Connecting Soil Health Principles

Have you ever stopped to think about your connections to people? Good connection provides for an exchange of positive energy and builds trust. It gives us a sense of belonging. People with strong connections have been known to experience better health outcomes than those with poor connections.

While we may feel like we are constantly connected through technology, it seems many studies are showing how the quality of our connections has decreased with the use of technology. Technology provides opportunities we could only dream about 30 years ago and I’m thankful for that. However, if I have a choice, I prefer to sit one on one or in a small group and connect face to face.

Farming, ranching, and the agriculture industry overall experience a lot of stress, uncertainty, financial pressure, and isolation. It’s easy to feel disconnected. Take time to think about your closest connections. Reach out to them. Check in on them. Stop by or give them a call or text. It’s good for them, but it’s also good for you. Ask for help if you need it, for you or for a friend or family member. NDSU has a list of resources through their farm safety program available. Click here for a list of resources.

We are also connected to the land and soil. Soil Health is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans*. Soil health affects water quality and air quality. Good soil health improves the productivity of your land, making it possible to raise more food or energy. It’s all connected!

In August 2022, I attended a field tour at the Menoken Farm where Greg Judy, owner of Green Pasture Farms, author, YouTuber, and advocate for regenerative agriculture made an interesting point. Ask yourself “what would happen in nature if we weren’t here” and think about regenerative agriculture from this perspective.

There is an abundance of resources available about Soil Health principles, but here are the basic principles. 

1. Soil armor or cover: Soil that is protected by cover is protected from wind and water erosion across the soil surface, reduces evaporation, regulates soil temperatures, and helps suppress weeds. Both living plants and plant residue are considered cover.

2. Minimize Soil Disturbance: A good measure of healthy soil is what you see below the surface. Over time soil disturbance, especially tillage, significantly disrupts the soil microbes and soil aggregates that are important for healthy soils.

3. Plant diversity: It’s been said that prior to settlement of the Plains there was an abundance of plant diversity. Settlement brought agriculture, which has mostly consisted of a monoculture annual cropping system. Utilizing cover crops can help add diversity back.

4. Maximize living roots: While we can’t have live roots all year in the Northern Plains, think about how you can maximize the amount of time you do have live roots. Live roots help with erosion and weed control. Live roots also put exudates into the soil that help plants break up nutrients in the soil to be used by the plants, provide a food source for soil microbes, and help hold together soil particles to improve soil aggregates. Soil aggregates are an important piece of the puzzle for water infiltration and determine how well roots can penetrate the soil.

5. Livestock Integration: While not mentioned by all as a principle of soil health, the integration of livestock has many benefits to soil health. Warm and cool season cover crop species provide a range of options for fitting grazing into your operation. Perennial grass mixes can be incorporated into areas where production is low.

Cover crops are an excellent way to connect soil health to your operation. While it might not be possible or wise for you to implement all of the changes at once on all your land, consider how you could start with making one change.

At Pulse USA, we are here to connect you with quality seed that can make your soil health goals a reality. Reach out to us any time to discuss your soil health and how we can help.

*United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1048783