Soil Health Labs

Uncovering the

Benefits of Soil Health

Our Mission

The Soil Health Labs are located in the Environmental Health Sciences Department in the School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina.  That may be surprising to most, especially since the University of South Carolina has no Ag School!  Our mission is to promote soil health, not only as something that’s good for the farmer and the environment, but also as a public health tool.  Think about it – healthy soils and healthy crops mean healthy farmers and consumers (never mind an ever-improving environment).  Our continued research shows that if farmers integrate the 4 principles of soil health

that they can actually improve and regenerate conditions.  Follow along with us and let’s uncover the benefits of soil health together!

Latest News

Unpacking the Haney Test (1/4)

Video

Throughout the duration of the Cover5 project there has been a lot of talk about ‘soil biology’. While many of our previous videos have shown obvious visual changes in soils over time through regenerative management practices, what other ways are there to measure and track the biological improvement of our soils? In this next series…

Transforming Soils with Cover Crops (Brabham)

Video

Two years ago, farmer John Brabham signed up for our ‘Cover 5’ series, a project where we take five acres of under-performing land and start introducing cover crops. When we met John, his five acres were largely defined by sandy soils, weeds and erosion. Through the use of diverse covers, in a short time, the…