Soil Seed & Water
Pioneering Regenerative Agriculture and Community Empowerment

Soil Seed & Water, an Arizona-based organization, is spearheading the regenerative agriculture movement by offering high-quality soils, organic compost and seeds to organic farmers and home gardeners in the Southwest U.S.

It produces vermicompost, dairy compost and chicken compost as its main products, with specialized soil amendments. It works with green waste that gets thermophilic, tilled, watered and oxygenated to create a base product, combined with other food waste, all meticulously processed to create a foundation for agricultural rejuvenation.

Integrating chicken compost, which has substantial NPK value and combining with over 40 different ingredients, like biochar and zeolite, Soil Seed & Water enhances soil fertility and water retention. Currently it offers 27 products, with seven more in R&D, creating diverse and effective compost blends.

“Our products are designed to enhance soil biology, nutrient content and texture,” says Michael McMahon, co-founder.

Specialized drought mixes for sandy, silty and clay soils improve water retention and soil biology, enabling sustainable land management. These mixes reduce disease potential and enhance crop and soil resilience. It also prevents erosion and serves as a filtration mat, promoting regenerative agriculture.

The firm also works with farmers to cultivate hemp, a highly versatile crop with multiple uses. Hemp aids in soil bioremediation due to its deep roots and short growth cycle of 90 days. It’s an excellent rotational crop for cotton, benefiting profitability and soil health.

Through its nonprofit arm, Urban Farming Education, it achieves its goals of dedication to education and community empowerment. Soil Seed & Water leverages its expertise and resources to establish STEM gardens in every school across Arizona, fostering practical learning experiences for students of all ages.

In line with this goal, it offers exclusive training to help teachers integrate STEM effectively with lesson plans, lab projects and activities, meeting over 90 percent of Arizona Standards for education and covering science, technology, engineering, art and math, the STEAM subjects. Its grant writers, all PhD scientists, double as curriculum writers, aiming to develop a unique educational model that can be shared nationally.

Constructing creative school gardens with robotics and solar technology, it provides hands-on learning experiences for students in fluid dynamics, electricity, robotics and construction. Students gain mechanical skills and learn about seed propagation, focusing on life sciences alongside other disciplines and also engage in farming and soil education through compost and vermicompost projects.

Internationally, Soil Seed & Water extends its reach to Africa, partnering with local nonprofits in Malawi to revitalize communities through sustainable agriculture. Projects like the Nelson Mandela grant-funded initiative and the Launi park-like complex focus on tree planting, diversified farming, animal raising, composting, gardening and irrigation education, transforming the community.

In southeastern Africa, installing a river pump and cultivating diverse crops by adopting the Native American tradition of planting the ‘three sisters’ of legumes, peas and squash enables year-round farming. This approach, with cover crops and nitrogen-fixing legumes, prevents erosion during monsoon, increases yields and improves soil quality.

Having undertaken 19 impactful projects this year, Soil Seed & Water’s work span across various initiatives like soil testing and field trials with universities, focusing on hemp, vineyards and orchards. Through these endeavors, it develops top-quality soil products and promotes regenerative, climate-smart agriculture practices.

The Harvesting Wisdom podcast, produced by Joe Rosell, chief operating officer at Urban Farming Education and hosted by McMahon, has become a global hit featuring conversations on regenerative agriculture, climate-smart agriculture and food sovereignty. It also highlights community engagement for sustainability, serving as a platform for knowledge exchange and inspiration.

Soil Seed & Water sets the standard for regenerative agriculture, emphasizing high-quality products, sustainable practices and community education paving the way for a greener, more resilient agricultural future.