House Agriculture Committee Holds Hearing on Soil Health

Land Core congratulates the House Committee on Appropriations for holding the first hearing on soil health of the 116th Congress on April 11, 2019.

Watch the hearing:

Land Core was honored to work closely with Congresswoman Pingree ((D-ME-01 and member of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies) and USDA-NRCS Associate Chief Kevin D Norton, to think through the infrastructure necessary to support the rapid scaling of soil health practices across the US.

The bottom line, as Jason Weller, Senior Director of Sustainability at Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN, testified, is: “On-farm conservation is not just good for the environment, it also supports a stronger rural economy through increased resiliency and profitability for farmers and ranchers.”

Witnesses stated the economic benefits of conservation practices that build healthy soils (like crop rotation and cover crops) on agricultural lands.

As these benefits become clearer and more urgent, Land Core supports the development of infrastructure and voluntary, market-based incentives that allow farmers, who are on the front lines of weather and economic volatility, to easily participate in opportunities to restore the resilience and financial viability of their operations while helping to secure the future of our lands, communities and food supply.