Healthy soil is underground insurance in extreme weather events

By improving soil quality via sustainable agriculture, American farmers can protect us from impacts of drought and flood

Healthy soil can protect us from drought and flood impacts, saving farms, rural communities and even the American agriculture industry, according to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation. Can Soil Save Us? Making the Case for Cover Crops as Extreme Weather Risk Management details the many benefits of investing in healthy soil as protection from natural disasters.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as drought and floods, often hitting farmers and rural America hardest. Decades of mechanized farming has left our soils degraded and particularly vulnerable to extreme weather; unable to retain water to withstand dry spells and unable to soak up excess water during flood.   

Farmers are the first to feel the heat of extreme weather events – losing crops, livestock and equipment. But consumers and taxpayers also pay through higher food prices and subsidized crop and flood insurance, as well as spending extensive resources on efforts to plan for and respond to extreme weather events. From 1980 to 2012, 16 drought events cost America $210 billion and floods cost an average $7.96 billion per year.

"We can never prevent drought or floods, but we can get smarter about them," said Patricia White, Senior Policy Specialist at the National Wildlife Federation and report author. "In addition to predicting extreme events before and responding after, we can build soil quality to support farms when disaster hits. That healthy soil will act as a reservoir to hold moisture during a drought and a sponge to hold water during floods. And water held in our farm fields won’t be flooding our homes and streets."

For a fraction of what we now spend on extreme weather events, America could be investing in improving soil health by promoting sustainable agriculture practices such as cover crops. USDA reports that for each 1 percent increase in organic matter from improving soil health, our cropland could store the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in 150 days. And we could reach 20 million acres of cover crops with a modest investment of just $740 million. 



 
Related Resources

Read the report

Can Soil Save Us? Making the Case for Cover Crops as Extreme Weather Risk Management
Get more details

Healthy-Forests-and-Farms

Get Involved

Where We Work

More than one-third of U.S. fish and wildlife species are at risk of extinction in the coming decades. We're on the ground in seven regions across the country, collaborating with 52 state and territory affiliates to reverse the crisis and ensure wildlife thrive.

Learn More
Regional Centers and Affiliates