Growing Together: Co-Creating Soil Safety Knowledge with Farmers Across Indiana

Commodities

Practices

Growers in Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis face persistent barriers to safe food production: unreliable availability of soil testing, limited contamination guidance, and inconsistent hands-on educational support. Purdue Extension's statewide needs assessment documents that most agriculturalists in these Indiana cities farm on parcels under one acre, often while working full-time off the farm, and that 83.3% want to learn more about soil contamination management yet few have the technical assistance or place-based training needed to act on that interest. These operations represent a growing segment of producers compared to Indiana's general farming population, making tailored technical assistance a priority for expanding regional agricultural participation.

Growing Together: Co-Creating Soil Safety Knowledge with Farmers Across Indiana responds directly to these needs through three integrated components delivered across all three cities over three years. The core component is the 12-week training program, delivered twice per city in a blended format combining asynchronous online modules with six required in-person farm field sessions per cohort.

Six cohorts will train 90 growers in soil contamination awareness and risk interpretation, soil health fundamentals, composting, raised beds, safe gardening, crop planning, irrigation, pest and disease management, and farm business skills. A special "What's in Your Neighborhood?" module will guide participants through reviewing their own sites' land use history, connecting general contamination awareness to site-specific action.

A parallel citywide soil testing initiative extends resource availability beyond certificate participants. Six SoilSHOP-style local screening events deploy portable X-ray fluorescence technology for real-time heavy metals results, and a two-year mail-in and drop-off testing program is open to all residents of the three cities. A semi-automated digital reporting system will be developed to deliver personalized Soil Health Report Cards to all participants promptly.

A farmer's mentorship and leadership network anchors both components. Named farmer co-teachers in each city co-facilitate field sessions, lead demonstrations, and provide peer mentorship, intentionally elevating experienced farmers as recognized local leaders. A nine-member Advisory Council of farmers, Extension personnel, and conservation agency partners guides curriculum, evaluation, and outreach priorities throughout the project.

A mixed-methods research strand including six farmer focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and a statewide survey generates new knowledge about soil safety risk perception and testing behavior among Indiana growers. The project concludes with the Growing Together Soil Health Symposium and statewide toolkit distribution, ensuring findings reach growers, educators, and policymakers across the North Central Region.

Growing Together will strengthen soil health literacy, safe food production, and farmer capacity for approximately 90 farmers across Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Indianapolis.

Learning outcomes include increased knowledge of contamination risks and Best Management Practices (BMPs), greater confidence interpreting soil test results, and improved ability to identify cost-effective, site-specific strategies.

Action outcomes include adoption of safer growing practices, BMP implementation on plots, and expanded peer-led education through farmer-to-farmer networks.

System-level outcomes include improved city-level soil data, a replicable soil health toolkit, and a statewide symposium reaching Extension professionals, nonprofits, and local partners.