The Soil Health Nexus, a regional team dedicated to increasing access to soil health resources, is working to gather ideas on soil health and better understand soil health challenges through a newly designed survey. The 5-minute survey is intended for farmers, agribusiness consultants, educators, and agency staff and can be accessed at tinyurl.com/soilhealthsurvey.

Nexus stories in CropWatch:

How do you Define Soil Health?
What is the Economic Value of Manure?
Can Manure Improve Soil Health or Soil Quality?
How Manure Impacts Soil Aggregation
Finding Win-Win Opportunities for Manure
Finding Win-Wins for Manure: Maximizing Soil Quality Benefits
The Water-Soil Health Connection

The team, who is funded through the North Central Region Water Network, is comprised of representatives from 12 land-grant universities, the North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE), the InterTribal Ag Council, the National Soil Health Partnership and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Together, they are working to educate Extension professionals, farmers, and farm advisors on soil health topics, strengthen the capacity of soil health educators to share the most up-to-date research on soil health improvement, and increase the adoption of soil health practices.

The team recently released a series of reports synthesizing and interpreting the latest science on linkages between manure management, soil health, and water quality. All eight reports can be downloaded on the Soil Health Nexus website at soilhealthnexus.org/resources

Nexus members publish a monthly blog on soil health topics on their website, and they are working to assemble a comprehensive Soil Health Toolbox of educational resources for agricultural educators. They are also planning a series of educator professional development workshops throughout the region.

Visit the Soil Health Nexus website, soilhealthnexus.org, or the North Central Region Water Network website for more information.

For more information, contact: Leslie Johnson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, leslie.johnson@unl.edu

For media inquiries, contact: Anne Nardi, University of Wisconsin Extension anardi@wisc.edu