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Resources

Documents, links, and videos for advancing soil health.

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Webinar on The Economics of Soil Health Management Systems on Five Cot...

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Planning a Soil Health Management System: Healthy Soils for Sustainabl...

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Cover Crop Management: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Webinar Se...

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Ecological Pest Management: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Webin...

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Ecological Nutrient Management: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton W...

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Soil Health Planning Principles: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton ...

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Linking Soil Biology to Soil Health: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cot...

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Soil Health Basics: Healthy Soils for Sustainable Cotton Webinar Serie...

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Wrapping Up in Richland County

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Warm Season Cover Crop Growth

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Warm Season Cover Crop Mixes

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Principles of Regenerative Agriculture

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Measuring Soil Temperature

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Measuring Bulk Density

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Soil Health in Richland County

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Wide Row Cotton

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Cover Crop Seed Mixes

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Cover Crop Seed Selection

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Introducing the Furrow Runner Plow

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Cotton Soil – Conventional and No Till

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Building Soil Health in Arkansas

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Incorporating Livestock

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Next Level Diversity

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Multispecies Cover Crops

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Getting Started with Cover Crops

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Reducing Disturbance

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Introducing Cotton and Covers; The Soil Health Journey of Three Farmer...

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Why Soil Health is Important to the Future of U.S. Cotton

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Soil Health in South Carolina: Lessons Learned from 8 years of Regener...

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Soil Health in North Carolina: View from the Cotton Gin

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Soil Health in Georgia: Soil Health in a Cotton and Peanut Rotation

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Spotlight on California: Improving Soil Health in a Dry Climate

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Soil Health in Arkansas: Is it Profitable?

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Soil Health in Texas: Lessons from Long-term Study Sites

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Soil Health Challenges in the Delta: What Works and What Doesn’t

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Particle Size Analysis by Hydrometer

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Potential Carbon Mineralization

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Wet Aggregate Stability by Image Quantification

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Soil Inorganic Carbon by Modified Pressure Calcimeter

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Soil Total Carbon and Nitrogen by Dry Combustion

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Soil Health Sampling

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An evaluation of carbon indicators of soil health in long-term agricul...

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Introducing the North American project to evaluate soil health measure...

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Ohio

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Economics of Soil Health Systems Ohio

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in South Dakota

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Economics of Soil Health South Dakota

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems in Illinois

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems – Illinois

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Nebraska

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Economics of Soil Health Systems – Nebraska

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Michigan

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Economics of Soil Health Systems – Michigan

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Minnesota

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Economics of Soil Health Systems Minnesota

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems in Indiana

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems – Indiana

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems in Tennessee

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The Economics of Soil Health Systems – Tennessee

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Iowa

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Economics of Soil Health Systems – Iowa

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Economics of Soil Health Systems on 100 Farms

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Economics of Soil Health on 100 Farms

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Economics Contributions of Reduced Tillage and Cover Crops

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Economics Farmer Experiences

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Economics of Soil Health Management Systems on Five Cotton Farms

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Midwest Corn and Soy

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Soil Health Impacts on GHG Emissions

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Effects of Soil Health Practices on Soil Water Characteristics

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Aggregate Stability as an Indicator of Soil Health for North American ...

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Evaluating a Biological Measurement of Soil Health in Agricultural Eco...

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Selecting for Microbial Life Strategies in Agricultural Soils Under So...

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Effects of Soil Health Management Practices on Soil Carbon Dynamics

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Flexible Framework to Quantify the Functions of Soil

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Management Indices that Reflect Foundational Soil Health Practices

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North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements

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Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs

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2018 Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health

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Soil Health, Human Health Research Priorities Identified

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Fighting Climate Change by Building Soil Carbon Also Gives Farmers Mor...

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Achieving Net Zero Emissions Agenda

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Impact of 2018 Farm Bill Provisions on Soil Health

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Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health

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Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineral...

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Carbon-sensitive pedotransfer functions for plant available water

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Achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions in U.S. Agriculture through Soil H...

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Farmer Mentor Fact Sheet

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Action Plan

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Theory of Change

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Famer Mentor: Sonny Price

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Farmer Mentor: Zeb Winslow

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Farmer Mentor: Burton Heatwole

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Regenerative Agriculture

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release South Carolina

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release North Carolina

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Georgia

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release California

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Arkansas

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Texas

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Mississippi

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The Globe Program – Soils component – Teachers Guide

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The Globe Program – Soils component – eTraining

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Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

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Chicago Field Museum

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NACD – National Association of Conservation Districts

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Water Use It Wisely

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USDA NRCS Soil Materials

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SARE Learning Center

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US Forest Service

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SSSA – Soil Science Society of America Booklets

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Project WET

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Project Learning Tree (PLT)

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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National Ag In The Classroom

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SSSA – Soil Science Society of America Lesson Plans

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USDA NRCS Fact Sheets: Soil Health Basics & Benefits

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USDA NRCS Fact Sheets: “Healthy Soils Are…”

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USDA NRCS Soil Health Theater

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USDA NRCS Videos: The Hope in Healthy Soil

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Kiss the Ground Curriculum

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USDA NRCS Soil Health Infographics

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Irrigation Association Curriculum

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Mighty Mini Microbe’s Tale

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Video

SARE Cover Crop Innovators Video Series

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SARE Alternative Continuous-Cover Dairy Forage System

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SARE Cover Cropping for Pollinators

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SARE Building Soils for Better Crops

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SARE Managing Cover Crops Profitably

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SARE Cover Crop Images Library

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SARE Cover Crop Topic Room

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For the Love of Soil

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Purdue Soil Health

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Purdue Soil Basics

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The Purdue Soil Health Photo Library

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The Purdue Soil Health Video Library

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SHI Food Nutritional Study Executive Summary 2022

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SHI Food Nutritional Study 2022

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Video

Living Soil: A Documentary for All of Us

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Measuring Soil Health (in the United Kingdom and Scotland)

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2016 Cover Crop Survey Analysis

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The Global Risks Report 2019

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United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 Global Action Plan

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Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience

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Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs

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Environment, Social and Governance Data

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State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity – Status, Challenges and Pot...

