Soil health is common ground.
Ohio Soil Health Week is an effort of the Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI), a coalition organized by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA).
Ohio’s soils deserve a celebration.
Soil is Ohio’s most valuable natural resource and is every farmer, rancher, and land steward’s greatest legacy. Although soil is essential to our communities, economy, climate, nutrition, and farm production, there’s little awareness of the importance of soil health.
Agriculture is central to Ohio’s economy and our soils are at the base of it all. In the face of Ohio’s unique challenges, good soil health practices can improve water quality while also helping farmers and ranchers with long-term profitability and resilience.
Farmers are already having to adapt to more frequent extreme weather events. Many are interested in improving soil health to help hold more water during droughts and improve infiltration during heavy rain events. Building healthy soils takes time and making investments now will reduce the need for outside fertility and water quality mitigation in the future.
November 10-16, 2024
Ohio Soil Health Week will occur annually every second full week in November, honoring the late David Brandt, a sustainable agriculture trailblazer and the "Godfather of Soil Health", whose birthday falls that week. The week will feature a variety of events hosted by multiple organizations and individuals around Ohio—all celebrating soil health.
We invite anyone who is interested in planning an Ohio Soil Health Week event to complete this form.
On April 9, 2024, Ohio State Senator Tim Schaffer introduced Ohio Soil Health Week as an amendment to H.B. 162 to the Ohio Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. If you would like to support this legislation with testimony, a letter of support, or by contacting your state representatives, please contact OEFFA Grassroots Policy Organizer, Lauren Hirtle, at lauren@oeffa.org.
Celebrating soil means we’re supporting Ohio’s farmers, our water, and our future.
Ohio Senator Tim Schaffer (District 20) - Sponsor of the amendment to H.B. 162