Improving Soil Health Can Improve Profitability, Study Says

The Soil Health Institute and National Association of Conservation Districts announced the results of a nationwide, in-depth study of 30 farms that demonstrates how improving soil health can help farmers build resilience and improve profitability across a diversity of soil types, geographies, and cropping systems. This multi-year and data-driven collaboration among the Soil Health Institute (SHI), the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) assessed the economics of soil health management systems (SHMS) for a range of crops including canola, chickpea, corn, cotton, dried bean, grain sorghum, millet, pea, peanut, rye, soybean, sunflower, walnut, and wheat. Jeremy Peters, NACD Chief Executive Officer, said, “We recognize that farmers must weigh the costs, risks, and overall benefits when introducing new practices into their operations. This project shows that soil health management systems are both feasible and profitable.”