Dairy Soil Health Depends on Management and Environment
Research from the Soil Health Institute evaluated selected soil health indicators across commercial dairy farms in New York, Wisconsin, Texas, New Mexico, and Idaho. The study found that climate strongly shaped soil health outcomes, suggesting that soil health values should not be interpreted without considering local environmental conditions.
Management also mattered. Grazed and hayed pastures generally had better soil health indicators than row crop systems, particularly in the surface 15 cm. Perennial forage systems likely benefited from continuous plant cover, dense root systems, lower soil disturbance, and regular organic inputs.
In semi-arid regions, irrigation improved soil health indicators by supporting greater plant growth, residue return, carbon mineralization, and water-holding capacity. However, reduced tillage did not consistently improve soil health in New York and Wisconsin, likely because tillage intensity, manure handling, heavy equipment traffic, compaction, and freeze-thaw effects varied across farms.
Why it matters
This study highlights an important challenge in soil health assessment: management effects are not always easy to separate from climate, soil texture, water availability, and field history. A soil health value that appears low in one region may be reasonable in another. This means that soil health benchmarks for dairy systems should be regional, system-specific, and interpreted with environmental context in mind.
Key takeaway
Soil health in dairy forage systems is shaped by both management and environment. Perennial forage systems, grazing, manure inputs, and irrigation can improve soil health, but their effects depend on climate, soil properties, water availability, and farm operations.
Reference: Che-Jen Hsiao, Mara Cloutier, Daniel Liptzin, Nathaniel Looker, Christine Molling, Michael Cope, Randall D. Jackson, Gregg R. Sanford, Matthew D. Ruark, Dennis Busch, Karl Czymmek, Quirine M. Ketterings, Reza Afshar, Jourdan Bell, Robert Hagevoort, Cristine Morgan, Management practices and soil health: Insights from dairy farms in the United States, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 396, 2026, 109969, ISSN 0167-8809, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109969.
