Soil is the foundation of the productivity and profitability of a farm. Why? It is where every crop begins or where it will end if the soil isn’t nutrient-dense.
When assessing the value of a piece of farmland, soil will be the defining factor on whether the investment will be worth it. In this article, we’re breaking down why soil health has such an impact on farmland value.
What is Soil Health?
Like any other living organism, soil requires a balance of nutrients to thrive. While many simply look at it as dirt, understanding its makeup of organic matter, minerals, water, air, and microorganisms is where you uncover its actual value. Its quality is measured by how well those elements are working together to create the ideal environment for crops to grow. When those elements are at their best, soil directly impacts:
- Productivity: The healthier the soil, the more resistant it is to bad weather (droughts, floods), the easier diseases are fought off, and the higher the yields.
- Sustainability: Healthy soil supports future crop production due to resilience against environmental factors like pests, disease, and drought.
- Land Value: With higher productivity and sustainability, healthy soil leads to higher yields, increasing the land’s income potential.
The Five Key Principles of Soil Quality
So how do you create or maintain soil quality (or soil health)? By following tried and true principles developed by scientists, conservationists, and agriculture leaders dedicated to improving soil health. Those principles include:
- Minimize Soil Disturbance: Reduce practices (like till farming) that break up soil structure, prevent proper water infiltration, or kill microbes.
- Soil Cover: Cover crops during off-seasons and avoid overgrazing in pasture systems to reduce erosion, retain moisture, and support microbial growth.
- Integrate Livestock: Implement rotational grazing to avoid overuse by moving livestock through pastures in intervals.
- Diversity: Rotate crops and plant a variety of species to feed different soil microbes.
- Nutrient Cycling: Use cover crops to add organic matter, capture leftover nutrients, and feed microbes.
Assessing Soil Health Before Buying Farmland
Before investing, digging deeper into the soil health of the land will save you from lower returns. To prevent this, a thorough soil assessment is critical. What does that look like?
You want to start by identifying red flags like erosion, compacted soil, poor drainage, and monoculture history. If you come across any of these issues during a soil assessment, it’s an indicator that you need to rethink your investment. A soil test is a great way to identify these red flags. It gives you a detailed view of nutrient levels, the pH balance, and the make-up of the organic matter.
Another way to assess the health of the soil is to ask the seller the right questions. Here are some you can ask to get the conversation started:
- When was the last time the soil was tested?
- What fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides have been used?
- Is the land tilled or drained?
- What crops have been planted in the last 5-10 years?
When you know what to look out for, what questions to ask, and what tools you can use to assess farmland soil, you set yourself up for a successful investment.
Farmland Intel is a land valuation tool you can use to ensure you’re investing in high-yielding soils. Through soil ratings, cropping history, and satellite imagery, you get the data-driven insights you need to make the best investment.
