Blog Posts
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CEPHaS Conservation Agriculture Perspectives – 5
Professor Emanoel Gomes de Moura is professor in the Agroecology Post- Graduate programme at Maranhão State University in Brazil. He is a specialist in tropical agriculture with particular interest in low-fertility soils and the stabilization of soil...
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CEPHaS Conservation Agriculture Perspectives – 4
CEPHaS is interested in a broad perspective on conservation agriculture, in the context of the farming system, the constraints farmers face and the ways in which they are adapting to climate change. For this reason we have engaged with a range of par...
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Communicating 4R to Farmers and Connecting on Content – Lara Moody
Ms. Lara Moody, Vice President of Stewardship and Sustainability Programs at The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), detailed how TFI condensed fertilizer best management practices into the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework to achieve cropping system goals o...
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Relaying Usable Research Results to Farmers – Diana Jerkins
Dr. Diana Jerkins, Research Director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), highlighted the importance of tailoring research information for specific audiences and individuals. OFRF creates numerous materials to educate and communicate to...
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Lessons Learned from 30 Years of SARE Farmer-Researcher Projects – Rob Myers
Dr. Rob Myers discussed farmer, rancher, and researcher interaction through the lens of grants and projects funded by Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) programming during the last 30 years. Dr. Myers is the Regional Director of Ex...
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Microbial Physiology Regulates How Much Crop Residue Becomes Soil Organic Matter – Stuart Grandy
Dr. Stuart Grandy, Associate Professor at the University of New Hampshire, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, pressed the audience to consider how the science behind soil health should progress and innovate. Dr. Grandy described the...
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Turning Soil Health into $oil Wealth: Policy and Economics – Jim Jordahl
Dr. Jim Jordahl evaluates monetizing soil health from a land valuation perspective. Dr. Jordahl has more than 30 years of experience in farming operations, soil science, engineering, environmental science, and project management. Dr. Jordahl currentl...
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Unlocking Connectivity in Agricultural Supply Chains – Carolyn Baltz
SHI collaborates with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) to drive action and innovation in sustainable practices. SHI invited Ms. Carolyn Baltz, the Senior Manager of Membership and Development at TSC, to address the 3rd Annual Meeting and provide a...
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How Does Soil Health Increase Resilience to Drought and Extreme Rainfall?
Extreme weather events, such as extended drought and heavy precipitation, are out of landowners’ and growers’ control; but through effective soil health management systems they can better manage how they prepare for and react to these circumstances. ...
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Attendees of the Cotton Farmer Showcase Are Reaping Big Benefits
We’re half-way through the eight-part Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Farmer Showcase, featuring cotton producers and soil health specialists across the United States discussing the challenges and successes they have encountered on their journey...
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Mr. David Lamm: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Program
Today’s consumers want to know their food and fiber products are sustainably grown and the cotton industry is listening. Cotton farmers, manufacturers and retailers are collaborating to deliver cotton in a way that increases soil organic carbon as we...
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Dr. Dianna Bagnall: A New Tool for Farmers to Build Drought Resilience through Soil Health
Farmers know that soil health-promoting practices increase soil organic carbon, drought resilience, and farm profitability. Despite this, equations provided in soil science literature have not shown this relationship. As a result, farmers have not ha...
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Dr. Archie Flanders: Identifying Costs and Benefits of Soil Health Management Systems
Research indicates that soil health management systems (SHMS), which include reduced tillage and incorporating cover crops with production of cash crops, decreases soil erosion, improves water infiltration, increases soil carbon, and reduces inputs t...
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Ms. Katie Harrigan: Federal and State Level Soil Health Legislation
Ms. Katie Harrigan of Tufts University provided an update on both U.S. federal and state soil health legislation during the Policy session of the Soil Health Institute’s 2020 Annual Meeting in her talk “Federal and State Level Soil Health Legislation...
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Dr. Cristine Morgan: North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements
The Soil Health Institute is leading the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM) with the goal of identifying the most effective indicators of soil health by measuring more than 30 indicators across 124 long-term researc...
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Dr. G. Mac Bean: Effects of Soil Health Practices on Soil Water Characteristics
Soil structure and aggregate stability regulate the capacity of the soil to capture, transmit, store and release water. Damaging these soil properties can result in greater soil water runoff and erosion. Therefore, determining how agricultural manage...
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Dr. Kelsey L. H. Greub: Aggregate Stability as an Indicator of Soil Health for North American Soils
Aggregate stability is defined as the ability of a soil to maintain its physical structure and withstand external forces. Aggregate stability is related to physical, chemical, and biological soil properties, and is sensitive to changes in soil manage...
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Dr. Charlotte Norris: Evaluating a Biological Measurement of Soil Health in Agricultural Ecosystems Across North America
What is the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) procedure for soils? What do you want to think about when comparing PLFA lab reports? Dr. Charlotte Norris addressed these questions within an agricultural context. Dr. Norris, Forest Soils Research Scientis...
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Dr. Elizabeth Rieke: Selecting for Microbial Life Strategies in Agricultural Soils Under Soil Health Promoting Practices
Soil microbes are largely responsible for degrading organic materials and cycling nutrients in soil, and are highly sensitive to physical and chemical changes in soil. Biological measurements currently used to assess soil health provide an understand...
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Dr. Shannon Cappellazzi: Flexible Framework to Quantify the Functions of Soil: Examples with Nitrogen Cycling
The Soil Health Institute is working on building a flexible framework to quantify the functions of soil as a means of interpreting soil health measurements. This framework will be meaningful for farmers and ranchers, those interested in ecosystem ser...
