From the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting. On April 2, 2019, the Healthy Soil Act was signed into law in New Mexico after unanimous passage in a generally divided state. Conservation districts are crucial in implementing the law’s provisions to advance soil stewardship in the state. Through learning about the New Mexico Health Soil Initiative, discover how to implement soil health strategies in your state.

1. Conservation Legislation:
the New Mexico Health Soil Act
Jeff Goebel
New Mexico Healthy Soil Working Group
 Career path – Ecology → People
 Wicked Problems – addressing complex issues
 Small farm in New Mexico
 Served on the Valencia SWCD & NMACD Boards

2. Healthy Soil Initiative
Sponsors: Rep Nathan Small, Rep Melanie Stansbury,
Senator Elizabeth Stefanics
Core team: Robb Hirsch, Isabelle Jenniches, Jeff Goebel,
Christina Allday-Bondy, Debbie Hughes, Jim Berlier, Brent
Van Dyke
Many others helping in design, advocacy, &
implementation

7. As David Perry writes on the World Economic Forum
website:
 Perry observes that before farmland was cultivated, it had soil
carbon levels of from 3% to 7%. Today, those levels are roughly 1%
carbon. If every acre of farmland globally were returned to a soil
carbon level of just 3%, 1 trillion tons of carbon dioxide would be
removed from the atmosphere and stored in the soil – equal to the
amount of carbon that has been drawn into the atmosphere since
the dawn of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. The size of the
potential solution matches the size of the problem.

9. Wind Erosion on
Cropland
NRCS NRI Data

10. Wind Erosion – NM vs National Average
Impact of Management

11. Figure 3. 2004-2010 Figure 4. 2011-2015
Non-federal rangeland where all three Rangeland health attributes show at least
moderate departure from reference conditions
Source: NRCS Natural Resource Inventory
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/technical/nra/nri

12. 2019 Healthy Soil Act

13. Core Concepts for Healthy Soil
Land Managers are only ones who “touch”
the earth
Support land managers’ success in
creating healthy soil
5% of land managed this way
We need to get to 95% - within 10 years!

15. Consensus Building &
Holistic Decision Making
• Defined as: 100% agreement, to do the right thing
• Consensus is measured by behavior, not words
• We used a holistic, consensual policy analysis process to
begin the legislative design

16. Holistic Policy
Analysis
Please answer the following questions. Use this form to help enhance the quality of your policy. The developing goal on the
previous page is used to frame your goal for desirable outcomes from a social, economic, and ecological perspective.
Title of Proposal: New Mexico Soil Health Initiative
Contact information Name: Isabelle, Robb, Jeff & company Organization:
Email: Phone:
What is the purpose of the proposal?
To create a legislative structure within the state of New Mexico to facilitate accelerated implementation of soil
health principles
Who are the people/organizations that affect, or are affected, by this situation?
Ranchers, Farmers, Forest managers, agencies, natural related organizations, tax payers, legislators
What specific actions are you proposing?
An endowment to fund methods on ranch, farm and forest lands to regenerate soil health
Build capacity for SWCDs to promote soil health
What problem do you want to solve?
A continuing situation where soils are degrading due to current management or lack of management
What are the symptoms of this problem? (Symptoms are usually easily observable, Root Causes are usually hidden)
Successful proposals address one or more Root Causes.
Excess erosion (wind & water), loss of perennial streams, endangered species, changes in local weather (drought,
intense storms), financial ruin, lost food and soil quality
What is the cause of this problem (Use Peter Senge’s “5 Why’s” Activity to Uncover)?

17. Robb Hirsch
New Mexico Healthy Soil Working Group
• Core member of the NM Healthy Soil Group
• Led the legislative effort enacting the NM
Healthy Soil Act
• Educational & professional background in
conservation & stewardship

18. The Journey Enacting the Health Soil Act
 5 Keys to Success:
Integrity
Listening
Teamwork
Relationship
Dedication

19. Learning from our mistakes

20. Insights on Implementation
 Communication ~ Combining Civil Society & Government Leadership ~
Outcomes on the Ground

21. Questions or comments about the
legislative journey, etc?

22. Systemic Change
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot
be changed without changing our thinking.” Albert Einstein
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change
something, build a new model that makes the existing model
obsolete.” R. Buckminster Fuller
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and
don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the
endless immensity of the sea.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

