Getting Our Hands in the Dirt: Celebrating Five Years of Soil Health Stewards

Five years ago, American Farmland Trust launched the Soil Health Stewards program with an ambitious idea: if we could train the people protecting farmland to also champion healthy soils, the benefits would ripple far beyond property lines.

That idea has taken root.

Since 2021, 239 staff from 123 land trusts and public Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement programs have gone through the training. Together, they steward nearly five million acres of permanently protected agricultural land across 36 states. Now they’re out walking fields and talking to landowners about what healthy soil means for the future of farming.

“We designed Soil Health Stewards to meet land trusts and public agencies where they are. Some are already engaging landowners on soil health, while others are brand new to the idea. The program gives them the tools, training, and community to support farmers and landowners in very real ways,” says Cris Coffin, director of American Farmland Trust’s National Agricultural Land Network (NALN).

Meeting People Where They Are

Soil health is often treated as the farmer’s responsibility. But what about the people who write agricultural conservation easements, conduct easement stewardship visits, and guide farmland protection policy? They need soil knowledge, too.

That’s where Soil Health Stewards came in. The program was offered through the NALN and supported by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Staff from participating land trusts and public agencies dove into the fundamentals of soil health, including maintaining living roots, minimizing ground disturbance, and keeping soil covered with cover crops. They also learned how to translate those principles into practice on protected farms. At the end of the training, staff developed an action plan tailored to their region and landowners for their land trust or agency.

Adams County: Starting with the Basics

In Pennsylvania, the Land Conservancy of Adams County identified an early need: a survey of farmers and landowners to determine which conservation practices they are using or want to use on their protected land. That knowledge can help the conservancy guide its outreach.

Staff coordinated with the county farmland protection program and the local NRCS field office to shape the new questionnaire, and they’re exploring a joint workshop at the county Ag Center to get farmers and landowners talking about soil-health practices and available resources.

They’re also lining up partners to support education and future field projects on protected properties. “The first step of the action plan was to develop a more involved questionnaire about farming practices… and what they were interested in doing,” says Conservation Director Sarah Kipp.

The conservancy rolled out the survey to 105 protected farms and new applicants. One important insight from early responses concerned leased farmland. Many non-operating landowners were unsure how their fields are being managed, pointing to opportunities for more owner–tenant dialogue and education.

Jefferson Land Trust: Walking the Fields Together

After completing the Soil Health Stewards training, Jefferson Land Trust used its action plan to schedule dedicated soil-health visits and invited the local conservation district and NRCS to join.

NRCS staff walked the team through the in-field cropland soil health assessment and the pasture condition score sheet so they could bring practical tools to landowners on protected farms.

“People were pretty enthusiastic to share,” says Stewardship Coordinator Marlowe Moser. “By leading with listening to them, and what they had to say, that guided where the rest of the conversation went… and I think that was appreciated.”

Back at the office, the land trust further incorporated soil health into its playbook and has since made soil health a standard part of every new stewardship plan. “Since the training, we are articulating goals and objectives related to soil health with a lot greater consistency in detail,” Moser adds.

The walks through the fields gave both sides a new perspective on how to keep soils healthy in the long term. “Getting out there just to talk about soil health wouldn’t have happened otherwise,” says Erik Kingfisher, director of stewardship and resilience. “It anchors our relationships now.”

Catawba Lands Conservancy: Soil Health You Can See

In North Carolina, Catawba Lands Conservancy used the training to sharpen how soil health shows up in everyday stewardship and outreach. The conservancy filmed three farmer video profiles, added a soil-health section to its website with case studies and resources, and applied what they learned on the ground.

Staff also checked conditions at the conservancy’s Buffalo Creek Preserve and advised the city of Charlotte on caring for a 40-acre hayfield to protect soils ahead of reforestation. “I feel more confident about pointing landowners and farmers to the right resources,” on soil health practices, says Sean Bloom, director of strategic initiatives.

For Land Conservation Director Will Ruark, the training connected long-running habitat work to the ground beneath it. “We’ve always focused on enhancing our native [tree] canopies and then restoring our [forest] understories, but now we know that our work is also helping enhance the soil health,” he says.

A Growing Network

Across regions, the program has sparked new partnerships. Land trusts are working more closely with NRCS field staff, soil and water conservation districts, and extension educators. They’re also connecting and sharing resources through NALN while adapting case studies to fit their unique geographies.

That networking effect may be one of the program’s most powerful legacies. “When people leave Soil Health Stewards, they don’t just have knowledge. They also have a community they can lean on,” says Coffin. “That makes it much more likely that good ideas will spread and stick.”

Looking Ahead

The work isn’t done. Land trusts say they want more region-specific case studies, deeper dives into practical soil assessments, and resources to host landowner workshops. Some dream of adding staff dedicated to stewardship and soil health.

But five years in, the impact is clear. Soil Health Stewards changed how farmland and ranchland protection is practiced. That means that protected acres will remain productive, resilient, and healthy for generations to come.