Iroquois Valley’s farmers recognize that soil is a living system and they have an important role in improving and keeping it healthy. Healthy soils enable healthy plants, animals, and humans. Through practices such as diverse crop rotations, cover cropping, and integrated livestock Iroquois Valley farmers work to mimic the processes of the natural environment without synthetic inputs. Organic farming systems are prohibited from using synthetic inputs.

Iroquois Valley encourages its farmers to go beyond the USDA organic standard and manage soil health closer to how nature would, reducing the need for inputs overall. This enables healthier soil and more financially healthy farms. 

Organic farmers, in the absence of pesticides, often use tillage to combat weeds. Tillage, if done incorrectly can disturb the soil and contribute to soil compaction, erosion and loss of organic matter. The impact of tillage as a management tool for organic farmers depends on context: the type of tillage tool used, for what purpose, and under what conditions are all factors in a system of organic management.

Iroquois Valley works with all types of organic systems, acknowledging that systems of soil health management may look different from farm to farm.