--- title: Soil & Agriculture description: This topic covers soil formation, chemistry, and biology in relation to agricultural productivity. Learners will understand soil conservation techniques, nutrient cycling, and sustainable farming practices that preserve soil health and food security. category: sciences subcategory: earth-and-environmental-science difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/soil-and-agriculture --- # Soil & Agriculture This topic covers soil formation, chemistry, and biology in relation to agricultural productivity. Learners will understand soil conservation techniques, nutrient cycling, and sustainable farming practices that preserve soil health and food security. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 1 Courses • 5 Websites ## Websites ### 1. NRCS Soils USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service hub for soil survey data, web soil mapping tools and soil health guidance. Growers and students can look up a field's soil series, interpret its properties, and find management practices for erosion and organic matter. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/health/ **Tags:** soil-health, soil-survey, usda, conservation, agronomy ### 2. Soil Food Web School Training organization founded by soil microbiologist Elaine Ingham, covering compost biology, microscope identification of bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes, and biological soil amendments. Free articles and webinars sit alongside paid certification courses in regenerative soil management. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.soilfoodweb.com/ **Tags:** soil-biology, soil-food-web, soil-microbiology, composting, regenerative-agriculture ### 3. soilhealth.org SoilHealth.org is the official site of the Soil Health Institute, providing science-based guidance on soil health, including indicators, testing methods, best practices, and research resources for land managers and educators. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://soilhealth.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, environmental-science ### 4. soils.org Soils.org is the official website of the Soil Science Society of America, offering authoritative soil science resources for students, educators, and professionals. It features news, journals, educational materials, outreach resources, and information on soil health, management, conferences, and careers in soil science. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://soils.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, earth-science ### 5. rodaleinstitute.org Rodale Institute is a nonprofit research and education organization advancing organic farming and regenerative agriculture. The site provides research results, soil-health guides, practical farming resources, and information on programs, events, and trainings for farmers, gardeners, and advocates. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://rodaleinstitute.org **Tags:** websites, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ## Podcasts ### 1. Soil Podcast **Author:** Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development Short interview series from the European Commission explaining EU Mission Soil: its targets for soil health by 2030, the living labs and research projects it funds, and how policy, science and farming intersect across member states. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** EN | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/podcasts#C-000025 **Tags:** soil-health, eu-policy, soil-restoration, agricultural-policy, living-labs ## Books ### 1. Building Soils for Better Crops, 4th Edition **Author:** Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es A 394-page ecological soil management text, free as a PDF from USDA SARE. Covers organic matter dynamics, soil biology, physical structure, compost, cover crops, rotations, tillage and nutrient management, with farm case studies throughout. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.sare.org/resources/building-soils-for-better-crops/ **Tags:** soil-health, soil-organic-matter, cover-crops, composting, nutrient-management ### 2. Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils **Author:** Nyle C. Brady, Ray R. Weil Condensed version of the standard Brady and Weil soil science textbook. Covers soil formation, physical and chemical properties, water movement, organic matter, nutrient cycling and classification, giving readers the vocabulary and models used in professional soil work. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/013048038X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, earth-science ### 3. Dirt to Soil **Author:** Gabe Brown First-hand account of a North Dakota rancher converting a failing conventional operation to no-till, cover cropping and multi-species grazing. Explains the five soil-health principles he settled on and the economics that made the transition survivable. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603587632?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, earth-science ## Courses ### 1. Sustainable Agricultural Land Management This course will cover the agricultural and urban water quality issues in Florida, their bases, land and nutrient management strategies, and the science and policy behind the best management practices (BMPs). Students will learn to evaluate BMP research and analyze its role in determining practices and policies that protect water quality. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/sustainable-agriculture **Tags:** courses, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/soil-and-agriculture