COMPARING SOIL HEALTH UNDER REGENERATIVE AND CONVENTIONAL PASTURE MANAGEMENT ON VARYING LANDSCAPE MORPHOLOGY IN THE SOUTHERN SHENANDOAH VALLEY, VIRGINIA

Pastureland condition in Rockbridge County, Virginia, located within the Shenandoah Valley, varies by topography, soil type, and management practices. Historical practices, particularly plowing, resulted in eroded, thin soils. Although soil health is directly impacted by all factors, replacing conventional practices with regenerative practices has been suggested to rebuild lost soil health. Regenerative practices are associated with increased plant and animal nutrition, drought resilience, increased yield, and increased soil organic matter/carbon, which mitigates climate change. Our comparative analysis employs 25 sample sites at 12 positions on opposing sides of a fence line separating Verdant Acres and SideOats Farm. Previously open-stocked as one farm unit, soil health is expected to be increasing under four years of regenerative practices at Verdant Acres including ruminant and poultry rotations compared to SideOats, which continues to be open-stocked with cattle. The sample sites include three fence line pairings for each of four landscape types, including a sloping upland and two hollows on residual carbonate soils and a dissected terrace and floodplain on alluvial/colluvial soils. Quantitative measurements of soil health include microbial respiration (Soil Test for Biological Activity), organic/inorganic carbon content (EA/digestion), compaction (cone penetrometer at 3 and 6 cm), infiltration (8-inch ring using two 1-inch events), biomass (above ground clipping and roots in a 35-cm core), and aggregate stability (wet sieve) were collected and analyzed. Soil health appears to be increasing under regenerative practices given clear differences in preliminary results for infiltration (sorptivity and permeability), compaction, root mass and above-ground biomass. The results indicate that soil health can become measurably different in as little as four years of regenerative practices, yielding potential benefits to farmers through better ecosystem services and productivity, and to society through carbon sequestration.