RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Soil Health Institute marked a milestone today in the organization's efforts to bring world-class leaders together to help improve soil health. The Institute announced it has appointed 13 members to its first-ever board of directors.
"Ensuring we have healthy soils is one of the most important, yet challenging, jobs of our time," says Bill Buckner, chairman of the board. "To accomplish this critical goal, we brought together leaders from across the agriculture sector. Most importantly, this board is comprised of a diverse mix of farmers and ranchers, who are experiencing the critical nature of keeping our soils healthy."
The board, the first of its kind, features representatives from all areas of agriculture and farming practices, including organic and conventional operations, row crops and specialty crops, and native and improved-pasture cattle ranches. Four full-time farmers have been currently named to the board.
The Institute expects to ultimately add an additional nine directors with six of those being farmers/ranchers. The board also includes soil research experts, as well as environment, conservation and industry leaders. "We have assembled a board of visionaries with different perspectives," Buckner says, "all of whom are working toward one common goal – improving soil health."
Board member V. Larkin Martin, a row crop farmer from Northern Alabama, provides first-hand insight from the farming front lines. She wants to know as much as she can about her soils, so she can not only make good business decisions for her farm, but make sound environmental decisions that benefit everyone.
"Farmers have to live with the risks of variable weather conditions and variable soils. We can't control the weather, but we can control how we take care of our soil," Martin says. "We would benefit from having more information about soil health in general, as well as practical information about how it can be improved through farmer practices. The Soil Health Institute's vision is to go beyond simply measuring the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in our soil, but to understand the importance of organic matter, microbial interactions and more. We need the Institute to help identify and coordinate this research and transfer that insight to farmers in a useful format, so we can make the best possible decisions for the land."
Members will work together and challenge each other to help solve our soil health challenges. The full list of current board members includes:
"Since the Soil Health Institute's inception, we knew we couldn't just talk about the soil – we had to have our hands in it, so we could drive real, effective and lasting change," Buckner says. "Our board selection demonstrates that approach. We're proud to bring together this strong group of leaders who will reshape agriculture as we know it."
About the Soil Health Institute
The Soil Health Institute's (www.soilhealthinstitute.org) mission is to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of the soil. Launched in 2015, the Institute is an evolution of the Soil Renaissance, which was established in 2013 by the Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation to advance soil health and make it the cornerstone of land use management decisions. The Institute serves as the primary resource for soil health information. It focuses on five pillars - working to set soil health standards and measurement, building knowledge about the economics of soil health, offering educational programs, assisting in policy development, and coordinating research in all aspects of soil and soil health. It works directly with conventional and organic farmers and ranchers, public- and private-sector researchers, academia, policymakers, government agencies, industry, environmental groups and consumers – everyone who benefits from healthy soils. The Institute will look to be located in Research Triangle Park.
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SOURCE Soil Health Institute
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