How do we feed a growing population and meet additional, related demand from other sectors for crops (like corn) while also addressing farmers and consumers desire for continuous improvement, healthier soils and cleaner water? Enter the Soil Health Partnership.
Today and tomorrow, SHP is hosting a meeting with national significance called the Soil Health Summit 2019 in St. Louis, Mo. SHP Executive Director Shefali Mehta says the diverse partnership is “a gathering of unlikely partners” that includes farmers, agronomists, environmental groups, and partners from throughout the value chain from the farm all the way to finished consumer products.
Mehta, notes a key thing that sets SHP apart is supporters moved beyond “just talking” quickly, and the “unlikely partners” rallied around their shared desire to help farmers improve soil health while maintaining and improving profitability. The result is a boots-on-the-ground effort that is turning farmers fields into a research setting.
Although this core of supporters, including the National Corn Growers Association, was critical to launching SHP, once the wheels began turning the field staff became fundamental to success, providing an on the ground, consistent connection to farmers researching new techniques and collecting the data needed to move the program forward.
The field staff supports growers in proving or disproving the success of changes in the field and collecting the data needed to keep the program, science-based. Many of the 300 plus attendees are excited to get their first glimpse of this data as a focal point for tomorrow’s program.
To learn more, you can go to soilhealthsummit.com.
