The free, 20-page booklet is chock-full of information and photos that shows homeowners how to use the same principles and practices leading-edge soil health farmers and ranchers have discovered to make their land more resilient, healthy and productive.
HURON, S.D., August 29, 2023 – Thanks to a new booklet titled Healthy Soil at Home, South Dakota homeowners will now have access to the key information they need to build healthier soils in their gardens, yards and acreages—and harvest the many benefits healthy soil grows.
The free, 20-page booklet is chock-full of information and photos that shows homeowners how to use the same principles and practices leading-edge soil health farmers and ranchers have discovered to make their land more resilient, healthy and productive. The publication is part of the “Where Good Things Grow” soil health awareness and education public service campaign produced by the South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts (SDACD) and assisted by a Cooperative Conservation Grant from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in South Dakota.
“The key to resilient soils and drought-resistant landscapes is nourishing the billions of microorganisms in the ground beneath your feet,” said Angela Ehlers, Executive Director for Conservation Districts of South Dakota. “Once you realize your soil is teeming with life and treat it that way, you’ll be rewarded time and again.”
The NRCS has been working with South Dakota farmers and ranchers for years to improve grasslands and farmlands. Healthy Soil at Home translates successful soil health-improving agricultural principles into practical practices homeowners can also apply at home.
“We’ve learned that if you work with nature, nurture native plants, and follow five soil health principles, your soil will soon absorb and hold more rainfall and require fewer fertilizers and pesticides,” said Tony Sunseri, NRCS State Conservationist. “That’s true on farm and ranch lands and in yards and gardens.”
“In terms of providing accessible, understandable and practical soil health-improving information for homeowners, I don’t think there’s another booklet like it in the country,” NRCS soil health specialist Kent Vlieger said.
Vlieger has used the practices in the book––cover crops, crop rotation, no-till planting and native grasses and forbs––in his own garden and yard for years. “There’s no doubt you can save water, produce healthier, homegrown food and regenerate your soil. This booklet shows you how,” he said.
Healthy Soil at Home provides recommendations for native prairie grasses, forbs, trees and shrubs; offers suggestions to attract pollinators and other wildlife species; and highlights native plants used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. A complementary video will be available later this year.
Other sponsors include the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition and the South Dakota Grassland Coalition.
An electronic version of the booklet is available at www.WhereGoodThingsGrow.org and at the sponsor’s websites. Individual print copies are available through your local NRCS Office. Those attending the South Dakota State Fair can pick up a copy from the NRCS booth in the FFA building and at the South Dakota Association of Conservation District's Value-Added Ag booth.
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