deep soil feeds healthy people

When we pick up a fruit or vegetable and take a bite, our taste buds can put a smile on our face. When the flavors are rich and delicious, studies are showing that good quality soil contributes to good quality food. When plants and animals live with little stress, accessing the water, light and minerals they need to reach their full potential, health abounds. This health is then transferred to us when we eat.

deep soil encourages life to thrive

In many places around the temperate world, high soil diversity corresponds with high plant diversity. With high plant diversity, usually comes high animal diversity. In human disturbed landscapes, where there is currently low soil diversity, designing for deep soil should increase overall biodiversity and human well being.

deep soil grows from good design

Before the year 1492, the US Great Plains had many feet of deep living soil. This soil was created by thousands of years of solar powered plant-animal-microbial interactions. The natural and cultural processes that formed deep soil in these grasslands also occurred where humans used fire in the Finger Lakes Region to manage hunting and foraging lands. This form of “managed design” is still happening and relevant today. Whether through fire or other means, good agro-ecological design can build deep soil over time.

deep soil requires thoughtful giving

It is exciting to know that most farms in NY are small. Small farms tend include more diversity and are perennial based (pastureland, conservation, woodland). Unfortunately the number of farms has decreased overall, and are being consolidated into larger less diversified farms, where most of the State funding and support services go. Small diversified farms, particularly those using regenerative perennial systems, are growing, which is good. The challenge is, how can local perennial crops, compete in a conventional food market, that is heavily subsidized? The Deep Soil Project wants to meet that challenge, and fund local regenerative farm projects that need a little injection to build deep soil and stay successful. Join our campaign to make this happen!

More about the project

What is deep soil?

Deep soil is grown by biodiverse plant root ecosystems. Like the human gut microbiome, it’s been shown that a diverse soil root microbiome increases the ability of plants to fight off disease, uptake nutrients, and thrive. Efficiently growing deep rooted plants build deep soil over time.

Why is deep soil important? 

An increase of 1 percent soil organic matter can result in an increase of 15,000 gallons of plant-available water per acre. More water holding capacity in the soil means more drought resistance, less flooding, and healthier plants. The deep soil reservoir re-charges drinking water supplies, bringing more overall resilience to agricultural ecosystems, benefiting people and the environment. 

How do we get deep soil?

The United State Department of Agriculture says that to have healthy soil you need to: Maximize Continuous Living Roots; Minimize Disturbance; Maximize Biodiversity; Maximize Soil Cover. Cornell University includes integrating well planned grazing animals and perennial crops can greatly increase soil organic matter on farms. Deep soil also comes from protecting our ecologically important grasslands, wetlands and forested landscapes.

Why focus on Tompkins County New York?

A core part of Food Forest Farm’s network is within this County. To scale up regenerative deep soil practices takes building relationships with people doing the work, on farms, in towns, hamlets and cities. These are the people most effected by land use choices, and these same people are passionate about keeping their water and air clean for themselves and future generations. Starting at the County scale, builds momentum and inspiration that can then be shared outwards into surrounding communities.

How does the Project encourage a 5% commitment to deep soil creation by 2025?

Through fee-for-service contracts, generous private gifts and support from volunteers and other supporters, we are able to collaborate with land holders to enact site specific improvements to create deep soil. Example deep soil practices can include: wind-breaks, stream buffers, shelterbelts, alley cropping, fodder banks, silvopasture, living hedge rows, perennial cropping systems, conservation easements, cultural respect easements, managed intensive grazing, pollinator habitat, and more… Five percent of Tompkins County farmland equals about 4500 acres of cropland, pastures, and inactive farmland. We start with a cohort of early adopters and scale up over time, reaching 100% deep soil by 2050.

Is the Deep Soil Project a not-for-profit organization?

Currently the project is part of Food Forest Farm, a private business. As the project develops over the next year, we will consider whether to incorporate into a non-profit for the purpose of creating community wealth vs private wealth. In either case, by supporting a farm’s transition to regenerative practices, we are strengthening the family farm, the farm community and connected ecosystem services that spread out and impact the surrounding watershed. With enough farm regeneration, this process has the added benefit to regenerate real wealth like the air, water and biodiversity that we all depend on.

How does the Deep Soil Project redress the regional history of colonization and wealth inequity?

Our view is that it is not enough to just regenerate and deepen our soils, we must also apply the regenerative practice to ourselves and our communities. 

How does the Deep Soil Project define regenerative practices?

When thinking about our economy and a true regenerative agricultural system, we incorporate the perspective of the Regenerative Enterprise Institute, and the Seven Principles of Regeneration. We also respect the Indigenous perspective, how will our present decisions impact the next 7 generations. And we encourage support for the NE Farmers of Color Land Trust.

What is a carbon farm plan?

Carbon farm plans were started by the Marin Carbon Project of California. The plans are focused on increasing the capacity of the farm to capture carbon and store it beneficially as soil organic matter and in above ground biomass. Many of the practices included in a carbon farm plan come from USDA NRCS. The Deep Soil Project also appreciates what our friend Ethan Roland Soloviev talks about in this video: Carbon Farming, Tools For Regenerative Agriculture.

Does the Deep Soil Project offer carbon farm plans?

Yes. From our research, we’ve decided that carbon farm plans that are well designed and implemented, serve our core mission, the formation of deep soil.

Collaborators

Jacob Fox

Samuel Bosco