Sand County Foundation

By helping farmers from Minnesota to Mississippi make sense of real-time temperature and moisture data collected from in-field soil sensors, our work deepens their understanding of what's happening beneath the surface.

As farmers grow more confident in interpreting this data, their curiosity deepens, and they begin to understand how their soil management decisions influence crop productivity and resilience. To learn more about these projects taking place in the Upper Midwest, Deep South and, most recently, in Kansas and Nebraska, visit https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/conservation/soil-management-and-technology

This work is made possible with support from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CropX, Daybreak Fund, Cargill, Fund for Lake Michigan, National Association of RC&D Councils, EarthOptics, Kansas State University, & OneEnergy Renewables.

📸 Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department & National Association of RC&D Councils

Our staff and board members at Field to Market's Annual Meeting stopped discussing agricultural conservation just long enough to pose for this photo. 😃

Congrats to Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture on 20 years of bringing together leaders across agriculture to drive continuous improvement in sustainable outcomes through collaboration, innovation, and partnership.

We recently got a firsthand look at how Landon and Anne Plagge of Green Acres Milling are improving their farmland and the regional ag economy.

Learn more about 2025's Iowa Leopold Conservation Award recipients at https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/landon-and-anne-plagge

Three landowners improving soil health, water quality, & wildlife habitat have been selected as finalists for the Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award.

Find out who at https://sandcountyfoundation.org/news/2026/kentucky-leopold-conservation-award-finalists-selected

Award made possible with support from American Farmland Trust, We are Kentucky Agriculture, Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts - KACD, Kentucky Farm Bureau, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of Kentucky, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit Mid-America, Kentucky Cattlemen's Association, Kentucky Corn and Small Grains, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, & others!

Check out this great profile on farmer-led watershed groups featuring Greg Thoren, the 2026 Illinois Leopold Conservation Award recipient.

The growing impact of these farmer-led groups makes us think of this Aldo Leopold quote: "Conservation can accomplish its objectives only when it springs from an impelling conviction on the part of private landowners."

How a grassroots program is helping farmers teach each other regenerative ag practices The "farmer-led movement" aims to shape the agricultural landscape by strengthening soils and building community.

Our work with schools in Alabama is about growing native wildflowers for pollinators, and inspiring the next generation of conservationists.

To accomplish both, students at Career Academy - Crenshaw County Schools were one of three schools to study seed stratification and the germination process as part of our pollinator habitat education program.

Part of their planting experience included touring long-leafed pine forestland grown with conservation practices in conjunction with project sponsor, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of Alabama. Support for this field day was also provided by the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee.

For more on this project, visit: https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/outreach---education/pollinator-habitat-education-program/alabama-program

Our pollinator habitat education program is taking root in Alabama!

Thanks The Luverne Journal for this coverage!

Pollinator garden brings unique educational resource to Luve... New pollinator garden in Luverne gives Crenshaw County students hands-on lessons in native plants, conservation careers and habitat restoration.