Soil for Water

Working to catch and hold more water in our soil

About Soil for Water

Soil for Water, a program of the National Center for Appropriate Technology, is building a dynamic community of people curious about water and soil practices that create resilient, profitable agricultural systems.  

We seek and welcome collaboration with groups and individuals that share our mission. Please join us in catching and holding more water in the soil. 

Keep reading about Soil for Water…

REGENERATOR’S ATLAS

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The Latest

NCAT Soil for Water Mississippi: Learning Together 

By Luz Ballesteros Gonzalez and Felicia Bell, NCAT Agriculture Specialists When you have common goals, things align much easier and faster. This is what has been happening in Mississippi through the MS Holistic Management International (HMI)…
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Retaining Soil Moisture at Lighthouse Herb’n Farm

By Luz Ballesteros Gonzalez, NCAT Agriculture Specialist When will it rain again? How much will it rain? These questions are becoming more common—while such uncertainty has always existed, it’s now more prevalent. In the wake of unpredictable…
person operating tractor with bright sunlit backgroundUSDA

Extreme Heat: Don’t Let Summer Be a Bummer

By Luz Ballesteros and Darron Gaus, NCAT Agriculture Specialists Farmers and ranchers are weather watchers—we begin the day by turning on the local news or checking our apps for the weather highs, humidities, and chances of rain. A lot…

Regenerator’s Atlas of America

“Water retention is paramount for us. We need to be able to capture as much water as we can and, if it all comes at once, we need to slow it down.”

“Even under the hardest drought conditions, there are management steps that people can take that will allow them to stay on their ranches and be sustainable over the long haul.” 

“Your soil health is going to keep you in business. If you take care of your soil, the land will give back to you in terms of the productivity.” 

“The Soil for Water program offers a chance to learn new things and to apply it to your land and to improve.” 

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Kara Kroeger and Peggy Sechrist

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Regenerative Journeys

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Chelenzo Farms: A High Mountain Desert Oasis

By Darron Gaus  Chelenzo Farms began from the unique relocation of a physician and a writer from New York during the height of the pandemic. Health concerns and a need for a cleaner lifestyle motivated Chelsea Hollander and Lorenzo Dominguez…

High Hope Farm: Regenerative Agriculture in Action 

Keeping the ground covered year-round also keeps the soil's temperature noticeably cooler during hot Mississippi summers. These are all indications of a healthy soil sponge that captures, holds, and uses water more efficiently.

A Conversation with Guille Yearwood

“When you graze a pasture continuously, you have no idea how much grass you have because its continually disappearing.” After Guille switched to rotational grazing, his paddocks would look like a hayfield four weeks after grazing. This, in his words, “is totally different and totally better.”