By Blake Jackson
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is providing American Farmland Trust (AFT) nearly $5 million over five years through its Conservation Innovation Grants On-Farm Trials program to expand its soil health initiatives nationwide.
According to Michael Shulman, Media Relations Strategist at AFT, the funding will support the development of a coordinated Soil Health Management Systems (SHMS) Network.
The initiative will involve 35 trial farms across 14 states and five regions, working alongside more than 20 partners to evaluate biochar applications and their effectiveness when combined with other soil health practices.
"Biochar has the potential to build more resilient agroecosystems by improving soil health, stabilizing and increasing yield and profitability, increasing beneficial microbial communities, improving soil water availability, and providing an efficient means to immediately improve degraded soils, particularly in high disturbance and water-limited systems," said AFT Climate and Soil Health Director and Principal Investigator Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune.
"And when low-value biomass, like forest debris, is turned into biochar, that can also reduce wildfire risk for communities while benefiting both ecosystems and farm resilience. But farmers and ranchers want to see how new practices perform on farms like theirs before they invest in significant change."
The expanded network builds on AFT's existing biochar and cover crop trials in eight states: California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York and Washington. Six additional states—Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin—will join the initiative.
The project will examine biochar alongside practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, compost application, manure management, agroforestry, diversified crop rotations and livestock integration.
Particular attention will be given to production systems facing water shortages and soil disturbance, including vegetables, potatoes, peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, wheat, almonds, dairy and forage crops.
" This network puts locally adapted, biochar-integrated soil health systems to the test across diverse U.S. production systems and connects farmers with each other through peer networks. To address adoption barriers, AFT and partners will continue to develop coordinated soil health transition support. We do that through on-farm trials, trainings and resources, decision support tools, supply chain connections, and a network that expands access to technical and financial assistance, so that healthy soil becomes the norm, not the exception. This vision is what we call a New Conventional Agriculture: profitable, resilient farming built on healthy soil across all agricultural systems," Moebius-Clune added.
Over five years, researchers expect to collect more than 1,500 soil samples and evaluate crop yields, profitability, water management, microbial activity, and nutrient density. Participating farmers will receive financial assistance, including protection against potential income losses from trials.
The initiative also plans at least 100 educational events, 20 field days, and regional training sessions, along with 30 practical resources. AFT expects the network to reach 3,000 to 5,000 farmers, ranchers, and agricultural advisers. New trials are anticipated to begin between fall 2027 and fall 2028, following an agreement expected by spring 2027.
Photo Credit: pexels-binyaminmellish
Categories: New York, Crops, Government & Policy