By Scout Nelson
The "Probing Our Country’s Soil Health" project has launched a nationwide effort to engage farmers, including those in Minnesota, to enhance the Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE). This tool is crucial for understanding and managing one of the nation’s most vital resources: our soil.
University of Minnesota Extension nutrient management specialist, Fabian Fernandez, co-leads the project in Minnesota, emphasizing the importance of soil knowledge for optimal management. SHAPE serves as an online tool that not only assesses soil health but also monitors changes and suggests management practices to improve it.
The project’s ambitious goal is to gather approximately 13,000 soil samples from around 6,000 fields across various soil, climate, and management conditions in the U.S.
For Minnesota farmers, participating in this project offers a unique opportunity to influence the tool’s effectiveness locally. By contributing samples from diverse agricultural lands—crops, forages, and pastures—farmers help ensure that the SHAPE tool is finely tuned to Minnesota’s specific soil types and farming systems.
Anna Cates, another University of Minnesota Extension soil health specialist, highlights the importance of broad sample representation to accurately reflect soil health dynamics in Minnesota.
Benefits to participants include receiving a personalized soil health report and a hard-copy photo book titled “Probing Our Country’s Soil Health,” which illustrates soil health variations and project outcomes across the country.
Participation details: Farmers interested in participating need to complete an online survey about their field management practices over the past decade. The survey is facilitated through a one-hour Zoom meeting. Participants will also provide access to their fields for soil sampling, which will be scheduled and communicated in advance.
How to enroll: Farmers looking to join can schedule a meeting through facilitator links provided for Sarah Carter, Mitchell Rice, or Kaitlin Flick Dinsmore. Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.
This project not only advances soil health knowledge but also offers farmers actionable insights into their land’s condition, driving forward sustainable agricultural practices.
Photo Credit: university-of-minnesota
Categories: Minnesota, Government & Policy