Farmers who utilize practices like cover cropping and practicing reduced tillage are building healthy soil that will produce more wholesome food, protect our water, and better care for the land. Understanding the role soil plays in growing healthy food is important to understanding the role farmers play in your health.

WHAT IS HEALTHY SOIL?

Healthy soil is teeming with bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, nematodes, and other tiny creatures that play an important role in plant health.

Soil bacteria produce natural antibiotics that help plants resist disease. Fungi assist plants in absorbing water and nutrients. Together, these bacteria and fungi are known as “organic matter.” The more organic matter in a sample of soil, the healthier that soil is.

What Farming practices Build Healthy Soil?

Farming practices such as cover cropping and limited or no-tillage improve and build soil organic matter over time. These methods, also called climate-smart farming, help plants fight diseases and pests naturally and improve the minerals and nutrients in the soil to provide better nutrition to feed plants. When farmers focus on building healthy soil, we all win!

Kids Soil Activity Pages

Kids love soil – and farms! Download these free soil activity pages to help the kids in your life connect soil with healthy food, encourage healthy eating, and teach environmental stewardship.

Partner Profiles the Southern Piedmont Climate-Smart Project

The Southern Piedmont Climate-Smart project is working with farmers and farmers markets in GA, AL, NC, SC and Virginia to study the impact of agricultural practices on soil health. Our project team combines perspectives from academic institutions, nonprofits, NGOs, and farmer associations to form one wholistic study of diverse vegetable farming in the Southern Piedmont.