Soil health is a really complex area of agricultural science. But it’s also one that farmers and consumers have in common — whether they’re working with a farm or a lawn, both of them need to care for their soil if they want good results. And consumers often want to know how farmers take care of the environment.

That’s why Macomb County Farm Bureau wanted to include several displays about soil health in their consumer-focused exhibit trailer. Most of them explain how farmers measure soil health, while the large panels at the back give some practical tips about how everyone — both farmers and consumers — can protect the soil around them.

One section includes interactive soil sampling tubes to explain how and why testing the nutrient content of your soil helps you make good management decisions. Visitors can pull the tubes out to reveal different kinds of (artificial) soil. Next to that is a station discussing the effects of soil pH, with two pH testers people can use to check the pH of soil in the buckets provided. Lastly, a touchscreen monitor offers facts about the macronutrients and micronutrients that are vital to soil health.