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Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report

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Agriculture at a Crossroads

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Adapting to Climate Change

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European Climate Adaptation Platform

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Agriculture and Climate Change

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Adaptation to Climate Change

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The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets

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Grassland Plants Show Surprising Appetite for Carbon Dioxide

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World Food LCA Database

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How Agriculture Can Adapt to Climate Change

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Measure the Chain: Tools for Assessing GHG Emissions in Agricultural S...

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Global Warming of 1.5 ֯ C

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NASA Global Climate Change: How climate is changing

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Indicators of Change

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Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II

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Climate Science Special Report

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The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-2021: A Triennial Update

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2018

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Climate Change and Land

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ECONADAPT Toolbox Guide

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Tillage and Crop Rotation Effects on Corn Agronomic Response and Econo...

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The Costs and Benefits of Adaptation

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The Economics of Climate Change Adaption

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The Economics of Soil Health: Current Knowledge, Open Questions, and P...

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ACIAR’s 10 Year Strategy 2018-2027

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Soil Health and Economic Risk

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Data Landscape Mapping for Agricultural Supply Chains

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Soil Wealth

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The Business Case for Investing in Soil Health

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The 2017 Census of Agriculture

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Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture across Asset Classe...

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Cover Crops Lease Insertion

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Non-Operating Landowners and Conservation on Rented Farmland

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Changes in Sorption and Bioavailability of Herbicides in Soil Amended ...

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Comprehensive Strategy to Increase Adoption of Soil Health Management ...

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Current Research Information System (CRIS)

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Soil Health and Yield Stability: Summary of Literature Analysis

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Organic No-Till systems in Eastern Canada: A Review

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Soil Microaggregate and Macroaggregate Decay Over Time and Soil Carbon...

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Pyrolysis Biochar Has Negligible Effects on Soil Greenhouse Gas Produc...

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Microbiome Characterization by High-Throughput Transfer RNA Sequencing...

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Opinion: Vegetable Microbiomes: Is There A Connection Among Opportunis...

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Nitrogen Fertilizer Suppresses Mineralization of Soil Organic Matter i...

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Cover Crop Roots Are An Essential Key to Understanding Ecosystem Servi...

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Cover Crop Information Map

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Voluntary Ecosystem Services Market

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Ecosystem Services and Agriculture: Tradeoffs and Synergies

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CCAFS-MOT: A Mitigation Options Tool for Agriculture

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“4 Per 1000” Initiative

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Soil Carbon Storage – Climate Nexus

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Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) Programme

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FAO Soils Portal

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Soil as Carbon Storehouse: New Weapon in Climate Fight?

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Soil Carbon Storage – Nature

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Carbon Sequestration in Soils

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USDA Tools to Support Source Water Protection – Virginia Tech

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USDA Tools to Support Source Water Protection – AWWA

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International Soil Conservation Organization

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Soil and Water Conservation Society

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Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas

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Ecosystem Services Market Consortium

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Truterra

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SoilWeb

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Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2018

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Soil Health in Agricultural Systems

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Soil Health Through Soil Disease Suppression: Which Strategy From Desc...

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Soil Health and Sustainability: Managing the Biotic Component of Soil ...

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Applying Soil Health Indicators to Encourage Sustainable Soil Use: The...

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Soil Quality – A Critical Review

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What We Talk about When We Talk about Soil Health

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Notice of Recommended Standard Methods for Use as Soil Health Indicato...

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North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements

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Experiments with No-Till Cover Crops at Potomac Vegetable Farms

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Gaining Ground: Successful no-till farmers tell their stories

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Four Farmers in the Upper Mississippi River Basin Talk About the Impac...

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Soil Management and Health: Soil Compaction

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Crop and Fertilizer Management Practices to Minimize Nitrate Leaching

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Soil Health Institute Announces Literature and Review of Information R...

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Improving Water Quality Through Soil Health

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Yield Stability Analysis Reveals Sources of Large-Scale Nitrogen Loss ...

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How to Select a Cover Crop or Cover Crop Mix

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Midwest Cover Crop Field Guide

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Selecting and Using Cover Crops

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Time to Plant Fall Cover Crops

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MCCC Cover Crop Decision Tools

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Cover Crop Planting Specification Guide

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Cover Crops: Best Management Practices

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Managing Cover Crops Profitably

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Ten Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health

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Cover Crop Plant Guides

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Annual Net Returns to Cover Crops in Iowa

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2016-2017 Cover Crop Survey

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Adoption of Soil Health Systems Based on Data from the 2017 U.S. Censu...

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Supply Chain Resilience

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Aichi Biodiversity Targets

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National Integrated Drought Information System

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The Science of Soil Health: What Happens When You Till?

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Soil Health: Physical Properties of Soil

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No Tillage Cropping Systems Fact Sheet

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A Strategy to Improve Soil Health in a Midwest Corn-Soybean Cropping S...

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Four Strategies to Improve Your Field’s Soil Health

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Managing for Soil Carbon: An Introduction

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Economics of Soil Health Systems in Midwest Corn and Soy

The Soil Health Institute interviewed 100 farmers in 9 states who have adopted soil health systems and used partial budget analysis to evaluate their economics.

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Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs

The publication, available through Air, Soil and Water Research, introduces the concept that soil health is a key social determinant of health and explores the current status of soil pollution, soil microorganisms, and soil macroorganisms to human health

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2018 Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health

In March, 2019 The Soil Health Institute (SHI) released the Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health report, which includes recommendations for better understanding soil health – human health relationships.

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Soil Health, Human Health Research Priorities Identified

The Conference on Connections Between Soil Health and Human Health report includes recommendations for better understanding soil health - human health relationships.

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Impact of 2018 Farm Bill Provisions on Soil Health

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Famer Mentor: Sonny Price

Sonny Price has been raising cotton near Dillion, South Carolina, for the past 40 years. Today he farms 6,500 acres of corn, wheat, cotton and soybeans.

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Farmer Mentor: Zeb Winslow

Zeb Winslow is a 5th generation farmer from Scotland Neck, North Carolina, who started his soil health journey by taking lessons from his dad when he began growing cotton using a strip till system after working with the Fishing Creek Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in the late 1990’s.

