Improving Soil Performance

Sustainable soil management is becoming an increasingly important topic for farmers and landowners to consider. After such a wet winter and spring, a lot of land has been poached and compacted by cattle and machinery leaving their mark on soils underground as well as om the surface that were trafficked too early in the season. This is evidenced now by the compacted layers, reduced earthworm activity and discolouration depicting lack of air in the soil. Where test holes are dug at the moment all these telltale signs are evident.

Soil health is part of the new SFI scheme up and running for nearly 12 months now.  Options to improve soil health vary from £6-£382/ha and vary from Herbal leys, No Till farming, soil assessment and management plan to a variety of cover crops sown art different times of the year.  These management practices will Increase organic matter in the soil also offering

• Reduced soil erosion
• Reduced carbon emissions
• Increased nutrient retention
• Improved nutrient release
• Improved aggregation
• Increased water retention
• Improved water filtration
• Increased workability reducing wear on farm machinery

Increasing the organic matter in your soil by 1% in 40 tonnes of soil (area 10m x 10m) is sufficient to cover the carbon emission for a trip to New York.

It is important to assess the soil that you are managing regularly and keep a record so that you can monitor the changes, good or bad. These simple steps will help you grade your soils and identify areas that need attention:

1. Determine the soil texture, using the soil texture triangle
2. Check that the drainage system is functioning correctly
3. Dig a hole and check for compaction and earthworms
4. Soil test for pH, P, K and organic matter
5. Look at crop rotation

If you would like to discuss soil management further or look at the opportunities for entering them into an SFI scheme that will benefit your soils as well as your pocket, please contact Gerard at gerardfinnan@fcgaric.com 

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