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Resources

Discover a wealth of combined resources for learning about & advocating for soil health in Pennsylvania.

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VIDEOS

Watch a wide range of video productions from local, state and national perspectives.

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Pennsylvania Farmer Testimonials

  • FACT SHEETS
    Dig a Little, Learn a Lot - NRCS ​ Healthy Soils Are Full of Life - NRCS ​ Principals for High Functioning Soils - NRCS ​ Healthy, Productive Soils Checklist for Growers - NRCS ​ Farming in the 21st Century: a practical approach to improve soil health - NRCS ​ Carbon to Nitrogen Ratios in Cropping Systems- NRCS Total Organic Carbon - NRCS Soil Carbon - Pennsylvania Soil Health Coalition Particulate Organic Matter - NRCS Reactive Carbon - NRCS ​ Value of Soil Health - NRCS Iowa ​ Soil Health Key Points - NRCS ​ Five Questions Landowners Should Ask Their Farmers about Soil Health - NRCS ​ What is a Soil Health Management System? - NRCS Soil Respiration - NRCS Soil Enzymes - NRCS Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen - NRCS Soil Structure and Macropores - NRCS Available Water Capacity - NRCS Aggregate Stability - NRCS
  • ASSESSMENT TOOLS
    NRCS Cropland In-Field Soil Health Assessment NRCS Tech Note for cropland in-field assessment NRCS Cropland In-Field Assessment video ​ NRCS Pasture Condition Score Sheet NRCS Residue Evaluation Maryland Soil Health Assessment South Dakota Soil Health Assessment Card Soil Health Indicators - quick photo reference ​ Soil Health Indicators & Tests - NCAT ​ Estimating Soil Texture by Feel ​ Field Slump Test video Measuring Water Infiltration in Agricultural Soils video - NCAT & Stroud Center
  • GENERAL RESOURCES
    Soil Health in Field & Forage Crop Production (Higher Quality PDF or Faster Download PDF) ​ The ABCs of Soil Health- NRCS CBF Rainfall simulator video ​ Advancing Eco Agriculture webinars Tainio Biologicals, Inc webinars ​ Web Soil Survey – Custom Soil Maps & Reports ​ Getting Started with Web Soil Survey ​ Soil Health Demo by Leroy Bupp (PA No-Till Alliance) ​ Pasa Sustainable Agriculture soil health resource page ​ Green Cover Seed - Custom cover crop mix calculator and webinars ​ Green Cover Seed Resource Website ​ No-Till Farmer Magazine free eGuides ​ Soil Health Research list compiled by Jim Hoorman ​ ACRES Healthy Soils Problem Solving Booklet ​ Optimizing Managed Grazing for Soil Health - Soil Health Institute & NRCS ​ One Good Idea website Fertilizer Salt Index Pennsylvania Beginning Farmers Resource Guide - Chesapeake Bay Foundation Overview of plant micronutrients, insect pests, and herbal oils for insect control (click on the critical topics category) - Apical Crop Science Soillife.org website
  • SOIL BIOLOGY
    Tainio Biologicals - Natural Growing Through Biology YouTube channel (also available as audio podcasts through Spotify and Apple) Biological Pathways to Carbon Rich Soil - Christine Jones presentation Symphony of the Soil movie ​ Soil Microbes Help Save Plant Growing Input Costs (Included in the video library) ​ Beneficial Insects (Included in the video library) ​ Farming with Soil Life: A handbook for supporting soil invertebrates and soil health on farms ​ Farming with Soil Life video series ​ Soil Organisms fact sheets by Jim Hoorman ​ Understanding Soil Biology & Nutrient Recycling ​ Intro to the Soil Food Web - Urban Worm Company Fertilizer Salt Index - salts can impact the soil microbe community Soil Microbes in Organic Cropping Systems 101 - Penn State University Management of Soil Microbes on Organic Farms - Penn State University Earthworms - NRCS factsheet Biological Indicators Overview - NRCS factsheet
  • COVER CROPS
