No-Till, Organic Market Gardens: Restoring Soil Health and Rebuilding Local Food Systems

(A USDA NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant Program)

Our goals for the No-Till OMG program are to increase the implementation of No-Till OMG production practices by assisting 20 historically underserved (socially disadvantaged, limited-resource, beginning, and veteran) farmers with entering, establishing, growing, and managing successful farm businesses that build soil health and contribute to the local food system, in three years.

We excitedly will create an evidence-based model for No-Till OMGs that improves soil health that is replicable, scalable, and supported by data from soil analysis conducted on 20 farms across Louisiana over three years.

The program strives to build stronger local economies resulting from new food sector businesses, new food sector jobs, and food purchase dollars remaining in and circulating through 90% of the communities with project participants as demonstrated through the Social Indicator Planning and Evaluation System (SIPES) over three years.