Healthy Soils Week

Partner Toolkit

California's Healthy Soils Week shines a spotlight on the farmers, ranchers, and partners working to strengthen the foundation of our food system - the soil. Across the state, producers are implementing climate-smart practices that build organic carbon, improve water retention, enhance biodiversity, and increase resilience to drought and extreme weather. These efforts not only advance California's sustainability goals but also support long-term agricultural productivity and economic viability.

Healthy Soils Week is an opportunity to highlight how soil health serves as an entryway to lasting stewardship and innovation on working lands. We encourage partners to host events and share stories throughout the week that demonstrate how you are supporting healthy soils in your region. Together, we can amplify the collective impact of climate-smart agriculture and showcase how building resilience truly starts from the ground up.

For more details and resources, follow @cdfa_oars on Instagram, @CDFA_OARS on X, and CDFA Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability on Facebook. #CDFAHealthySoilsWeek

Healthy Soils Program by the Numbers

1. Funding Impact: Since its launch in 2017, $162.8 million has been awarded through 2,340 Incentive, Demonstration, and Block Grant on-farm projects supporting farmers and ranchers across California, as well as research and demonstration projects to support them.
2. Environmental Benefits: Funded projects have sequestered 1.6 million metric tons of CO₂e — and counting — equivalent to removing 370,000 cars from the road for one year.
3. Land Coverage: More than 190,000 acres of California farmland and ranchland are implementing new healthy soils practices through program support.
4. Funding Sources: Supported by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the California State General Fund, Proposition 68 (the 2018 Parks and Water Bond), and now Proposition 4 (the 2024 Climate Bond).
5. Soil Health Benefits: Healthy soils practices may improve water infiltration, reduce erosion, enhance nutrient cycling, increase climate resilience of agricultural lands, and support long-term agricultural sustainability.
6. Technical Assistance: CDFA has funded about 40 organizations to provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers for these projects and has partnered with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) to maintain a statewide Climate Smart Agriculture team. Together, these efforts support outreach, grant applications, and project implementation.
7. New Funding & Block Grant Opportunities: The Healthy Soils Program (HSP) and the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) will soon begin accepting applications for Block Grant Recipients to administer funding through a localized, capacity-building, community-based approach.
   1. $40 million allocated for the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP)
   2. $65 million allocated for practices that improve soil health or accelerate carbon removal and sequestration

Social Media Posts

Instagram 1080x1350

Post 1

It's California Healthy Soils Week! (April 6–10, 2026)

Since 2017, @CDFA_OARS has invested $162.8 million in climate-smart agriculture through 2,340 Healthy Soils projects.

The impact?

• 1.6 million metric tons of CO₂e sequestered
• 190,000+ acres with funded practices
• Climate benefits equal to removing 370,000 cars from the road for a year

Developing healthy soils builds a more resilient and sustainable future for California agriculture.

Join us in celebrating the farmers and ranchers supporting the foundation of our food system.

Post 2

Healthy soils do more than support farms — they support all of us.

When soil is healthy, it can store more water, reduce erosion, capture carbon, and support biodiversity. These benefits help farmers grow nutritious food, protect surrounding ecosystems, and strengthen resilience to drought and extreme weather.

Practices like cover crops, compost application, hedgerows, and reduced tillage can help build carbon in the soil — improving the land from the ground up.

Healthy soils support healthier food systems, and more resilient farms and communities.

This #HealthySoilsWeek, we're celebrating the farmers, ranchers, and partners working every day to care for the soil that sustains us all.

Story Images 1080 x 1920

Story 1

Virtual Backgrounds

Additional Resources

1. Why We Should Compost — CalRecycle
2. Compost and Mulch Use in Agriculture: Organic Materials Management — CalRecycle
3. Home Composting — CalRecycle
4. Tips to Start at Home Composting — CalRecycle
5. A Quick Guide to Backyard Composting — CalRecycle
6. Making More Compost Available for Farmers — CalRecycle
7. On-Farm Compost Resources — CDFA
8. Understanding the Science Behind Climate Smart Agriculture in California – Community Alliance with Family Farmers & University of California, Davis — CAFF

Best Practices for Posting

• Accounts – On Instagram, tag @cdfa_oars @cafoodandag. On X (Twitter), tag @CDFAClimateNews and @CDFAnews. On Facebook, tag Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability and California Department of Food and Agriculture. Lastly, tag California Department of Food and Agriculture on LinkedIn.
• Hashtags – In post copy for Facebook and Instagram, use 3-5 hashtags per post. Include these 3 hashtags (#CaliforniaHealthySoilsWeek #SoilHealth #ClimateResilience).
• Emojis – Use no more than 4 related emojis at a time. Emojis can be used as bullet points or as punctuations.
• Length of Copy – Copy on image posts should be kept at a minimum to increase organic performance. Recommended character counts are listed by platform as follows:
  • Facebook: 80-100 characters
  • Instagram: 125-150 characters
  • X (Twitter): 100-280 characters