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POLICY BRIEF article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

Sec. Agroecology and Ecosystem Services

Centering resilience in US federal agricultural policy

Provisionally accepted
Gretchen E. KrohGretchen E. Kroh1*Chelsea J. CareyChelsea J. Carey2Lisa EashLisa Eash2Timothy R. FIlleyTimothy R. FIlley3Hannah GosnellHannah Gosnell4Jennifer HodbodJennifer Hodbod5Charlotte R. LevyCharlotte R. Levy1Megan B MachmullerMegan B Machmuller6Shelby C. McClellandShelby C. McClelland7Cody C. ReedCody C. Reed2Paige L. StanleyPaige L. Stanley6Tamara J. ZelikovaTamara J. Zelikova8Erika J. FosterErika J. Foster2*
  • 1Carbon180, Washington, DC, United States
  • 2Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, United States
  • 3The University of Oklahoma, Norman, United States
  • 4Oregon State University College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, United States
  • 5University of Leeds School of Earth and Environment, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • 6Colorado State University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Fort Collins, United States
  • 7Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, United States
  • 8University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States

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Abstract (125 words) Soil health management– supporting the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil to support vital living ecosystems– promotes resilience in agricultural systems. While federal policies in recent decades vary in the degree and way in which they support ecosystem-centric approaches and resilience of the agricultural sector, Congress and the agricultural community have remained largely supportive of soil health-related practices. Producers face a myriad of barriers when implementing soil health practices, often stemming from systemic policies that aim to advance conventional chemical-dependent agriculture over resilient alternatives. We present key policy recommendations that shift the focus from soil carbon sequestration to soil health, to create a policy platform for the current Farm Bill for agricultural resilience that puts farmers and ranchers first.

Keywords: Federal policy, soil carbon, Soil health, sustainable agriculture, Farm bill

Received: 29 Aug 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Kroh, Carey, Eash, FIlley, Gosnell, Hodbod, Levy, Machmuller, McClelland, Reed, Stanley, Zelikova and Foster. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Gretchen E. Kroh
Erika J. Foster

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material