Soil Management

How to Conduct Research on Your Farm or Ranch

This 32-page bulletin outlines how to conduct research at the farm level, offering practical tips for both crop and livestock producers, as well as a comprehensive list of more in-depth resources.

Organic Production

Capitalize on the booming organic industry. This topic room has resources on organic systems, pest management, animal production, marketing, certification, conservation and much more.

2017 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health

Session recordings are available from the second National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. The event served as an opportunity to learn recent developments in how cover crops are being used by innovative farmers across the country and gain important insights on improving soil health from producers, conservation leaders and scientists. It was held December 7-8, 2017 in Indianapolis. 

Recordings of General Sessions

• Opening remarks by Jane Hardisty (USDA-NRCS Indiana) with video message Bill Northey (Iowa Secretary of Agriculture)
• Keynote: Growing a Revolution - Bringing Our Soil Back to Life, by David Montgomery (University of Washington)
• Farmer panel: Experiences with Cover Crops and Soil Health, with Dan DeSutter (Ind.), Trey Hill (Md.) and Jimmy Emmons (Okla.)
• Top 10 Ways Cover Crops Build Soil Health, by Rob Myers (North Central SARE)
• Plenary session: Carbonomics, by Keith Berns (Neb. farmer and Green Cover Seed)

Basics of Cover Cropping

• Introduction to Cover Crops
• Selecting and Establishing Cover Crops
• Terminating Cover Crops Plus Strategies for Planting a Cash Crop Following Cover Crops

Advanced Cover Cropping Insights from Farmer Experts

• Great Plains Perspective
• Central Corn Belt Perspective
• Eastern Perspective

Digging into Soil Health

• Soil Health Principles
• Soil Health Testing and Practices
• Soil Biology and Organic Matter

Cover Crop Role in the Cropping System

• Cover Crops and Nutrient Management
• Cover Crop Impacts on Diseases and Insects
• Cover Crops, Herbicides and Dealing with Herbicide-Resistant Weeds

Economic and Environmental Aspects of Cover Crops

• Economics of Cover Crops
• Business Opportunities with Cover Crops and Soil Health
• Environmental Impacts of Cover Crop Systems

Special Topics with Cover Crops and Soil Health

• Organic and Specialty Crops
• Grazing Cover Crops
• Soil Health Policy Issues

Innovative Assessment Helps Farmers in the Northeast Improve Soil Health

  Improving soil health without understanding the soil's condition is not easy and traditional soil tests, though important management tools, don't provide information on the physical structure or microbial life living in the soil. That is why a multidisciplinary team at Cornell University created a soil health assessment, which measures physical, chemical and biological indicators […]

2015/2016 Report from the Field

Read about SARE-funded work in the areas of sustainable dairy cropping systems, soil health assessments, nutrient management, cover crops, beginning farmers, pollinators, technical assistance programs for women farmers, and more. This edition includes highlights of projects funded through the graduate student program, and the highly regarded Sustainable Agriculture Fellowship, a professional development program coordinated by SARE and NACAA.

Cover Crop Innovators Video Series

Find short video profiles of farmers around the country who are using cover crops on their land. 

Visualizing Soil Properties

This series of videos illustrating soil processes such erosion, runoff, and infiltration, as well as soil sampling procedures, can be used as a model for demonstrations in a classroom.

Cover Crops for Soil Health Workshop

All session recordings and slide presentations from this three-day professional development workshop are available online. Hosted by Northeast SARE and Delaware State University in March 2016, this event addressed the latest research on the benefits and successful management of cover crops in grain, vegetable and animal production systems.

Investing in the Next Generation of Agricultural Scientists

Sustainable solutions to today's agricultural challenges arise when scientists, educators and producers work together to test theories in real-world, on-farm situations. For this approach itself to be sustainable, there must be opportunities for the next generation of agricultural scientists to use collaborative, applied research to address the real-world needs of farmers and ranchers. The SARE Graduate Student grant program is one such opportunity—since 2000, the program has supported the work of 600 master's and Ph.D. students.

Conservation Generation

The Colorado River irrigates 15 percent of the nation’s crops, making the conservation efforts of Western producers crucial to the American food system. Conservation Generation is a new short film by the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) about four young farmers and ranchers in the arid West who are committed to conservation practices that conserve water and promote soil health.