2025 AgSHOP Local Soil Health Workshop Grant
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) is pleased to announce the opening of the Local Soil Health Workshop Grant! The Soil Health Advisory Committee has been awarded $30,000 of federal funds under the Agricultural Soil Health Outreach Project (AgSHOP) to support various organizations in planning workshops and educational events that spread awareness about soil health and regenerative farming principles and practices.
The grant is meant to increase opportunities for Utah agricultural producers and professionals to learn about regenerative farming practices and build local networks of soil health-focused individuals. Eligible events will run in the 2025 calendar year.
The grant application window will run from May 6, 2024 to June 14, 2024. Access the application here: https://udafgrants.utah.gov/
For grant parameters and detailed eligibility information, click here.
For more information on the grant itself or any other questions, reach out to [email protected] or contact program manager Tony Richards at 435-452-2296.
Click here to request an in-field soil health assessment.
UDAF’s Utah Soil Health Program was created during the 2021 General Session (HB0296) to recognize soil health as essential to protecting the state’s soil and water resources, bolstering the state’s food supply, and sustaining the state’s agricultural industry.
The purpose of the program is to promote the adoption of soil health practices through increasing our understanding of soil health and its impacts on the productivity, economics, and environmental aspects of agriculture as well as how it benefits the general public of Utah.
The program uses a voluntary / incentive based approach through domestication, education, and research along with implementation projects to promote soil health benefits. Working with multiple partners, agencies, and stakeholders to combine efforts, and acquire funding and grants to implement projects under the umbrella of the Utah Soil Health Partnership (USHP).
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Interested in learning more about soil health and how to implement it in your operation? Reach out to our program staff.
Soil Health Planner – Southern Utah
Quade Fautin
[email protected]
(385) 501-9519
Soil Health Program Manager
Tony Richards
[email protected]
435-452-2296
Or visit the Utah Soil Health Partnership website!
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Learn more about the Utah Soil Health Program here:
Current Projects:
How Healthy Are Your Soils? Request a FREE Soil Health Assessment
What is an in-field soil health assessment?
An in-field soil health assessment uses a set of simple tests and observations to estimate the overall health of the soil in a field. These measurements and observations look at the following soil components.
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- Soil Cover
- Residue Breakdown
- Surface Crust
- Ponding / Infiltration
- Penetration Resistance
- Water Stable Aggregates
- Soil Structure
- Soil Color
- Plant Roots
- Biological Diversity
- Bipores
Based on the results the overall health of the soil is estimated and used to identify if the soil has one of the following resource concerns.
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- Compaction
- Soil Organism Habitat Loss
- Soil Organic Matter Depletion
- Aggregate Instability
Using this information we can develop a soil health plan for the field that will combine your goals, with identified resource concerns to recommend some soil health practices. Soil health practices include.
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- No-till / Direct Seeding
- Cover Crops
- Soil Amendments / Composting
- Interseeding
- Integrating Grazing
Request a Soil Health Assessment by clicking here.
Utah Soil Health Network On-Farm Soil Health Demonstration Project
The Utah Soil Health Partnership with funding from the USDA NRCS is developing the Utah Soil Health Network. This 5 year project is designed to increase our understanding of how best to implement soil health practices into Utah’s various farming systems. Data is being collected from each site to understand the impacts of soil health practices on the agronomic, economic, environmental and social aspects of each operation.
Program participants receive annual incentive payments for keeping records, maintaining test plots and implementing practices.
Additional Details:
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- 5 Year Project
- 17 demonstration sites will be selected from around the state
- Trials will be up to 50 acres in size (several soil health and conventional strips)
- Sites are being used to host farm field days
- USU and USHP are collecting soil, crop, and water samples from each site.
- Participants are being interviewed annually about the project and impacts it is having on their operation.
- Agronomic, economic, environmental and social impacts of implementing soil health practices such as cover crops, no-till, integrated grazing and others are the main focus of the project.
- Data collected will be compiled into reports and factsheets for the public
- Combinations of soil planners, USU extension agents, and crop advisors are working with each participant to develop an individual soil health plan for each site that will be followed for 5 years. Technical assistance will be provided to the participant throughout the project.
Click here to view the Utah Soil Health Network On-Farm Trial Participant Report November 2022
Related Links:
- Utah Soil Health Partnership
- USHP Youtube Channel
- Utah NRCS Soil Health
- USU Extension Crops
- SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education)
Reports: