Bottoms up! French farmer uses underwear to test soil health

This 'soiled' pair of underwear is a sign of good soil health Location: Saint-Viaud, France When Jerome Leduc buried the pair They were pristine and white (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PIG AND CEREALS FARMER, JEROME LEDUC, SAYING:" At the end of 2019, I joined a group called Farming for the Preservation of Soil and at the start of April -- not quite April Fool's Day but almost -- we received a nice shiny white pair of briefs, and the idea was to bury them, about 20 centimeters down, to try and evaluate, to measure, the quality of life in the soil." After two months underground bugs, earthworms, and fungus had shredded them to bits Proving that there was life in the soil (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH PIG AND CEREALS FARMER, JEROME LEDUC, SAYING: "Why underwear?

Because on a pair of pants there's an elastic waist, and a label, which will remain at the end because they won't be eaten by organisms in the soil."