In this series of 5 webinar recordings, American Farmland Trust’s Senior Climate and Ecosystem Scientist, Dr. Bonnie McGill digs into the latest scientific research on the connections between soil health and farm resilience in an easy-to-understand way. These webinars are for row crop, vegetable, and agroforestry producers and advisors in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and New England in the University of Maine’s Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Fellowship Program led by Dr. Rachel Schattman. But producers, advisors, and landowners across the country may also find these useful for learning about how soil health can build climate resilience.
Defining Soil Health and How to Use Soil Health Indicators (Webinar 1): Soil health basics like the history of the soil health concept and what the soil health principles really mean. Becky Maden (University of Vermont Extension) discusses soil health indicators and how to use them to manage for soil health.
How Soil Health Practices Build Soil Organic Matter and Resilience (Webinar 2): We explore how soil health practices build soil organic matter and those critical soil health functions we all depend on. Then a panel of farm advisors discuss how they communicate about soil health with farmers.
The Soil Food Web and Soil Health (Webinar 3): Dr. Christine Sprunger (Michigan State University) shares about the soil food web and how to steward it. A panel of Midwestern producers discuss how they manage their soil food web and how they can tell when soil health is improving.
Climate Change and Soil Health (Webinar 4): We dig into the feedbacks between climate change and soil health. Then, Dr. Mitch Hunter (University of Minnesota) explains his work and the variety of ways farmers can incorporate perennials and winter annuals into their operations.
Soil Health and Resilience Aspects of Biochar and High Tunnels (Webinar 5): Dr. Debbie Aller (Cornell University Extension) presents the latest science on biochar, its soil health and climate benefits, and practical information on how to use it. Then a panel of farm advisors discusses soil health in vegetable production in fields and high tunnels. All along the way we learn about how soil health principles help us take care of the soil so the soil can take care of us.
This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Award # 2023-67020-40526 to the University of Maine.
