Practices

Soil Health Practices include:

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• no till and reduced tillage

• cover cropping

• compost application (or other organic amendments like biochar)

• mulching

• rotational grazing

• crop rotation

• integrated pest and nutrient management

• agroforestry practices, such as: silvopasture, riparian plantings, alley cropping and hedgerows

• establishment or maintenance of deep-rooted perennial grasses (most relevant to rangelands)        

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Why Soil Health? Why now?

 

Climate change is putting Oregon’s farms at risk.
Farms can play a key role in mitigating climate change.
Soil health practices increase the climate resilience of farms and ranches. 

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Soil Health practices and principles are not new. We must acknowledge the significant historic and ongoing contributions to this work by farmers who are Indigenous, Black, Latine, and other People of Color.  Traditional soil health practices are more important than ever in the face of climate change, with weather events like heat domes, drought, floods, and wildfire conditions that increasingly put Oregon’s farms and ranches at risk. 

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Agricultural producers can play a key role in mitigating climate change by cultivating healthy soil, which can reduce the negative impacts of climate change on our food supply. Recent research about the potential of Oregon’s farms to sequester carbon and reduce emissions indicates that a shift in practices on Oregon agricultural lands could result in a reduction of 295,053 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, the equivalent of removing 63,000+ cars from the road for one year! Soil carbon sequestration is one of the most ready, cost-effective carbon removal strategies available. 

 

Soil health practices must be part of any climate resilience and mitigation strategy, with benefits that include:

 

1. Reducing or eliminating tillage protects existing soil carbon, reduces greenhouse gas emissions from the soil (from tillage) and reduces emissions from tractor fuel; 

2. Composting prevents potent methane emissions from food waste/manure and reduces the use of fossil fuel–produced fertilizers; 

3. Establishing or maintaining woody plants through practices such as agroforestry and riparian plantings pulls and stores carbon (above- and below-ground); 

4. Establishing or maintaining perennial crops maintains, pulls and stores carbon (above- and below-ground carbon);

5. Cover crops pull carbon from the atmosphere; 

6. Intensive rotational grazing builds soil carbon; 

7. Deep-rooted perennial grasses on rangelands sequester carbon; 

8. Reduced use of nitrogen fertilizers reduces nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas) emissions from fertilizer and reduces use of fossil fuel–produced fertilizers.

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The same soil health practices that support climate mitigation also increase the adaptation of farms and ranches by improving water infiltration, water holding capacity, biodiversity, plant health and productivity, and preventing wildfires from spreading--creating resilience to extreme weather and pests.

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Ultimately, farming for climate resilience is not about a single practice or methodology, but rather about finding solutions that work for the unique geography, conditions, and management needs of each farm and ranch. 
Additional resilience approaches include localized (on-site) renewables, irrigation modernization, alternative manure management, and other innovative practices.

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Learn more about the science, practices, and opportunities of farming for climate resilience.