Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) Program - NC Soy Investment

Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) Program - NC Soy Investment

Funder: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (grant to NCSPA); United Soybean Board (created FSH)

Award to NCSPA: $824,646.00

Geographic Scope: North Carolina

Focus Areas: Climate-smart agriculture, cover crop adoption, soil health improvement, farmer profitability

Program Description:
Farmers for Soil Health (FSH) is a farmer-led cover crop program designed to advance soil health on farms while increasing farmer profitability. FSH was created in 2022 by the United Soybean Board in collaboration with the National Pork Board and the National Corn Growers Association.

Farmer Incentives:

Signing Incentive Payment (SIP): For each existing acre of cover crops enrolled in the program

Transition Incentive Payment (TIP): For each new acre of cover crops enrolled

Program Goals:

Increase cover crop adoption on North Carolina farms

Encourage transition to cover crops on more NC farms

Expected result: 25,000 new acres of cover crops on soybean and corn farms in North Carolina

Support Structures:

Internal NCSPA program specialist position to support farmer enrollment

NC State Extension subgrant to establish Extension program around cover crops and climate-smart practices

NC State Extension Associate to provide technical assistance and education

County extension agent peer-to-peer network

Benefits of Cover Crops:

Suppress weeds

Improve soil structure

Conserve soil moisture

Decrease soil erosion

Improve soil health

Increase farm profitability and sustainability

Improve productivity

Contact Information:

NCSPA Research Coordinator: Jeff Chandler

North Carolina Soybean Producers Association

3600 Haworth Dr., Suite 2

Raleigh, NC 27609

Phone: 919.839.5700

Email: ncsoy@ncsoy.org