Soil Health Buckets
Education & Follow Up
Utilizing funding provided through an agreement with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service as well as donations made by Farm Credit Services of America, First Dakota National Bank, Ducks Unlimited Inc., and Dacotah Bank the SD Soil Health Coalition provides educational “Soil Health Buckets” and lessons to vocational agriculture classrooms, soil science classrooms and additional youth groups.
Each “Bucket” includes eighteen different lesson plans and the tools necessary to demonstrate the soil health principles and concepts included within the plans. Each bucket complete with all necessary items has a price tag of nearly $500. The SD Soil Health Coalition would like to thank the current contributors, and will continue to work to provide each classroom the bucket, lesson plans, and follow up to educate our youth about soil health!
Those interested in receiving a Soil Health Bucket or contributing towards this project should contact Cindy Zenk, SDSHC Coordinator, at (605) 280-4190 for additional information.
Interested In Results From A Soil Health Knowledge, Interest, & Awareness Survey Conducted In 2018
Soil Health Lesson Plans
Lesson 1 Soil Components-Physical Properties
Lesson 2 Soil Organic Matter
Lesson 3 Using Textural Triangle
Lesson 4 Soil Moisture by Feel and Appearance
Lesson 5 Soil Quality Measurement
Lesson 6 Soil Bulk Density
Lesson 7 Soil Respiration
Lesson 8 Soil Electrical Conductivity
Lesson 9 Web Soil Survey
Lesson 10 Soil pH: What Affects it, What it Affects,
Managing it and Testing it
Lesson 11 Soil Nitrogen
Lesson 12 Soil Phosphorus
Lesson 13 Soil Infiltration
Lesson 14 Scientific Method
Lesson 15 Soil Science Capstone Activity
Lesson 16 Rainfall Simulator
Lesson 17 Soil Microbiology – “Tighty Whities” Test 1
Lesson 18 Soil Aggregates
News & Events
Soil health gardening: Less weeding, more fun
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition Wouldn’t it be nice to have a large summer garden without all the weeding? By using a few soil health practices, South Dakota gardeners might just be able to pull that off while improving the structure and fertility of...
Planting green: Rethinking cropland management
By Stan Wise South Dakota Soil Health Coalition PIERRE, SD – If you overhear farmers at the local coffee spot talking about “planting green,” they’re probably not discussing the paint on their equipment. They’re more likely referring to a new way of thinking about...
His ground bounces back: Everything works a little better with healthy soil
Craig Rau produces a variety of crops and cattle on his farm in northcentral South Dakota. Image Courtesy of SDSHC and USDA-NRCS South Dakota. By Lynn Betts For South Dakota Soil Health Coalition PIERRE, SD – Like most South Dakota farmers and ranchers, Craig Rau has...