Jimmy Emmons to join Oklahoma Conservation Commission team as Soil Health Mentoring Coordinator

Jimmy Emmons of Leedey, Okla., not only a state, but national and international leader in the Soil Health movement, is joining the Oklahoma Conservation Commission as its Soil Health Mentoring Coordinator.

Oklahoma has received a grant from General Mills, who is looking to expand conservation efforts and wanted to participate with the Oklahoma Soil Health Team and North Central Oklahoma Conservation Districts. Emmons will lead those efforts in Oklahoma.

“This project is funded by General Mills and OCC and is focused in four counties in North Central Oklahoma,” Emmons said. “We will be working with and through the Conservation Districts in those counties to find willing producers to become local mentors for producers that want to improve their land and operations through a soil health systems approach.”

Emmons said the project will be providing education and resources to help producers understand how to improve water infiltration, water holding capacity, carbon storage, and better grazing systems to add profitability to their operations.

“We will provide mentors and educational courses to show how to get to the next level of understanding the system of soil function,” Emmons said.

The western Oklahoman producer brings with him a vast amount of knowledge in soil health conservation. The Leopold Conservation Award Winner has served as a Regional Director for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) for the states of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas; president of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts; President to the National Young Farmers Education Association for three years then Program Manager and finally Fund Raising lead for the Association.

“These past roles that I have been blessed with will provide me with the knowledge of leadership, compassion, and the desire that we can do better in soil stewardship,” Emmons said. “The Conservation Districts will play a key role in this project as will the Oklahoma conservation Partnership of OCC, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, General Mills, Noble Research Institute and many others.”

Emmons said his goal is to help people understand that the soil is a living functional place that will help us take care of the soil instead of abusing it.

“With a better knowledge of the soil, we can have more water to work with that’s cleaner downstream for our wildlife and human consumption, also lessening the need for chemicals and synthetic fertilizers adding to the bottom line,” Emmons said.

Trey Lam, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, said he is very excited to have Emmons join the OCC team.

“We have made great strides in soil health conservation in recent years and that is because of not only a partnership with agencies, but also pioneering producers such as Jimmy Emmons,” Lam said. “We are thrilled that Jimmy has agreed to join the OCC team and look forward to advancing the soil health efforts in this great state.”