Practices: Farming for Climate Resilience
Photo Credit: My Brother's Farm by Jamie Thrower
Climate Resilience is Rooted in Soil Health
Farming for climate resilience requires a holistic approach, centered on the
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1. Keep the soil covered
2. Minimize soil disturbance and inputs
3. Maximize biodiversity
4. Maintain living roots
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Soil Health and Soil Health Practices
​​Soil health is defined as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans (NRCS). A soil health practice is an agricultural practice that maintains or improves soil health.
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Soil health practices include:
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no till and reduced tillage
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cover cropping
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compost application (or other organic amendments like biochar)
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mulching
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rotational grazing
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crop rotation
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nutrient management
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agroforestry practices, such as: silvopasture, riparian plantings, alley cropping and hedgerows
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establishment or maintenance of deep-rooted perennial grasses (most relevant to rangelands)
Climate change is putting Oregon's farms at risk.
Farmers and ranchers can play a key role in mitigating climate change by cultivating healthy soil.
Soil health practices increase the climate resilience of farms and ranches.
Photo Credit: My Brother's Farm by Jamie Thrower
​Farming for Climate Resilience​​
Soil Health practices and principles are not new. In fact, they are rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and have been practiced by Black, Latine, and other communities of color for generations. As we face increasing threats from heat domes, drought, flooding, and wildfire, these traditional practices are more important than ever.
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Implementing soil health practices is an important climate resilience and mitigation strategy. These practices provide many benefits for farms and ranches, including:
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resilience to drought and other extreme weather events from improved water and nutrient-holding capacity, reduced erosion, preventing wildfires from spreading, and disease and pest resistance from enhanced plant health
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climate mitigation from protecting, building, storing, and sequestering carbon and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (from fertilizers and farm equipment)
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other environmental benefits including improved water quality, and increased biodiversity and habitat
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economic resilience resulting from the benefits above, increased productivity and reduced input cost
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Soil carbon sequestration is one of the most ready, cost-effective carbon removal strategies available. Recent research shows that with shifts in land management practices, Oregon’s farms could reduce 295,000+ tonnes of COâ‚‚ per year, the equivalent of removing over 63,000 cars from the road!
Soil Health Practices Go Back Time Immemorial​​
Soil health practices have long been part of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) passed down by Indigenous peoples across generations. Practices like no-till farming, rotational grazing, mulching, composting, and more are grounded in deep relationships with the land. Honoring this legacy is essential to building truly equitable and sustainable food systems.
Check out our resource guide on Indigenous and Ancestral Soil Health Practices here.
“When we look at soil health, everybody looks from the top down, but when we look from the down above we understand how the soil health affects the plant communities, how the plant communities affect the animal health, how the animal health affects the operation, and how the operation ultimately affects the health of the farmer or ranch operator.”
—Latrice Tatsey, Blackfeet Nation
(OrCAN’s 2025 Soil Health Summit)
Ultimately, farming for climate resilience is not about a single practice, but rather about finding solutions that fit your land, your community, and your goals. Increased implementation of soil health practices on Oregon’s farms and ranches will in turn increase our collective climate resilience.
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Additional climate-friendly strategies include:
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Irrigation modernization
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Alternative manure management
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On-site renewable energy
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Ready to Learn More?
Explore the science, practices, and opportunities of farming for climate resilience.