‘The Soil is What’s Feeding You’: The importance of soil health for farmers, eaters, and the environment
Just like the delight of driving down a country road and yelling “cow!” never gets old, witnessing life on a farm brings childlike joy to many of us. But, what you may not realize is that every time you drive by a farm teeming with green plants, red fruit, or a rainbow of flowers, you are witnessing evidence of life. And not just the life of the plants, but also the life within the soil that they represent.
Every healthy farm has soil that is alive. There are up to 50 billion microbes in just one tablespoon of soil, building a complex system that, in a healthy balance, creates the environment that allows nutrient-dense, delicious food to grow.
Soil, like all living things, needs to be taken care of. Healthy soil is maintained by several factors: the ground is covered, there is limited chemical use, there is diversity of plant species, there is limited tillage of the land, and plants have a high capacity to perform photosynthesis, allowing for maximum plant growth. Farms do not need to perfect all of these factors to have healthy soil, but must prioritize them in their farming practices.
While scientific research demonstrating the importance of soil health has arisen in response to conventional agriculture that has damaged farm land over time, there are some farmers who have been practicing these techniques for decades. One of these multi-generational farms is Monroe Family Farm.
It’s soil, not dirt. It’s a living organism and you need to treat it as such.
Kyle Monroe, Monroe Family Farms
Growing up, Kyle Monroe watched his father and grandfather rotate crops, add nutrients to the soil through compost, and plant diverse cover crops like grasses and alfalfa that help create biodiversity on the microbial level rather than provide the best harvest. “It’s soil, not dirt. It’s a living organism and you need to treat it as such,” says Kyle.
The precedent of non-chemical farming that his grandfather created starting in 1936 has meant that they do not have to reverse the negative effects of conventional agriculture on their soils like many beginning farmers.
Kyle’s wife, Sam Caplan, has absorbed this family knowledge through the years and, as someone who came into farming in adulthood, is able to clearly see what a difference this kind of farming makes. In Kersey, northeast of Boulder County, Monroe Family Farm is surrounded by commodity farms practicing conventional agriculture. Sam says that the evidence of their farming practices are seen in the sanctuary of their farm – its diversity of bugs, birds, and more that can’t be seen elsewhere in their area.
While Monroe Family Farm benefits from generations of healthy soil, they are facing the uncertainty of a changing climate alongside everyone else. Being unable to plan for heat, hail, or rain makes having resilient soils more important than it has ever been in their 90 year history.
There are many reasons soil health is important, but an increasingly urgent one is that healthy soil is more stable in extreme weather events. When there are high winds, exposed topsoil is blown from the land removing the most nutrient rich layer of soil — which is the most essential layer for agricultural production.
When there are long periods of drought, a diversity of ground cover helps the soil hold moisture. A variety of cover crops with varying root systems create pathways for water to infiltrate both deeper and more widely throughout the soil. When there is heavy rainfall, bare, rootless land will be unable to absorb that moisture quickly enough, leading to extreme runoff and need for irrigation even after precipitation.
All the nutrition in your food comes from the soil, so the soil is what is feeding you.
Jason Griffith, Aspen Moon Farm
Additionally, healthy soil makes healthier crops, which is what we use to fuel ourselves. Soils bare of nutrients create fruits and vegetables lower in nutrients and flavor with shorter shelf lives. “All the nutrition in your food comes from the soil, so the soil is what is feeding you,” says Jason Griffith, co-owner of Aspen Moon Farm.
If healthy soils mean healthier crops and more self-sufficient land, it seems obvious that it would be a priority for farmers and consumers to invest in practices that support healthy soils, but this does not seem to always be the case.
The list of barriers for farmers is long, starting with their ability to get access to land, let alone land that has not been impacted by chemical use and high soil disturbance. Once they get their hands on land, it may take years before that land produces food.
When Jason and Erin of Aspen Moon Farm took over their Hygiene property in 2014, the 9 acre field was covered in prairie dogs. The conventional approach would be to fertilize the land and plant commodity crops like grains or corn. But, they knew with care, they could create a farm that functions as a full ecosystem, supporting plant and animal life while growing healthy food to feed their community. So, they planted cover crops, grazed animals, and didn’t harvest a single crop for years. Now, they are able to feed 500 CSA members, stock two farmers markets, and fill a farm stand because of a piece of land that 10 years ago could only sustain the life of prairie dogs.
Jason says that there are still many portions of their farm that they aren’t able to grow food on. Colorado’s soils don’t have a high fertility to begin with. Add in sloping landscapes with no topsoil, and they are fighting an uphill battle.
Even with the known challenges, they continue to work towards healthier soils on their land because they know what is possible. They know that food grown in healthy soil tastes better and is important for the well-being of our entire local food system.
Most of the small farms, ranches, and apiaries that you see at the Boulder and Longmont Farmers Markets are dedicating time and resources to improving the health of their soils.
Grama Grass and Livestock rotates their cattle on several properties throughout the county, diversifying natural grasses, replenishing nutrients in the soil, and building resistance to wildfire through their land management practices. At Croft Family Farm, they moved from an organic to a regenerative approach, allowing them to now think of their work as a partnership with the soil, focused on regenerating life in every form — not just vegetables. Chris Borke at Boulder Valley Honey says that the taste of his bee’s honey is impacted not only by the crops and trees where they forage, but even the soil composition, plays a role in shaping the flavor, texture, and color of the resulting honey.
These farmers are all impacted by the health of the soils in our area, and in return so is our community. Their intentional farming is not only providing our neighbors with food, it is building a resilient landscape for generations to come.
Our food producers aren’t the only ones who recognize the importance of healthy soils. The State of Colorado and Boulder County, among other municipalities, are beginning to use their resources to support farmers who prioritize revitalizing our soils.
Boulder County Soil Health Initiative provides grants to farmers who are minimizing soil disturbance, maximizing soil cover, increasing plant diversity, and incorporating livestock. The Colorado Soil Health Program helps farmers and ranchers adopt soil health practices that improve soil function, conserve water, and enhance long-term profitability.
Our growers say there are many ways to impact soil health even if you aren’t a farmer or involved in local government. Put woodchips in your yard instead of grass, or compost food scraps — they say that it doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t need to be an expert. Think about what kind of farming practices are happening where you are getting your food. Support growers and farms that focus on soil health.
Or, take Sam ’s advice and get to know the diversity of the soil in your own backyard. “Go into forests and look under the leaf layer, open yourself to the tiny worlds — they are epic,” she says.
