Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
National Soil
Health Initiative
The Soil Health Roadmap to
Productive, Sustainable
Farming in the 21st
Century and Beyond
June 4, 2012
www.nrcs.usda.gov
NRCS - HELPING PEOPLE
HELP THE LAND
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
The Bigger Picture
• World population is estimated to be at 9.1
billion by 2050 (an approximate 30% increase).
• To sustain this level of growth, food production will
need to rise by 70 percent.
• Between 1982-2007, 14 million acres of prime
farmland in the U.S. was lost to development.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
The Bigger Picture, continued
• From 1995 and 2005 the U.S. increased fertilizer
imports by 48 percent for anhydrous ammonia, 93
percent for urea (solid), and 349 percent of other
nitrogen fertilizers.
• There is growing interest in sustainability and
sustainably produced goods.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Chief White’s Message of April 24
• “…soil is the factory of our food.”
• …we’re getting back to our roots, focusing even
more attention on soil health…”
• “…Soil Health Management Systems can help
farmers and ranchers feed the world more
profitably and sustainably, now and for
generations to come.”
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Chief White’s Message (continued)
• “Feeding the world by helping farmers and
ranchers improve the health of our Nation’s soil is
one of the most important endeavors of our time.”
• “…be an ambassador for soil health.”
• “In 1937, President Franklin D Roosevelt wrote…
’The Nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself.’ ”
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Achieving Continental-Scale
Resource & Environmental Gains
• Focus on cropland soil health can lead to
continental-scale, systematic improvements in water,
air, and wildlife – all while
enhancing agricultural
productivity.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Watershed Level Benefits
• Increased infiltration and water holding capacity,
decreasing runoff and reducing flooding.
• Reductions in sediment and nutrient delivery to
surface waters decreasing potential for downstream
hypoxic zone formation.
• Reducing use of herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and
fuel.
• Improvement of wildlife habitat both below and
above the soil surface, and improvement of riparian
and estuarian food production.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
A landscape example…
• By increasing the water absorption of all of the
cropland in the Mississippi River Basin by just
one-half inch (through improved soil quality), that
water retention would be the equivalent of…
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
A landscape example…
• The amount of
water that
flows over
Niagara Falls
in 83 days.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Business objectives
• NRCS will make the delivery of healthy,
productive soils systems to America’s farmers and
ranchers a major focus of its activities.
• As a result the agency will:
– Provide technical and financial assistance to producers
wanting to improve soil health.
– Realize continental-scale resource improvements as
producers adopt systems.
– Support the re-focusing to provide customer
conservation technical assistance related to soil health.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
NRCS Goals
1. Integrate Soil Health Management System planning
and implementation into NRCS’ conservation
programs and service delivery.
2. Increase employee and customer awareness and
understanding of healthy soil ecosystems and
biology, and healthy soil’s role in natural resource
protection and sustainable agricultural production;
and
3. Increase the number of producers implementing Soil
Health Management Systems.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
(Sub-Team & Leads)
Soil Survey & Resource
Assessment
Initial organization
Communications
Overall
Coordinator
Chief
Science &
Technology
Programs
www.nrcs.usda.gov
Deputy Chiefs &
PAD Director
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
NRCS NHQ Framework & Timelines
• Fully “roll out” the Soil Health Initiative by Oct 1,
2012.
• The ‘Communications’ team completed the
Communications Plan and it was signed by the
Chief this past week (last week of May).
• The ‘Science & Technology’, the ‘Soil Survey &
Resource Assessment’, and the ‘Programs’ teams at
NRCS Headquarters will all be incorporating Soil
Health and developing working tools.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Soil Health Initiative & States
• NRCS at the individual State level will be moving
forward at their own pace for the next 4-6
months.
• There are some states that are anxious to get
going, and they have already developed
strategic plans and are moving forward.
• But by May 2013, all states will likely be fully
engaged.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Getting on “The Road to Healthy Soils”
• Focus on implementing soil health systems through
existing programs and services.
• Higher ranking EQIP to producers who choose to
implement entire soil health systems.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Field Office Delivery
• NRCS will establish a Soil Health Management
System within the Field Office Technical Guide
(FOTG).
• A soil health assessment module will be developed
for use with the Conservation Delivery Streamlining
Initiative (CDSI) “Mobile Planner.”
• Focus initially on the Soil Health Management System
for cropland.
• Address other land uses once cropland has been
established.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
So what is a Soil Health Management System for
Cropland?
The Key conservation practices are:
• 328 Conservation Cropping Rotation
• 329 No-till or Strip-till
• 340 Cover Crops
Supporting practices:
• 590 Nutrient Management
• 595 Pest Management (Integrated)
• 633 Manure Utilization and Management
• 393/332 Conservation Buffers/Filter Strip
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Conservation Districts
Conservation Districts play a very important role and
have the opportunity to Make Things Happen on-theground at the local level, which is key to getting
conservation implemented.
Conservation Districts and NRCS have been and are
great partners, and it would be great to continue this
team effort with the Soil Health Initiative. CDs have
developed good ideas and have initiated innovative
programs and actions on their own to achieve
conservation and soil health.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Possible Ideas for Conservation District
involvement in Soil Health Initiative
• Join the Soil Health team (if you haven’t already).
• Provide outreach and share information through
newsletters, at meetings, one-on-one in the community,
and at youth education events.
• Sponsor field days, demonstrations, bus tours, and
farmer-to-farmer discussion/support groups (cover
some expenses, provide food/refreshments, provide
stipends, provide a location for a meeting, organize
meetings, help provide equipment or supplies).
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Possible Ideas for Conservation District
involvement in Soil Health Initiative,
(continued)
• Be open-minded and learn more about soil health,
attend educational opportunities, train yourself to do
demonstrations, develop programs…
• Recognize, applaud, support and reward (award)
successful soil health ag producers. Spread the good
word about them to others.
• Facilitate recognition of ag producers by media and
at meetings. Ask them to speak at meetings.
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
Ag Producers
Leading Incorporation of Soil Health Systems
Ray Styer, NC
www.nrcs.usda.gov
Steve Groff, PA
Gabe Brown, ND
Ray McCormick, IN
Helping People Help the Land
Dave Brandt, OH
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Healthy, Productive Soils System Criteria
What Can You Do for Soil Health?
Be an ambassador for
soil health!
A word of caution though - be aware that
the Soil Health bug
is very exciting and very contagious!
www.nrcs.usda.gov
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.