Soil health - expectations and evidence

Authors: Jin, Virginia

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Soil health and its various components have been studied academically for decades but only in the last several years has soil health been widely acknowledged as a keystone concept for agricultural sustainability. Importantly, soil health and the climate resilience of U.S. agricultural systems made it into the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill), signaling a major advancement for conservation efforts. Long-term research has shown that the general benefits of conservation management are highly variable and location-dependent. Given the dynamic nature of management response, the question is - which conservation practices will work for me and how can I adapt them to best fit my farm? In the 2018 Farm Bill, cover crops, crop rotations, and advanced grazing management are among the major conservation practices identified for improving agricultural soil health. Here, these practices are discussed, including the expectations for implementing them and the evidence for their effectiveness.

Technical Abstract: Soil health and its various components have been studied academically for decades but only in the last several years has soil health been widely acknowledged as a keystone concept for agricultural sustainability. Importantly, soil health and the climate resilience of U.S. agricultural systems made it into the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (aka the 2018 Farm Bill), signaling a major advancement for conservation efforts. Long-term research has shown that the general benefits of conservation management are highly variable and location-dependent. Given the dynamic nature of management response, the question is - which conservation practices will work for me and how can I adapt them to best fit my farm? In the 2018 Farm Bill, cover crops, crop rotations, and advanced grazing management are among the major conservation practices identified for improving agricultural soil health. Here, these practices are discussed, including the expectations for implementing them and the evidence for their effectiveness.