23. Farm and Ranch Finances

24. ➢ The farmer /
rancher once
got 75 cents
on the dollar
➢ In 2019, they
get less than 8
cents on the
dollar
Internal
Financial
Capacity

25. Canadian Net
Farm Income
Canadian net farm
income and gross
revenue, inflation
adjusted, net of
government payments,
1926-2016.
Blue area – Gross
Revenue
Green area – Net
Farm Income

26. Society’s
Investment
 NMDA Administering
 Pilot Projects (On-the-Ground)
 Allocated: $175,000
 Approximately 84 applicants (many turned
away due to capacity issues)
 Requested: Over $1.37 million
 Many other funding sources: USDA Farm Bill,
Private, etc.
State Funding for Healthy Soil Act -
2019

27. External
Financial
Situation

28. June 25, 2019 - Testimony of Mr. Ian Cunningham
Secretary-Treasurer, NACD & MN Farmer
House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation & Forestry
 In 2017, NACD and Datu Research, LLC released a set of case
studies on four corn and soybean farms in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin, which detailed year-by-year budget data on their
adoption of cover crops or no-till.
 The major takeaways were that although planting costs
increased by up to $38 per acre:
Fertilizer costs decreased by up to $50 per acre;
Erosion repair costs decreased by up to $16 per acre;
Yields increased by up to $76 per acre; and altogether
Yearly net income increased by up to $110 per acre.

29. Testimony of Mr. Ian Cunningham (cont’d)
 I use cover crops on 100 percent of my land; utilize no-till practices; and work with precision agriculture.
My soil health conservation system has improved weed control, which limits my herbicide purchases
and increases my yields, leading to more income with decreased fertilizer costs. With limited-till, I use my
tractor less, limiting wear-and-tear on machinery and reducing fuel costs. Reduced fuel use combined
with a healthy soil’s ability to sequester carbon are significant factors in reducing greenhouse gases.
 Perhaps the greatest economic advantage is seen when a disaster strikes. During the historic
drought of 2012, a combination of the soil health practices created a soil health system that provided
more pasture production for our cows and calves when forage was scarce and feed costs
skyrocketed. When we harvested our cash crops, we were amazed by the yield that was provided
compared to other farmers who weren’t implementing soil health practices at the same level we were.
This was due to the soil’s better infiltration, water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling.
 In 2018, when too much rain fell, except that in 2018, the excess rain fell during harvest. Farmers
who didn’t implement soil health practices had soil that wasn’t able to absorb the rainfall and were
getting their equipment stuck in the mud, ultimately damaging their equipment. We harvest our crop
on time due to the better soil structure our soil health conservation system provided.
 Our crop insurance agent contacted me in early November of that year to let me know that due to
a price decline, our revenue policy covered more bushels. He asked if we would have a claim,
and I replied that we would not since our yield was quite a bit better than the new
guarantee. We were the first customer he had heard from who would not be filing a crop insurance
claim. Wet or dry, by following the principles of soil heath, our farm is more resilient.

30. Water

34. Photo by CSAS

35. As a result of
“pink snow,” the
snowpack melts
25-50 days early

42.  One NM rancher bought a 7,000-acre ranch in 2004
 Used planned grazing with 25 pastures
 130 days rest - Average 5 days grazing
 He reports that:
Water infiltration rates: increased 33%
Static water levels in the wells: increased 1-2 feet
Headquarters well flow: increased from ¼ GPM to 1.5
GPM
Stocking rate:
2004: 58 acres per AU
2017: 25 acres per AU
Severe drought of 2018: 29 acres per AU

44. As vegetative cover increases,
water infiltration increases:
10% cover - 73% runoff rate
37% cover - 14% runoff rate
60-75% cover - 2% runoff rate

45. Species diversity

46. Change
Grazing
Management

50. Quality of Life
and
“The Civil Society”

53. Challenges - A Systems Approach
• Knowledge – limiting beliefs
• Social & Individual Issues
Peer pressure Fears Potential
Disempowerment Denial
• System support
Education Financial
Markets Rules & Regulations

54. Limiting Belief Systems
 The current state of the land
 The current ability of land managers
 The inability to do better – the notion of “possibility”
 Old dogs… “early adopters”
 Fencing – 19th century technology
 What is overgrazing?
 Long-term rest improves the land
 Can we manage water better?

