SOIL by the NUMBERS
What’s amazing to me is how fast we can improve soil health. Over the last three or four years, using cover crops, we’ve tripled our biological activity, nearly tripled our water-soluble organic carbon, decreased synthetic fertilizer by 45%, pesticides by 75%, and improved our organic matter by 1.4%.
A detailed look at the world’s soil health and how regenerative farming can help.
— MITCHELL HORA FOUNDER OF CONTINUUM AG AND SEVENTH-GENERATION FARMER
by Tatiana Oliveira Simonian
GLOBAL
FUNGI
1 00% ANNUAL CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS THAT COULD BE DRAWN DOWN INTO THE SOIL VIA GLOBALLY ADOPTED REGENERATIVE FARMING METHODS
Organic farms have higher levels of mycorrhizal fungi, crucial for soil health:
75 % EARTH’S LAND DEGRADED BY CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE
Organically managed farms have:
30%–75% ORIGINAL SOIL ORGANIC CARBON* LOST IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS
<2% SOIL ORGANIC CARBON IN ⅔ OF CORN & WHEAT CROPLAND 90% TOPSOIL AT RISK BY 2050
*The living microorganisms that help make plant nutrients available 60 % SOIL MICROBIAL BIOMASS*
80 %
YEARLY GLOBAL FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS
ACTIVE SOIL*
24B TONS TOPSOIL LOST PER YEAR
*As compared to conventional farms
*Key indicator of soil health
U.S. farmers improving soil health by using regenerative agricultural practices:
UNITED STATES
36% SEQUESTERED BY MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI
Soil health management systems increased incomes for:
85% CORN FARMERS $52 / ACRE
88% SOYBEAN FARMERS
PLANTS
$45 / ACRE
5-10% in 2020
40% in 2023
Farmers transitioning to regenerative practices may experience a temporary drop in yield, but the long- term results are invaluable. For example, U.S. wheat farmers employing regenerative practices saw:
1 m ACRES GENERAL MILLS HAS
90% LIVE IN SYMBIOSIS WITH MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI
50% FERTILIZER USE
75% PESTICIDE USE
120% LONG-TERM PROFIT INCREASE
COMMITTED TO REVITALIZING VIA REGENERATIVE FARMING BY 2030
NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS FROM PLANTS
In China, farmers who changed their monoculture crop rotation to include legumes saw:
ASIA & AFRICA
8% SOIL ORGANIC CARBON
50-700 m PROJECTED SOIL REFUGEES BY 2050 DUE TO LAND DEGRADATION IN WEST AND SOUTH ASIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
80% COME FROM MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI
45% SOIL HEALTH
SOURCES: Using Soil Health Data to Scale Regenerative Agriculture, regrow.ag • Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution, Rodale Institute (September 2020) • 24 Billion Tons of Fertile Land Lost Every Year Warns UN Chief on World Day to Combat Desertification, United Nations (June 2019) • FAO Warns 90 Percent of Earth’s Topsoil at Risk by 2050, United Nations (July 2022) • Economics of Soil Health Systems on 100 Farms, The Soil Health Institute (September 2021), generalmills.com • AgriTech Report 2024: Market Data & Outlook, StartUs Insights (July 2024) • Cultivating Farmer Prosperity: Investing in Regenerative Agriculture, BCG + OP2B (May 2023) • Soil Science Beyond Covid-19, Rattan Lal, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (April 2020) • Diversifying Crop Rotation Increases Food Production, Reduces Net Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improves Soil Health, Nature Communications 15 (January 2024)
176
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease