In this video, Dr. Clain Jones, Extension Soil Fertility Specialist with the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University, discusses how such agricultural practices such as cropping systems, cover crops, and nutrient management affect soil health in semi-arid climates. Dr. Jones includes soil health parameters, including soil organic matter, pH, enzyme activities, nitrogen availability, and infiltration rates.

Current evidence largely suggests cover crops do not raise yields or returns in the first years of adoption. It is unclear if they will raise returns or lower risk over time. Read more in this article from University of Illinois Farmdoc.

The biggest flour miller in the U.S. is looking to shift 250,000 acres of wheat fields to using regenerative agriculture practices, including cover crops by the end of this year. Ardent Mills, the largest North American miller of wheat for flour, is based in Denver, Colo., and wants to improve soil health, water quality, and crop yields while simultaneously trying to keep climate change at bay.

Cover crops are widely seen as one of the most promising conservation practices, improving soil health while also removing carbon from the atmosphere. But while the number of Midwestern farmers planting cover crops has increased markedly in recent years, 2017 USDA Census data show only about 5% have adopted the conservation practice. Read more in this article from KMA Land.

Extending the presence of living vegetative cover to more months of the year through the use of cover crops has several environmental benefits — for example, prevention of soil erosion and nutrient leaching, improvement of soil microbial habitat and weed/pest suppression. But how much does including cover crops on farms improve physical, chemical and biological indicators of soil health? Read more in this article from University of Nebraska Extension.

In this video from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, U.S. Senator Jon Tester from Montana, a third-generation farmer, discusses soil health policy under the Biden administration.

The speakers in this video explore the ways indigenous and traditional cultures have been “regenerating” the land for centuries. These practices can play an important role in today’s agricultural systems. Working together and learning from each other, all land stewards can regenerate soil health in the U.S.

Dan Kittredge, founder and executive director: Bionutrient Food Association's Real Food Campaign talks about ways the market farmer can take advantage of soil health innovations. This was a far-reaching exploration of agriculture’s sustainable future: on-farm practices, soil biology, carbon markets, and public policy.

This panel discusses the need for coordinating soil health data collection efforts. Innovations in soil health data can help catalyze innovations in healthy soil policy at the state and federal level. Unfortunately, soil health data are often siloed and there is currently limited coordination between public and private sector soil health efforts. This lack of coordination often ends up burdening farmers and ranchers with the arduous role of collecting and reporting different kinds of data for those public and private efforts.