Damaged and biologically dead soils represent a major opportunity to store water if we can restore them to anything like a healthy condition. A project with the National Center for Appropriate Technology is taking full advantage of the water-holding capacity of soil as a water conservation strategy.

In the last decade or so, there has been an overwhelming interest in soil health amongst many progressive farmers, agricultural businesses and agricultural enthusiasts. Farmers have intuitively understood the importance of soil health for generations and recent efforts have focused on how to better measure and quantify soil health. Read more in this article from the News Journal.

How do I know if my soil is healthy and what are indicators of soil health? Plants thrive in healthy soils and are not overtaken by pests (weeds, insects, diseases). Read more in this article from Ohio's Country Journal.

Farmers can use a variety of practices to keep their soils healthy. Some of these practices include not tilling the land, planting cover crops between growing seasons and rotating the type of crop grown on each field. Read more in this article from the American Society of Agronomy.

Anastasia Fyke doesn’t have time for millennials. Sort of. The fourth-generation buckwheat farmer from Manitoba (and a millennial herself) wants to help farmers transform agriculture from Canada’s sixth-largest greenhouse gas producer into a carbon sink. Read more in this article from The Humboldt Journal.

All healthy crops have to start somewhere. To be more specific — the ground. But hearty, high-yielding crops can’t just sprout in any patch of dirt. Read more in this article from the Omaha World-Herald.

Soil is a natural resource that supports human civilization and plays a vital role in global food security. So, while we may not be ranchers, crop growers or researchers, we all have a vested interest in soil — especially soil health. Read more in this article from the Las Cruces Sun News.

Healthy crops begin with healthy soil, and researchers with the Clemson University’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program are teaching farmers how they can benefit from keeping their soils fit. The researchers teamed up with other agricultural professionals and farmers who have implemented soil-health principles by using cover crops, no-till and livestock integration to hold a conference to teach about soil health and tools to use to promote healthy soil.

Healthy soil can be achieved through no-till, nutrient management, pest management and cover crops, says Derek Thompson, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in this article from the Fort Wayne Business Weekly.