Helping Small Farmers Improve Soil Health

Our Small Farms Fresno and Madera Team has been working with growers in the area since 2022 on a project to promote healthy soil practices. This project was initiated under the previous Small Farms Advisor Ruth-Dahlquist Willard. It is being continued by the team through 2025 under the instruction of Emily Kraus.

What is Soil Health?

Soil health is the foundation of a productive, sustainable, and profitable agricultural system. Healthy soil has the capacity to support crop productivity, nutrient cycling, retain optimal water and soil properties, support soil food webs, maintain microbial diversity, suppress (soil born) diseases, remediate pollutants, and so much more (Doran et al., 1996). 

However, intensive agricultural operations, misuse and poor soil management cause significant adverse effects on soil health as well as causing freshwater pollution by run-off and drainage. According to FAO (2011) about one-third of soil worldwide degenerates because of these unsustainable management practices. In addition, excessive chemical applications cause emission of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) which result in exacerbation of climate change (FAO, 2021).

Managing soil health, or improving soil function, is fundamental and it should be considered as a top priority for all producers. Although the benefits of soil health management practices may not be noticeable within the short-term period, both economic and environmental profits can be observed in the long term. The ways to improve soil health and their benefits, and how the UCCE Small Farms team in Fresno has been helping local producers in improving their soil health can be learned in the following sections.

Improving Soil Health

There are various ways to improve soil health. Management practices such as maximizing soil coverage (cover cropping, crop rotation, compost and much application), maximizing biodiversity (crop rotation, planting of windbreaks and hedgerows), and minimizing soil disturbances (residue management, reduce tillage practices) are considered soil health-promoting practices. Implementing these conservation practices on farm allows producers to improve soil fertility and structure, reduce soil erosion, maximize water-holding capacity, increase farm profitability, and sustain soil resiliency (Gardner & Clancy, 1996; Mbuthia et al., 2015).

Cover Cropping

Grasses, legumes and brassica are grown as cover crops during fallow season and incorporated back into the soil before a main or cash crop is planted. Cover cropping can increase biodiversity, improve soil fertility and structure, and boost soil organic carbon. It can also prevent weeds, pests, and diseases. Moreover, this practice benefits erosion control, infiltration, nitrate reduction, nitrogen fixation, adds organic matter, and ultimately increases the yield of a following cash crop.

Compost

Compost, like different kinds of manure, applied in fields raises soil fertility, improves soil structure, insulates plant roots, and boosts the amount of organic matter in soil.

Mulching

Mulch application with grasses, leaves, legumes, and hay helps improve soil quality. It supports weed suppression, soil moisture retention, protects plants from extreme weather, and adds organic matter to the soil over time.  

Crop Rotation

Crop rotation promotes crop diversity by growing different crops in sequences. Advantages of crop rotation include reduction in soil depletion, breaking pest and disease cycles, promoting biodiversity, and overall promoting more sustainable agriculture. 

Wind Breaks and Hedgerows

Planting evergreen, native grasses or drought resistant shrubs as a windbreak can profit agricultural land by redirecting or reducing wind flow, soil erosion, and providing habitat for natural enemies of pests as well as other beneficial insects such as pollinators. 

Minimized or Reduced Tillage

Minimizing tillage can help improve soil infiltration, increase soil organic carbon, reduce soil erosion, runoff, and leaching. This practice can also save time and money by reducing labor and fuel consumption. 

UCCE Fresno is Here to Help!

To incorporate the conservation and soil health management practices in their farmland, the UCCE Fresno and Madera Small Farms team have been providing technical and financial assistance on equipment, products, services, training, and workshops to local producers through the following programs since 2020.

Two programs, "Addressing barriers for historically underserved producers in California's San Joaquin Valley to implement combined soil health practices through participatory planning and evaluation on diversified farms" sponsored by a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) and the  Healthy Soils Program (HSP), help producers to integrate conservation agriculture practices such as compost and mulch application, cover-cropping, reduced tillage and other on-farm practices such as windbreaks, and hedgerows planting that improve their soil health. 

The table below shows the number of participating producers, area of farmland supported by technical assistance, amount of compost and cover crop seed provided by UCCE Small Farms and Specialty Crop Program in Fresno and Madera counties through CIG and HSP projects to date. 

Table: Summary of area with equipment assistance, compost and cover crop seed provided to participating producers through UCCE Fresno CIG and HSP project.

Additional Information

More about implementing specific climate smart and conservation practices to improve your soil health can be learned on the following websites.

HSP program. CDFA - OEFI - Healthy Soils Program Incentive Grants

Conservation Profiles - Kern County

Soil Health Management, NRCS. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/soils/soil-health/soil-health-management

References

Doran, J. W., Sarrantonio, M., and Liebig, M. A., eds. 1996. Soil health and sustainability, Adv. Agron. 56:1-54.

FAO, 2011. The state of the world's land and water resources for food and agriculture (SOLAW): managing systems at risk. 

FAO, 2021. The state of the world's land and water resources for food and agriculture: Systems at breaking point (SOLAW 2021). DOI:10.4060/cb7654en

Gardner, J. C. & Clancy, S. A. 1996. Impact of farming practices on soil quality in North Dakota. Methods Assess. Soil Qual. 49, 337–343. 

Mbuthia, L. W. et al., 2015. Long term tillage, cover crop, and fertilization effects on microbial community structure, activity: implications for soil quality. Soil Biol. Biochem. 89, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.06.016