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Ann MillsDeputy Undersecretary, Natural Resources and EnvironmentUSDA
FY 14-15: Agency Priority Goal
Improve the health of our Nation’s soils to make our food, fiber, and energy production systems resilient and sustainable.
Priority Goal
Goal Overview
The world population is expected to rise from approximately 7 Billion in 2013 to over 9 Billion by 2050. To sustain this rate of growth, we must provide as much food in the next 40 years as has been grown in the last 500 years. From 1982 to 2007, over 41 Million acres of rural land was lost to development (the size of Illinois and New Jersey combined). Approximately 23 Million acres of this was active agricultural land, and 14 Million acres was prime farmland.
At the same time that we need to grow more food on a shrinking available land base, we are also asking more and more of our farmers and ranchers. We ask that they help reduce our nation’s dependency on fossil fuels by growing more bioenergy crops, that they provide adequate pollinator habitat (required for about 35% of our food supply), that they protect water quality, and that they incorporate management practices and technologies that optimize efficiencies of water and nutrient use. In addition, while addressing these needs, producers are increasingly faced with extreme weather events, ranging from drought to flood.
Improving soil health allows us to simultaneously address these and other pressing natural resource needs. Improving soil health allows us to improve water quality, increase soil water availability, enhance resilience to extreme weather, enhance nutrient cycling, increase carbon sequestration, provide wildlife habitat (including pollinators), enhance rural economic opportunity, and meet the food and fiber production needs of a rapidly growing population on a shrinking available land base. Simply stated, improving the health of our Nation’s soils is one of the most important things we can do for this and for future generations.
USDA assists agricultural producers with improving soil health through increased knowledge and education that leads to development of science-based standards and specifications for management practices. The research and educational activities conducted by USDA and its partners contribute much more than a body of knowledge. The information is used in standardized practices that when combined in a systems approach, form a customized plan for conserving selected resources. Such conservation plans are applied by land managers to improve soil health. In addition, the impact of implementing these standardized practices can be measured and modeled nationally, especially when combined with land, soil, climate, and other data.
The APG contributes to two of the four goals outlined in the USDA Strategic Plan. Specifically, it contributes to meeting Goal 2: Ensure Our National Forests and Private Working Lands Are Conserved, Restored, and Made More Resilient to Climate Change, While Enhancing Our Water Resources; and Goal 1: Assist Rural Communities to Create Prosperity So They Are Self-Sustaining, Repopulating, and Economically Thriving.
Several USDA agencies will work cooperatively to achieve this APG. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will conduct and summarize research on the impacts of soil health promoting practices on available soil water holding capacity, soil carbon, water infiltration, nutrient availability and other important production system attributes. Programs administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will be used to provide competitive grants aimed at filling in the knowledge gaps (e.g. for specific soil properties or crop management systems). Programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be used to demonstrate soil health management systems (e.g. through Conservation Innovation Grants and Plant Materials Centers) and provide financial/technical assistance to enhance adoption of soil health promoting practices (e.g. through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP). This cooperation will allow each agency to contribute its own strengths to enhancing soil health across the public value chain from research to technology transfer to landowner adoption. Existing partnerships with NGOs and foundations will be leveraged and broadened to amplify the impact of these investments. These combined efforts to enhance the health of our Nation’s soils will allow USDA to help farmers and ranchers feed the world more profitably and sustainably – now and for generations to come.
Strategies
- Establish and incorporate the current state of knowledge as a scientific foundation and economic basis for soil health.
NRCS and ARS scientists will be pursue this strategy by conducting and writing literature reviews on land management practice impacts on soil biological, chemical, and physical properties; and their relationships with plant growth and yield. Literature reviews and case studies will be conducted and documented on the economics of soil health, as measured by both profit potential and reduced economic risk. This information will be incorporated into training materials and conservation practice documents by NRCS.
- Increase the knowledge base on land management impacts on soil health and associated economics.
NRCS, ARS, and NIFA scientists will partner to identify knowledge gaps. This information will be incorporated into the priority requests associated with partnering agencies’ grants programs (e.g. Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for NRCS; Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) for NIFA). NRCS will also participate in the “Resilient Farming Partnership” that includes The Nature Conservancy, Monsanto, National Corn Growers, and the Environmental Defense Fund; to identify soil health related knowledge gaps and priorities.
- Enhance abilities to predict soil health management practice impacts on nutrient and water availability to plants.
A tool recently developed by ARS that measures “soil health” by providing an index of biologically active carbon and nitrogen (“Haney Soil Health Assessment Tool”) will be evaluated across a range of cropping systems, climates, soils, and management practices. Evaluation sites will include several NRCS Plant Materials Centers. NRCS and ARS will cooperate on collecting samples and land management information. ARS will perform the analyses and develop a national database of test results to be used in making nutrient application recommendations.
