{"id":26366,"date":"2022-03-30T12:52:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=26366"},"modified":"2022-03-30T12:52:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:52:54","slug":"department-releases-report-on-marylands-healthy-soils-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/03\/30\/department-releases-report-on-marylands-healthy-soils-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Department Releases Report on Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong><i>Goals Focus on Adoption of Soil Health Practices to Increase On-Farm Resiliency<\/i><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"26367\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/03\/30\/department-releases-report-on-marylands-healthy-soils-program\/attachment\/healthy-soils-program-a-path-foward\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?fit=1600%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1600,900\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Healthy Soils Program A Path Foward\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?fit=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26367 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?resize=760%2C428\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/03\/Healthy-Soils-Program-A-Path-Foward.png?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><b>ANNAPOLIS, MD <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with Maryland\u2019s Soil Health Advisory Committee, has released its recommendations for Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program. The recommendations include strategies to advance adoption of on-farm soil health practices that increase carbon sequestration, improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and increase on-farm profitability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe recommendations included in this report will provide a roadmap for moving Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program forward,\u201d said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. \u201cThe ultimate aim is to promote conservation practices that contribute to healthy, productive soils that can protect crops from extreme weather, reduce erosion and nutrient runoff, and capture and store carbon from the atmosphere.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Established in 2017, the Healthy Soil Program is charged with improving the health, yield, and profitability of Maryland soils; increasing biological activity and carbon sequestration capacity; and promoting the use of healthy soils practices. The department established a Soil Health Advisory Committee to provide guidance and support to achieve its goals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Highlights From the Report<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program prioritizes the following conservation measures to advance healthy soils:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cover Crops<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conservation Tillage (reduced and no-till)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prescribed Grazing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pasture &amp; Hay Planting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conservation Cover<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Critical Area Planting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conservation Crop Rotation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nutrient Management<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Integrated Pest Management<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Agroforestry<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A <\/span><b>Healthy Soils Competitive Fund<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will provide financial assistance for the adoption of healthy soils practices, with a focus on projects and operators that are ineligible for other programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A <\/span><b>Cover Crop<\/b><b><i>+<\/i><\/b><b> Program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> focusing on multi-species and extended season cover crops will be introduced to complement the department\u2019s popular existing program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Read the full report, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/Maryland-Healthy-Soils-Program-Final-Report.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program: A Path Forward<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, to learn more. For additional information on Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program, please visit the program\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/resource_conservation\/Pages\/Soil-Health.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. For questions regarding the program or the report, please contact Alisha Mulkey at <\/span><a href=\"mailto:alisha.mulkey@maryland.gov\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">alisha.mulkey@maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/MdAgDept\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@MdAgDept<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Goals Focus on Adoption of Soil Health Practices to Increase On-Farm Resiliency ANNAPOLIS, MD \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with Maryland\u2019s Soil Health Advisory Committee, has released its recommendations for Maryland\u2019s Healthy Soils Program. The recommendations include strategies to advance adoption of on-farm soil health practices that increase carbon sequestration, improve water<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/03\/30\/department-releases-report-on-marylands-healthy-soils-program\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26369,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26366\/revisions\/26369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}