55. 5% regenerative 95% Regenerative
Shift Happens!
Laggards
Early
Adopters
Bob Rodale
Pygmalion
Effect
X X

56. NACD – Soil Health Champions
 Three Criteria
1. Actively Practicing the Soil Health Principles
• Champions - a noun
• Championing - a verb
2. Actively Sharing Ideas with Others
3. Let your local SWCD know that you are enrolling
 Building the Capacity in the Network

58. Questions?
Jeff Goebel
www.aboutlistening.com
goebel@aboutlistening.com
(541) 610-7084
Robb Hirsch
robb@takeresponsibility.us
www.nmhealthysoil.org
(505) 603-1976

59. Rangeland Management

60. Chaco Canyon National Monument
75 Years of Livestock Removal

61. Belief Systems: Overgrazing?
Is it caused by too
many animals?
Or, too much time
that animals are
exposed to the
plants?
 Too much time!
Animal numbers simply
exacerbate the
overgrazing problem.
 Grass plants need short
grazing periods AND
adequate recovery after
grazing!

67. Healthy Soil Initiative: Parallel Components:
Healthy Soil Program: Five Principles
The New Mexico Healthy Soil Program promotes farming and ranching
systems, and other forms of land management, that improve soil health
according to the following principles: (1) Keep soil covered, (2)
Minimize soil disturbance on cropland and minimize external inputs, (3)
Maximize biodiversity, (4) Maintain living roots, (5) Integrate animals
including grazing animals, birds, beneficial insects and keystone species
such as earthworms.
The New Mexico Healthy Soil Program is a voluntary program, offering
support to farmers, ranchers and other land managers in the form of
grants, research, infrastructure, technical assistance, educational
resources, and on-farm workshops. The goal is to encourage land
management that contributes to healthy soils, thereby supporting the
viability of working lands, enabling significant water retention and
resulting in net greenhouse gas benefits.

68. Healthy Soil Program: Initiatives
• Engage farmers and ranchers in voluntary soil health measurements.
• Create educational materials, outreach and curriculum on soil
health management.
• Develop a statewide network of producers with demonstrated
excellence in management for soil health and commitment to
promote stewardship, so-called Soil Health Champions.
• Implement a training program for Soil Health Champions, as well as
local and state agency personnel.
• Facilitate producer-led workshops on farms, research centers, and
learning sites throughout the state.

69. • Establish a financial and technical assistance program in the form
of grants, cost sharing and other mechanisms to support land
managers in soil health stewardship.
• Engage in research and case studies on managing New Mexico’s
working lands for soil health.
• Encourage soil stewardship on state lands, and coordinate with
other relevant local, state, tribal and federal entities as well as non-
governmental entities and businesses to advance soil health.
• Dedicate a New Mexico Soil Health Day to raise awareness of soil
stewardship, facilitate annual information sharing among
stakeholders and celebrate the cultural, economic, and ecological
importance of soil health.

70. The New Mexico Department of Agriculture will administer the
program with support and guidance from the Soil and Water
Conservation Commission and a Healthy Soil Advisory Group,
comprised of producers, scientists and other soil health leaders.
The Soil and Water Conservation Districts and other eligible entities
including tribes, pueblos, acequia communities and land grant
managers will implement the Healthy Soils Program at the local
level.

72. Soil Bank / Soil Star
• Institutional Investors, Farmer & Rancher support tool
• Estimate reduce risk up to 30% & increase long term returns
• Drive an exponential increase in both regenerative investments in
ag portfolios & % of ag investment in funds overall
• For example TIAA, US's biggest ag investor has a $6 bil ag portfolio
within a $1 trill fund. They could transition that fund to regenerative
plus also consider increasing it by 10 fold, even 50 fold
• The core proposition is to develop a system that creates clarity of
action for investors, farmers & landowners
• Achieve by harnessing power of big data, deep learning &
predictive algorithms to assess & prescribe how best to expediently
regenerate degraded land into secure, profitable investments