One of the most important, and often overlooked natural resources on Earth is the soil. Most food is grown or raised in the soil. Raw materials for our clothing and shelter come from the soil. With fewer people farming the land these days, many children don’t know their food, fiber for clothing, and materials for their homes comes from the soil. This page provides education resources for farmers, ranchers, and educators in a variety of media that can be used to increase soil health literacy. If you know of a helpful resource not listed here, please let us know!
Did you know that there are five main principles of soil health
- Keep the soil covered as much as possible
- Disturb the soil as little as possible
- Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil
- Diversify as much as possible using crop rotation and cover crops
- Livestock
Learn more from the resources below about why following soil health principles results in a healthier more productive soil.
Soil Health Assessments
WORMS Working on Regenerative Management Systems is an Esri web-based link to track soil health in fields. Producers can invite any trained person to assess their soil health and record the data into our database. To schedule a field visit please contact Greg Kloxin, Soil Health Director, greg.kloxin@conservation.ok.gov
Factsheets (PDF)
Instructionals (PDF)
- How to Tell If Your Soil is Healthy
- Incorporating Cover Crops into Soil Health Management Systems
- Soil Health 101 Planning Principles
- Soil Health Management Systems
- Concepts of Pasture Soil Health
- Soil Health on Rangelands
Free Books! (PDF)
Articles on Oklahoma’s Soil Health (links)
- Officials Attend Soil Health Talk, Demonstration
- Dewey County Demonstrates Value of Cover Crops to Local Producers
- Bang for Buck: Soil Health Save Water, Money – Enid News & Eagle (newspaper)
- Soil Health Case Study: Scotty Herriman
- Soil Health Case Study: Mark Nault
Stories on Oklahoma’s Soil Health (video / radio)
- Farmers School Themselves on Soil Health to Revive Oklahoma’s Dying Dirt – State Impact (radio)
Helpful websites
An interactive computer game that takes learners of all ages through various best management and conservation practices to turn a rundown farm and landscape into an environmental showplace! Point and click on various areas of the farm to answer related multiple choice questions. With each correct answer the farmscape changes to show the improvement made (complete with sound effects!). Once you make it through the set of questions correctly, the farm is set in motion with animation.