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Farmer Mentor: Burton Heatwole

Burton Heatwole of Sunshine Place Farm near Millen, Georgia, learned about soil health as a child by watching his father plant cotton into a heavy cereal rye cover crop with a strip-till planter.

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Regenerative Agriculture

Cotton Industry Leaders Share the Importance of Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture During Virtual Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release South Carolina

South Carolina Farmers Share Lessons Learned in Improving Soil Health During Virtual Cotton Farmer Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release North Carolina

North Carolina Farmers Share Lessons Learned in Improving Soil Health During Virtual Cotton Farmer Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Georgia

Georgia Farmers Will Share Lessons Learned in Improving Soil Health During Virtual Cotton Farmer Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release California

California Farmers Will Share Lessons Learned in Improving Soil Health During Virtual Cotton Farmer Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Arkansas

Arkansas Cotton Farmers and University of Arkansas System Divisions Cooperative Extension Service Specialists to Share Impact of Soil Health Practices

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Texas

Texas Cotton Farmers and Texas AgriLife Soil Health Specialists Will Share Lessons Learned During Virtual Soil Health Institute Cotton Farmer Showcase

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Cotton Farmer Showcase News Release Mississippi

Mississippi Farmer to Share Lessons Learned in Improving Soil Health During Virtual Cotton Farmer Showcase

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The Globe Program – Soils component – Teachers Guide

Grades K-12 -- The GLOBE Soil (Pedosphere) investigation is available in the six United Nations languages (select any of the following links to open the corresponding document): Arabic (2005 edition), Chinese (1997 edition), French (2005 edition), Portuguese (1997 edition), Russian (1997 edition), and Spanish (2005 edition).

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The Globe Program – Soils component – eTraining

Grades K-Adult -- Soil intro; Soil Temperature; SMAP Soil Temperature; Soil moisture gravimetric; Soil Characterization; Selecting, Exposing and defining a soil characterization site; Horizon sampling

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Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Grades K - Adult -- MO DIRT (Missourians Doing Impact Research Together)

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Chicago Field Museum

Grades K - 12 -- Underground Adventure exhibit at the museum until December 31, 2020. Get a bug’s-eye view of the world when you magically “shrink” to 1/100th of your actual size—smaller than a penny—to explore an immersive environment of worm tunnels and soil chambers. This exhibition reveals soil to be home to an incredible diversity of living things, and shows how not a single plant or animal could survive without it. After regaining your regular size, become a soil scientist to investigate how life above ground connects to life below.

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NACD – National Association of Conservation Districts

Grades K - 8 -- A five-year rotation for stewardship topics – water, soil, habitat, forestry, and a topic of interest (the highest grade level says grade 6 and above)

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Water Use It Wisely

Grades K - 6 -- Games, lesson plans, fact sheets, videos, water challenges, videos

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USDA NRCS Soil Materials

Grades K - 6 -- Soil materials: lesson plans, activities

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SARE Learning Center

Grades K - 12 -- Learning Center: Books, bulletins, videos, curricula, fact sheets and much more! SARE's Learning Center is a treasure trove of sustainable agriculture information. Use the keyword filters or search box to begin exploring.

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US Forest Service

Grades K - 12 -- Variety of links to activities and publications

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SSSA – Soil Science Society of America Booklets

Grades K - 12 And Adult -- State Soil Booklets: Information on each "state soil"

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Project WET

Grades K - 12 -- Soil Activities and Water education materials (water lessosn plans, books, guides, maps, posters)

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Project Learning Tree (PLT)

Grades K-12 -- Natural resource education material - several soil activities

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Grades K - 12 -- Water Games and Activities, classroom lessons

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National Ag In The Classroom

Grades K - 12 -- The National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix: an online, searchable, and standards-based curriculum map for K-12 teachers.

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SSSA – Soil Science Society of America Lesson Plans

Grades K - 12 -- Matrix of lessons plans and activities for teachers

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USDA NRCS Fact Sheets: Soil Health Basics & Benefits

Grades 8-12

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USDA NRCS Fact Sheets: “Healthy Soils Are…”

Grades 8-12

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USDA NRCS Soil Health Theater

Grades 5-12 -- Soil Health Lessons in a Minute (6 video episodes)

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USDA NRCS Videos: The Hope in Healthy Soil

Grades 5-12 -- Chapters 1 - 7

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Kiss the Ground Curriculum

Grades 6 - 8 -- Kiss the Ground teamed up with Life Lab to develop a middle school curriculum that allows students to understand the vital role soil plays on our planet. The 5-lesson curriculum, written to serve as supplemental material for the Next Generation Science Standards, teaches about the carbon cycle, photosynthesis, soil science, various agricultural practices, and concludes with a regenerative soil-based project.

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USDA NRCS Soil Health Infographics

Grades 4 - 10 -- These informative graphics provide a glimpse of just some of those secrets—and newspaper and magazine editors are encouraged to download and publish these graphics (royalty-free) to help their readers “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil.”

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Irrigation Association Curriculum

Grades 3 - 5 -- Elementary school curriculum. Focusing on grades three through five, the curriculum’s activities take the student on a journey through the benefits of irrigation, including agriculture, landscape and its history.

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Mighty Mini Microbe’s Tale

Mighty Mini Microbe’s Tale, coloring book for Grades 2-4

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SARE Cover Crop Innovators Video Series

Cover Crop Innovators Video Series: a video series of farmers who are cover crop innovators and how they made cover crops and soil health work on their land.

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SARE Alternative Continuous-Cover Dairy Forage System

Alternative Continuous-Cover Dairy Forage System for Profitability, Flexibility and Soil Health: A fact sheet available online about an "alternative continuous-cover forage" system that is based on soil health management and applicable to dairy farmers

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SARE Cover Cropping for Pollinators

Cover Cropping for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects: A bulletin (available online and in print for free) to help farmers and ranchers use cover crops to encourage populations of pollinators and beneficial insects on farm while also addressing other resource concerns.

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SARE Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops: A book (offered online and in print) offering a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management.

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SARE Managing Cover Crops Profitably

Managing Cover Crops Profitably: A book (offered online and in print) exploring how and why cover crops work, and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation.

