09/11/2026
Short article about balancing soil health and wildlife conservation from Farm Progress.
Balance soil health and wildlife conservation
Digging Deeper: Managing for diversity, whether it is aboveground or belowground, is crucial to building healthy rural landscapes and farms.
By Rebecca Kern-Lunbery, September 4, 2026
Increasingly in the agriculture industry, we hear producers referring to themselves not as corn growers or soybean producers, but rather as land managers.
This title indicates a lot more than driving a tractor and harvesting crops. It indicates they are the stewards of vast stretches of our rural landscape. They understand they are responsible for taking care of the ground and the wildlife living there.
“Aboveground diversity cannot exist without belowground diversity," said Jonathan Kerman, Ward Laboratory’s agronomic adviser.
Albert Tomechko, president and founder of Vitalize Seed, added, “It begins with a conservation mindset.”
According to Tomechko, the ultimate goal is to create and sustain a diverse ecosystem to leave healthier, more productive land for the next generation of ag producers, and wildlife too.
Improve soil health, attract wildlife
Implementing practices to improve soil health is a good start, but a healthy field inside an ecologically poor landscape only gets you so far.
Tomechko pointed out that planting one field to cover crops is not enough. Land managers should extend management practices that enhance soil health and attract wildlife across their entire landscape with the goal of creating a contiguous habitat. Tomechko suggested several practices to accomplish both goals including the following:
No-till or reduced tillage paired with keeping a root in the ground. This can preserve soil structure and create habitat for diverse groups of insects.
Planting diverse seed mixtures. Diversity in plant life helps support microbial populations, insect life and creates a changing landscape to support diverse bird species.
Creating diversity across the landscape, not just within the field. This includes supporting native vegetation, shrubs, trees and more across the entirety of the property. A varied landscape can support habitat needs of a wider range of wildlife species, supporting a larger ecosystem and ultimately a food web that even reaches belowground worms, insects and microbiology.
Kerman added that blended cover crops paired with pollinator strips can be a great way to encourage balanced insect and avian activity aboveground, while simultaneously fostering soil health through root structures that support microbial activity belowground.
What makes a pest vs. a welcome resident?
Of course, when attracting wildlife, we need to make the distinction between attracting pests and welcoming nature. Some species of birds and insects may be considered pests, such as starlings, crows and sparrows, or grasshoppers, crickets and grubs. However, they can be part of a balanced food web. It all hinges on the numbers.
Both Tomechko and Kerman reference grasshoppers as a prime example of this. Kerman noted, “One grasshopper versus thousands of grasshoppers makes the difference between a healthy balanced field and crop destruction.”
He said the best insect control in a balanced system is often birds. If birds can provide natural insect control, land managers should consider whether their landscape provides habitat for birds.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service also cites birds as a great natural pesticide. NRCS publication 649, “Structures for Wildlife,” provides a guide to construction and placement of nesting boxes to support bluebirds, swallows, wrens and chickadees.
Tracking diversity
Tomechko said, “land managers should evaluate the entire system over time.” He added analyzing soil samples for phospholipid fatty acid can provide insight into belowground biodiversity.
Meanwhile, field observations documenting plants, insects and birds — along with larger wildlife — can help track aboveground biodiversity. A high level of diversity can indicate a balanced food web and thriving ecosystem.
For today's land managers, such as farmers and ranchers, success may not be measured by yield and profits alone, but by whether the land will be healthy for future generations.
Digging Deeper: Managing for diversity, whether it is aboveground or belowground, is crucial to building healthy rural landscapes and farms.
