Soil Renaissance and the Connection to Land Managers.

The mission of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation is to advance agriculture through laboratory and field research and direct interaction with farmers and ranchers, as well as providing philanthropic support to other nonprofits. The Noble Foundation agricultural consultation spans the complete spectrum of agriculture in the Southern Great Plains, including agronomy, livestock, horticulture, economics, pasture and range, soil and crop, and wildlife and fisheries. Noble consultants help farmers, ranchers and land managers achieve their goals of land management in a sustainable way. Over the years, there has been a shift to urban land owners with small parcels of land and these owners have different needs. The Noble Foundation has adapted to provide additional education and opportunities for this specific audiences. The Noble Foundation’s scientific research spans from fundamental research to translational research and plant breeding to applied research – all focused on impacting farmers and ranchers by providing new forage crop varieties or research-based solutions to real-world agricultural problems. To advance the Noble Foundation, the organization collaborated with the Farm Foundation to launch the Soil Renaissance, which seeks to make soil health the cornerstone of land use management decisions. Soil was the initial focus of Lloyd Noble, who established the Noble Foundation in 1945. He lived through the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, witnessing the devastation of the natural disaster to the soil and the agricultural industry, which served as a base for the regional economy. Noble started his foundation on with the principle of sustainable stewardship of the soil for agriculture. The Soil Renaissance expands on that fundamental mission and aims to reawaken the public to the importance of soil health for enhancing healthy, profitable, and sustainable natural resource systems. During its first year, the Soil Renaissance has begun work on implementing a Strategic Plan that focuses on four foundational issues key to all aspects of soil health work: a standard for measuring soil health; economic tools to assess the value of soil health; identifying research needs; and education and outreach. Teams of experts, including researchers, farmers, government representatives and industry experts from across the United States, have formed working groups around these four areas, and are working to accomplish key goals. The Soil Renaissance is focused on ensuring the soils are protected and sustained for future generations.