ARS and NRCS will also partner to develop predictive relationships on the effects of soil organic carbon and particle size on available water holding capacity. Soil chemical and physical data will be mined from the Kellogg National Soil Survey Laboratory’s database to develop these relationships. Evaluations will then be performed to assess the feasibility of prescribing soil health management practices to achieve a targeted increase in available water holding capacity.
- Enhance capacity to transfer technology to landowners.
NRCS will train all appropriate field staff on the basics of soil health (101 level) and then advanced soil health (201 level). NRCS will recruit a cadre of soil health trainers to provide this training, and will establish and implement soil health demonstration and training sites at selected Plant Materials Centers covering a range of climates, soils, and cropping systems. Within resource limitations, NRCS will make training and training materials available to Conservation Districts.
- Enhance adoption of soil health management systems through partnerships.
NRCS will partner with The Nature Conservancy, Monsanto, Environmental Defense Fund, and the National Corn Growers to implement soil health demonstration sites. NRCS will partner with the Buffett Foundation, USDA-NIFA-SARE, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society to organize and hold a cover crop and soil health conference to identify barriers to adoption and ways to overcome those barriers. NRCS will partner with the National Association of Conservation Districts and the National Grazing Lands Coalition to enhance adoption of soil health promoting practices on crop land and grazing land, respectively. NRCS will provide educational, promotional, and other materials/resources to Conservation Districts and others for their technology transfer activities.
- Enhance communications to increase awareness and adoption of soil health management systems.
NRCS will develop and maintain an updated website with fact sheets, partner resources, learning resources, and other material designed to educate landowners and conservation planners on the benefits of soil health and practices for increasing soil health. Bi-monthly communications of updated educational and awareness materials will be provided to all NRCS state public affairs specialists for distribution. Technology updates will be periodically provided to all NRCS employees through “soil health nuggets” via email.
Progress Update
During Quarter 4 FY 2015:
Progress in standing up the new Soil Health Division:
- Conducted rigorous selection process for additional soil health division staff to be placed across the country, using a diverse selection panel, and interviews that included sample presentations.
- Selected 4 Regional Soil Health Team Leaders, two of whom officially came on board as of the beginning of August 2015. The other two were nearly finalized by the end of FY15.
- Selected 12 Regional Soil Health Specialists and submitted selections to HR, and nearly finalized these before the end of the FY. Three of these joined days after the end of FY15, 5 joined two weeks later.
- An intensive training at Cornell University was attended by national leadership and the two regional team leaders that were on board at that time.
- Held a September SHD leadership team meeting in Washington, DC for all national and regional leadership staff to discuss immediate priorities, and plans for the coming year.
- Number of soil health grants awarded:
- 12 new Conservation Innovation Grants are being awarded in 2015 at the national level, related to testing and demonstrating soil health management practices and systems, such as specifics of implementing good cover crop management, reducing tillage, rotating more diverse crops, managing amendments, and adjusting nutrient management to soil health status, in diverse cropping and grazing systems across the county. Projects will evaluate and provide outreach about feasibility, economics, and various aspects of environmental benefits, and work to increase soil health management systems adoption on our nation’s farms. Funds allocated to these total almost $7.5M, for projects spread across the United States. There are also 23 currently ongoing national CIG soil health projects that were awarded in 2014 for a total of almost $9.5M. Additionally, a large number of soil health related state-level CIGs are being awarded across the country for smaller projects on targeted local issues.
Number of soil health management systems demonstration sites implemented to improve soil health and sustainability by USDA NRCS
There are a large number of soil health management systems demonstration sites (>64) being implemented to improve soil health across the country. For example:
- The Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative has implemented 17 sites that are assessing the impacts of practices on soil health assessment values coming out of multiple commercially available assessments.
- Similarly the Soil Health Partnership project has established 40 soil health demonstration sites across multiple Midwestern states, collecting soil health assessment, yield, and economic data on cover cropping, tillage, and advanced nutrient management systems.
- 7 of the NRCS Plant Materials Centers have implemented a set of aligned national cover crop demonstration trials, and additional centers are implementing other soil health management systems demonstrations.
- Several dozen other projects by Soil and Water Conservation Districts, non-profit agricultural groups and watershed groups, large national companies, leverage NRCS resources in conjunction with other resources for many 100’s of additional demonstration sites of various types across the country (but exact numbers are not currently known).
- These projects engage the farm community through field days, round table discussions, field walks, videos, factsheets, and other similar outreach materials, and some include mentoring programs.
