Soil Health Partnership

The Supply Chain Soil Health Partnership is a collaborative initiative that offers financial incentives to producers adopting sustainable land management practices to enhance soil health and resilience.

The program connects Minnesota and North Dakota, targeting key resource concerns like water management and soil quality to help mitigate flooding and drought impacts on agricultural land.

The program's projected acreage is to go from 35,000 acres in Year 1, 90,000 acres in
Year 2, 250,000 acres in Year 3, 450,000 acres in Year 4, and 675,000 acres in Year 5.

Program Goals

Climate-Smart Practices: Promote soil health and climate-smart practices among producers
Reduce Carbon Footprint: Support efforts to lower the global carbon footprint
Build resilience: Enhance local farm resilience and involve new producers

Funding and Support

The project is funded by a $20 million NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant, along with $11 million in matching funds from corporate partners like General Mills, Cargill, PepsiCo, Hershey, King Arthur Baking, and the McKnight Foundation

Flexibility and Accessibility

The program provides producers with approaches to land conservation such as:

Custom Consultant Partnerships: North Dakota participants collaborate with certified crop consultants
Adaptable Requirements: Offers flexibility in seeding time, rate, and application
Streamlined Enrollment: Faster and simpler enrollment than traditional NRCS programs
Outcome Reporting: Participants receive reports from Regrow, a platform that tracks greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration on enrolled lands

Land Management Practices

Available land management practices for participating producers include:

Reduced Tillage: Strip-till, vertical till, and no-till options
Cover Crops: Single of multi-species mixtures
Nutrient Management (ND): Practices like soil testing, zone building, and the 4Rs (right rate, placement, timing, and source)
Crop Rotation (MN): Rotations with three or more crop species