National Soil Health Day might be celebrated on June 23, but Wisconsin soybean farmers know that soil health is an essential part of each and every day. 

As Charles Kellogg, a soil scientist and previous chief of USDA’s Bureau for Chemistry and Soils, aptly said, “Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life.” 

“Healthy soil is the foundation of Wisconsin soybean farmers’ livelihoods,” said Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) President Jonathan Gibbs. “That’s why it’s so important that soybean checkoff dollars are invested towards soil health research.” 

Overseeing the investment of soybean checkoff dollars, WSMB dedicates valuable resources to projects focused on improving and maintaining soil health. One such project is “Soil Health, Cover Crops and Soybean Yield: Connecting the Dots” through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Along with promoting soil health, a quantifiable portion of WSMB’s research yields applicable information for Wisconsin farmers, such as 5,000 pounds of biomass from a rye crop provide weed suppression including from waterhemp. 

“At the end of the day, WSMB is here to ensure that the state’s soybean farmers have the tools, markets and research needed to succeed,” WSMB Executive Director Adam Kask said. “A vital aspect of that research is investigating how growers can maintain and improve their soil health. We’re fortunate to have a team of researchers in our state who recognize that importance.” 

With a goal of taking a holistic view of soybeans planted into a cereal rye cover crop by testing the effects of various treatments on soybean yield and soil health, one of the project’s objectives is to examine the long-term effects of cover crops on soil health. And, while many producers across the U.S. have started to plant soybeans into living cover crops to reduce erosion and weed pressure, additional research is needed for more Wisconsin soybean producers to adopt the management practice, making the project prudent. 

“The more research we have that supports adopting management practices specifically on Wisconsin farms, the better,” Gibbs said. “Just because something works in Illinois or Texas, doesn’t mean it will work in Wisconsin.” 

The benefits of good soil health aren’t imaginary. According to the results of a project funded by WSMB in 2024 titled “Soybean yield is positively linked to organic matter, but planting date remains more influential,” soil organic matter (SOM) is positively associated with soybean yield and SOM is considered an indicator of greater soil health.  

“It’s common sense that when our soil is healthy, our soybeans thrive,” Gibbs said. “We can’t make any more of it so it’s critical that we take its care seriously and invest checkoff dollars towards making sure that it’s still producing quality crops generations from now.  

Led by the example set by Wisconsin soybean farmers, WSMB and the soy checkoff are no strangers to investing in soil health and will continue to ensure that farmers have the tools they need to protect their soil.