The Soil Health Roadmap Project
Stewardship focused farmers intuitively understand soil health is the fundamental basis of farm health. Healthy soils are characterized by good structure and tilth, properties that promote aeration, water infiltration, and strong root growth. Healthy soils also have a sufficient and renewing source of soil organic matter—which provides plant-available nutrients—and supports a thriving community of macro and microbiota. Building soil health is one of the best forms of crop insurance because healthy, living soils provide a number of valuable services that support crop production. Not only do healthy soils increase crop vigor, they can also enhance crop resilience to abiotic (e.g., drought and extreme fluctuations in temperature) and biotic stresses (e.g., pests and pathogens).
Despite the many benefits associated with healthy soils, building soil health is not straightforward. This is particularly true for farmers managing diversified operations that require multifaceted approaches to address the needs of the many stakeholders involved in the process. Moreover, there is no one prescriptive path that will improve soil health for all agricultural operations. Due to these intrinsic challenges, the goal of improving soil health is too often deferred or addressed in a piecemeal way. One strategy for overcoming these challenges is to build a soil health roadmap that is tailored to your specific operation.
What is a Soil Health Roadmap?
The past three years, thanks to a grant from the Washington State Soil Health Committee and Clark Conservation District, I've been working to develop a systems-based framework to help diversified producers improve the health of their soil. In 2018 I wrote a Soil Health Roadmap for April Joy Farm.
A Soil Health Roadmap is intended to provide you with a comprehensive view of your farm operations from the perspective of its creator: the living soil. The overall goal of the Soil Health Roadmap is to increase your confidence and empower you to make strategic operational changes that create long-term resilience and improved health for yourself, your family, and the farm you steward.
Do you want to create a Soil Health Roadmap for your operation?
I encourage any diversified producers interested in this work to sign up for updates about this project. Ideally, with adequate funding, I would partner farmers with technical advisors and experienced practitioners to help develop custom soil plans that focus on sequestering carbon, improving soil health and supporting the viability of diversified sustainable farm businesses.
Meanwhile, please make use of our recently published Soil Health Roadmap Case Study For Diversified Producers, which you can download here.