Agricultural Producers’ Motivations and Challenges With Improving Soil Health in Utah Peggy Petrzelka, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Matt Yost, Jenae Dean, Tony Richards, and Kristy Davis
Introduction Soil health is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans” (Natural Resources Conservation Service [NRCS], n.d.). The importance of soil health to agricultural production and conservation has been widely documented in certain U.S. areas, such as the Midwest and Great Plains, for the commodity crop and ranching industries (e.g., Karlen et al., 2019; Wilmer et al., 2019). Yet, soil health in other U.S. agricultural regions remains largely understudied, including agricultural production systems in the Intermountain West (IMW). As Odom et al. (2017) note, “Despite the valuable resources that rangelands and pasturelands represent, and the ecosystem services they provide, they have not featured prominently in the national discussion and efforts to improve soil health.” With funding from the USDA/NRCS and the Utah State Legislature in 2021, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) created the Utah Soil Health Program. Further, they developed the Utah Soil Health Partnership (USHP) to bring together various partners, agencies, and stakeholders to promote the adoption of soil health practices in Utah. The USHP developed a five-year project to increase understanding of how best to implement soil health practices into Utah’s diverse farming systems. Fifteen producers were selected to participate in the USHP OnFarm Soil Health Demonstration Project (hereafter “trial”) to represent the state’s geographic and agricultural diversity.1
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Participants in the soil health demonstration project understand the importance of soil health to the environment and their operation’s productivity. Participants see and feel the gap in research on soil health in the Intermountain West. Participants are aware of their unique land and that soil health practices used in other parts of the country do not always work, nor are they necessarily a good idea on their farm or ranch. Participants are motivated to attempt soil health practices for their own benefit so others can learn from them. A need exists for more soil health data collection in Utah, as well as additional resources and knowledge to assist Utah producers in improving soil health.
During 2022, the trial’s first year, the participating farmers and ranchers were interviewed. We begin by discussing participant demographics and operation characteristics. Next, we turn to challenges the producers faced with implementing soil health practices in the IMW, and then turn to motivations for the producers to enroll in the USHP trial. This will help (1) document what is currently known about soil health efforts in the IMW and (2) provide information to other producers interested in pursuing soil health on their agricultural land. 1