Stop treating soil like dirt!

RELEASE: March 21, 2008 – Volume XL, No. 12

Of all the things we take for granted, soil should be at the top of the list. We walk on it, plant in it and complain when it's tracked across our floors. But we rarely stop to marvel at the mini-universe that exists in the soil beneath our feet, and we don’t take the time to contemplate what our food supply would be without it!

For example, did you know that it takes approximately 500 years for nature to produce just one inch of topsoil? Made up of a delicate balance of minerals and organic matter, healthy soil is home to millions of organisms, from earthworms and insects to microscopic bacteria and fungi; in short, it’s not just dirt!

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself." He was right, and we should do everything we can to protect this finite resource.

New Jersey’s State Agriculture Development Committee recently took a step in that direction, when it found that the owner of a nursery located on a preserved farm in Hunterdon County violated the protective conservation easement. The landowner had excavated, compacted and permanently destroyed some of the highest quality soil in New Jersey to build a 25-acre greenhouse operation with cement floors.

At the state Attorney General’s request, a Superior Court judge issued an injunction to stop the work. This is the first time in New Jersey history that such a stop-work order was issued, and it sends the right message about the importance of soil protection in maintaining our status as the Garden State.

The injunction was the right move, but a longer-term solution is needed to make sure we keep New Jersey’s soils protected. Without a way to limit coverage by structures and buildings on preserved farms, we will lose our precious soils. And without them, we will lose the gardens of the Garden State!

New Jerseyans understand the benefits of a healthy local food supply. Without nutrient-rich soil, food security is at risk, as good soil is the underpinning of New Jersey’s ability to grow fresh produce. Soil also protects our water supply by controlling the rate at which moisture makes its way into the groundwater, and naturally filtering impurities from that water at the same time.

During the Dust Bowl crisis of the 1930s, America learned how important healthy soil is to its survival. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service) was formed to encourage farmers to care for soil through wise planting and conservation practices.

If you're not convinced yet, here’s another fact: Soil nurtures plant life that cycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, contributing significantly to air quality and helping fight global climate change. By increasing plant production, healthy soils reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

So look at dirt with greater respect, because it's working harder than any of us! Former New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Phil Alampi had it right when he warned of what will happen if we allow our soils to be destroyed: “Asphalt is the last crop.”

For more information about soil health, visit Cornell University's webpage at
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/soilhealth/What%20is%20Soil%20Health.htm
or the Center for Watershed Protection's website at http://www.cwp.org/Practice_Articles.htm (click on #36, which discusses compacted versus healthy soils). I hope you'll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF's website at http://www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey's precious land and natural resources.

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