Georgia has a long and troubling history of pollution. And like many other parts of the U.S., the impacts of that contamination are felt most acutely in Black and poorer communities.

"Using the simplest soil monitor and a computer program, my peanut yields jumped 20 percent," Tabb reports. "I know, just from that, that if we learn how to water corn, cotton, wheat, we can save ...

In the last week, many areas around north Georgia picked up an estimated 1 to 4 inches of rain. This led to a quick improvement in topsoil moisture in those locations.

McAvoy Farms, also known as Mar-Leta Farms, was fined $85,000 last month by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and banned from accepting any more soil amendment.

Poor economic management and climate change have drastically changed the makeup of Georgia’s precious soil. But farmers are fighting to preserve it – with a little help from Germany.