Additional Accomplishments in FY 2015:
- Program Efforts:
- The Soil Health Division is currently involved in the upgrade of the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) in order to improve the program’s ability to support testing and implementation of advanced, locally adapted soil health management systems.
- Initial planning for creating a new Soil Health Assessment and Management Planning practice is underway
- FY2015 Outreach Efforts:
- FY 2015 outreach by Soil Health Division Staff (Dr. Moebius-Clune on board since November, Dr. Stott on board since December, and Mr. Lamm on board since June) reached over 2500 people with over 30 presentations and workshop contributions. Stakeholders reached included diverse audiences from producers representing many production systems, to other government staff, industry, consultants, extension staff, and researchers.
- The Science of Soil Health YouTube video series passed 100,000 views in May of 2015, and 150,000 views just after the end of FY2015. These videos are available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHOF6NfLm7M&index=1&list=PL4J8PxoprpGa3wFYSXFu-BW_mMatleIt0. Additional soil health you tube video views (farmer stories, etc, comprised another nearly 100,000 views totaling 3200 hours of viewing time. Soil Health Video views represent 96% of all NRCS youtube views for FY 2015.
- NRCS monthly Soil Health Updates that are emailed out to over 300 individuals from academia, industry, NGOs and other governmental agencies, and forwarded further from there, are estimated to each reach at least 2000 people.
- The NRCS Soil Health Quiz generated more than 5,000 participants (from more than 40 countries) who spent an average of five minutes interacting with the on-line quiz.
- To date, more than 380,000 soil health brochures have been ordered (including more than 5,000 Spanish-language brochures) along with nearly 200,000 soil health folders.
- 13 Soil Health Producer video profiles (Oregon/Iowa/California) by Stobaugh/Nichols
- 12 Soil Health Producer print profiles (Oregon/Iowa/California/Arizona) linked from the national soil health map to state soil health web pages
- TV PSAs developed and distribution contract procurement package completed; roll-out and leveraged promotional effort to begin in October 2015.
- Two new soil health posters, “Hope in Health Soil,” and “Behold Our Living Soil;” Spanish-language brochure completed
- New web :90 PSA posted on YouTube
- Four soil health-related blogs authored to date
- New soil health exhibits, banner stands and floor mat developed and distributed
- Non-operator landowner direct-mail pilot project implemented and project report completed
During Quarter 3 FY 2015:
- Selected National Soil Health Team Leader
- Advertised for 164 Regional Soil Health Team Leaders and 12 Regional Soil Health Specialists
- Conducted a Range Soil Health tour to learn about realities of rangeland management in relationship to promoting practices that build soil health
- Made over 30 presentations, communicating soil health concepts, on farm applications, importance of soil health to managing drought and climate change, as well as communicating about the plans for the new Soil Health Division
- Developed over 15 webinars, videos, and on line blogs
- Continued to build collaborative networks inside the agency and department, and externally with various partners
During Quarter 2 FY 2015:
- Advertised for National Soil Health Team Leader.
- Posted two new soil health webinars to http://www.conservationwebinars.net/.
- Continued to build collaborative networks inside the agency and department, and externally with various partners
During Quarter 1 FY 2015:
- USDA continued to build on the successes it achieved in FY 2014 towards reaching its goals of increasing the number of grants awarded for new scientific studies evaluating management practice impacts on soil health; increasing corn and soybean production on fields implementing soil health practices; increasing the tons of soil carbon retained annually, based on soil health practices implemented; increasing the number of soil health management system demonstration sites implemented to improve soil health and sustainability by NRCS and its partners; and completing literature reviews on soil health promoting practices to enhance the current state of knowledge on the subject.
In FY 2014, USDA completed the following:
- As a follow-up to the National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health (partnership with the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE), Buffett Foundation, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS)) a team of federal, state, university, and farmer participants was assembled for compiling, evaluating, and communicating information from 230 facilitated discussion sessions attended by over 6,000 landowners across the US. Representatives from that team presented recommendations to increase adoption of cover crops and soil health promoting practices to ARS, NRCS, and NIFA, leadership in Washington, DC.
- A comprehensive literature review was conducted on the impacts of soil health promoting practices on physical soil properties was completed by NRCS. The literature review was developed as a dynamic document for on-line posting, so it can be continuously updated with new information. A key feature of the review is the ability to explicitly link NRCS Conservation Practice Standards to particular impacts on soil physical properties, as documented by the research literature. This helps establish the scientific basis for prescribing particular practice standards to achieve changes in soil health.
- NRCS held four more webinars on various aspects of soil health and posted them on the Conservation Webinars website. To date, 32 soil health related webinars are now posted and available to everyone.
