Integrated Rocky Mountain-region Innovation Center for Healthy Soils

08/18/2026

💧🌱The first five modules of 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘚𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 are live! 🌱💧

In this asynchronous, interactive online training, you'll learn the basics of soil health management and assessment, and how improved soil health helps store more water.

This training was built for producers, conservation district staff, students, or anyone else working in the water-limited landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West. It would not be nearly as useful without the Colorado producers who shared their real-world experience and insights, which helped to shape the module content. You'll also hear from them first hand throughout the modules.

𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴! https://www.inrichsoil.com/soilsmart

Interested in earning an official certificate through CSU Upskilling? More info is available at the link above.

This training was made possible by:
Ardent Mills
Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
CHS, Inc.

07/23/2026

How does the way we care for our soils influence the quality of the food we grow and, ultimately, human health?

We're excited to launch Soil to Supper, a two-year collaboration between Colorado State University's IN-RICHES and Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms that will explore and grow the science that champions healthy soils and nutritious food.

Field trials at CSU's Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center (ARDEC) in Fort Collins and Chatfield Farms in Littleton will evaluate a range of soil health management practices, including organic and conventional production systems and agrivoltaics, using spinach, chili peppers, and baby carrots as model crops. The initiative also aims to include taste testing with school children and other consumers to better understand how growing practices may influence flavor, nutritional quality, and food preferences. We will share updates throughout the trials.

Growing the science that champions soil, food, and human health.

05/27/2026

🌱 Our team had the privilege of presenting at the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Soil Health Learning Lab last week at Cedar Springs Farm in Hotchkiss, CO. The day was packed with hands-on learning and meaningful conversations on soil health, water management, and drought-resilient agricultural systems.

✨ A huge thank you to the Takiff family for generously hosting us on their ranch and sharing their decade-long land management journey. Jake Takiff's thoughtful use of keyline irrigation spoke for itself... Their was water gushing from every corner of the landscape during a drought year! Our own team members contributed in meaningful ways:

📍 Lexi Firth walked us through the soil health test results from the farm, connecting management practices at Cedar Springs to changes in soil properties over time.
📍 Ellie Ellis introduced attendees to Water Wise, Soil Smart — an interactive online course designed to bridge soil health science with practical management strategies. (Find the link to the course in our bio!)

We were also joined by incredible co-presenters:
🔬 Lanny Ellis (The Ground Up) — brought a mobile lab to demonstrate soil organisms through direct observation microscopy.
🌾 Philip Frank (Lifetime Ag) — shared core soil health principles and how operational context shapes successful implementation.

We are grateful for the collaboration, the knowledge shared, and the practitioners putting soil health into action every day.

03/04/2026

🐏🌿🌏 New research Colorado State University's College of Agricultural Sciences is putting AI to work for soil health. The USDA-funded 🌱TerraScope Project🌱 is combining field data and satellite remote sensing to deliver practical, farmer-informed tools that improve soil resilience and decision-making across Colorado. By collaborating with producers from day one, researchers are ensuring the technology is reliable, usable, and built for real-world conditions.

Read a recently published CSU SOURCE article highlighting this work: https://natsci.source.colostate.edu/csu-project-uses-ai-to-turn-soil-data-into-actionable-insights-for-farmers/.

In this article, IN-RICHES co-director, Dr. Megan Machmuller, describes how this tool project is designed with producers data needs at the forefront.

Colorado State University researchers are using AI to help farmers improve soil health and resilience in the USDA funded TerraScope project.

02/27/2026

Big news from CSU and IN-RICHES! 🌏🐏🌿

IN-RICHES and CSU College of Agriculture scientists increased Colorado’s soil moisture monitoring capacity by 60% by installing dozens of new sensors statewide — with more on the way thanks to new funding. With interest in soil moisture skyrocketing, this data is supporting farmers, foresters, water managers, weather forecasters, researchers, and communities across the state. Thanks to a collaboration with CSU's Department of Computer Science, we’ve launched a new web-based platform where anyone can explore historical and real-time soil moisture data.

Read our recently published CSU SOURCE article about this initiative: https://source.colostate.edu/soil-moisture-system-will-yield-information-for-farmers-foresters-and-forecasters/

Learn more about the💧𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵💧Soil Moisture Monitoring platform and try the tool yourself from our website: https://www.inrichsoil.com/quench

Thank you to our incredible team of collaborators:
Western Resilience Center
Colorado Mountain College
Aspen Global Change Institute
Colorado Department of Agriculture
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District
Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes

And our financial supporters: Colorado River District
Conscience Bay Research
plus a CO Congressionally Directed Spending Request.

02/04/2026

IN-RICHES and friends had a great time attending the Conference on January 23–24 in Montrose, CO. Leadership team member, Dr. Lexi Firth, shared findings from the Colorado Soil Health Program, and we had the chance to reconnect with several of our Discovery Farms producer partners along with many collaborators and friends. Always one of our favorite conferences. Thoughtful speakers, great conversations, and a strong sense of community around the work. Looking forward to carrying these ideas back into the field this year. .annaclare

01/17/2026

Soil moisture is one of Colorado’s most important water reservoirs, yet today’s monitoring networks fall short in accurately quantifying this resource. We are excited to introduce 💧Quench💧— an open platform that brings soil moisture data together in one place.

The Quench Open Knowledge Platform brings data collected from in-situ soil moisture sensing stations across a range of monitoring networks into one easy-to-use platform. Users can view current conditions, compare trends across regions, and access satellite-derived soil moisture data. Quench is developed by and hosted in partnership with collaborators from CSU Department of Computer Science , working closely with IN-RICHES.

Visit our website to learn more and to access the Quench tool! https://www.inrichsoil.com/soil-moisture.

Thank you to our incredible team of collaborators:
Colorado Climate Center
Western Resilience Center
Colorado Mountain College
Aspen Global Change Institute
Colorado Department of Agriculture
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District
Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes

And our financial supporters:
Colorado River District
Conscience Bay Research
plus a CO Congressionally Directed Spending Request.