Soil Health Analysis on MAHA Commission’s Strategy Report
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September 23, 2025
Land Core previously identified four key policy recommendations in response to the Make Our Children Healthy Again: Assessment released on May 22, 2025. We noted that any public policy to address the chronic disease crisis and increasing nutrition insecurity should consider the soil from which food is grown.
Specifically, our recommendations were to:
Emphasize soil health in the Commission’s eventual policy strategy report.
Incorporate soil health into public nutrition policy, such as the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).
Incentivize soil-friendly food in federally-funded procurement.
Fund research on the soil-human health connection.
On September 9, 2025, the MAHA Commission released its official report, titled Make Our Children Healthy Again: Strategy, which encouragingly designated soil health as a key priority. The report makes valuable progress by linking soil health to risk mitigation and human health.
Analysis:
Overall, the September 9th strategy report does prioritize soil health in agricultural policy and explicitly connects soil health to human health, a significant advancement aligning with our mission.
The following examines specific contributions that the strategy report makes to advance soil health and land stewardship practices by first presenting Land Core's original recommendations, then analyzing the Commission's response to each, and identifying areas where support for farmers could be strengthened.
1. Emphasize soil health in the Commission’s eventual policy strategy report
The strategy report does this, primarily through a “Soil Health and Stewardship of the Land” section (page 18). It states that both USDA and EPA will promote and incentivize farming solutions that focus on soil health and stewardship of the land, noting that this should be done in partnership with the private sector. The section includes:
“Empowering farmers and keeping solutions voluntary by expanding programs like the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and Conservation Stewardship Program” (page 19).
The report contrasts this approach with “burdensome mandates” and top-down, federal decision-making and emphasizes local, practical approaches (page 19).
“Providing producers with information about programs and practices that improve pollinator management and support increased pollinator forage and habitat” (page 19).
“Strengthening food security and production through the prioritization of the acres of shovel-ready conservation projects already planned by farmers” (page 19).
"Prioritizing practices that farmers want and trust, like Prescribed Grazing, Soil Health Systems, and Water Management, to keep working lands profitable and productive” (page 19).
“Emphasizing and prioritizing conservation technical assistance, including the development of personalized advice and information, which could include the development and expansion of mobile and digital planning tools for in-field, real-time assistance” (page 19).
“Providing growers with new tools to maintain and better enable soil health practices, including practices that increase soil organic matter and improve soil composition” (page 19).
Other strategies named in the report that are likely to advance soil health are included in a section called “Process Efficiencies and Deregulation”, which emphasizes USDA reducing burdens on small farmers (page 12). Land Core supports this overarching concept. This section includes:
“Streamline organic certification processes and reduce costs for small farms transitioning to organic practices” (page 12).
“Eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic barriers for Community Supported Agriculture programs and direct-to-consumer sale” (page 12).
“Improve land acquisition and permitting processes” (page 12).
“Promote transition to the next generation of farmers” (page 12).
“Provide greater access to markets and infrastructure” (page 12).
“Enhance risk management and business planning tools” (page 12).
“Enhance and promote educational series” (page 12).
We're very encouraged by the emphasis on soil health, and the Commission's recognition of the role soil health practices and systems can play in helping producers be more profitable, innovative, and resilient. We also especially appreciate the Commission's recognition of the need for technical assistance to support conservation practices. While emphasizing the essential role that the private sector will play in supporting and supplementing the delivery and improvement of key services, we would like to additionally recommend that the Commission address how it will strengthen staff capacity at USDA to ensure the success of these strategies. Further, we encourage the Commission to clarify actionable approaches that they will support related to these recommendations in subsequent reports, such as how the agency might specifically help farmers (via research, education, etc.) to improve soil quality, as well as long-term water quality and natural resource health.
To that end, we’ve identified additional targeted recommendations to strengthen and further advance soil health within the strategy report:
Incorporate education on the benefits of soil health practices in the production of nutrient-rich foods, including organics, while making these processes less burdensome.
Consider and evaluate the risk-mitigating benefits of soil health practices like cover cropping, low/no-till farming, and rotational diversity.
Rethink food zoning laws, licensing requirements, and regulations that limit where farmers can sell their goods, as well as develop mobile crop and livestock processing units.
2. Incorporate soil health into public nutrition policy, such as the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs)
Although the strategy report does mention revising the 2025-2030 DGAs to “align with science, data, and health recommendations in a concise, user-friendly format,” it lacks detail on the process (page 8).
