A proposal in the Ohio House would have created a task force to develop plans for soil conservation, carbon sequestration and ecosystem restoration in the state.
The bill died when the last legislative session ended, but Central State University researchers hope to see it reintroduced this term.
Central State University is a land grant institution which receives federal support to provide education in fields such as agriculture, science, engineering and military science.
Sakthi Kumaran is a Central State associate professor who specialized in soil sciences and testified on behalf of House Bill 568.
"This work that I'm doing, which is focused on soil health and water quality, all of my projects are focused on those two main topics," Kumaran said. "Which are improving the health of the soils and improving water quality in our region, in our state. So is it is a natural fit for what the mission of the university is."
He said Ohio doesn’t invest enough in protecting soil health but it is vital to the ag sector that makes up 55% of the land in Ohio.
“The twin goal for us is to increase productivity, but also maintain environmental sustainability," Kumaran said. "You know, can we achieve that balance right as we produce more crops, but we can keep our soils healthy.”
The bill would have created a 15-member task force dedicated to coming up with healthy soil initiatives. Those 15 members would have had voting power for action and Kumaran said an additional to two members would have been non-voting members.
“The task force will work together to come up with a healthy soils initiative for Ohio and then develop action plans and look at the goals, you know, identify some key goals and the timelines that we can work toward to achieve those goals.”
After years and years of intensive agricultural practices, Kumaran said soils in Ohio have degraded and more work must be done to repair the damage.
"We have to have increased productivity to feed the population, the growing population and meet the needs," he said. "But we have done that with synthetic fertilizer and stuff. We're trying to see if we can improve the soils."
Soil protection is important when it comes to providing healthy and clean products to consumers. According to Kumaran, soil is the center of all health for food.
"We're looking at the biology within the soil that serves as an engine for all of the nutrient cycling that is really important for crop growth," he said "Soil is acting as a filter to retain all of the contaminants that we may end up adding to our soils. So it's very much alive that we have to protect and maintain the health of the soil."
While the the future of the bill is currently uncertain, Kumaran said he will continue working to advocate for soil health and conservation.
"I think this is a collective effort and I'm hoping that everyone will see the importance of focusing on soil health," he said. "I know that, you know, that's an ignored area. We have an act for Clean Water, Right? To take care of our water. We have a clean air act, but there is no such thing for soil."