Montana is celebrating their 3rd Annual Soil Health Week April 1-7, 2026. 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.
Western SARE grantees have been at the forefront of building healthy soils. Here are a few Montana projects that illustrate soil health innovations by our grantees.
As part of their project on promoting healthy soils and pollinators on Montana rangeland, the grantees produced a handbook for children. "Cows, Bees, and Blossoms: A Grassland Tale" is a charming, beautifully illustrated children's book that introduces young readers to the fascinating partnership between cattle and pollinators on working rangelands. Through the adventures of Lily the cow and Biff the bee, children discover how different animals work together to help plants grow and keep ecosystems healthy.
The project to build Montana’s Soil Health Network led “soil crawls” in four areas of Montana, as well as offering a virtual event. Soil crawls offered the participants a chance to examine soils from different regions, management styles, and land histories. Participants learned how different methods like composting, intensive grazing, or no-till seeding could benefit their operations.
A graduate student at Montana State University is investigating the best timings and species of cover crops to interseed in organic horticultural crops. The results from field trials and on-farm research will increase the sustainable production of vegetables by helping farmers manage weeds and establish cover crops.
Learn more from our funded research on soil health by visiting our educational resource page and database of project reports.