Free national soil map to be opened to farmers in 2026
© Tim Scrivener Farmers and land managers in England and Wales will gain free access to the UK’s most comprehensive soil data under a landmark agreement between Cranfield University and Defra.
The partnership will see the launch of a new open-access digital portal in 2026, giving users free access to soil and environmental datasets, including the National Soil Map of England and Wales.
The system will be developed from Cranfield University’s Land Information System (LandIS).
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The move removes previous licensing restrictions and paywalls and has been welcomed by the Sustainable Soils Alliance (SSA), following decades of calls from across the soils community for open access to the data.
The SSA has campaigned for its release for several years, supported by ClientEarth, whose Freedom of Information requests in 2024 demonstrated the strong public interest and economic case for making the dataset publicly available.
“This is a huge moment for soil research, farmers and practitioners in the UK working for soil health,” said Ellen Fay, co-founder and co-executive director of the SSA.
“By making this taxpayer-funded resource universally accessible, the government has demonstrated a clear commitment to fairness, value for money, and the facilitation of innovation.”
Ron Corstanje, professor of environmental data science and head of the Cranfield Environment Centre, said opening access to the data would support better management of soils and the environment.
“The aim is to support the development of soil and environmental science and its associated evidence base,” he said.
“We believe opening access to this data is a way to better manage and safeguard our soils and our environment.”
Practical benefits
The portal is expected to be used by farmers, advisers and agronomists to assess soil type, structure and limitations, helping inform decisions on crop choice, nutrient management, drainage and land suitability for environmental schemes.
LandIS is widely recognised as the definitive source of national soils data in the UK, containing mapped and measured information for England and Wales dating back to the 1970s.
Until now, much of the data has been available only through specialist access.
Defra believes making the information freely available will help improve soil resilience, productivity and environmental outcomes across the farming sector.