Farmers for Soil Health

Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) is a nation-wide, farmer-led collaboration between the
Soy Checkoff, Pork Checkoff, and National Corn Growers Association that assists
farmers in implementing and maintaining soil health practices. Within Kansas, the
project is led by the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, the Kansas Soil
Health Alliance, and Heartland Soil Services with support from Kansas Soybean and
Kansas Corn.

FSH has multiple avenues to assist growers: $50 per acre financial incentive over three
years of cover crop planting; access to a marketplace connecting farmers to supply
chain partners; and local technical assistance to aid in transitioning acres to cover crops
and other soil health practices.

To be eligible for the $50 incentive payments and access to the marketplace, a farmer
can enroll a maximum of 1000 acres that haven’t previously been planted to cover crops
that meet NRCS specifications. Acres enrolled will need to be planted to cover crops
for three consecutive years. Farmers who have acreage that has already been planted
to cover crops that meet NRCS specifications can enroll up to 100 acres in the program
to receive $2 per acre in financial incentives and access to the marketplace. Enrollment
for both levels of incentive payments can be completed fully online. For those needing
assistance, Heartland Soil Services is available to aid in selecting the proper cover
crops as well as enrollment questions.

During the program’s three years, Kansas has a goal of enrolling 37,400 acres in the
program. County conservation districts can play a role in helping meet this goal. For
every acre enrolled from each county, the conservation district will receive a $4 payment
for the first year and $1 per acre for years two and three.

Funding from this grant will also be used to build soil health mentoring across the state.
The Kansas Soil Health Alliance is actively locating 12 advisors who will each work with
three farmers as they transition to soil health practices. Additionally, two soil health
schools will be held each year for the next three years across the state. Stay tuned for
more details in the coming month.

More information and enrollment information can be found on the Farmers for Soil
Health website: https://farmersforsoilhealth.com/
Specific questions for Kansas can be directed to Jennifer Simmelink at the Kansas Soil
Health Alliance: jennifer@kssoilhealth.org