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SARE Cover Crop Images Library

Cover Crops & Soil Health Images, Illustrations, and PowerPoint Templates: topics include cover crop economics, cover crop selection, biodiversity, water quality, impacts of cover crops and soil health, ecosystem services of cover crops, etc.

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SARE Cover Crop Topic Room

Cover Crop Topic Room: Bulletins, fact sheets, books (online and print versions available), PowerPoint presentation templates, infographics, images, illustrations.

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For the Love of Soil

This resource hub from For the Love of Soil offers teaching materials, including slides, assignments, videos and virtual field trips, for use in soil science courses.

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Purdue Soil Health

Soil Health section topics include how a healthy soil should look and smell, economics, increasing OM, and urban gardening.

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Purdue Soil Basics

Soil Basics includes lessons on soil origins, profiles, components, structure, pesticides, and ag soils.

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The Purdue Soil Health Photo Library

The Purdue Soil Health photo and video library gives you easy access to photos and videos that may be useful in your efforts to inform and educate others about soil health.

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The Purdue Soil Health Video Library

The Purdue Soil Health photo and video library gives you easy access to photos and videos that may be useful in your efforts to inform and educate others about soil health.

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SHI Food Nutritional Study Executive Summary 2022

Exploring the Relationship Between Soil Health and Food Nutritional Quality: Executive Summary Only 2022

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SHI Food Nutritional Study 2022

Exploring the Relationship Between Soil Health and Food Nutritional Quality: A Summary of Research Literature 2022

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Living Soil: A Documentary for All of Us

Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre.

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Measuring Soil Health (in the United Kingdom and Scotland)

A position paper from the Soil Association that discusses the inclusion of soil organic matter (SOM) in the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs’s new mandatory soil testing. The paper addresses the policy as part of its discussions of the ‘Farming Rules for Water’. SOURCE: Soil Association

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2016 Cover Crop Survey Analysis

Insight from 2,020 farmers from across the country reflected enthusiasm for cover crops and—for the fourth year in a row—found a yield boost in corn and soybeans following cover crops. Multi-year data shows the yield boost increases as cover crops are planted year after year, a revelation that points to an appealing long-term benefit of the conservation practice. The survey offers data unavailable elsewhere, providing a vital glimpse into farmers’ use of and perceptions about cover crops: Previous SARE/CTIC Cover Crop Surveys have been used by researchers and farm groups, and even cited in Congressional testimony. SOURCE: SARE

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The Global Risks Report 2019

The world is facing a growing number of complex and interconnected challenges—from slowing global growth and persistent economic inequality to climate change, geopolitical tensions and the accelerating pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In isolation, these are daunting challenges; faced simultaneously, we will struggle if we do not work together. There has never been a more pressing need for a collaborative and multistakeholder approach to shared global problems. SOURCE: World Economic Forum

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United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 Global Action Plan

The Decade of Family Farming provides an extraordinary opportunity for the United Nations to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in an inclusive, collaborative and coherent way. Putting family farming and all family-based production models1 at the focus of interventions for a period of ten years, will contribute to a world free of hunger and poverty, where natural resources are managed sustainably, and where no one is left behind–corresponding to the top commitments of the 2030 Agenda. SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity, with far-reaching and devastating impacts on people, the environment, and the economy. Climate impacts affect all regions of the world and cut across all sectors of society. People who did the least to cause the problem—especially those living in poverty and fragile areas—are most at risk. SOURCE: Global Commission on Adaptation

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Soil and Human Health: Current Status and Future Needs

Soil influences human health in a variety of ways, with human health being linked to the health of the soil. Historically, emphasis has been placed on the negative impacts that soils have on human health, including exposures to toxins and pathogenic organisms or the problems created by growing crops in nutrient-deficient soils. However, there are a number of positive ways that soils enhance human health, from food production and nutrient supply to the supply of medications and enhancement of the immune system. It is increasingly recognized that the soil is an ecosystem with a myriad of interconnected parts, each influencing the other, and when all necessary parts are present and functioning (i.e., the soil is healthy), human health also benefits. SOURCE: Air, Soil and Water Research

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Environment, Social and Governance Data

Information on 17 sustainability themes spanning environment, social and governance data. SOURCE: World Bank

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State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity – Status, Challenges and Potentialities

This report, generated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, reflects views of more than 300 scientists from around the world under the auspices of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and the European Commission. It discusses threats and solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different fields. SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report

Assessment of carbon cycle science across North America. SOURCE: US Global Change Research Program

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Agriculture at a Crossroads

Access to reports from various agencies regarding climate change and adaptation strategies. SOURCE: Global Agriculture

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Adapting to Climate Change

In 2015, the Australian Government released a National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy. The strategy outlines how Australia is managing the risks of a variable and changing climate. SOURCE: Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy

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European Climate Adaptation Platform

A repository of programs and reforms related to climate change adaptation. SOURCE: Climate-ADAPT

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Agriculture and Climate Change

Access to information regarding the European Union’s agricultural climate change strategy. SOURCE: European Commission

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Adaptation to Climate Change

This website details the European Union’s Climate Change adaptation strategy. SOURCE: European Commission

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The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets

This 2018 report discusses trends, linkages, and policies related to climate change, including the role of policies and trade practices in climate change adaptation. SOURCE: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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Grassland Plants Show Surprising Appetite for Carbon Dioxide

A long-term study suggests C4 grasslands could soak up carbon dioxide at higher levels than previously thought. SOURCE: Nature

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World Food LCA Database

The World Food Life Cycle Assessment Database (WFLDB) is a global initiative led by Quantis in partnership with leaders in the food sector. The purpose is to drive sustainable change by delivering environmental sustainability data. SOURCE: Quantis

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How Agriculture Can Adapt to Climate Change

International Food Policy Research Institute blog that focuses on implementing sustainable and resilient management of soils, water in agriculture, and climate risks. SOURCE: International Food Policy Research Institute

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Measure the Chain: Tools for Assessing GHG Emissions in Agricultural Supply Chains

This report provides an overview of available resources (i.e. standards, methodologies, tools, and calculators) for assessing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural production and the agricultural supply chain. SOURCE: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security; Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont

