health Educator to support adoption of regenerative agriculture practices. Application review begins October 11. Full details: https://lnkd.in/emVbku3C