    Cover Crop Periodic Table ​ Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) ​ Steve Groff's Resources for Successful Cover Cropping (Training Binder) ​ Northeast Cover Crop Council - Cover Crop Decision Support Tools ​ NRCS Comprehensive Guide to Cover Crop Species Used in the Northeast One Pass Only: Seeding Cover Crops While Harvesting - Ray McCormick video
  • GRAZING
    Building Healthy Pasture Soils - NCAT ​ PA Grazing Lands Coalition resource webpage ​ How to Assess Soil Health on Grazing Lands Using a Shovel and a Knife - NCAT YouTube video ​ Grazing Support & Mentorship in Pennsylvania ​ PSU Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Grazing Cover Crops for Soil Health ​ PSU Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Cover Crop Species & Crop Rotations ​ PSU Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Infrastructure ​ PSU Integrating Grazing into Cropping Systems: Livestock Class Considerations Potential to Integrate Grazing into No-Till Systems - PSU U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
  • TEACHER & STUDENT RESOURCES
    Teacher's manual for understanding soil health and watershed function ​ The Little Regenerative Farmer book ​ General agricultural information (suggested by a student named Ainsley) ​ Mighty Mini Microbe ​ The ABCs of Soil Health - NRCS ​ NRCS General Soil Education website (including soil-related lesson plans) ​ NRCS Soil Health Educators Guide website What is Dirt? - Curious Kids, University of North Dakota Healthy Soils Activity Guide - Stop Waste Soil Activity Book - Maryland Department of Agriculture Healthy Soil: Healthy Life - 2022 NACD booklets, educator guide, & activity sheet Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper - 2019 NACD booklets, educator guide, & activity sheet Healthy Soils are Full of Life! - 2017 NACD booklets, educator guide, & activities Soil is Alive! video - SciShow Kids The Soil Awakens video - Soillife.org Layers of Soil video - Peekaboo Kidz I Farm Ugly song - music and lyrics by Jon Chandler
  • HOMEOWNERS & BACKYARD GARDENERS
    Building Healthy Soils in Home Gardens - PA Soil Health Coalition ​ Soil Health in Raised Beds - Penn State Extension ​ How to Manage Common Weeds Without Chemicals video - by Soil Shepherds Regenerating the Home Landscape - by Soil Shepherds, ACRES magazine ​ Soil Health Academy no-till gardening blog post ​ Cover Crops Are an Easy Way to Improve Your Garden's Soil - Lancaster Farming article ​ Backyard Soil Health Q&A with Dr. Steven Mirksy - USDA-ARS YouTube video Ruth Stout Lazy Gardening Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Garden - SARE How Regenerative Farming Could Impact The Food We Buy In Years To Come - Tasting Table article Bryan O'Hara | Organic No-Till Vegetable Farming - YouTube webinar recording Soil Biology in Home Gardening - Lisa Blazure webinar recording, Prince George's SCD
  • ORGANIC MANAGEMENT
    Penn State Farmer to Farmer Case Study videos Penn State Organic Crop Production Guide ​ Transitioning to Organic Production - SARE ​ Growing Organic No-till Garlic video - Beech Grove Farm ​ Soil Health and Organic Farming Guidebooks - Organic Farming Research Foundation ​ Rodale Institute Soil Health webpage Los Fundamentos de la Salud del Suelo - Organic Farming Research Foundation Bryan O'Hara | Organic No-Till Vegetable Farming - YouTube webinar recording Soil Microbes in Organic Cropping Systems 101 - eOrganic, Penn State University Management of Soil Microbes on Organic Farms - eOrganic, Penn State University Healthy Soil Problem Solving 2022 - ACRES Soil Health and Cover Crops at Burroughs Family Orchards - SARE video
  • BOOKS WE LOVE
