One of the top agricultural producers in the United States, California produces almost 50% of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables in the US and almost all almonds, artichokes, raisins, olives, and pistachios. The 76,000 farms in this region are vital in strengthening US food security, which makes it necessary to develop and implement sustainable production strategies.

One of the best solutions for this is healthy soil. Why? Because when soil is healthy, it stores more carbon. If there is more carbon in the soil, it means that plants are receiving more carbon and are growing healthier, stronger, and filled with more nutrients!

Therefore, the California Healthy Soils Initiative will work to make agricultural land – over a quarter of California’s land – healthy again! Starting this summer, the Initiative will provide grants to farmers who are working to make their practices more sustainable. This is achieved through composting, organic fertilizer, or cover crops! Under this initiative, over 12 million tons of compostable waste that California typically designates to landfills will be used in a sustainable way. Famers will also be incentivized to increase their yields, reduce water use, and protect the planet through the grants provided in the program. Neem can also play an integral part in this initiative. When neem cake is used as a fertilizer, it increases soil health, fertility, carbon content, and nutrient content, providing a natural and sustainable way to nourish the soil!

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What are the benefits of this system? Does it really make a difference? There are hundreds of benefits, and it does make a difference to the health of the soil and the environment.
Theoretically, conventional plowing is used to prevent soil erosion. However, what happens in practice is that the topsoil suffers from degradation. According to the World Wildlife Fund, half of all topsoil on the planet has been lost in the past 150 years. This does not simply affect the fertility of the soil and ability to grow crops, but it also reduces the soil’s ability to hold water thereby increasing pollution and sediment levels in water through run-off. With no-till farming, this topsoil is preserved with help from the chosen cover crop. This is excellent for protecting the soil and the environment.

The un-tilled soil is able to retain more water, preventing runoff and keeping the soil healthier, even in times of drought. This increase in water also benefits microbes and nutrients in the soil, allowing more beneficial microbes to grow and retain nutrients. Additionally, less work and machinery is required, making the process more cost-effective and applicable to developing regions of the world. Though no-till farming is sometimes paired with synthetic systems, the environmental benefits are astronomically higher when paired with organic, like using neem-based fertilizers and pesticides. By keeping the whole process natural with biopesticides like neem, the entire system – the farmer, the earth, and the consumer – all benefit.

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