Nathan Lowder, left, a regional soil health specialist at NRCS/USDA, operates a rainfall simulation demonstration during the World Soil Day Celebration held Thu. Dec. 5, 2024, at the North Carolina A&T State University Farm Pavilion. Lowder said that the simulator reveals how different soil management impacts runoff and infiltration.
A healthy soil is a “happy” soil. That was the running theme of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ celebration of World Soil Day, an annual event held around the world each Dec. 5 to commemorate, and demonstrate, the eco-friendly and profitable impacts of healthy soil.
Experts from the CAES, Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) gathered with celebration attendees at the University Farm to mark the importance of sustainable soil health through a series of panel discussions and on-site demonstrations.
The collaborative event was co-sponsored by the Soil Health Institute and USDA’s Southeast Center Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) and featured participants from N.C. State University and Alabama A&M University.
“This is a special day dedicated to celebrating soil with partners in and out of North Carolina collaborating with us,” said Arnab Bhowmik, Ph.D., CAES associate professor of soil science. “We hope to have more celebrations like this with the state and beyond.”
Panelist David Lindbo, Ph.D., director of NRCS’ soil science division, discussed soil’s day-to-day purpose.
“Our food comes from the soil,” said Lindbo. “Our clothing, whether it’s cotton, linen or leather, comes from soil. The timber and bricks of our houses all come from the soil. All of the plants that grow on, in, or around the soil produce the oxygen we breathe. Without it, we become hungry, homeless, naked, and breathless.”
Biswanath Dari, Ph.D., an assistant professor and natural resource specialist with Extension, presented soil monoliths – vertical slices of soil in its natural position – taken across different sites at the University Farm to demonstrate each sample’s colors and layering.
“This is the first time we’re celebrating at our campus,” said Dari. “We’re involving students, farmers, stakeholders, Cooperative Extension, USDA and NRCS and our faculty to gather in a very fun way to commemorate soil. We cherish soil every day, before and after World Soil Day.”
Hannah Talton, DPM, assistant professor and Extension plant pathology specialist, spoke about the nutritional benefits and microbial growth of using soil amendments.
“We are commemorating this day to bring awareness to the importance of what soil is,” said Talton. “It’s not just dirt; it’s the foundation of life. To bring everyone here to pinpoint that importance of what soil does to sustain and help feed us is truly special.”
Highlights of the event included a look at digital soil mapping, a live demonstration of soil probing with a core drill, and a rainfall simulator that measured the impact of torrential rainfall on five different soil managements.
“This demonstration offers a look at what you may actually see out in the field, on operations across the nation,” said Nathan Lowder, NRCS regional soil health specialist. “That brings context to everything that you’ve heard today about soil health out on the land.”
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