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Global Warming of 1.5 ֯ C

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. SOURCE: IPCC

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NASA Global Climate Change: How climate is changing

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created a Global Climate Change website that captures information on climate change, including projections that the largest increases in the frost-free season (more than eight weeks) are projected for the western U.S., particularly in high elevation and coastal areas. The site includes predictions of drought, rainfall patterns, and discusses possible regional fluctuations. SOURCE: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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Indicators of Change

The indicator platform is an interagency collaboration that highlights key indicators to support foundational climate assessment. SOURCE: U.S. Global Change Research Program

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Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II

The National Climate Assessment outlines the science of climate change, variability, and impact across the United States. SOURCE: U.S. Global Change Research Program

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Climate Science Special Report

This report is an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States. SOURCE: U.S. Global Change Research Program

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The National Global Change Research Plan 2012-2021: A Triennial Update

This United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) recaps climate change research and efforts. SOURCE: National Coordination Office for the U.S. Global Change Research Program

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The United Nations entity that assesses science related to Climate Change. SOURCE: IPCC

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WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2018

This publication marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate, which was first issued in 1994. The 2019 edition treating data for 2018 marks sustained international efforts dedicated to reporting on, analysing and understanding the year-to-year variations and long-term trends of a changing climate. SOURCE: World Meteorological Organization

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Climate Change and Land

This publication from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change discusses Land-Climate interactions. SOURCE: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

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ECONADAPT Toolbox Guide

Designed for economists and decision makers, this document contains relevant links and explains the structure of the web-based version of the ECONADAPT Toolbox. ECONADAPT, funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, was designed to provide practical information for decision makers in order to help support climate change adaptation planning. SOURCE: ECONADAPT

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Tillage and Crop Rotation Effects on Corn Agronomic Response and Economic Return at Seven Iowa Locations

This study was conducted at seven locations in Iowa from 2003 to 2013. Objectives: investigate seasonal variability in corn yield as affected by tillage and crop rotation, identify appropriate tillage for each crop rotation and location, and evaluate the impact of crop rotation on corn yield. SOURCE: Agronomy Journal, Iowa State University Extension

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The Costs and Benefits of Adaptation

This document draft (July 2015) summary synthesizes the perceived costs and benefits of adaptation. It draws on the research, analysis and review of the ECONADAPT project, funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme. SOURCE: ECONADAPT

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The Economics of Climate Change Adaption

The objectives of this project, funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, include building the knowledge base on the economics of adaptation to climate change and to convert this into practical information for decision makers in order to help support adaptation planning. SOURCE: ECONADAPT

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The Economics of Soil Health: Current Knowledge, Open Questions, and Policy Implications

This report, published in 2015, summarizes existing knowledge about the economics of soil health, suggests a methodology for studying the economics of soil health, identifies areas with a need for further research, and discusses current and potential policies that address the economics of soil health. SOURCE: Berkley Food Institute, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of California – Berkeley

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ACIAR’s 10 Year Strategy 2018-2027

This review of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) strategy in the Indo-Pacific Region includes three soil-health-related areas: food security, managing natural resources in the face of climate change, and enhancing human nutrition. SOURCE: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

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Soil Health and Economic Risk

Farmers contend not only with uncertainty due to seasonal changes in growing conditions affecting crop yield, but from changes over time in both input costs and prices received. Accordingly, reducing the probability of an undesirably low revenue, or risk can be challenging because so many factors contribute to farm profitability. SOURCE: Soil Health Institute

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Data Landscape Mapping for Agricultural Supply Chains

The first-ever report mapping agriculture technology platforms and sustainability metrics from farm to retail. The report identifies key technologies and platforms currently in place to collect and manage farm data. This report also documents metrics alignment opportunities that will help increase the flow of sustainability data in the agricultural sector. SOURCE: The Sustainability Consortium

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Soil Wealth

As the investment community in the United States, particularly within the fields of sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing, shows an increasing appetite for investing in sustainable agriculture and food systems across asset classes, a subset of investors is demonstrating growing interest in financing not simply “sustainable” agriculture but agriculture that is deemed explicitly “regenerative.” SOURCE: The Croatan Institute

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The Business Case for Investing in Soil Health

Soil health is a pressing global issue that sits at the heart of three UN conventions (UNCBD, UNCCD and UNFCCC). There is an urgent need to mobilize nature-based solutions to address the challenges of climate change. Global soils contain two to three times more carbon than the atmosphere – however, by working with nature and improving soil health, increased carbon sequestration can help to reduce emissions and withstand some of the unavoidable effects of climate change. SOURCE: World Business Council for Sustainable Development

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The 2017 Census of Agriculture

The 2017 Census of Agriculture is the 29th Federal census of agriculture and the fifth conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). SOURCE: USDA-NASS

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Soil Wealth: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture across Asset Classes

“Soil Wealth” is what we call the constellation of benefits associated with building both soil health and community wealth through regenerative agriculture. As the investment community in the United States, particularly within the fields of sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing, shows an increasing appetite for investing in sustainable agriculture and food systems across asset classes, a subset of investors is demonstrating growing interest in financing not simply “sustainable” agriculture but agriculture that is deemed explicitly “regenerative.” SOURCE: Croatan Institute

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Cover Crops Lease Insertion

Use this sample Cover Crop Lease Insertion to work with your farm operator and/or farm manager to incorporate cover crops into your lease. SOURCE: The Nature Conservancy

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Non-Operating Landowners and Conservation on Rented Farmland

This report represents the findings of over 12 months of research on non-operating landowners, or NOLs, and the opportunities and barriers to improve conservation outcomes on rented farmland. SOURCE: The Nature Conservancy

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Changes in Sorption and Bioavailability of Herbicides in Soil Amended with Fresh and Aged Biochar

Knowledge of long-term pesticide behavior in biochar (BC) amended soil is still contradictory. In this work, we compared the sorption of three highly persistent and ionizable pesticides [two anionic (imazamox and picloram) and one weak base (terbuthylazine)] on both fresh and field-aged BC as well as on a soil amended with these biochars. SOURCE: Science Direct

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Comprehensive Strategy to Increase Adoption of Soil Health Management Systems

A flow chart detailing steps from research to implementation. SOURCE: SHI

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Current Research Information System (CRIS)

