Skip to main content
Skip to main content

Soil Health


Small Farmers Share Land, a High Tunnel and Knowledge

June 25, 2014 Diane Petit, NRCS Massachusetts

When Jim and Nancy Faulkner bought their small farm in Boxborough, Mass. in 2009, the place was a mess. Buildings were falling down, the soil was poor and the land was covered with invasive plants. Nonetheless, they wanted to turn it into a sustainable farm. Help came from two very different...

Conservation Food and Nutrition Farming

USDA Helps Landowners Manage for Soil Health, Buffer Drought Effects

June 06, 2014 Ciji Taylor, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Soil health is always important, but extreme weather in the last few years has shown landowners just how important managing for it really is. “The vital part of soil is topsoil, which unfortunately is also the part most susceptible to the effects of weather. That’s what makes protecting it so...

Conservation

Secretary's Column: Supporting Cutting Edge Conservation

May 30, 2014 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

This week, USDA and its partners launched a new conservation initiative, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a program that goes beyond traditional government support for conservation and allows businesses and other for-profit partners to invest in regional conservation projects...

Conservation

Picture it! Conservation!

May 06, 2014 Spencer Miller, Natural Resources Conservation Service

This month USDA will be highlighting the value of conservation with a different focus each week. Sometimes the benefits of conservation can be abstract. For example, think a minute about the dollar value of a single tree. Can you come up with a number? Did you consider that the tree creates oxygen...

Conservation

Cover Crops and Soil Health Awareness Gaining Popularity in South Carolina

April 25, 2014 Amy Overstreet, Natural Resources Conservation Service, South Carolina

Nearly 100 farmers recently gathered in Dillon County, S.C. to see why some farmers are raving about the benefits of cover crops. A few groups hosted a field day to illustrate first-year findings resulting from demonstrations made possible through a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant. USDA’s Natural...

Conservation

Earth Day 2014: The Hope in Healthy Soil

April 22, 2014 Ron Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service

For years, it was believed that a certain amount of cropland soil erosion was inevitable. But by using conservation techniques like cover crops, no-till and diverse crop rotations, an increasing number of farmers are proving that we can actually build our soils and, in some instances, increase soil...

Conservation

Top Five Reasons You Should "Root" for Soil Health Farmers on Earth Day 2014

April 17, 2014 Ron Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service

Earth Day is next Tuesday. To meet the growing sustainability challenges of the 21 st Century, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is reminding people that many of the solutions are right at our feet — in the soil. Here are the top five reasons NRCS says why on Earth Day 2014 you...

Conservation

Soldier-Turned-Farmer Uses Rotational Grazing to Make His Minnesota Ranch Successful & Sustainable

February 26, 2014 Julie MacSwain, Minnesota Natural Resources Conservation Service

Pete Berscheit has wanted to farm since he was five. But with three brothers interested in farming, he didn’t think the fourth-generation family farm in Todd County, Minn. would be large enough to support everyone. So instead of farming, Berscheit joined the Army at 17, where he served for 20 years...

Conservation

Digging into a Farm's History Helps Teach About Soil

February 24, 2014 Genevieve Lister, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Maryland

In the middle of the Broadneck Peninsula in Cape St. Claire sits a part of Maryland history that was neglected until a few years ago. The empty house resting on 30 acres was once part of Goshen Farm, a working farm that nearly covered the entire peninsula. Corn, wheat, beets, buckwheat and cabbage...

Conservation

Digging Deeper: New Video Series Unlocks the Secrets of Soil Health

January 31, 2014 Ron Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service

For years, researcher and filmmaker Buz Kloot suspected something remarkable was happening under our feet. His suspicion was based on interviews he conducted with farmers from various parts of the country – all of whom reported significant production and environmental benefits by simply improving...

Conservation
Subscribe to Soil Health

AskUSDA

One central entry point for you to access information and help from USDA.