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Maine Healthy Soils Program
Promoting Healthy Soils - The Maine Healthy Soils Program offers technical and financial assistance to Maine farmers to improve on-farm soil health and the health of our agricultural economy and environment.
Maine Healthy Soils Program was created to provide farmers with resources to adapt their farms to a changing climate. Healthy soils are, literally, the foundation of a resilient agricultural system, and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is proud to offer new resources to help Maine's farmers achieve their soil health goals. Our services range from one-on-one soil health coaching to administration of grant and incentive opportunities. Our approach to developing soil health management systems is holistic, accounting not only for the physical features of your farmland but also for the overall capacity of your farm operation. Building soil health into your business must work for you, the farmer, to be sustainable. That fact is a foundational pillar of our program's mission.
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Funding and Grants
No-Cost Soil Health Testing
The soil health testing program is fully booked for 2025. Please join our waitlist, and we will reach out when we have additional availability.
The Maine Healthy Soils Program is partnering with Augusta-based Woods End Laboratories to provide no-cost soil health testing. Soil health testing differs from traditional soil nutrient testing, as it also includes measurements of some physical and biological characteristics of your soil that impact the productivity of your soil. This testing establishes a soil health baseline that can help you make decisions about nutrient inputs, cover cropping, and field operations in the future. This service is available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from April through November.
Eligibility +
- Farms that produce $2,000 of agricultural products (vegetables, tree fruit, livestock, dairy, eggs, etc.) that are sold commercially or intended to be sold commercially.
- Farms operations that support community access to agricultural products.
- 501-C3 non-profit organizations that are farm operations that support community access to agricultural products.
- Farms are eligible to receive this testing once every three years. For example, if you receive this testing in field season 2025, you would not be able to enroll for another round of sampling until field season 2028.
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How it Works +
- Schedule an appointment. You will receive an email confirmation once you select a date, answer the enrollment questions, and finalize the booking.
- At your earliest convenience – but least 24 hours before the scheduled visit, email a map of the farmed area that we will sample to matthew.boucher@maine.gov. Make sure to outline and number the farm fields.
- On the scheduled date, MHSP program staff will arrive to collect the sample. We will complete a field walk with you if you would like, collect the sample, and ship it to our partner lab.
- When results are returned, we will annotate them and send them to you. We will also offer to schedule a virtual review of the results.
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Soil Health Implementation Grant
The Maine Healthy Soils Program is making grants available to farmers to address on-farm barriers to improving or maintaining soil health. Farmers may apply for up to $100,000 to improve any facet of the operation that impacts your ability to trial, adopt, scale or maintain healthy soils best practices. Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to, equipment, labor, and materials. Please review the Request for Applications below for a full overview of the program. Applications are due by 5:00 PM on April 4, 2025.
Eligibility +
Applicants are eligible to apply to the Soil Health Implementation Grant if:
- Are a farm operation located in Maine.
- In at least one of the last three years, you produced agricultural products with a gross annual value of at least $2,000 to be sold commercially or that are intended to be sold commercially OR you are a farm operation through which agricultural products with a gross annual value of at least $2,000 are produced to support community access to agricultural products.
- You have access to at least one (1) acre of farmable land. This land does NOT need to be contiguous, and you do NOT need to have one full acre of production (the land may be rested, forest, generally out of production, etc.).
- You have enrolled in the Maine Healthy Soils Program by having previously met with MHSP staff (virtual consultations, field visits, etc.). You can enroll in the MHSP concurrently with applying to this grant by scheduling a soil health test sampling date.
- You have a current soil health management plan that includes a soil health test three (3) or fewer years old, OR you commit to working with MHSP staff to complete soil health testing and management planning in your application.
- You have NOT received a Soil Health Implementation Grant in any of the last three (3) funding cycles.
For more detail, the eligibility guidelines can be found in the request for applications and the rules governing the Maine Healthy Soils Program. If you have any additional questions about your eligibility, contact matthew.boucher@maine.gov.
