Menu Close

Articles on Soil health

Displaying 21 - 37 of 37 articles

Corn stover (stalks, leaves and cobs) left behind after harvesting becomes a mulch and cover crop for soybeans on a Tennessee farm. Lance Cheung, USDA

It’s time to rethink the disrupted US food system from the ground up

There’s growing interest in making the US food system more resilient and flexible, but soil – the origin of nearly everything we eat – is often left out of the picture.
Catching The Eye/Flickr

One little bandicoot can dig up an elephant’s worth of soil a year – and our ecosystem loves it

These Aussie diggers boost the health of our soils. But up until recently, we didn’t know just how much soil they can turn over (hint: it’s a lot).
No-till farming conserves soil by greatly reducing erosion. USDA NRCS South Dakota/Eric Barsness

Restoring soil can help address climate change

More than one-fifth of global warming emissions come from land use. Sustainable farming can make soil healthier and better able to soak up carbon, while saving energy and boosting food production.
Whitlanders in the 1940s. Established in 1941 near the base of Victoria’s Mount Buffalo, this Catholic community celebrated the ‘dignity of manual labour’ and was led by a charismatic athlete and former judge’s associate, Ray Triado. Joe Pisani

Friday essay: the Australians who pioneered self-sufficiency, generations before Nimbin

Long before 70s hippies and hipster artisans, Australians were seeking solace by going back to the land. They ranged from anarchists to suffragists to Catholic agrarians.
A John Deere tractor makes its way through floodwaters in Fargo, North Dakota. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

The dirt on soil loss from the Midwest floods

Recent extreme rains and weather in the Midwest are causing a multitude of problems in the topsoil that much of the nation’s food supply relies on.
Rock Hills Ranch in South Dakota uses managed grazing techniques to maintain healthy, diverse plant communities in its pastures. Lars Ploughmann

Regenerative agriculture can make farmers stewards of the land again

US agriculture is dominated by large farms that rely on chemical inputs. In contrast, regenerative farming makes land and water healthier by mimicking nature instead of trying to control it.
Tamotsu Ito/Shutterstock.com

To restore our soils, feed the microbes

Healthy soil teems with bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms that help store carbon and fend off plant diseases. To restore soil, scientists are finding ways to foster its microbiome.

Top contributors

More