U.S. agricultural producers have long understood that healthy soil is a critical requirement for the production of our nation's food supply. They also know that as the world's population grows by more than 25 percent over the next 30 years, meeting the increased global demand for food cannot come at the expense of ecological health and environmental quality. America's farmers, who work and live on their lands every day, remain in the best position to develop and implement the management practices that can increase soil quality, productivity and resilience to drought and flooding (and, as a result, boost farm income). These practices also have the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, mitigating the growing impact of a changing climate. To build on a drive to improve soil health that has become a burgeoning interest among U.S. farmers in recent years, policies must be implemented which enable them to scale up practices that boost production, reduce runoff into neighboring waters, increase organic content and enhance biodiversity, nutrient cycling and other ecosystem services. Read more…