Kudos to the tiny-but-mighty state of Vermont, which has recorded nearly 30% of its available cropland planted to covers in 2017, according to the Soil Health Institute. That’s far above the U.S. average of 5.6%.

Cappellazzi will be working with GO Seed’s partners and customers, Ag Research Services, the National Ecological Observatory Network, Oregon State University (where she serves on the courtesy faculty) and research collaborators across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to better understand how plants impact the microbial life within the soil.

Attendees included farm organizations, farmers, environmentalist groups, experts from Cornell University, the Department of Agriculture, plus representatives from the Soil Health Institute, New York Farm Bureau, Northeast Organic Farming Association, the New York State Vegetable Growers Association, and American Farmland Trust. Participants in the roundtable discussed their own efforts to improve soil health, as well as some of the barriers they’re facing. Find out more in this article from the Mid-Hudson News (Newburgh, NY).

The Soil Health Institute and National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition have released a report serving as a comprehensive review of each new provision and its role in advancing soil health. The report also compares funding for soil health in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.

The Soil Health Institute released its comprehensive strategy for enhancing soil health at the 4th annual meeting of the Soil Health Institute in Sacramento, Calif.

Keith Berns and his brother Brian co-own Providence Farms and Green Cover Seed in Bladen, Neb. They farm 2,500 acres, including corn, soybeans, rye, triticale, peas, buckwheat and sunflowers using continuous no-till and a variety of cover crop strategies to maximize the health of their soil.

The South Health Institute plans to establish national baselines for soil health, build knowledge of soil-health economics, offer educational programs and coordinate research on the topic.