Project Manager:
Zorah Oppenheimer
Clark Conservation District
Interim District Manager
813 West Main Street, Suite 106
Battle Ground, WA 98604
(360) 859-4780
Goal: To develop a “roadmap to soil health” for local producers that will provide (1) a comprehensive soil health assessment, (2) a systems nutrient budget, and (3) an action plan with carbon footprint analysis specifying nutrient management recommendations for three critical areas impacting soil health: crop rotation, cover crops, and use of organic material, such as crop residues, manure, and compost. .Secondly, a “toolkit” will be developed to share the roadmap information with diverse producers statewide.
Project Update: Fall 2018
The year 1 deliverable for this grant is a Soil Health Roadmap (written document) for April Joy Farm. This deliverable met the following project objectives as part of the Soil Health Roadmap:
- Development of a comprehensive Soil Health Assessment
- Completion of a systems nutrient budget
- Creation of an action plan with specific one-year recommendations for improving soil health
The farmers have learned a great deal about soil health and are eagerly implementing the recommendations developed as part of the Soil Health Roadmap. The goal of the project team for year 2 is to extrapolate what has been learned at April Joy Farm to produce a case study that can help diversified small farmers across the state prepare a soil health roadmap for their own farm. Included in the case study will be additional resources, ie. a Soil Health “toolkit” geared toward working farmers.
In the next two years of our grant, we intend to leverage our work to provide education to other producers
regarding the purpose and practical application of a Soil Health Roadmap. We also intend to continue to
document the changes in baseline soil health at April Joy Farm to provide helpful information for our case study. If possible, we would like to assist with the development and implementation of a Soil Health Roadmap on another regional farm.