Finding Common values and ground from the soil up

We live in interesting times. It is hard not to be discouraged and wonder where we might find common ground or a place to work together on shared values and goals. In 2013, a group of organizations and agencies including Virginia USDA-NRCS, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Piedmont Environmental Council, Appalachian Sustainable Development, Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Virginia Forage and Grassland Council, and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation endorsed four core soil health principles distilled down to twelve words by Virginia USDA-NRCS personnel (i.e., Keep soil covered, Minimize soil disturbance, Maximize living roots, Energize with diversity) through letters of support and commitment. 

Each letter spoke of the underlying social, cultural, ecological, and financial values and goals of each organization and agency, and why care of soil is important to the visions and missions. The letters were not prescriptive but acknowledged that the four principles are foundational to soil health and offer a place of common values and ground. The Virginia Soil Health Coalition was formalized in 2021 and still works to promote these core soil health principles in various ways using a values-based approach where participation is encouraged and everyone interested in soil health is welcome to the table. Other soil health coalitions have started across the U.S. In this week’s 4 The Soil newsletter, we are sharing about work the European Union and a consortium of 14 countries are working on titled Soil Values that explores how to improve soil health through different values-based business models. The premise and basic question of the Soil Values project is: How can farmers take care of nature while keeping their soils healthy and making a living? This same question drives a lot of the work of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition and the values of coalition partners.