How Soil Health Can Be Improved

Case Study Background

The Full Belly Farm is an organic farm in Capay Valley in Northern California. The purpose of this farm was to help nourish the current and future generations of the area with healthy foods from the farm. The case study selected is by USDA and explores how farmers can adapt to climate change in their farming processes. The case study talks about the climate, soil, water, and geography factors related to the project. The project assesses the climate change vulnerabilities and how they impact the Full Belly farm and presents a step-by-step adaptation process to improve outcomes for farmers (Full Belly Farm Case Study | USDA Climate Hubs, n.d.). The research adds information on how soil health can be improved and the range of practices that can help improve farming outcomes regardless of the existing climatic change factors.

Geog 160 Connection

The case study connects to the topic of climate change, which was discussed and explored in the class. In class, we discussed how climate change altered temperatures and even rainfall in different areas. We also discussed the factors that trigger climate change and the various ways in which the issue of climate change can be resolved. This case study discusses how climate change has impacted farming at Full Belley Farm. In the case study, an adaptation process and the expected future conditions after implementation are described step by step. Climate change refers to the process through which a significant variation in the atmospheric conditions in a place is achieved.

Case Study Specific Information

This type of project can be done in farming areas. USDA initiated the project at Full Belly Farm. The project involved five adaptation steps. The first step in the project was coming up with goals and objectives for the farm. The next step in this project was to assess the impacts of climate change and vulnerabilities for the farm. In this step, various issues were identified, such as variabilities in frost, warmer temperatures, variabilities in precipitation, and extended drought (Chandio et al., 2020). The third step in the project was the evaluation of the management objectives considering the anticipated climate change impacts (Full Belly Farm Case Study | USDA Climate Hubs, n.d.). The fourth step was the implementation of adaptation practices on the farm, which included practices such as the diversification of crops, reduced reliance on the electric grid, and improved soil health. The next step, the final step in the project, is monitoring and evaluation, which is monitoring the farm to evaluate whether the intended goals are achieved.

Connection to this Project

I selected the topic because I am very interested in farming. With the prevailing climate change, agriculture has been impacted negatively, and the quantity of harvests for different crops has been affected negatively. This topic suggests various adaptation practices that I can use in the future if I decide to explore farming in practice.

Application

This project can be explored in my county to help improve farming and increase the productivity of different farms in the county. This project would help improve soil health and fertility and help plant more crops to help serve the county’s needs. The project will help ensure a sufficient supply of healthy foods in the county. In my county, this would be different in implementation. The project would entail the analysis of soil health and atmospheric conditions prevailing in the different areas (Malhi et al., 2021). The project will involve advocating for adaptation practices to help farmers get more harvest.

Summary

The scientific community should be concerned about this project because it explores topics such as soils and climate change, which are significant in geography. The scientific community should learn that despite climate change farmers can improve soil health, and diversify crops to ensure they harvest more.

References

Chandio, A. A., Jiang, Y., Rehman, A., & Rauf, A. (2020). Short and long-run impacts of climate

change on agriculture: an empirical evidence from China. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 12(2), 201-221.

Full Belly Farm case study | USDA climate hubs. (n.d.).

https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/content/full-belly-farm-case-study

Malhi, G. S., Kaur, M., & Kaushik, P. (2021). Impact of climate change on agriculture and its

mitigation strategies: A review. Sustainability, 13(3), 1318.