Healthy Soils

I pledge to grow soil health.

I pledge to plant a cover crop after harvest or keep a living plant growing year-round in the soil.

I pledge to use reduced tillage or no-till practices to decrease soil disturbance.

I pledge to rotate and diversify the crops I grow.

What does it all mean?

A healthy soil absorbs and retains more water than an unhealthy, underperforming soil. That’s because organic matter holds 18-20 times its weight in water. As organic matter increases, infiltration and water holding capacity increase, resulting in more drought tolerance.

Through a series of chemical and physical processes, this increased water and nutrient storage capacity results in less need for fertilizers and pesticides and less erosion, which in turn keeps nutrients and sediment from polluting our rivers, lakes, and streams. A healthy soil also releases fewer pollutants, so groundwater is also protected.