To align these guidelines with our understanding of science and broader health goals, Land Core suggests the DGAs recommend highlighting the benefits of nutrient-density in foods from farming practices that prioritize healthy soils. This is essential as research shows deteriorated soil quality reduces micronutrient content, adversely affecting human health and contributing to chronic disease.
Land Core appreciates that USDA and HHS will launch public education campaigns prioritizing whole foods and minimizing processed foods. We hope these campaigns can incorporate the soil-health connection, particularly through the "Food for Health" and "Real Food First" initiatives (page 15).
3. Incentivize soil-friendly foods in federally-funded procurement
While the strategy report doesn't detail specific procurement strategies, it prioritizes whole, healthy foods in government nutrition programs (SNAP, school meals, prisons, VA hospitals). Land Core recommends that HHS, USDA, ED, VA, and DOD prioritize foods produced using sustainable soil health methods to maximize micronutrient content. We also appreciate the report's focus on ensuring all communities can access healthy foods. We would like to develop clear standards and practices and, at a minimum, clarify and fund academic investment in building that framework.
Land Core commends the Commission's plan to expand Farm-to-School grants and connect local producers with schools, supporting both small producers and children's health. To enhance this initiative, we recommend Farm-to-School grants specifically incentivize farming practices that restore and protect soil health.
4. Fund research on the soil-human health connection
Land Core supports the strategy report's proposal for "new tools to maintain and enable soil health practices" (page 19). We emphasize that appropriate funding must continue for existing, proven soil health strategies alongside any new tool development to ensure we don't abandon what already works. We additionally strongly urge highlighting across agencies how crop rotation, cover cropping, and no/low-till farming strengthen soil health, increase yields, and reduce input costs for farmers, which all directly benefit human health over time.
We commend the recognition of precision agriculture's role in boosting productivity, decreasing pesticide needs, and improving soil microbiomes. Land Core urges USDA and EPA to offset high upfront costs and ensure all farmers have access to these technologies.
Land Core encourages research on soil microbes and chronic disease, and supports USDA, EPA, and NIH plans to study chemical exposure and its impacts on soil health and human health through food and water.
In addition, we are pleased that NIH will establish a Gut Microbiome Research Initiative, and strongly suggest that the connection between the gut microbiome and the soil microbiome be included. Similarly, with the HHS, NIH, and EPA evaluation of microplastic risks, we recommend studying soil microplastic contamination. We also recognize the similarities between this suggestion and the key purposes of the S.2500/H.R.3991 Research for Healthy Soils Act, which calls for research on the impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on farmland.
Additional Comments:
While Land Core does not generally comment on issues related to pesticides and other specific management tools, we would like to note that several organizations have raised concerns about the Commission's proposed EPA process reform, particularly related to plans that expedite approval of "chemical and biological products" for crop protection (page 13).
The main concern, from our perspective, is ensuring farmer choice and independence. Prioritizing "timely availability of more innovative growing solutions" could limit farmers' access to proven, soil-centric approaches and their ability to prevent off-target movement and spray drift of chemical products (page 13). This may ultimately undermine our understanding of the Commission’s goal of promoting healthy soil, food, and people. The strategy also overlooks "innovative growing solutions" beyond chemical products (page 13). Land Core urges the Commission not to create systems that limit farmer choices and freedoms, in particular those that have documented, direct benefits to building food nutrition quality.
In conclusion, Land Core commends the MAHA Commission's prioritization of soil health as well as its articulated understanding that regenerative farming practices can have a substantive impact on improving human health and be the foundation on which HHS, USDA and EPA can contribute to a thriving future. This recognition is a critical advancement in agricultural policy.
We urge the Commission to build on this work and to develop concrete frameworks, as well as specific policies to advance this from ideas into actions–building not only a healthier America, but supporting the farmers that are at its foundation.
Land Core is a 501(c)3 organization that works closely with the USDA, legislators, producers, scientists, NGOs and financial institutions across the country to develop policy recommendations that build healthy soils, resilient farmers and national food security. This includes guiding the successful passage of language in both the House and Senate supporting soil health outcomes at the USDA and helping to secure over $50M in federal investment in Soil Health in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Resources: The Land Core Soil Health Bill Tracker is a comprehensive tool designed to monitor and analyze legislation related to soil health and resilience. It can be used to support bills that align with the priorities of strengthening American agriculture, promoting energy independence, and revitalizing rural communities.
Contact: Aria McLauchlan, Co-Founder & Executive Director, aria@landcore.org