‘WORLD’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE’ ONLINE SOIL HEALTH GUIDE LAUNCHED An online soil guide aiming to become the world’s most comprehensive resource to help farmers improve soil health and increase the efficiency and profitability of their businesses has been launched.
The Good Soil Guide – a collaboration between Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire supply chain consultancy Future Food Solutions and expert soil scientist Neil Fuller – is a free-to-access, online encyclopaedia, specifically designed for use in the field. The huge database contains extensive information, empirical data and advice on how to improve soil health, increase soil organic matter (SOM), diagnose and treat problems with soil and crops, and help farmers to reduce carbon emissions. It is a live guide, enabling farmers, agronomists, and other industry professionals from around the world to share their knowledge by adding to the already extensive resource. The idea for the Good Soil Guide was born when Yorkshire Water Catchment Strategy Manager, Andrew Walker, met with Neil Fuller at an event held by Future Food Solutions. In 2014, Mr Walker helped initiate a project bringing together landowners and stakeholders in the English uplands to facilitate better environmental outcomes for blanket bog land and was
keen to try a similar approach in the lowlands. He said: “The project in the uplands proved that by engaging with landowners and other stakeholders and taking a collaborative approach, you can create outcomes that deliver for all. “We wanted to take this model and apply it to the lowlands to solve issues around sediment, nutrients and pesticides leaching into the watercourses and having a detrimental effect on water quality.
“We knew that working with farmers to address this would bring them huge benefits in terms of keeping soil and expensive fertilisers and pesticides where they should be – in the field. “For us, it was a case of improving water quality, so we got our heads together and created the Good Soil Guide to help achieve these aims.” Mr Walker added the guide was the sum of Mr Fuller’s 40 years of experience in practical soil science compiled into a single resource, which was funded by Yorkshire Water. “Essentially, it focuses on improving soil health and increasing soil organic matter,” Mr Walker said. “Doing this gives the soil a more robust structure, meaning far less is lost to sediment, nutrients and pesticides are held on the field, and as the soil can absorb more water, incidents of flooding are hugely reduced.”
Matt Parkin using the Good Soil Guide to assess the health of his soil on this farm at Bilton-in-Ainsty, North Yorkshire.
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Mr Fuller said the resource had been created to help farmers get the best out of their most valuable asset – soil.
He added that it was a holistic guide, looking at all aspects of soil health, and had been specifically designed for use in the field. He said: “The Good Soil Guide is full of soil data derived from cover crop trials, different tillage methods, practical experience and much more. “By using it, farmers can compare soil samples from their fields with pictures in the guide and diagnose issues such as a lack of nutrients or depleted soil organic matter. They can then use the contents of the guide to put that right. “It is not written in an academic or scientific style. The information is presented simply and clearly and in a mobile-friendly format, so farmers and agronomists can access it whenever and wherever they need it.” Mr Fuller added that the guide also included advice on carbon management, including sequestering carbon to reduce atmospheric C02, increase soil organic matter and help farmers move towards net zero. “The key to carbon net zero is good soil health,” he said. “By managing soil in a way that increases its health, everyone wins. The farmer saves money, increases yields and reduces emissions; there are huge environmental benefits including removing CO2 from the atmosphere, and the consumer benefits from better quality food. “The Good Soil Guide is a powerful tool in enabling British agricultural to make these changes.” Food consultancy Future Food Solutions co-ordinated the creation of the Good Soil Guide. The guide is free to use and has no
ISSUE 12 | JANUARY 2021
