What impact does farming have on soil health?

Farmers often add nutrients to the soil to improve crop yields. However, some of these nutrients and fertilizers can affect the micro-organisms in the soil’s ability to produce natural compounds the crops need. While soil loss has improved greatly since the 1980s, farming still leads to loss of soil, due to processes like clearing trees and plowing. The last way farming impacts soil is through overgrazing. When animals eat large amounts of the natural vegetation, soil wash or blow away. Extreme overgrazing can even lead to desertification or expansion of desert conditions.