How farmers assess soil health and quality

Douglas E. Romig; M. Jason Garlynd; Robin F. Harris; Kevin McSweeney

Excerpt

The requirements of agricultural and environmental sustainability have dramatically redefined soil quality. The traditional view of soil quality, as measured by soil performance and productivity, is now considered inadequate for what it does not and cannot reveal. Accordingly, the emerging definition of soil quality extends beyond crop production to issues of food safety, human and animal health, and water quality (Doran and Parkin; Parr et al.).

Concern for soil quality is not limited to agricultural scientists, natural resource managers, and policymakers. Farmers also have a vested interest in soil quality; its stewardship and maintenance have always rested with them. Farmer interest in soil health, a term some farmers prefer to soil quality, may have been encouraged by their desire to examine and validate the management practices they use on their own farm. Evidence of farmer interest shows in the increased attention to soil health in alternative farming publications like New Farm and Acres USA.

Over the last decade, farmers in traditional farming systems have been credited for their sophisticated knowledge of agroecosystems (Alcorn …

Footnotes

Douglas E. Romig and M. Jason Garlynd are graduate research assistants, and Robin F. Harris and Kevin McSweeney are professors, Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706. The authors are grateful to the many farmers who shared their time and knowledge to explain their understanding of soil health. This research was supported by the University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, and the Agricultural Technology and Family Farm Institute; the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection's Sustainable Agriculture Program; the Wisconsin Fertilizer Research Council; the Wisconsin Liming Materials Research Council; and the Kellogg Foundation through the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping System Trial.
Copyright 1995 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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