Healthy Soils Program Year in Review

By Matthew Karas

HHCD's Healthy Soils Program was launched in 2023 with funding provided by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). 2025 marked year three of the Healthy Soils Program, and as you can see from the numbers below, we experienced significant growth in most of our metrics!

I take great pride and satisfaction in our ability to sustain and grow the program in 2025 considering all of the challenges that HHCD, and many of our partner organizations and fellow community members, experienced due to changes with Federal programs under the Trump administration. Despite delays and uncertainty with a major Federal grant source that we rely on, we continued to provide great services to support farmers in the Connecticut River Valley. In 2025, we collected and processed more than twice the number of soil samples from the prior year, added equipment and hand tools to our rental program, increased the number of rentals and acreage our equipment was used on, and hired a Healthy Soils Program assistant, Lily Gigante!

We strive to provide great programs and services through our Healthy Soils and Native Plant program for many years to come, as the community has shown great enthusiasm for these resources. Your donations allow us to offer these services at a reduced rate. Please consider making a donation to HHCD today!

Native Plant Program

Year in Review

As part of our Native Plant Program, we installed a pollinator garden at the Palmer Town building this past fall that will bloom for the first time in the spring! You can see it in person at  4417 Main Street, Palmer, MA. The design was conducted by Peter Wackernagel and is picture below. To see a map of all the native plant gardens we have helped install, visit our native plant program webpage.

You may have heard it said that snow is the “poor man’s fertilizer”. This bit of folklore originates from a time before soil fertility tests, when farmers observed a correlation between a winter of heavy snowfall and a growing season when crops were healthier and more bountiful. But how well does this bit of folklore hold up to the scrutiny of our current tools and technology? 

Snowflakes form when freezing water aggregates around a microscopic particle in the atmosphere, such as pollen, dust, or soot. As the flakes form and fall, they capture gases and compounds drifting in the atmosphere, including carbon, sulfur, and our favorite - nitrogen! Trace minerals also accumulate on the snowflake surface in smaller concentrations. These nutrients reach the ground and are held in place until the snow melts, at which point they enter the soil system. 

So, it is true that snow provides some soil fertility benefits, though just how much is hard to say. Estimates vary from 1 to 20 lbs of nitrogen per acre, per year. So, even on the high end of the estimates, snow will not account for a significant amount of the nitrogen required for most agricultural crops throughout the growing season. However, it is significant in ecosystems where trace contributions are valuable! 

Along with its soil fertility benefits, snow acts as a mulch, insulating the ground to prevent sharp drops in soil temperature from damaging perennials. As little as two inches of snowfall can keep soil temperatures above freezing temperatures. This mulch provides the same benefits as a typical mulch in the way it is able to fight against erosion, protect roots, and limit compaction caused by heavy rains and wind. In New England, our temperatures often bring snow with a lower snow to water ratio. This means that our snow typically carries more water per inch of snow in comparison to some other areas of the country like the Midwest. It offers a slow release of moisture in the thaw season, limiting runoff that is often caused by heavy winter and early spring rains. Shoveled snow can be piled and applied as a typical mulch, but never from a driveway or pathway that has been salted or treated with de-icing chemicals. When snow falls, our soils thrive!

Sources - Read More!

Farms Benefit from Snowfall - Ohio Farm Bureau

Snow as Fertilizer - Celtic Farm

Beneath the Snow - NC Extension

Snow a Welcome Sight - MSU Extension

It takes a lot of work to clear our roadways after a big winter storm so that we can make it to school, work, and other social engagements - and it takes a lot of salt. While salt is an effective method to keep our roads drivable, have you ever considered the environmental impact of road salt? 

Road salt eventually flows off the roads and into our water bodies and soil, impacting plants and wildlife along the way. Most plants are sensitive to salinity, and excess salt in lakes creates an environment where harmful bacteria flourish.

Salt also has an impact on local farms, as elevated levels of sodium and chlorine reduce the suitability of water bodies for agricultural use. Fred at Pie in the Sky Berry Farm has a well once used for irrigation 370 feet from the freeway’s edge. The road salt dissolves in water and travels downward into the water table causing the chlorine levels to reach the unusable 640 ppm. Current remedies are inadequate and inequitable for farms impacted by road salt contamination as main policies are focused solely on drinking water.

Current de-icing alternatives have been found to act as a fertilizer for some harmful algae in water bodies, so there is not yet a perfect alternative. What we do know is road salting has steadily increased from the 1970s while the amount of road miles has not. Increasing snow removal efforts and decreasing the need for road salt is the solution. This includes decreasing its use on our driveways and pathways when possible.

Got Something to Share? Submit a Guest Article!

Are you passionate about water quality, wildlife, native plants, or another natural resource-related topic? We’d love to hear your voice!

We're accepting guest article submissions for future newsletters. Whether you’re a farmer, gardener, student, or local resident with a story or insight to share, this is a great way to engage with the community and spread good ideas. Send us your article, and we’ll feature it in an upcoming issue!

The Hampden-Hampshire Conservation District is seeking to add

new District Supervisors in 2025.

Why you should join us:

• Take an active role to identify conservation needs and guide projects that improve environmental health in your community.
• Connect with other farmers and learn about opportunities available to farmers and landowners.
• Learn about and work with our partner organizations that are driving sustainable agriculture and conservation issues in the Pioneer Valley.
• Great resume builder for folks who are looking to pursue a career in conservation.

CLICK HERE to learn more

Contact us at hampdenhampshireconservation@gmail.com for more information.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so we can continue to provide community members with technical and financial assistance, educational programs, and community engagement.

Thank you for supporting our work to conserve the natural resources of Hampden and Hampshire counties! We are able to maintain our work conserving natural resources due to generous community donors like you!