Healthy soils and management of soil health are key components for the success of small-scale and urban agriculture.
Soil Health for Productive Small Farms
Small farms may need to overcome soil health resource concerns. In many regions, small-scale agriculture is found on land that is not considered prime farmland, or land that has a history of past degradation. At small production-oriented farms, intensive management can also lead to soil health challenges. Resulting resource concerns such as organic matter depletion or compaction can limit productivity at these sites.
Small-scale agriculture is an important and growing sector of farming in the U.S. The term small farm is broad and covers many different types of operations. Farms that are 1 to 9 acres in size were the second largest category, and accounted for 250,000 farms nationally, in the 2022 Ag Census.
Similarly, there is widespread interest in urban agriculture and gardening across the cities of the U.S. Urban agriculture takes many forms, most commonly backyard gardens, community gardens, and urban farms.
Smaller farm sizes provide a great opportunity to implement conservation practices that are intensive in nature and may improve soils and environmental conditions over relatively short timeframes, if producers and managers have the resources and information required to be successful with these methods. There is widespread interest from small-scale producers for many soil building conservation practices, such as cover crops, carbon amendments, and reduced tillage, and NRCS can provide technical support for this work.
A robust strategy for improving soils is to plan and manage a soil health management system (SHMS). An SHMS uses multiple management practices in synergistic ways to apply the soil health principles in managed landscapes. Developing and implementing SHMSs on small farms and urban gardens can improve soil health and support the long-term sustainability of these systems.
For more in-depth guidance and best practices, explore Soil Health Technical Resources for Small-scale and Organic Agriculture.
Soil health on small farms is maintained or achieved through application of four principles:
- minimize disturbance
- maximize soil cover
- maximize biodiversity
- maximize continuous living roots
Every time soil is disturbed, its vital functions are compromised. To safeguard the integrity of healthy soils, it’s crucial to minimize physical disturbances like tillage practices, chemical disturbances, like spraying herbicides or pesticides, and biological disturbances such as planting monocultures. Healthy high-functioning soils have the remarkable ability to infiltrate and store more water, effectively cycle nutrients for plant uptake, and regulate pest populations. By utilizing tools and methods designed for small-scale no-till and organic farming, we can significantly reduce these disturbances and foster resilient soil ecosystems. Investing in these practices not only enhances soil health but also promotes regenerative agriculture for generations to come.
Exposing soil to the elements can lead to rapid degradation and eventually erosion. By maintaining a protective layer year-round with cover crops, mulch, or plant residues, you can safeguard soil aggregates and preserve the vital functions of soils. This protection is essential for regulating soil temperature and improving water infiltration, soil habitats as it shields aggregates from the damaging effects of rain and wind erosion.
Biodiversity is vital for cultivating a robust and thriving soil food web. By introducing a greater variety of plant species, we create additional habitats that enhance the ecological balance within the soil. Ecosystems rich in diversity are far more capable of controlling pest populations and optimizing nutrient cycling through natural predation. By strategically incorporating multiple species and a range of plant types—such as legumes and warm-season grasses—into cover crop mixes or crop rotations, we lay a powerful foundation for promoting soil health on small farms.
Roots play a crucial role in the soil ecosystem; without them, it would be impossible to support the various soil life below the surface. Therefore, maintaining healthy soil habitats requires a continuous supply of nutrients, which is provided by having living roots for as much of the year as possible. Small farms can implement several conservation practices to keep roots in their systems, including the use of winter cover crops, perennial plants, and high tunnels.
These principles offer strategies to manage the soil as a living habitat by protecting the soil structure and providing food sources to soil organisms. The soil health principles can be applied at any scale of land management. While the principles and practices needed to manage soil health at smaller scales are very similar to those that are applied to larger farms, the tools and techniques used to manage soils on small farms are distinct and may look different.
The NRCS Soil Health Division has developed training and education materials focused on assessing and managing soil health for small-scale and urban agriculture. Most of these materials focus on farming operations that are:
- growing specialty crops such as vegetables
- a few acres or less in size
- managing their soils with hand tools or small tractors
Our hope is that these materials are useful for producers, conservation professionals, educators, and land managers to support their work improving soils for small-scale agriculture.
NRCS Technical Notes
Basics of Urban Soil Health (470.02)
Provides background information on soil health in urban areas, common soil health resource concerns, and considerations for agriculture in urban soils.
Site Assessment for Urban Soil Health (470.03)
Provides information about evaluation and testing of soils for urban and small-scale agriculture.
Conservation Practices for Soil Health in Urban and Small-scale Agriculture (470.04)
Describes methods that are used to implement NRCS conservation practices and soil health management for small-scale agriculture.
Training developed by NRCS
Soil Health for Small-scale Agriculture
Includes a guide, PowerPoint modules, agenda, and supplementary materials