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) provides documentation and reporting for ongoing agricultural, food science, human nutrition, and forestry research, education and extension activities for the United States Department of Agriculture; with a focus on the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant programs. SOURCE: CRIS

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Soil Health and Yield Stability: Summary of Literature Analysis

Analysis of scientific literature to summarize the impacts of soil health promoting practices on economic risk. SOURCE: SHI

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Organic No-Till systems in Eastern Canada: A Review

Review of cover crops and no till in organic field trials across Eastern Canada (1987-2016). SOURCE: MDPI

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Soil Microaggregate and Macroaggregate Decay Over Time and Soil Carbon Change as Influenced by Different Tillage Systems

Study reviews how the choice of tillage changes the soil physical condition and soil organic matter content, which is an essential factor in building soil aggregates. This research was conducted on a long-term tillage study, established in 2002 at the Iowa State University Agronomy Research Farm near Ames, Iowa. SOURCE: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Iowa State University Extension

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Pyrolysis Biochar Has Negligible Effects on Soil Greenhouse Gas Production, Microbial Communities, Plant Germination, and Initial Seedling Growth

Biochar has been promoted as a soil amendment that enhances soil quality and agronomic productivity and reduces greenhouse gas production. However, these benefits are not always realized. A major hurdle to the beneficial use of biochar is our limited knowledge regarding the mechanisms directing its effects on soil systems. SOURCE: Science Direct

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Microbiome Characterization by High-Throughput Transfer RNA Sequencing and Modification Analysis

Researchers have developed a new technique to directly analyze transfer RNA (tRNA), providing a clearer picture of microbial communities’ responses to various environmental changes, including the changing availability of nutrients. SOURCE: Microbial Biotechnology

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Opinion: Vegetable Microbiomes: Is There A Connection Among Opportunistic Infections, Human Health and Our “Gut Feeling”?

A discussion of potential pathogens in vegetable microbiomes, the impact of farming and processing practices, and plant and human health issues. SOURCE: Microbial Biotechnology

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Nitrogen Fertilizer Suppresses Mineralization of Soil Organic Matter in Maize Agroecosystems

The possibility that N fertilizer increases soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization and, as a result, reduces SOM stocks has led to a great debate about the long-term sustainability of maize-based agroecosystems as well as the best method to estimate fertilizer N use efficiency (FNUE). SOURCE: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

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Cover Crop Roots Are An Essential Key to Understanding Ecosystem Services

Cover crop roots are known to play an essential role in increasing soil organic carbon levels, but root traits that affect carbon storage vary widely among species, and this variation has yet to be characterized, according to Penn State researchers. SOURCE: Phys.org

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Cover Crop Information Map

A website that serves as an aggregator of cover crop trial data SOURCE: gocovercrops.com

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Voluntary Ecosystem Services Market

The article addresses research needs to assess the impact of ecosystem services, such as soil and water quality, carbon sequestration, support for biodiversity and cultural services. The article also addresses management practices, including loss of wildlife habitat, nutrient runoff, sedimentation of waterways, greenhouse gas emissions, and pesticide poisoning of humans and non-target species. Authors indicate the tradeoffs that may occur between provisioning services and other ecosystem services and disservices should be evaluated in terms of spatial scale, temporal scale and reversibility. SOURCE: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

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Ecosystem Services and Agriculture: Tradeoffs and Synergies

The Noble Research Institute has embarked on a national effort to advance ecosystem service markets that provide incentives to improve soil health systems. SOURCE: Noble Research Institute

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CCAFS-MOT: A Mitigation Options Tool for Agriculture

The CCAFS Mitigation Options Tool (CCAFS-MOT) estimates greenhouse gas emissions from multiple crop and livestock management practices in different geographic regions, providing policy-makers across the globe access to reliable information needed to make science-informed decisions about emissions reductions from agriculture. SOURCE: CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

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“4 Per 1000” Initiative

Launched by France in 2015 at the COP 21, the aim of this initiative is to demonstrate that agriculture, and in particular agricultural soils, can play a crucial role where food security and climate change are concerned. The contention is that an annual growth rate of 0.4% in soil carbon stocks, or 4% per year, would halt the increase in the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere that is attributed to human activities. SOURCE: CGIAR System Organization, 4p1000

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Soil Carbon Storage – Climate Nexus

Summary, discussion of pathways, and other resources, including a state-by-state profile as well as a policy status map, to increase awareness and information regarding soil carbon sequestration efforts. SOURCE: Climate Nexus | Nexus Media

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Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) Programme

This website showcases Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) efforts to address climate change in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors and supports countries participating in the climate change negotiation processes within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. SOURCE: FAO-UN

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FAO Soils Portal

The section of FAO Soils Portal focuses on soil carbon sequestration and conservation tools. SOURCE: FAO-UN

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Soil as Carbon Storehouse: New Weapon in Climate Fight?

The degradation of soils from unsustainable agriculture and other development has released billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. But new research shows how effective land restoration could play a major role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change. SOURCE: Yale Environment 360

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Soil Carbon Storage – Nature

Soil Organic Carbon is a vital component of soil with important effects on the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Storage of SOC results from interactions among the dynamic ecological processes of photosynthesis, decomposition, and soil respiration. Human activities over the course of the last 150 years have led to changes in these processes and consequently to the depletion of SOC and the exacerbation of global climate change. But these human activities also now provide an opportunity for sequestering carbon back into soil. Future warming and elevated CO2, patterns of past land use, and land management strategies, along with the physical heterogeneity of landscapes are expected to produce complex patterns of SOC capacity in soil. SOURCE: Nature

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Carbon Sequestration in Soils

What is carbon sequestration? How can farmers and ranchers discuss it so their communities understand? This primer may help. SOURCE: Ecological Society of America

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USDA Tools to Support Source Water Protection – Virginia Tech

This Conference Proceedings report outlines how SANREM CRSP and others are working to develop payment mechanisms that are appropriate for small land holders and will provide them with incentives to adopt conservation agriculture, particularly during the first few years after adoption when there may not be significant production benefits. SOURCE: Office of International Research, Education, and Development, Virginia Tech

