The Soil Health Institute (SHI), the non-profit charged with safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils, will release its comprehensive report on the Economics of Soil Health on 100 Farms in a webinar on Thursday, September 30 at 12 p.m. ET, thanks to the generous support of Cargill.

The most desirable and robust information on how soil health affects profitability comes from real-world, on-farm data. This study involved interviewing farmers who have successfully implemented a soil health management system to obtain information on their management practices, yield, and other production experiences. To evaluate their economics, SHI’s Agricultural Economist used partial budget analysis to compare expenses and returns in a soil health management system compared to a conventional management system.

Using data collected and analyzed across 100 farms in nine states, Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, SHI’s President & CEO, will share key findings that can only be gleaned at such a scale, such as:

1. Sixty-seven percent of the farmers interviewed reported increased yield from using a soil health management system. Two percent reported decreased corn yield.
2. It cost an average of $24.00/acre less to grow corn and $16.57/acre less to grow soybean using a soil health management system.
3. Soil health management systems increased net income for 85% of farmers growing corn and 88% growing soybean.
4. Based on standardized prices, the soil health management system increased net income for these 100 farmers by an average of $51.60/acre for corn and $44.89/acre for soybean.
5. Farmers also reported additional benefits of their soil health management system, such as increased resilience to extreme weather and increased access to their fields.

All who register will be provided a fact sheet summarizing the results.