- Supported an agreement between ARS and NRCS, we are evaluating a soil health nutrient test developed by ARS. To date, NRCS field staff have helped coordinate/collect over 1,000 soil samples from farms in 37 states. These samples are now being processed and analyzed to help us mesure soil health.
- Supported by an agreement between National Assoc. of Conservation Districts (NACD) and NRCS, NACD surveyed their individual district offices to develop a national inventory of Soil Health Field Days, Soil Health Demonstration Sites, Soil Health promotions, and pollinator habitat promotions. This information will help NRCS and NACD better partner and coordinate activities to increase awareness, outreach, and adoption of soil health management systems.
- Seven demonstration sites were implemented at NRCS Plant Material Centers. In addition, NRCS participated in a Soil Health Partnership Scientific Advisory Council Workshop in St. Louis with National Corn Growers Association, The Nature Conservancy, Monsanto, Environmental Defense Fund, USDA-ARS, and several universities to establish measures of soil health at demonstration sites. Seventeen demonstration sites have now been established to support this effort.
- Awarded $9.5 million in NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants to 23 partners in 24 states to evaluate and increase adoption of soil health management systems. Several of these projects include economic evaluation of soil health systems across the U.S.
- Meetings were held with Certified Crop Advisors, Agricultural Retailers Association, NACD, SARE, and The Fertilizer Institute on partnering opportunities to extend the reach of NRCS programs and activities to increase adoption of soil health management systems.
- RMA co-led a workshop in Kansas City RMA offices to assess the latest science for using cover crops in summer-fallow systems. Participants included scientists from the University of Missouri, Montana State University, Kansas State University, ARS, and NRCS; as well as a Montana farmer and representatives from National Crop Insurance Services Inc., National Wildlife Federation, and RMA. Agreement was reached on cover crop termination guidance for summer-fallow systems. This benefits the soil health efforts because cover crops are a significant component of many soil health management systems.
- NRCS continually updated its Soil Health website, adding one new video per month of a farmer or scientist who has adopted or studied soil health management systems.
- Implementing soil health promoting practices in 2014 reduced soil carbon loss by approximately 157,523 tons, and reduced nitrogen loss by 50,500 tons.
- Participated in USDA-EPA-USGS Workshop on Management Strategies for Reducing Reactive Nitrogen, presenting the opportunities for improving nitrogen use efficiency through enhanced soil health.
- Partnered with the Conservation Tillage Information Center to hold a Soil Health “Lunch and Learn: The Difference Between Dirt and Soil” for Congressional staff (with over 80 staff attending), Washington, DC.
- Raised national awareness of the importance of soil health through presentations at the National Press Club (partnered with Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation).
- A new Soil Health Division Director and a new National Soil Health Specialist were both hired to lead the strategic and technical aspects of soil health for USDA and NRCS.
The Soil Healthy Prioirty goal will continue into the next APG goal cycle. Building upon accomplishments achieved over the FY14-15 term. NRCS and USDA will:
- Implement strategic action plan for assessing and enhancing soil health by landowners across the U.S. in collaboration with partner agencies and organizations
- The NRCS Soil Health Division Staff will complete the onboarding process of newly hired emplyees. The additional staff will continue to develop an advanced Soil Health Curriculum to be implemented for employees identified as needing the training, as well as tofor partners of the agency (Conservation Districts, Technical Service Providers, land grant university extension staff, industry, non-profits) to leverage resources and stakeholder reach and further advance broad acreage the landowner adoption of soil health management systems of practices. This training will be completed by the end of FY 15 delaying its completion by one quarter.
- The newly hired Soil Health Division staff will interface with soil health related CIG project teams to build relationships, and provide guidance to allow for effective technology/knowledge transfer into NRCS programs, and to leverage efforts between projects and with NRCS efforts for greater impact.
- Collaborative workshop to assess the current state of the science on rangeland soil health will be held by NIFA, ARS, and NRCS in early 2016
- Rangelands and soil biology soil health papers, as well as additional soil physical and chemical health related paper will be reviewed and added to the online searchable NRCS database in 2016
- The Soil Health Division staff will be working on a cost shared soil health assessment and management planning practice in 2016 to pilot and then nationalize
- Advanced training on the use of the new practice will be developed and implemented
Next Steps
No Data Available
Expand All
Performance Indicators
Scientific studies
Soil health management systems
Soil carbon retained
Corn and soybean production
Other Indicators
Literature Review
Contributing Programs & Other Factors
NRCS
Conservation Technical Assistance
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (including Conservation Innovation Grants Program)
ARS
Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems
NIFA
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
No Data Available