    The Art and Science of Grazing by Sarah Flack The Complete Guide to Restoring Your Soil by Dale Strickler Cows Save The Planet by Judith Schwartz ​ Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David Montgomery ​ Farmacology by Dr. Daphne Miller ​ For the Love of the Soil by Nicole Masters ​ A Growing Revolution by David Montgomery ​ Grow Your Soil! by Diane Miessler ​ Life in the Soil by James Nardi ​ One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka ​ Plowman's Folly by Edward Faulkner ​ Soil Biology Primer by multiple authors including Elaine Ingham ​ Soil Health, Soil Biology, Soilborne Diseases and Sustainable Agriculture by Stirling, Hayden Pattison, and Stirling ​ What Your Food Ate by Anne Bikle & David Montgomery
  • PODCASTS
    Advancing Eco Agriculture podcasts Joel Myers - the history of Pennsylvania no-till ​ Rodale Farming Systems: Watershed Impact Trial ​ The Graziers Grapevine by the PA Grazing Lands Coalition ​ Ryan Graham, Butler County farmer: Every Day is Earth Day for Farmers ​ Interseeding Covers Into Corn at V4-V5 for No-Till Success, John Wallace, PSU Understanding Carbon:Nitrogen Ratios & Cover Crops - Steve Groff on Cover Crop Strategies Podcast
  • LAND LEASING & CONSERVATION PRACTICES
    Landowner Help website - recorded webinars and resources ​ Agricultural Conservation Lease Builder - step-by-step help for developing leases ​ Long-Term Leasing Booklet & Ag Leasing 101 - PA Farm Link ​ Five Questions Landowners Should Ask Their Farmers about Soil Health - NRCS PA Farm Link website - land and legal information
  • CASE STUDIES
    Thiele Dairy Farm - 2023 American Farmland Trust Pennsylvania Farm B&R Farms - Boots and Robin Hetherington + Morgan and Kevin Bond, PA American Farmland Trust - national case study list Quantifying Economic and Environmental Benefits of Soil Health - AFT Economics of Soil Health Systems in Midwest Corn and Soy - Soil Health Institute
  • PENNSYLVANIA FARMER TESTIMONIALS & INTERVIEWS
    Deploy Cover Crops to Drop Your Herbicide Use Steve Groff, Cedar Meadows Farm (Lancaster County) - No-Till Farmer ​ Healing Soil through No-Till Leroy Bupp, Bupplynn Farm (York County) – No-Till Farmer ​ No-Till Pioneer on a Mission for Soil Health Leroy Bupp, Bupplynn Farm (York County) – Chesapeake Bay Foundation ​ Focusing on Profits, Not Yields Lucas Criswell, Criswell Acres (Union County) – Farm Progress ​ Planting into Living Covers Lucas Criswell & Jim Hershey (Union & Lancaster Counties) – No-Till Farmer ​ Using Untreated Seed to Boost Beneficial Insects Lucas Criswell, Criswell Acres (Union County) – No-Till Farmer ​ Farmer Profile: Dave Graybill Dave Graybill, Red Sunset Farm (Juniata County) – Chesapeake Bay Foundation ​ Fine-Tuning Fertility for Top Yields Dean James, Don Cotner Farms (Northumberland County) – No-Till Farmer ​ Connections Between Soil Health & Nutrition Jennifer Montgomery & Greg Boulos, Blackberry Meadows Farm – Pasa Sustainable Agriculture ​ NRCS showcase Jim Harbach, Schrack Farms (Clinton County) ​ Mimicking Natural Systems Jim Harbach, Schrack Farms (Clinton County) – Dairy Herd ​ Harvesting Sunlight to Feed Soils Jim Harbach, Schrack Farms (Clinton County) – No-Till Farmer ​ Planning and Research is Necessary for No-Till Success Jim Hershey, Hershey Farms (Lancaster County) – No-Till Farmer ​ 60” Corn Rows Make Space for Cover Crops Ben Peckman, Slate Ridge Farm (Franklin County) – Farm Progress ​ Water In, Slugs Out, Inputs Down, Profits Up Ben Peckman, Slate Ridge Farm (Franklin County) – No-Till Farmer ​ Feeding Worms, Microbial 'Livestock' Transforms No-Till Fields Dave McLaughlin, Little Germany Farm (Perry County) - Cover Crop Strategies ​ Behind the Scenes with a Local Beef Farmer Dave & Holly Albert, Misty Mountain Farms (Lycoming County) - Dirt to Dinner Drone aids in making farm decisions William Thiele (Butler County) - Farm & Dairy Soil health and forage: A cover crop twofer William Thiele (Butler County) - Farm Progress Profiles in Soil Health: Rowan Miller (Cumberland County) American Farmland Trust Profiles in Soil Health: Teena Bailey (Lehigh County) American Farmland Trust

