Advancing Research on Agricultural Soil Health Act of 2025

This proposal would have the U.S. Department of Agriculture create a standard, science-based way to directly measure carbon stored in soil within about 9 months. Farmers could choose to use this method to voluntarily track and report their soil carbon, with free technical help and guidance available in multiple languages. The plan also adds on-farm trials and research to test soil health practices and cost‑effective tools, and updates grant programs to include measuring and verifying soil carbon and greenhouse gases .

It would set up a national soil carbon inventory that takes measurements at selected sites across the country every 5 years, with landowner permission, and protects private data. Only aggregated, non‑identifying results and methods would be shared publicly, along with reports explaining soil carbon trends and how farm practices and weather affect them. The bill also directs USDA to build an easy‑to‑use, multilingual tool to predict how different land management choices change soil carbon and farm emissions, and to keep that tool updated with the best data. Funding is authorized for these efforts, plus a 1‑year strategic plan and regular progress reports to Congress .

Key points

• Who is affected: Farmers and ranchers (including socially disadvantaged producers), researchers, and USDA programs working on soil health and climate-smart practices .
• What changes: Standard soil carbon measurements; voluntary reporting with technical help; expanded on‑farm trials; a 5‑year national soil carbon inventory with privacy protections; a public summary of results; and a user‑friendly prediction tool for farm practices and emissions .
• When: Standard method due in ~270 days; strategic plan due in 1 year; inventory repeated every 5 years; modeling tool progress reports starting 2 years after enactment and then annually .