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Nationwide Case Study on Soil Health

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  A nationwide study of 30 USA farms show how improving soil health helped farmers economically while also creating resilience to adverse weather. These farms covered the USA and included both crop farms, livestock farms, orchards, grazing systems, and vineyards. The study was conducted by the Soil Health Institute (SHI), the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), and USDA-NRCS. This was a multi-year study looking at farms that had adopted soil health management systems (SHMS) long-term. The Midwest farms used practices like no-till and cover crops to improve soil health. Crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay were primarily studied in the Midwest along with dairy, hogs, and chickens. Farmers were interviewed over several years comparing the economic costs and benefits of their system before and after adoption of conservation practices. The goal was to determine how resilient the farms were and what were the costs, risks, and overall benefits or detriments to ada...