Other Productions

Living Soil Film
01:00:23
Soil Health Institute

Living Soil Film

Living Soil: A Documentary. Now available with subtitles in more than 20 languages. Enable closed captions by clicking the 'CC' icon, then click the gear icon to select the subtitle language you want. Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre. Yet in the last 150 years, we’ve lost half of the basic building block that makes soil productive. The societal and environmental costs of soil loss and degradation in the United States alone are now estimated to be as high as $85 billion every single year. Like any relationship, our living soil needs our tenderness. It’s time we changed everything we thought we knew about soil. Let’s make this the century of living soil. This 60-minute documentary features innovative farmers and soil health experts from throughout the U.S. Accompanying lesson plans for college and high school students can also be found on this site. "Living Soil" was directed by Chelsea Myers and Tiny Attic Productions based in Columbia, Missouri, and produced by the Soil Health Institute through the generous support of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The film is freely available to download and stream at www.soilhealthinstitute.org/livingsoil. A special thanks to Dawn Bradley, Brian Berns, Keith Berns, Bill Buckner, Mimo Davis, Dan DeSutter, Miranda Duschak, James “Ooker” Eskridge, Barry Fisher, Liz Graznak, Steve Groff, Jerry Hatfield, Trey Hill, Larkin Martin, Bianca Moebius-Clune, Jesse Sanchez, Larry Thompson, John Wiebold, Kristen Veum, Kevin Mathein, Ben Harris, Tim Pilcher, Josh Wright, Haley Myers, Rob Myers and Josh Oxenhandler.
Common Ground documentary (2023) - Official Trailer
02:55
Common Ground Film

Common Ground documentary (2023) - Official Trailer

From the filmmakers of ‘Kiss the Ground’ (Netflix) comes the follow-up documentary ‘Common Ground,’ recipient of the Tribeca Film Festival 2023 Human/Nature Award. In select theaters in the US starting September 27th, 2023. https://commongroundfilm.org Sobering yet hopeful, ‘Common Ground’ exposes the toxic interconnections of American farming policy, politics, and health, by sharing stories of destruction and healing across the United States and beyond, and how regenerative agriculture and soil health plays a vitally important role in changing these systems for the better. At it's root, it explores how people from different walks of life, different political backgrounds, and different places share one thing in common – the very soil beneath their feet. The film is directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell, who have created bold and inspiring environmental films for many years (Kiss the Ground, On Sacred Ground, Regenerate Ojai, Fuel, The Big Fix), while winning coveted awards along the way from Sundance, Cannes, Red Nation, and Tribeca. The film features celebrity actors, activists and philanthropists Rosario Dawson, Laura Dern, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Jason Momoa, and Ian Somerhalder, along with interviews with Gabe Brown, Jonathan Lundgren Ph.D, Mark Hyman M.D., Leah Penniman, Ray Archuleta, Toby Kiers, Ph.D, Allejandro Carillo, Carey Gillam, Kelsey Ducheneaux-Scott, Kara Boyd, Robyn O'Brien, Rick Clark, and many other farmers, ranchers, scientists, educators, allies and beyond. In addition to warning the next generation, the narrators provide hope for ways to fix broken systems. “As parents of two young children, ‘Common Ground’ is not only a love letter to our kids, but all of the co-narrators of the film are also writing the letter to their children,” co-director Rebecca Tickell https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/donald-glover-jason-momoa-common-ground-documentary-clip-1235510404/ Common Ground had it’s world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, receiving the 2023 Human/Nature Award, “…a prize established to amplify a film that best exemplifies solution-oriented environmental storytelling.” https://tribecafilm.com/films/common-ground-2023 5 ACTIONS TO SUPPORT THE FILM: 1) Buy tickets by going to our website for the most updated list of cities, links and info: https://commongroundfilm.org 2) Request the film at a theater near you: https://commongroundfilm.org/request-common-ground-at-your-local-theater 3) Comment your city on our official announcement posts so we can continue to share the film to as many places as possible: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commongroundthefilm/posts/752618696872107 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvuOMZftuuA/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 4) Pay It Forward by purchasing tickets for others to see the film via our partnership with Gala Film, OR, if buying a ticket for yourself or a friend or family member is not accessible, request a free ticket: https://film.gala.com/films/common-ground 5) Follow us on social media, sign up for our newsletter, and connect with us here: https://linktr.ee/commongroundmovie As an independent film production, when you share the trailer and the film with your friends and family, and join us in theaters for the premieres, it makes a big difference. Without the luxury of multi-million dollar budgets, every share and every ticket is an act of supporting Common Ground. And that grass roots support will help the solution-driven movement and support regenerative leaders in their mission to transition 100+ million acres into 'Regenerative Agriculture' practices by 2035. We can all find our common ground through this movement to heal the soil, our food systems, our health, and the planet. No action is too small, and ever acre counts. From urban gardens to large ranches, composting to food production, ecological restoration projects to curriculum in the classroom (and in the fields), we can do this if we work together. Join the movement, and help us grow the film and the movement far and wide! http://commongroundfilm.org Thank you all. See you in at the premieres and beyond! -Common Ground Team -- #commongroundfilm #commongroundmovie #regenerativeagriculture #dontcensorcommonground #regenerativefarming #documentary #soilhealth #farming #climateaction #growfood #goodhealth #environmental #environmentalstewardship #agroecology
Three earthworm species
03:14
Wim van Egmond