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Key Dates +
Applications Open: February 14, 2025
Live Q/A Session: February 21, 2025, Register
Written Questions Due: March, 14, 2025
Applications Due: April 4, 2025
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Soil Health Resource Hub
| Resource | Category | Resource Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Terminating Cover Crops with a Roller Crimper |
Cover Crops | Factsheet | Developed by Penn State, this factsheet discusses how to optimize timing of hairy vetch and cereal rye cover crop termination using a roller-crimper. This factsheet provides:
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The Science of Soil Health – Compaction (YouTube) |
Video | This short video developed by the USDA – NRCS provides a brief introduction to soil compaction created by equipment traffic. The video discusses how to spot signs of compaction; how cover crops and subsoilers compare as compaction relievers; and how heavy tillage can increase your compaction risk. This is a great introduction if you are dealing with compaction on your farm! |
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When and how to kill cover crops (YouTube) |
Cover Crops | Video | This webinar, sponsored by NOFA-MASS, features a discussion of different springtime cover crop termination strategies, including winterkill, tillage, tarping, roller-crimping, and mowing. The webinar reviews how different cover crops respond to different termination options. This is a great webinar to treat like a podcast! Listen to it while you tend your fields. |
Understanding Strip tillage |
Factsheet | Strip tillage is a method of reduced tillage that reduces soil disturbance, increases soil coverage, and maintains living roots in the soil. On top of protecting your soil, this practice can save on time, labor, and fuel costs. Learn more about strip tillage from Cornell University, including
Remember: When testing out a new method to improve your soil health, start on a small plot rather to make sure the practice works for you before scaling up practice usage. |
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Manage Weeds on Your Farm |
Cover Crops, Crop Rotation | Guides | This guide provides a comprehensive overview of ecological weed management options for both organic and conventional producers. The focus of this guide is non-chemical means of weed control. Chapter 3 of this guide focuses on cultural practices that will help you integrate soil health principles into your weed management program. Some options reviewed in this chapter include: Mulching, Cover Crops, Crop Rotation, and Integrating Livestock Later chapters offer profiles on major agricultural weeds and options for mechanical weed management. This guide does not provide management strategies for pastures. This guide is a product of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Outreach Program. |
Web Soil Survey |
Decision Support Tool | The Web Soil Survey is a tool maintained by the USDA-NRCS that allows you to view the soil series on your property. This tool also allows you to explore how your soils will fare under different uses. Understanding this information can help you:
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Cover Crop Species Selector |
Cover Crops | Decision Support Tool | Use this Cover Crop Species Selector tool to browse cover crop options specific to your goals, location, and crop sequences. This tool provides an easy-to-read report on each cover crop that may work for your operation, complete with:
This tool was created by the Northeast Cover Crops Council using the latest, cutting-edge cover crop research. You can view additional tools hosted by the NECCC on their website. |
Crop Rotation on Organic Farms |
Crop Rotation | Guide |
This planning manual provides a comprehensive overview of crop rotation planning. It focuses on how to plan your crop rotations to maximize soil health and sustainably manage pests. The support provided in this guide will also be useful for non-organic producers. This manual was created by the Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service with funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program
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Managing Cover Crops Profitably – 3rd Edition |
Cover Crops | Guide |
This guide offers a comprehensive overview of individual cover crops, their benefits, how to set cover cropping goals, and how to choose cover crops accordingly. This guide, created by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, will help you:
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New England Vegetable Guide |
Guide | The New England Vegetable Management Guide is an excellent source for vegetable crop management. The 'Cultural Practices' section provides information on soils and soil health management and the 'Crops' section provides soil fertility information for individual crops. This guide is updated every 2 years based on current research and is a collaborative effort between the University of Maine, the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, the University of Vermont, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Rhode Island. |
Program Staff
Matt Boucher, State Soil Scientist
Matt Boucher, Ph.D., is the State of Maine Soil Scientist and Director of the Maine Healthy Soils Program. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. Dr. Boucher has spent over a decade providing technical assistance in sustainable agriculture to farmers across the Northeastern United States. As a research and extension professional, Dr. Boucher developed expertise in soil science, entomology, and plant pathology, focusing on integrated pest management and cover cropping. He has experience supporting various commodities from small fruit, tree fruit, and grapes to field crops and mixed vegetables. Dr. Boucher joined the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry in 2022 and is a licensed soil scientist.
Frequently Asked Questions
See below for answers to some frequently asked questions about program opportunities and logistics.
What services do you offered? +
Our services include no-cost soil health testing; virtual and on-farm consultations; soil health field days and trainings; grants and incentives for improving soil health on your farm; and general education and outreach. If there are additional services you are hopeful the program can offer, or if you have questions about our current offerings, please schedule an appointment!
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Is there a waiting list for technical assistance services? +
Technical services, including no-cost soil health testing, field visits, and virtual consults, are available on a first-come-first-served basis. If availability for those services is filled, we will open a waitlist.
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Is there a fee for any services offered by the Maine Healthy Soils Program? +
No.
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Who am I meeting with when I schedule an appointment? +
Currently, all appointments are scheduled with Matt Boucher, the State Soil Scientist.
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