Net zero’ now a realistic target

NEWS ‘NET ZERO’ POSSIBLE AT LAST

Agronomy firm Hutchinsons has released a groundbreaking service that will allow farmers and landowners to measure accurately the amount of organic and active carbon in their soil for the first time.

The breakthrough will finally give farmers who have been under continual pressure to measure their ‘carbon footprint’ the tools to do so properly – and will make ‘net zero’ a realistic target by providing baseline figures.

Terramap Carbon, described as “the UK’s first Carbon Mapping Service”, bases its data on an impressive 800 measurements per hectare, reading natural variations in soil radiation and calibrating those against in-field soil samples to produce accurate readings.

Talking exclusively to South East Farmer, Hutchinsons services manager Matt Ward commented: “Everyone is talking about carbon management but very few people can actually do anything about it without the necessary baseline data. If you don’t know where you are starting from, it’s impossible to know what progress you are making or how far you have come.”

The breakthrough has commercial implications for landowners, too. “One of our clients is going into a scheme that will pay him to put arable land across to a two year legume/fallow mixture. He’s now excited about the fact that he can check the baseline level and see what difference the scheme makes.

“He’s being paid to be on the current scheme, but that’s only part of the story. If he can prove how much carbon he is able to sequester over the next two years because he has a baseline figure to compare it with, he will be in a stronger position when it comes to future negotiations, perhaps around selling carbon credits.”

The mapping technology was developed by a company called SoilOptix, which approached Hutchinsons, a national agronomy business with Kent-based teams in Canterbury and Marden, and asked if they would support the venture.

After trialing the technology at a number of its Helix Farm test sites, Hutchinsons agreed that it represented a significant breakthrough and now has an exclusive relationship to market the system within the UK. The company’s enthusiastic approach to rolling out Terramap Carbon means that this is the first country in the world where it is available.

Matt explained that the system used gamma-ray

> Left to right: Sam Hugill, Jane and Nick Wilson detection technology to measure naturally emitted isotopes, such as Caesium and Potassium, that are very stable due to their long half-lives. The data is collected by driving a lightweight all terrain vehicle fitted with the sensor over the field and then taking soil samples to allow each scan to be used to create the individual map layers.

The 800 measurements/ha figure represents a massive improvement over the only previous method of estimating carbon in soil, which was to use satellite imagery based on a 1km grid. “That gives a rough estimate on a macro scale but was no practical use to a farmer,” Matt commented. “We know from experience that soil make up varies within fields, let alone across a distance of a kilometre.”

Hutchinsons’ standard Terramap Carbon service maps a total of 17 micronutrients, soil type & pH layers that now also includes total organic carbon in terms of percentage carbon and tonnes/ha. The premium service maps 27 layers which includes a wider range of micronutrients and both total organic and active carbon percentage and tonnes/ha.

“We need to move away from seeing carbon footprinting as a burden or a tick-box exercise and see it as a way of measuring the efficiency and profitability of a farm as well as a measure of waste,” said Matt.

“A reduced carbon footprint can only be achieved through more efficient fertilisers, different technologies, better soil carbon management or considering the energy used in storage, so it’s a win–win on all levels.”

One of the Helix Farms where Terramap Carbon was trialled was Hundayfield Farm just outside York. Host farmer Nick Wilson said the scanning had showed up large differences in the carbon balance between the arable fields and permanent pasture, with the average across the arable fields about 30t/ ha of organic carbon, roughly half the rate for the pasture.

“Now that we have a baseline measurement, we can look not just at how we can manage our processes to build carbon on the arable fields up to the levels of that of the pasture, but also to prevent any unnecessary losses of carbon. For example we would be interested to look at the impact of root crops on carbon. We will also use cover cropping to prevent having any bare land over winter and reducing loss this way,” said Nick’s agronomist Sam Hugill.

Matt Ward added: “It’s difficult to overstate how much of a breakthrough this is. It’s incredibly exciting to at last be able to measure something we are trying to affect. Without a baseline it’s impossible even to know if you are going in the right direction. Terramap Carbon puts an end to that dilemma.”

NEWS WORTH WAITING FOR

This season’s strawberries are predicted to be larger and juicier than ever, thanks to a cooler winter and spring that saw fl owering and ripening happen more gradually than usual.

Analysts suggest that while this year’s crop has reached the supermarket shelves slightly later than usual, they will be enjoyed by increasing numbers of shoppers.

Brits spent more than £772 million on strawberries over the past 12 months, an increase of more than 10% on the previous year, buying 147,300 tonnes of the popular fruit. With the UK now self-suffi cient in strawberries from May through to October, fi gures show that around 70% of all strawberries bought in the UK are now produced by British growers.

Berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) have the biggest market share of all fruit grown in the UK, making up 26% and pushing the value of the berry industry to an all-time high of £1.69 billion.

Nick Marston, Chairman of industry body British Summer Fruits, said: "This year strawberries have developed a little more slowly than usual. The recent cooler weather is resulting in tasty but also larger and juicier British strawberries than previous years.

“We are excited that our continuously advancing growing techniques, such as large-scale glasshouse production for season extension, means we can off er shoppers these locally grown fresh berries for more of the year."

SPRINGING INTO LIFE

Visitors and exhibitors had a spring in their step as many of them experienced their fi rst ‘live’ countryside-themed show after 14 months of online-only events.

Spring Live!, the South of England Agricultural Society’s fi rst show of the year, attracted a sell-out crowd, although visitor numbers were limited by Covid-19 regulations. To add to the enjoyment of being back out in the fresh air, the sun shone over Ardingly for the late April event.

The two-day show celebrated the great British outdoors and off ered a host of activities for the whole family, including a chance to see a variety of farm animals and sample a host of traditional countryside activities as well as fi nding out about the newly updated Countryside Code.

Corrie Ince, the society’s show director, said it had been “wonderful to be able to host Spring Live! and give people the opportunity to get out and celebrate the British countryside and the arrival of spring”.

She added: “People have learnt in the past year to appreciate the great outdoors when out on their daily walks, so to be able to off er the opportunity for people to have a great day out as well as support and learn more about the countryside and its industries has been fantastic. Our exhibitors were also delighted to be trading and interacting with people again, which many haven’t done for 14 months.”

The society is now planning its annual highlight, the South of England Show, which will be held from 11 to 13 June, with tickets limited to ensure Covid-19 precautions can be met. Tickets must be bought online in advance from www.seas.org.uk