The Missed Holiday

The Missed Holiday

Haylie Shipp
Haylie Shipp
It’s time for your Southeast Regional Ag News. On the Ag Information Network, I’m Haylie Shipp.

Sure, the Christmas holiday is before us…but we skipped right over one holiday that, well, lacks a little comparative following. World Soil Day was December 5th.

Dr. Dianna Bagnall, research and soil scientist with the Soil Health Institute…

“Soil is a critical resource for us. It filters our water. It stores carbon for us. Ninety-five percent of our food is grown in soil, so really every person has soil to thank for just the fact that we’re alive.”

Not only do we want biodiversity above ground, but we also want some things to be happening below it…

“We want to reduce our disturbance of our soils, thinking of things like reducing our tillage when we can, keeping living roots in the soil as much as possible. We want to increase the above-ground biodiversity by having crop rotation, maybe include cover crops. And then we really want to keep living roots in the soil which is very natural for soils. It helps improve their structure, protects them from erosion, and increases the amount of water they can infiltrate and store.”

And she says not to be afraid to try something new with one disclaimer…

“A principle that we really always encourage folks to do is try something new and try is small in a way that it’s really safe to fail.”

Again Dr. Dianna Bagnall, research soil scientist with the Soil Health Institute. She also encouraged talking to your neighbors saying soil health is a very regional discussion.

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