Folks who know the Center for Sustainable Agriculture have probably observed that we are pretty passionate about soil health. Like many colleagues working on sustainable and regenerative farm and food systems, our experience, learning and research have shown us that healthy soil is the foundation of all of the good that farming can do – providing nutritious food, supporting the economic viability of farms and helping assure clean water.
Each year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations designates December 5 as World Soils Day to help spread the word about the importance of healthy soils in feeding a healthy world. This year’s specific theme is around soil pollution as part of their work “to ensure that people have safe and nutritious food to support active, healthy lives without endangering essential ecosystems services.”
And while we’re not working on any projects specific to pollution in Vermont soils, we still think that a global holiday recognizing soil is a great reason to share five ways the Center is working on building Vermont soils.
1. Johnson-Su Compost Reactor Collaboration & Workshop with the Essex Technical Center.
The Center’s Pasture Technical Coordinator (and biodiversity and soil health advocate) Juan Alvez has been partnering with the Essex Technical Center on a Johnson-Su bioreactor on their campus, by way of using up fallen leaves and other carbon-rich materials without trucking them away, and supporting healthy soil. On November 9, we were joined by 30 people at a workshop at which they opened up a reactor from 2017 to see how it worked, and built a new one together. These fungal-rich, cold composting systems that build mycelial and microbial counts in the soil are a great tool in a number of situations, and we are excited to be supporting this project at a local secondary school.
2. Bringing Soil Advocates David R. Montgomery & Anne Bikle to the 2019 Vermont Grazing & Livestock Conference
This writer-biologist-geologist couple have spent years in a personal, scientific and creative exploration of the complexity of soil biomes and how they intersect with human health too.Come see their keynote at the 2019 Vermont Grazing & Livestock Conference at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont on January 18 and 19, and learn more about their work on their Dig2Grow website.
3. Bedded Pack Winter Housing Research with UVM Animal Science and Plant & Soil Science Colleagues
The Pasture Program’s Jenn Colby and Juan Alvez are among a team of researchers led by John Barlow of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and Deb Neher of Plant and Soil Sciences, working to see how the increasingly popular bedded pack winter housing strategy can not only improve animal health and comfort and farmer profitability, but also help address soil health and water quality goals. Learn more about the project and about other resources on our Bedded Pack Barns for Cow Comfort and Winter Manure Management webpage.
4. Engagement with the very active Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition online community
If you are passionate about soil and the potential it has to be part of healthy communities in and around Vermont, you may well enjoy getting involved with the active learning and dialogue of the VHSC.
You can follow them on Facebook, or learn more and request to join the listserv (hosted by UVM) here.
5. Research on soil health, cover crops, and compaction
Joshua Faulkner, Farming & Climate Change Coordinator, and Juan Alvez have spent the last several years studying the effects of different management approaches on addressing soil compaction and soil health.Though the final findings are not yet available to share, you can learn more about the project on the research pages of our website, read about their attendance at the summer 2018 Soil & Water Conservation Society Conference in Albuquerque, NM, and contact Joshua for more information.
And you?
Are you celebrating World Soils Day on December 5? Visit us over on Facebook and let us know how!
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This story was originally shared as the November 2018 article in our Fresh Fron the Field online newsletter.
Established in 1994, the Center for Sustainable Agriculture provides timely information to Vermont communities and the UVM campus. Part of the University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Extension, the Center cultivates partnerships, supports innovative research and practices, and informs policy to advance sustainable food and farming systems. Learn more at http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/.