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Montana Soil Health Week

April 1 - 7, 2026

Join in the celebration of Montana’s 3rd Annual Soil Health Week!

In 2023, the Montana Legislature passed a bipartisan resolution designating the first week of April as Montana Soil Health Week and the first Wednesday in April as Montana Soil Health Day.

The weeklong celebration is designed to raise awareness about how healthy soils can increase crop yields, strengthen food security, create greater climate resiliency, and improve nutrition. Soil Health Day and Week highlights the work of everyone stewarding soil health across Montana.

Cover in field
Cover in field
Four people kneeling in field looking at soil
Woman kneeling in high tunnel tending to plants.
Child playing in soil in high tunnel
Two people holding chunks of soil with roots showing
Hand holding corn roots
backyard garden displaying no till practices
Cattle in field with snowy mountains in the background.

Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together. — Charles E. Kellogg, USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, 1938

2026 Scheduled Events

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Building Living Soil: A Hands-On Composting Workshop 

1116 Highway 191 North Big Timber, MT, 59011

Join the Montana Farmer’s Union in partnership with Living Soil Farms to explore the science behind composting and the skills needed to make your own! Gain a better understanding of microbial activity and C:N ratios, and their applications beyond compost. Participate in monitoring and building a new compost pile! Open to the Public, 9:30 am -12:30 am. 

RSVP required. Register and learn more HERE.

Questions?
Reach out to Gusty Catherin-Sauer at gusty@northernplains.org

How to Participate

As an Individual

Volunteers working at pollinator garden to mulch beds

Discover the wondrous world of Soil Health! Participate in this year’s Soil Health Week by posting on social media, attending soil health related events in the community, or activities in your own backyard!

With Your Organization

people in a room listening to a person give a presentation.

Examples of how conservation districts, partners, and other organizations can spread the word about Soil Health.

As a Producer

people in hallway looking at table

Dive in to these great resources and learn how you can improve your soil and bottom line. Consider contacting your local conservation district and attending events like the Montana Soil Health Symposium.

Resources

What can YOU do for soil health?

Get Your Soil Tested!

soil being poured into a bag

Learn about soil sampling and regional soil testing labs

Check out the Home Garden Soil Testing & Fertilizer Guidelines! This guide provides home gardeners tools to better understand and interpret soil test reports.

Rent Equipment!

no till drill in a field

Interested in renting equipment? The Missoula Conservation District has a Truax FlexII-88 No-Till Drill available for rent to use in Missoula and neighboring counties.

Check out your local conservation district to see what equipment and resources are available to rent in your area!

For Educators

Introduction Newsletter to Teachers and Schools

A newsletter written for educators with more information and resources.

Soils Activity and Coloring Books

The Soil Story Curriculum: Middle School Lesson Plan

The Soil Story Curricular Guide was created through a collaborative partnership between Kiss the Ground and Life Lab. It serves as a supplemental material for teaching middle schoolers Next Generation Science Standards.

Soils 4 Teachers

Soils for teachers website from the Soils Science Society of America. Their lessons and activities search can be filtered by age group/grade, specific topic, or resource/activity type.

List of Conservation Books for Kids

Varied list with conservation themed books to check out!

Flyer and Social Media Resources

Soil Health Week Flyer

Download and print Soil Health Week flyer HERE!

Five Slides

Set of five slides that districts can easily customize for their social media!

Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!

CANVA TEMPLATE

Simple Single Image

Ready to use social media image.

There is also a Canva template version that districts can copy and customize.

Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!

READY TO USE

Soil Health Principles

Ready to use social media image.

There is also a Canva template version that districts can copy and customize.

Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!

CANVA TEMPLATE

Videos

Soil Week Playlist

Soil Week Playlist from the Institute for Food and Agriculture. Some videos are storytime, some videos are soil demonstrations and activities for young children.

NRCS Soil Health Demonstrations

Soil health demonstrations playlist from NRCS Montana. Including: slake test, rainfall simulator, and infiltration test.

MT NRCS Soil Health Playlist

RCS Soil Health Playlist with many of these videos are interviews/focused on specific MT producers.

Montana Ag Live: Soil Health & Conservation

Five people sitting at tables in half circle

Discussion about soil health and conservation on PBS’ Montana Ag Live.

Montana Ag Network: Soil Health in MT

Brief clip from MT Ag Network talking about Soil Health.

Living Soil Film

Option for a film showing from the Soil Health Institute.

Past, Present and Future of Conservation Districts

This 10-minute mini-documentary details the inception of America’s conservation districts following the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and follows them throughout the ages as they’ve grown and strengthened from coast to coast.

General Resources

Montana Rural Employment Opportunities (REO)

Rural Employment Opportunities (REO) provides outreach and services in all of Montana’s 56 counties to more than 400 adults and 900 children each year as they struggle to support themselves and their families.

Cover Crop Periodic Table

decorative

Learn about cover crops and the cover crop periodic table!

UN World Soil Day

Resources Include:

Soil Health Publications

NRCS Montana has provided Montana soil health publications.

Thank you to the Montana Soil Health Week committee and partners!

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