Soil is a System-SHA Day 3

Day 3 of the Soil Health Academy really brought home the core message that Soil is primarily a biological system. 80-90% of plant health and nutrition is driven by soil biology. Ignoring that biology leads to increasingly devastating consequences; erosion, nutrient leaching (tainted wells and gulf dead zones), decreased nutrient content in food, loss of diversity, etc.

Pathway to becoming regenerative:

1. Increase the efficiency of inputs, so you use less. A couple surpisingly simple, yet neglected, ways to do this are

   1. splitting nitrogen/fertilizer applications for better utilization

   2. adjusting pH and alkalinity of water for chemicals used in cover crop termination

2. Substitute organic or biologic inputs for synthetic inputs

3. Redesign your production systems around the 6 principles of soil health

Steps 1 and 2 can sometimes end up being a barrier to becoming fully regenerative, in that they seem like "enough" and producers rest content with doing less harm. If there's one thing this week showed me, it's that agriculture, done regeneratively, can be a positive for the environment and for the lives of those involved as producers, consumers and inhabitants. We, as farmers, should be caregivers for soil life that allows other life to exist.

"Think big, start small, scale fast" (John Kempf, Advancing EcoAg founder)

• Nurture the soil food web; diversity, cover crops, integrating livestock

• Don't go cold turkey. Wean off of fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers and seed treatments

• Reduce soil compaction

• Maximize photosynthesis; keep live plant material present as much of the year as possible

• Use biology to address your limiting factors

We spent a lot of time talking about soil testing and how soil biology responds to various practices and inputs. My favorite part of the day was the farm visit, where we geeked out on Johnson-Su composting, vermiculture and creating biologic soil amendments, along with some cool machinery modifications.

The Johnson-Su composting and vermiculture systems at Gibbsfield Ag, our farm host.

We finished the 3-day event with some delicious pasture-raised pork chops and brats from the farm and a couple hours of casual conversations.

I highly recommend attending one of these schools. Check out the schedule for upcoming classes. There's also an excellent online course to cover the basics. Worthwhile, but no match for the in-person experience!