Just three years after the New Mexico Healthy Soil Act was approved by lawmakers, the Land of Enchantment is boasting more "soil health champions" than any other state, according to the Soil Health Champions Network.

The Act authorized the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to help residents implement conservation projects focusing on one or more of five "healthy soil" principles.

Robb Hirsch, co-founder of the Healthy Soil Working Group and education director at the Climate Change Leadership Institute, said urban and rural New Mexicans, both consumers and producers, benefit from better soil health.

"Ninety-five percent of the food we eat comes from out of state," Hirsch pointed out. "We could increase the amount of food we consume from our local ranchers and farmers, and if we do that, we can grow our economy in a very regenerative way."

Last month, New Mexico lawmakers approved $1 million in funding for the soil program.

A major healthy soil principle is keeping the ground covered, which typically means cover crops, planted to "cover" the soil rather than for harvesting. While cover crops are common in the Midwest, Hirsch noted they are also critical in arid and semiarid regions like New Mexico, because they can prevent or reduce soil erosion and enhance soil health.

"When you cover the soil and cover the ground, and you have biodiversity at work," Hirsch explained. "You have a soil that actually infiltrates and captures the little water that we do get, instead of running off with flooding."

Three years ago, the World Resources Institute ranked New Mexico first among U.S. states facing extreme water stress due to climate change. Hirsch added it is all the more reason to advocate for healthy soil.

"Soil is a most precious life force, fundamental to our well-being," Hirsch contended. "We should invest majorly in it here in the Land of Enchantment."

The New Mexico Department of Agriculture recently announced its Healthy Soil Program will accept grant applications from farmers and ranchers for funding to help them manage their working lands using these principles. Applications will be accepted from March 18-May 12.

From extreme drought to wet springs, Minnesota farmers are seeing firsthand the impact of climate change. To help address the growing threat, a new funding opportunity aims to give producers more tools to protect natural resources.

The McKnight Foundation is giving the state $100,000 to bolster its Water Quality Certification Program. It means adding a Climate Smart component, where current enrollees receive funds to assess and apply practices to make their land more resilient.

State Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said in the broader climate-change fight, Minnesota farmers are on the frontlines.

"What we've had in the last couple of years," said Petersen, "2019 we had the wettest year on record. 2021, we had the worst drought we've had since 1988. We had the worst week of drought we've ever had in August of 2021."

He said producers can be part of the solution through practices like grazing livestock or improved management of nitrogen fertilizer.

As for measuring the certification program, Petersen said they're approaching one million enrolled acres. He acknowledged they could be moving faster, but said demand is still promising.

Brad Jordahl Redlin - the manager of the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program - said competition for conservation aid is fierce, and their initiative fills some of those gaps.

He noted an official works closely with a farmer in assessing their operations. He likened it to an energy audit of someone's home.

"'Those windows are particularly leaky, but we love the insulation above the garage,' said Redlin. "We kind of do that for our Climate Smart farm endorsement. 'You have an opportunity here on this corner section to maybe do some no-till, or do some perennial plantings on a border.'"

In southern Minnesota, farmer Ron Frank has been doing conservation work on his land for several years. But he said the certification program pushes these efforts even further.

"The program has helped me get a little deeper into the cover crops and those kinds of things," said Frank.

Climate Smart participants can receive a minimum of $1,000 a year for up to five years. It's now the fifth endorsement water quality program enrollees can receive.

From the Frosted Elfin Butterfly to the Rusty Batch Bumble Bee, vital links of Ohio's ecosystem are in trouble.

This is Pollinator Week, bringing awareness to the crucial role of pollinators in our ecosystem and the challenges many of them face.

Marci Lininger, director of the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative, explained roughly 40% of the world's pollinators are at risk of extinction or decline. She said several challenges are putting pressure on pollinator populations, including habitat loss.

"Infrastructure, we're constantly building, we're constantly growing," Lininger outlined. "You can also look at the use of herbicides and pesticides. Different things like roads, increased traffic, climate change. So, all those things kind-of factor together."

More than 75% of all flowering plants need help with pollination. Ohioans are encouraged to help support pollinators by providing organic habitat, like planting wildflowers on their property, or getting involved in Pollinator Week activities. Learn more online at ohiopollinator.org.

Pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food, Lininger noted, which makes them essential to healthy food systems.

"Without pollinators, we're going to see changes in prices of the things that we want to eat," Lininger pointed out. "We're going to see changes in availability in the foods that we want to eat. If you're a vegetarian, that's super important, but even if you're a meat-eater, what do the cows eat? There are certain native grasses that cattle eat."

The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative partners with organizations and groups to get the word out about the importance of pollinators. It also provides guidance and technical assistance for restoration events and other projects supporting pollinator conservation.

A program in the works is expected to help ensure the livelihood of farmers in Ohio and strengthen food-system resilience.

The Family Farm ReGeneration Act is a new law to incentivize established farmers and producers to sell land, livestock, buildings and equipment to those just getting started.

Amalie Lipstreu, policy director at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, said access to land is the greatest challenge for beginning farmers. With the average age of farmers in Ohio at about 55, she said the next generation must be well-equipped to grow food.

"It's in all of our interests to make sure that beginning farmers can access land," she said, "and also have the credit, the business planning assistance and the resources they need to not only start, but be successful over the long term."

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is developing the program, to provide income-tax credits to established farmers who sell agricultural assets to beginning farmers. The beginning farmers must take a qualified financial-management program, much like OEFFA's Heartland Farm Beginnings business course.

Ohio has the fifth-largest number of beginning farmers among states - about 33,000. Lipstreu said the Family Farm ReGeneration Act is a way to invest in them, which in turn will help make local food systems stronger during trying times.

"The COVID pandemic, war in Ukraine and the rise in the cost of fertilizers is really hammering home that issue of how vulnerable our food system can be," she said.

Lipstreu added that millions of acres of agricultural land will likely change hands as older farmers and ranchers retire, and these types of investments will help ensure those acres are kept in production.