The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, in partnership with the Farm Foundation, announced the launch of the Soil Health Institute today. For years, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation have been providing education and insight into the importance of agriculture and proper land stewardship.

In 2013, they launched the Soil Renaissance. The movement brought together growers and organizations across industry sectors that looked at soil health. As the group addressed the multi-faceted issues regarding soil health, they realized a national organization was needed to research and drive change. The Soil Health Institute was born.

“Leonardo DaVinci once mused ‘We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot,’” says Bill Buckner, president and chief executive officer, Noble Foundation. “Hundreds of years later that sentiment is just as accurate. The Soil Health Institute will provide much needed research funding so we can better understand our soil. We will make that research publicly available, so we can work together to provide solutions for improving our soil and protecting it for our children and grandchildren.”

The Soil Health Institute’s mission is to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of the soil. It will work directly with conventional and organic farmers and ranchers, public- and private-sector researchers, academia, policymakers, government agencies, industry, environmental groups and consumers – everyone who benefits from healthy soils. The organization will serve as the primary resource for soil health information, working to set soil health standards and measurement, build knowledge about the economics of soil health, offer educational programs, and coordinate research in all aspects of soil and soil health.