Three earthworm species

These time-lapse movies show the behaviour of three different earthworm species. We intended to show the difference in feeding- and burrowing behaviour of the three species, all of which are common in Western Europe as well as many other parts of the world. With respect to feeding, we were really able to show the differences: it is clear that A. caliginosa, a so-called “endogeic” earthworm, feeds on soil organic matter and hardly touches the leaves, whereas both other species feed mostly on the leaves, leaving almost nothing at the end of the experiment. In addition, it seems like L. rubellus also forages on fungi growing on the decomposing leaves - note that especially during the first half of the timelapse, the L. rubellus leaves look “cleaner”, largely lacking the bluish fuzziness of fungi growing on them. With respect to burrowing behaviour, A. caliginosa also shows the natural inclination of an endogeic earthworm: it digs many non-permanent borrows, and seems so content in its surroundings that it even starts mating. The footage of an adult worm carefully “tucking in” its freshly laid egg cocoon to ensure it is in good contact with the soil (and thereby preventing it from drying out) is the most exciting part of the whole movie. And, of course, after two months the cocoon hatches and there are baby earthworms! L. rubellus forages much on the surface, but seems to have only few permanent burrows deeper in the soil. This is perhaps not surprising, because L. rubellus is often not regarded fully “epigeic” (which would require it to stay mostly in the litter layer rather than in the soil) but as having an intermediate strategy (“epi-endogeic”, or even “epi-anecic”. Finally, L. terrestris is a conventional “anecic” species, feeding on top but dragging its food into a deep, vertical and permanent burrow. As far as this is possible in a shallow mesocosm, L. terrestris indeed seems to display such behaviour. We can only guess how deep the earthworm would have dragged its food if it were able to dig deeper – in the field, depths up to a few meters have been reported for this species. On behalf of the Soil in Action team, J.W. van Groenigen, I.M. Lubbers More about the importance of earthworms: https://weblog.wur.eu/spotlight/less-fertiliser-thanks-to-earthworms/ and: https://twitter.com/jwvangroenigen This movie can be used in classrooms and for lectures. For other use please contact: egmond(at)tip.nl visit https://wimvanegmond.com © Wim van egmond 2021

Penn State Extension

OTHER RESOURCES

NATIONAL VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

Soil Carbon Cowboys (included in the library above)

The Living Soil (included in the library above)

The Science of Soil Health series by the USDA NRCS

Kiss The Ground (trailer is included in the library above)

Common Ground (trailer is included in the library above)

To Which We Belong (included in the library above)

GENERAL RESOURCES

Soil Health in Field & Forage Crop Production (Higher Quality PDF or Faster Download PDF)

The ABCs of Soil Health- NRCS

 

CBF Rainfall simulator video

Advancing Eco Agriculture webinars 

Web Soil Survey – Custom Soil Maps & Reports

Getting Started with Web Soil Survey

Soil Health Demo by Leroy Bupp (PA No-Till Alliance)

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture soil health resource page

Green Cover Seed - Custom cover crop mix calculator and webinars 

Green Cover Seed Resource Website

No-Till Farmer Magazine free eGuides

Soil Health Research list compiled by Jim Hoorman

ACRES Healthy Soils Problem Solving Booklet

Optimizing Managed Grazing for Soil Health - Soil Health Institute & NRCS

One Good Idea website

Suggest a Resource

Let us know if you have articles, videos or resources to expand our the value of this growing library.