Soil Health Institute releases catalog of policies and programs that advance soil health

Soil health policies are growing in number and importance across the United States but are widely dispersed across a variety of academic institutions, state agencies and legislative bodies. This catalog brings these policy efforts together to facilitate cross-pollination, learning and coordination.

Developed by the Soil Health Institute Policy Action Team, this comprehensive online catalog of soil health policies will help agricultural leaders find action-focused resources quickly.

"Sustainable solutions start with local and regional stakeholders communicating and making change,” said Jamie Fanous, graduate research assistant at Tufts University and member of the SHI Policy Action Team. “I hope this catalog will encourage local communication among academic, state agency and legislative stakeholders to improve soil health."

The catalog is organized by the following components:

• Academic (education, research programs and resources);

• State Agency (grants, financial incentives and technical assistance); and

• Legislative (summary of current bills, their purpose and status).

Contact information is provided to facilitate follow-up with the coordinating entity.

“This catalog serves as a very helpful resource for anyone interested in developing state-level soil health policies and programs, allowing them to learn and build from what others have already done,” added Rob Myers, SHI Policy Team co-chair and regional director for North Central USDA-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

“The sheer number of academic, agency and legislative efforts is a powerful display of the growing momentum of the soil health movement,” added Wayne Honeycutt, president and CEO of the Soil Health Institute.

The Policy Action Team would appreciate your assistance in identifying additional academic programs, state agency efforts and legislative initiatives related to soil health. Please submit newly identified policy efforts using the form at the bottom of the website page at https://soilhealthinstitute.org/resources/catalog. 

For further information, visit www.soilhealthinstitute.org.