Update on the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act
Image by Ginger Jordan from Unsplash+.
Thank you to everyone who signed on to the Letter of Support for the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act. We are grateful for the incredible response across the food and agriculture community. Signatories ranged from farmers and ranchers to food companies, insurance, finance, and ag-tech leaders, conservation groups, and farmer coalitions, representing the broad, cross-sector alliance that believes soil health policy is a cornerstone of a resilient agricultural future.
As a reminder, the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act directs USDA to oversee research on the risk reduction associated with cover cropping, reduced tillage, diversified rotations, managed grazing, and other soil health practices over a 3-5 year timeline, as well as the interactions of these practices (which have been shown to have exponential benefits) to evaluate whether farmers implementing these practices are lower risk. If the data signals quantifiable risk reduction, RMA would only then be required to encourage practice implementation through risk-informed financial discounts (similar to how other forms of insurance encourage cost-saving practices). This can all be done in an entirely voluntary manner, without requiring specific practices or penalizing producers who choose not to adopt these practices. Farmers and ranchers currently face significant challenges, and this proposed legislation represents an opportunity for USDA to uplift producers by incentivizing the adoption of risk-mitigating land management practices.
The Letter of Support was initially drafted and circulated in advance of the House Agriculture Committee's farm bill markup, and with 79 organizations signed on, it sent a clear signal to Congress that there is widespread demand for research-driven crop insurance reform.
As the farm bill process continues to unfold with timing and next steps still uncertain, Land Core remains committed to keeping this language in play. We are actively meeting with Senators, Representatives, and soil health advocates on the Hill to explore how the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act can be incorporated into the farm bill, FY27 Agriculture Appropriations, or other available legislative vehicles, and we continue working to build a diverse coalition of supporters across the U.S.
Given the longer road ahead, we are also opening the sign-on process to a broader group of supporters beyond the initial February deadline. If you or your organization, company, business, or institution didn't get a chance to sign on, or if you know others who should be part of this effort, we want to hear from you. The more support we have behind this proposal, the stronger our case to Congress. We'll continue sharing updates as the legislation moves forward. Stay tuned, and thank you again to all who have strengthened our work towards better soil health policy.
If you'd like to learn more about the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act, get involved, or have any questions about the proposal or Land Core’s work, please reach out to Land Core’s Programs Manager, Lily Daniel [lily@landcore.org]. This is a long-term effort, and every partner matters.
Land Core is a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to advance soil health policies and programs that create value for farmers, businesses and communities. The organization is building the missing infrastructure and market-based incentives that will make the rapid adoption and scalability of soil health possible.