What We're Reading (& Watching) This Summer - July 2025
Soil health, storytelling, and summer inspiration from the Land Core team
Looking to add to your summer reading (and watching) list? Here’s what’s been catching our attention lately—from a documentary you can watch with your family, to recent research on nitrogen use efficiency.
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn by Will Harris
This generational memoir from regenerative farmer Will Harris of White Oak Pastures explores producing food the “right way.” Tying in personal stories of being a rancher, Harris urges readers to know where their food comes from. He traces six generations of family farming while making the case for a food system rooted in care—for soil, animals, and people.
Find the book here
Common Ground by Josh and Rebecca Tickell
A powerful follow-up to Kiss the Ground, this documentary explores the regenerative agriculture movement from a new angle—focusing on farmers and the bipartisan policy opportunities that can scale this work. The film addresses how farmers are approaching revitalization of the food system using an alternative agricultural model.
Watch the trailer
Rockefeller Foundation: Twenty Leading Investors, Funders, and Farming Organizations Join Forces to Design Innovative Financial Infrastructure for Regenerative Agriculture in the Midwest
A new six-month TransCap Initiative assembles a diverse group of stakeholders to create a “capital orchestrator” that will channel coordinated investment into the $152 billion Midwest agricultural economy—with regenerative outcomes at the center. The “backbone organization” plans to invigorate the agricultural economy to benefit farmers, rural communities, and the environment.
Read the press release
Nature & Stanford University: Soil health contributes to variations in crop production and nitrogen use efficiency
A newly published global study finds that soil health practices could lead to 7.8 metric tons/hectare greater yields and reduce nitrogen surplus by 8.1 metric tons/hectare. The findings underscore the potential of soil health strategies to boost productivity and lower input costs.
Read the study
USDA’s “Soil Your Undies Challenge”
Yes, it’s real. The USDA invites farmers and backyard growers to bury a pair of 100% cotton underwear in the soil for two months to assess microbial activity and overall soil health.
Get the how-to
Happy reading! We hope you’re able to get your hands in the soil, and enjoy the start of summer. Wishing you a very happy 4th of July!
Warmly,
The Land Core Team
