Caro Córdova, assistant professor and statewide soil health specialist at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, was invited by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to present at its Crossroads in Agriculture: Innovation, Resilience, and Opportunity symposium June 26 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The event brought researchers, innovators and policymakers together with congressional staff to explore science-driven solutions shaping the future of U.S. agriculture.
In her talk, “Soil Health: A Foundation of Agricultural Resilience,” Córdova outlined the bipartisan importance of soil health, emphasizing its role in supporting farmers, strengthening ecosystems, and enhancing national resilience.
Key themes from her presentation included:
- Soil health as a unifying priority — critical for agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, and long-term food security.
- Diversity matters — effective strategies to build soil organic carbon and nitrogen require diversifying crop rotations in managed ecosystems.
- Advancing science into policy — accelerating soil health research and adoption calls for investment in collaborative projects, scaling proven practices, and leveraging long-term research networks to inform agricultural legislation.
“Soil health connects scientific innovation with the everyday resilience of agricultural producers,” Córdova said. “By linking research with policy, we can ensure healthy soils remain a cornerstone of resilient food and farming systems.”
The symposium featured a range of experts from universities, federal agencies, producer groups, and industry, underscoring opportunities to bridge science, policy, and practice at a moment of both challenge and transformation in American agriculture.
Faculty from institutions and agencies across the nation attend the NASEM Agriculture Symposium June 26 on Capitol Hill including Jay Arbuckle of Iowa State University (back row; from left), Ermias Kebreab of the University of California, Davis, Jay Famiglietti of Arizona State University, Caro Córdova of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (front row; from left), Roger Wyse, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Spruce Capital Partners, Valerie Thomas of Georgia Institute of Technology, Charles Rice of Kansas State University and Madhu Khanna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For more on the symposium and NASEM’s event highlights, see the Academies’ feature “Crossroads in Agriculture – Bridging Science, Policy, and Practice.”
About Nebraska Extension and Soil Health
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a national leader in agricultural innovation, outreach and applied research. Caro Córdova’s statewide program partners with producers, agencies and scientists to promote practices that strengthen soil health, improve resilience and sustain food systems for future generations.
