Key Takeaways
- The Soil Health Institute has launched the Drought Resilience Calculator (DRC), a free web-based tool that models how soil health management improves crop water availability during drought conditions.
- The tool was developed with support from Cargill and draws on data from SHI's North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements.
- The DRC uses historical weather data and open-source models to compare conventional management with soil health management, quantifying changes in evaporation, transpiration, and plant available water.
- A second phase of the DRC is planned to show the regional-scale impact of regenerative practices across supply sheds.
- The tool is freely available at drc.soilhealthinstitute.org.
Soil Health Institute Releases Drought Resilience Calculator for Farmers and Advisors
The Soil Health Institute (SHI) has launched the Drought Resilience Calculator, a free, science-based web tool designed to help farmers and agronomic advisors understand how soil health management practices affect water availability and crop resilience under drought conditions. The tool was developed with financial support from Cargill and is grounded in research from SHI's North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements.
The DRC simulates the soil water cycle using historical weather data for a user-specified location, comparing conventional management with soil health management scenarios. By quantifying changes in evaporation, transpiration, and plant available water, the tool demonstrates how higher soil organic carbon and increased residue cover can improve a soil's capacity to store and retain water for crops during dry periods.
Science-Based Tool Translates Research Into Farm-Level Insight
The DRC combines open-source simulation models with research showing that building soil organic carbon increases available water holding capacity. The result is a locally relevant planning tool that can show how soil health improvements affect the length of time a crop can go without rainfall before experiencing stress.
SHI President and CEO Dr. Wayne Honeycutt said the tool's practical insights are designed to help farmers and advisors make more informed management decisions and build drought resilience directly into their production systems.
Cargill Backs Tool as Part of Broader Regenerative Agriculture Push
Ryan Sirolli, senior director of sustainability solutions at Cargill, described the DRC as part of the company's broader work to advance regenerative agriculture through programs and partnerships in more than 16 countries. He framed the tool as a practical way to help farmers assess how soil health affects water availability and overcome barriers to adoption.
Regional-Scale Phase in Development
A second phase of the Drought Resilience Calculator is in development and will extend the tool's capabilities to a regional scale, allowing organizations such as agribusinesses and supply chain stakeholders to assess the collective benefits of regenerative practices across their supply sheds.
The Drought Resilience Calculator is freely available at drc.soilhealthinstitute.org.
