Challenged by field professionals, students work as a team to explore the important facets of current environmental issues.
2027 Current Issue Topic
From the 2027 NCF Envirothon
Soil Health Management: Agricultural Principles and Stewardship
Soil Health Principles emphasize the importance of treating soil as a living ecosystem and are the cornerstone for resilient agriculture and ensuring the long-term protection of our natural resources. Maryland has become a national leader in soil health stewardship driven by its commitment to sustainable agriculture and Chesapeake Bay restoration. Farmers from across Maryland have integrated these principles with nutrient management and conservation strategies, making it a model for climate-smart farming. Maryland’s agricultural sector plays a vital role in protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries through the adoption of soil health practices.
Maryland’s Cover Crop Program is recognized as one of the most successful in the United States. Each year, Maryland farmers plant over 450,000 acres of cover crops, which helps reduce soil erosion, improve soil organic matter, and capture residual nutrients before they leach into waterways. Maryland Farmers also embraced conservation tillage and no-till farming, with more than 50% of cropland managed under reduced tillage systems. These practices protect soil structure, enhance microbial activity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such efforts demonstrate how healthy soils not only sustain crop productivity but also serve as a powerful tool for water quality improvement and ecosystem restoration. Farmers and conservation professionals are using soil health principles to restore degraded soils and reduce pollution. In Maryland, these efforts have directly improved the Chesapeake Bay’s water quality through reduced nutrient runoff, increased infiltration, and better soil structure. The insights gained from Maryland farmers can be applied worldwide to help promote sustainability in agricultural practices.
This Envirothon issue explores the biological, chemical, and physical principles of soil health and their importance to sustainable agriculture. Students will learn how soil functions as a living ecosystem, how management practices affect soil processes (nutrient cycling, water dynamics, agricultural sustainability), and how to evaluate and improve soil health on farms.
Learning Objectives
Key Topic #1: Defining Soil Health
Learning Objectives
1. Define soil health in agricultural systems using key physical, chemical, and biological
indicators.
2. Identify characteristics and management practices of healthy soils, including the seven
attributes of soil health and strategies for reducing soil degradation and improving soil
quality.
3. Evaluate soil health by identifying key indicators such as fertility, soil structure, depth,
drainage and aeration, biological activity, absence of toxins, and resilience.
4. Explain how soil management practices affect soil health, including how tillage, organic
matter, erosion, compaction, cover crops, crop rotations, and nutrient management can
either improve or degrade soil quality.
Key Topic 2: Soil Ecological Processes
Learning Objectives
5. Explain soil ecological processes and their roles in nutrient cycling, organic matter
decomposition, and plant growth.
6. Explain the interactions among soil physical, chemical, and biological properties.
7. Identify and understand the needs of soil-dwelling organisms, how they influence soil
functioning, and how they can improve soil health.
Key Topic 3: Soil Health Principles
Learning Objectives
8. Explain the key principles of soil health and their role in maintaining high
functioning soils.
9. Evaluate how the key principles are interrelated and rely on each other to
provide maximum soil health benefits.
Key Topic 4: Soil Health Management Strategies
Learning Objectives
10. Understand agricultural management strategies and how they influence key soil
functions.
11. Analyze the effects of agricultural management practices on soil health, identifying
practices that enhance or degrade soil function.
12. Identify and evaluate best management practices (BMPs) that improve soil health
while protecting water quality, reducing environmental impacts, and supporting
biodiversity.
13. Assess how agricultural management decisions affect the long-term sustainability,
productivity, and resilience of agricultural systems.
Key Topic 5: Assessment Tools
Learning Objectives
14. Compare and contrast soil health assessment tools and field methods.
15. Be able to conduct soil health assessments with tools, such as the soil health card, to
evaluate soil condition and guide management decisions.
16. Evaluate the effectiveness of demonstration models to educate about soil health
indicators.
Reference Materials – 2027
Soil Health Management: Agricultural Principles and Stewardship
Key Topic #1: Defining Soil Health
Key Topic 2: Soil Ecological Processes
Key Topic 3: Soil Health Principles
Key Topic 4:Soil Health Management Strategies
Key Topic 5: Assessment Tools
**You may also see questions relating to the current environmental issue in the soil and land use, forestry, aquatic ecology, and wildlife stations reference materials.