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USDA Tools to Support Source Water Protection – AWWA

Water utilities have multiple opportunities to engage with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and local Conservation Districts. This summary, published in 2018, outlines USDA programs that protect wildlife habitat, water, soil and air quality. SOURCE: American Water Works Association

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International Soil Conservation Organization

The International Soil Conservation Organization advocates for the sustainable, productive, and efficient use of soil and water resources. SOURCE: International Soil Conservation Organization

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Soil and Water Conservation Society

The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is an international organization of professionals who practice and advance the science and art of natural resource conservation. SOURCE: SWCS

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Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas

Soils are vital for human survival and underpin many sectors of our economy. It is estimated that 99 % of the world’s food comes from the terrestrial environment. But soils are also home to over a quarter of global biodiversity. Millions of soil-dwelling organisms promote essential ecosystem services – from plant growth to food production. They support biodiversity, benefit human health, promote the regulation of nutrient cycles that in turn influence climate, and represent an unexplored capital of natural sources. SOURCE: Orgiazzi, A., Bardgett, R.D., Barrios, E., Behan-Pelletier, V., Briones, M.J.I., Chotte, J-L., De Deyn, G.B., Eggleton, P., Fierer, N., Fraser, T., Hedlund, K., Jeffery, S., Johnson, N.C., Jones, A., Kandeler, E., Kaneko, N., Lavelle, P., Lemanceau, P., Miko, L., Montanarella, L., Moreira, F.M.S., Ramirez, K.S., Scheu, S., Singh, B.K., Six, J., van der Putten, W.H., Wall, D.H. (Eds.), 2016, Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas. European Commission, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. 176 pp.

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Ecosystem Services Market Consortium

Healthy soils are paramount to the future of the agriculture industry, maintaining ecosystem function, and sustaining plant communities. Unfortunately, some management practices have led to physical soil loss via erosion and a large decline in soil organic matter. It has been estimated that nearly 40% of the earth’s arable lands have been degraded at some level by anthropogenic activities due to soil erosion, extensive soil cultivation, and over grazing. With approximately 70% of U.S. land in private ownership, it is clear that America’s farmers and ranchers are on the front lines for addressing our nation’s natural resource challenges. SOURCE: Ecosystem Services Market Consortium

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Truterra

Truterra™ meets farmers where they are—providing customized insights and a framework for continuous improvement—creating meaningful impact acre-by-acre.

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SoilWeb

The SoilWeb for iOS application accesses soil survey information (the SSURGO dataset, published by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) at your current location. SOURCE: University of California, Davis

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Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2018

In 2018, agricultural activities were responsible for emissions of 618.5 MMT CO2 Eq., or 9.3 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation, electricity generation, and manufacturing sectors were the most significant contributors. Agricultural soil management activities, such as the application of synthetic and organic fertilizers, deposition of livestock manure, and growing nitrogen-fixing plants, were the largest contributors to U.S. N2O emissions (77.8 percent). SOURCE: United States Environmental Protection Agency

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Soil Health in Agricultural Systems

This article explores the integrated concept of soil health, including the emergence of a globally acceptable concept of sustainable agriculture that will require the convergence of soil health-promoting practices and contributions. SOURCE: Kibblewhite 2008

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Soil Health Through Soil Disease Suppression: Which Strategy From Descriptors to Indicators?

In this review, that authors indicate that despite the studies conducted, there are still no guidelines for the assessment of soil quality from the plant health point of view. They present how healthy soil can be defined, which cultural practices have been used to control soil-borne diseases and their limitations, and which soil parameters have been measured when studying suppressiveness, as well as how descriptors could become indicators of soil health, using appropriate analytical and statistical methods. SOURCE: Janviera, Soil Biology & Biochemistry 2007

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Soil Health and Sustainability: Managing the Biotic Component of Soil Quality

Cited by more than 1,200 researchers and authors since it was published in 2000, this journal article indicates that soil organism and biotic parameters (e.g. abundance, diversity, food web structure, or community stability) meet most of the five criteria for useful indicators of soil quality. SOURCE: Doran 2000

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Applying Soil Health Indicators to Encourage Sustainable Soil Use: The Transition from Scientific Study to Practical Application

An overview of the increasing number of scientific studies that have examined the use of biological indicators, including a case study of the ecosystem service of water infiltration, finishing with the considerations involved in starting a new soil health monitoring service in the United Kingdom and in maintaining biological monitoring in The Netherlands. SOURCE: Griffiths, Sustainability 2018

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Soil Quality – A Critical Review

Authors review soil quality and related concepts, in terms of definition, assessment approaches, and indicator selection and interpretation. SOURCE: Bünemann, Soil Society and Biochemistry 2018

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What We Talk about When We Talk about Soil Health

The authors discuss the wide variance among soil sampling protocols and indicate soil health research translations across systems require standardization. SOURCE: Stewart, Agricultural & Environmental Letters 2018

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Notice of Recommended Standard Methods for Use as Soil Health Indicator Measurements

Recommended Soil Health Indicators and Associated Laboratory Procedures. SOURCE: USDA-NRCS, Federal Register 2018

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North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements

Soil Health Indicators and Evaluation Methods Being Reviewed on Long-Term Research Sites. SOURCE: Soil Health Institute

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Experiments with No-Till Cover Crops at Potomac Vegetable Farms

In the past, “ecoganic” farmer Ellen Polishuk would tune out when she heard the words “no-till,” thinking it had nothing to do with her biological vegetable farm. In this video, Ellen explains how she is now trying to save time and further enhance her organic soil management system by seeding cover crops without tillage. Be sure to watch the associated profile video that provides an overview of Ellen’s soil management strategy, as well as the other technical clips with details about her soil-enhancing practices. SOURCE: USDA-NRCS Virginia

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Gaining Ground: Successful no-till farmers tell their stories

More and more farmers all across Virginia are making the switch to soil building continuous no-till systems. These farmers are cutting costs and saving time by planting all of their crops, year in and year out, without tillage. They are also maximizing the soil benefits that come with less disturbance by adding in cover crops, crop rotation, and other practices. As diverse as they are, one thing these farmers all have in common, they tell us they are gaining ground. SOURCE: Gaining Ground Virginia

