To most people, soil is far from huggable.
But after watching a new, 90-second YouTube ad, the video’s producers hope viewers will embrace it with newfound respect and admiration. Because healthy soil, the ad suggests, could provide solutions to some of our planet’s biggest challenges.
As part of its “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” campaign, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has released a new, 90-second public service announcement that encapsulates “The hope in healthy soil.”
According to Ron Nichols, the campaign’s communications coordinator, the benefits of soil health are numerous both on and off the farm.
“By farming using soil health principles and practices like no-till, cover cropping and diverse rotations, farmers are actually increasing organic matter in their soil, increasing microbial activity, sequestering more carbon, improving wildlife and pollinator habitat—all while harvesting better profits and often better yields,” Nichols said. “Off the farm, these practices are improving water and air quality, too.”
The ad, is part of an ongoing awareness and education campaign designed to help farmers, landowners and consumers understand the basics and benefits of soil health. Ultimately, the goal of the agency’s campaign is to increase the adoption of soil health-promoting systems on the nation’s farms and ranches.
Later this summer, NRCS will distribute 15- and 30-second public service ads to television stations throughout the country.