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

Plug and Plant Ep. 14: The Benefits of No-Till in Extreme Conditions

Podcast

This podcast is the sixth in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series. We recorded this one in Crooks, SD the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019. In this podcast, Kent Vlieger (NRCS-SD) facilitates a discussion with farmers Kurt Stiefvater, Ryan Larson, Nate Stroschein, Ross Hanson and SDSU’s field soils specialist Anthony Bly. We…

Plug and Plant Ep. 13: Soil Structure and Conservation

Podcast

This podcast is the fifth in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Plug and Plant Ep. 12: Salinity and Small Grains

Podcast

This podcast is the fourth in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….

Plug and Plant Ep. 10: Planting Season and Priorities

Podcast

This podcast is the second in the series 6 “Resilience” podcast series we recorded in Mitchell, SD (podcasts 1-5) and Crooks (Podcast 6), the backdrop was the extremely wet weather on 2019; at the time of recording the James River had frozen outside of it’s banks and there was every expectation of another wet summer….