SHI to Advance Soil Health Training and Research in More Than 35 States as an Implementing Partner in Five USDA Climate-Smart Commodity Grants

Morrisville, N.C., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  The Soil Health Institute (SHI) congratulates all recently announced USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant recipients. As an implementing partner across five selected projects, SHI will work alongside a wide variety of organizations to assist farmers, ranchers, and landowners on their journey toward improved soil health and climate resiliency. Funding made available through this historic investment will enable SHI to advance the establishment of place-based Soil Health and Carbon Targets, provide farmers with measurable goals based on what is achievable for their soils and production systems, increase access to soil health training and availability of on-farm economic analyses, and leverage our work across projects to create communities of practice to support successful adoption of regenerative soil health systems that contribute quantifiable economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. SHI is a partner on the following projects: 

1. Farmers for Soil Health Climate-Smart Commodities Partnership. Led by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, this project will accelerate long-term cover crop adoption by creating a platform to incentivize farmers across 20 states. The platform will quantify, verify, and facilitate the sale of ecosystem benefits, creating a marketplace to generate demand for climate-smart commodities.
2. Climate SMART (Scaling Mechanisms for Agriculture's Regenerative Transformation). Led by Truterra, LLC, this project will catalyze a self-sustaining, market-based network to broaden farmer access, scale adoption of climate-smart practices, and sustainably produce grain and dairy commodities with verified and quantified climate benefits across 28 states. 
3. U.S. Climate-Smart Cotton Program. Led by the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, this project will build markets for climate-smart cotton and provide technical and financial assistance to over 1,000 U.S. cotton farmers, including underserved cotton producers, to advance adoption of climate-smart practices on more than 1 million acres, producing millions of bales of Climate-Smart Cotton over five years, and demonstrating major carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) reductions and millions of dollars of economic benefits to farmers.
4. Climate-Smart Potatoes from the Pacific Northwest: Managing Soil Health for Climate-Smart Outcomes. Led by Oregon State University, this project will build climate-smart markets and advance adoption of climate-smart management systems in the Pacific Northwest states of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon where more than 62% of U.S. potatoes are grown and 15% of the domestic supply of seed potatoes are produced.
5. Quantifying the Potential to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increase Carbon Sequestration by Growing and Marketing Climate-Smart Commodities in the Southern Piedmont. Led by Rodale Institute, this project will utilize an interdisciplinary system approach including farmer adoption, understanding economic/social barriers, market/consumer buy-in, utilizing technology, and easing the burden on farmers. The results of the project will build climate-smart markets, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase carbon sequestration, and increase farmer economic opportunities and adoption of climate-smart agriculture.

The Soil Health Institute is a global non-profit with a mission of safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils through scientific research and advancement. Our vision is a world where farmers and ranchers grow quality food, fiber, and fuel using soil health systems that sustain farms and rural communities, promote a stable climate and clean environment, and improve human health and well-being. Accordingly, the Institute brings together leaders in soil health science and the industry to conduct research and empower farmers and other landowners with the knowledge to successfully adopt regenerative soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. The Institute's scientific team holds doctorates in various soil science and related disciplines, with specialties in carbon cycling, nutrient cycling, water cycling, nutrient management, soil microbiome, farmer/adviser education, ecosystem services, soil-plant relationships, on-farm economics, and others. The team follows a comprehensive strategy for advancing adoption of regenerative soil health systems.

Healthy soils are the foundation for restoring our land. Together, we can create a secure future for all, mitigate the effects of climate change, and help farmers and organizations meet production and environmental goals at scale. Visit www.soilhealthinstitute.org to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE Soil Health Institute