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Four Farmers in the Upper Mississippi River Basin Talk About the Impact of Soil Health Practices

Newly released research conducted by NACD and Datu Research found that corn and soybean farmers who use cover crops and/or no-till can improve their bottom lines by over $100 per acre. SOURCE: National Association of Conservation Districts

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Soil Management and Health: Soil Compaction

Compacted soil reduces water infiltration and can reduce yield. Farmers can take steps to improve soil structure. SOURCE: University of Minnesota Extension

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Crop and Fertilizer Management Practices to Minimize Nitrate Leaching

This recap of nitrogen fertilizer and crop management practices helps producers minimize nitrate leaching, benefit crop production and protect groundwater quality. SOURCE: Montana State University Extension

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Soil Health Institute Announces Literature and Review of Information Relating Soil Health to Use of Animal Manures and Municipal Biosolids

The Manure and Soil Health (MaSH) Working Group grant recipients summarize existing information related to the role of manure in promoting soil health. SOURCE: MaSH Working Group.

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Improving Water Quality Through Soil Health

According to EPA, more than 70% of the United States’ rivers and streams are in fair or poor biological condition. Recurring events, such as harmful algal blooms in Western Lake Erie and the “hypoxic zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, have drawn public attention to nutrient runoff from agriculture as a contributing source of water quality degradation. SOURCE: SHI

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Yield Stability Analysis Reveals Sources of Large-Scale Nitrogen Loss From the US Midwest

Research from Michigan State University quantifies the importance of nitrogen loss from low-producing areas of individual fields. The study’s good news is that farmers can pinpoint exactly which spots in their fields produce stable yields as well as which areas are inconsistent. By concentrating on those, farmers can save money, reduce fertilizer loss, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. SOURCE: Michigan State University

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How to Select a Cover Crop or Cover Crop Mix

This summary of cover crop selection will be helpful for producers who want a quick guide with no-nonsense information in order to solve a specific field challenge. SOURCE: North Dakota State University

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Midwest Cover Crop Field Guide

This guide will help growers select, grow, and use cover crops. SOURCE: Purdue Extension

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Selecting and Using Cover Crops

Overview of cover crops lectures on benefits, nitrogen, seed drill calibration, and other considerations. SOURCE: UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems

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Time to Plant Fall Cover Crops

This practical guide for Pennsylvania producers highlights cover crop species, recommended planting times, and seeding rates. SOURCE: Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences – Research and Extension Programs

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MCCC Cover Crop Decision Tools

The Midwest Cover Crop Council (MCCC) Cover Crop Decision Tools are web-based systems to assist farmers in selecting cover crops to include in field crop and vegetable rotations. SOURCE: Midwest Cover Crop Council

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Cover Crop Planting Specification Guide

With its cover crop selection guide table on pages 7 and 8, this is a quick field-by-field problem-solving resource. SOURCE: USDA-NRCS

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Cover Crops: Best Management Practices

This introductory overview of cover crop production includes questions you should ask as you begin to plan and provides a summary of options. SOURCE: Farm Progress

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Managing Cover Crops Profitably

Published in 2007, this guide can be used in conjunction with other information on farm management to develop a reasonable cover crops strategy. SOURCE: Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA, University of Maryland and University of Vermont.

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Ten Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health

While soil testing has focused more on chemical and physical properties, new research indicates biology of the soil is important to its overall health and productivity. Cover crops keep the soil covered and provide living roots in the soil throughout the year. Even modest use of cover crops often makes a big difference for soil health over time. SOURCE: USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Agency (SARE), supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

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Cover Crop Plant Guides

Connect to the USDA-NRCS cover crops and soil health information on the web, which includes cover crop guides. SOURCE: USDA-NRCS

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Annual Net Returns to Cover Crops in Iowa

A series of partial budgets based on a statewide survey of Iowa farmers to evaluate the changes in net returns resulting from the incorporation of cover crops into a corn or soybean production system. SOURCE: Journal of Applied Farm Economics

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2016-2017 Cover Crop Survey

The survey of 2,012 farmers showed acreage planted in cover crops has nearly doubled during the past five years, with 88 percent of the farmers using cover crops. The survey reported yield increases in corn, soybeans and wheat following cover crops. SOURCE: Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Agency (SARE) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) with some of their member companies.

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Adoption of Soil Health Systems Based on Data from the 2017 U.S. Census of Agriculture

This report provides several tables and maps that were generated by extracting data from the online Census of Agriculture data sets and then analyzing or ranking the data to provide insights into progress with soil health practices, specifically cover crops and no-till.

SOURCE: Soil Health Institute

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Supply Chain Resilience

This report provides an action-oriented approach to climate change resilience planning with steps and strategies to advise any company at any point in its journey toward supply chain resilience.

SOURCE: HSBC and The Sustainability Consortium

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Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Target 1: By 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.

SOURCE: Convention on Biological Diversity

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National Integrated Drought Information System

Resource that shows the current droughts and their severity.

SOURCE: drought.gov

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The Science of Soil Health: What Happens When You Till?

When we use tillage, the soil ecosystem is disturbed on a massive scale. Purdue’s Dr. Eileen Kladivko contrasts natural ecosystems with tilled systems and describes what we stand to lose when soils are tilled.

SOURCE: Penn State Extension

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Soil Health: Physical Properties of Soil

Soil health is dependent on the physical, biological and chemical properties of soil. This video will explore some of the characteristics related to the physical properties of soil.

SOURCE: Penn State Extension

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No Tillage Cropping Systems Fact Sheet

This quick summary outlines basic no-till benefits.

SOURCE: USDA-NRCS

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A Strategy to Improve Soil Health in a Midwest Corn-Soybean Cropping System

An approach for a corn-soybean farmer to start no till that limits downside risk and yet jump starts soil health.

SOURCE: USDA-NRCS, Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative

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Four Strategies to Improve Your Field’s Soil Health

How do you start improving soil health? This short overview provides a proven path as you consider your priorities.

SOURCE: Purdue Extension

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Managing for Soil Carbon: An Introduction

This video for farmers describes the basics of soil organic carbon: what it is, how it benefits farmers, and how to increase it.

SOURCE: Soil Health Institute

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