NRCS helps landowners manage for soil health, buffer drought effects

Soil health is always important, but extreme weather in the last few years has shown landowners just how important managing for it really is.

“The vital part of soil is topsoil, which unfortunately is also the part most susceptible to the effects of weather. That’s what makes protecting it so crucial,” said Doug Miller, NRSC Minnesota soil health coordinator.

The top two components of topsoil are clay content and soil organic matter which hold nutrients and water for plant use and growth.

“The amount of clay content is determined by glacier content left behind and cannot be changed, but the percent of organic matter in topsoil can be increased,” Miller said.

One percent of organic matter in the top six inches of soil can hold about 27,000 gallons of water per acre. Increasing organic matter increases the holding capacity for water making your land more resilient to extreme weather.

Even with last year’s drought, landowners benefitted from improved soil health.

“There were two farms separated by a road that had the same soils, same crops and same precipitation. While one farm thrived through extreme weather, the other one lost corn plants, soil and water. The variable here was the management of the land,” said Miller.

Landowners are the managers of soil, so it’s important to use practices that help protect and improve your soil, he added.

NRCS identified four principles that help improve soil health.

1. Keep soil covered as much as possible.

2. Use plant diversity to increase diversity in the soil.

3. Keep living roots in the soil as long as possible.

4. Disturb the soil as little as possible.

Managing for soil health can help increase productivity and profits, decrease inputs and improve sustainability for farms and ranches.

“We need soil to be productive not just this year, but five years from now, 20 years from now, 60 years from now, and that starts with soil health,” Miller said.

NRCS’ soil health webpage provides in-depth knowledge and experiences from landowners across the nation. Visit your local NRCS office or visit the website (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/soils/health/) to see how soil health is making a difference.