Streamline your shift to sustainable farming with soil analysis

The UK government has launched the new Sustainable Farming Incentive Scheme (SFI) as part of its commitment to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

As land is a huge carbon sink, the agricultural industry is in a unique position to positively affect emissions by encouraging carbon sequestration.

Rory Geldard, Commercial Manager for NRM, acknowledges that, whilst farmers may feel under pressure to move to more sustainable practices, they are only going to be widely adopted if they fit the farmer’s business model.

“Many farmers may be wondering how they can shift to greener farming practices whilst staying productive and profitable,” says Rory. 

“These are not mutually exclusive. Benchmarking and raising soil carbon levels is not only good for the environment—it also helps monitor soil health for year-on-year improvements.

“Soil organic carbon is vital to the soil’s ecosystem. It creates better physical soil stability and increases oxygen levels.

“At the same time, it improves water drainage and retention, reducing the risk of soil erosion and nutrient leaching. Sustainable farming practices help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere whilst actually improving productivity.”

Monitoring and benchmarking soil health is made easy with soil carbon analysis. “NRM’s CarbonCheck service is our most popular package,” Rory says.

“It’s a comprehensive soil carbon testing service that helps you measure, monitor, and benchmark soil health and carbon levels. This means you can accurately assess progress.

“We’ve analysed over 12,000 samples with CarbonCheck in the UK so far, and we have seen substantial variation in the range of values as they are all affected by soil management, land use, field location, and soil types.

“It’s certainly worth getting your soil checked to see where you’re at.”

CarbonCheck was developed last year by NRM and is now the industry standard for soil carbon analysis.

It measures organic matter, inorganic carbon, C:N ratio, bulk density, organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total carbon as part of a comprehensive suite.

These results combine to present organic carbon stock in tonnes per hectare. CarbonCheck Plus also includes active carbon for those aiming to improve soil health, as it is a useful short term indicator of the long term build-up of soil organic matter.

For farmers and landowners wishing to get involved in carbon markets, benchmarking soil carbon levels is a sensible starting point. 

“There are new opportunities to make money from selling carbon,” says Rory. “Moving to sustainable practices will be essential for farmers who want to take advantage of these rewarding opportunities.”

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The importance of SOM analysis

Increasing carbon and soil organic matter (SOM) levels improve soil health and quality, ultimately resulting in increased crop yields.

Regular SOM analysis is an effective way to monitor soil health and enables growers to measure progress, helping build organic matter levels and improve soil health over time.  

It is also critical for the functioning of important natural ecosystems, for improving and enhancing biodiversity, and for habitat protection.

Analysing SOM with CarbonCheck helps farmers manage their soils to their optimal potential and provides all the relevant data to enable participation in environmental schemes.

Land which is completely undisturbed results in the highest carbon content. Alli Grundy, Agronomy Manager for NRM, explains further.

“This year’s CarbonCheck results show that cultivated land contains lower carbon stocks and less organic matter.

“This is because of the movement of soil in crop production—air being introduced into the soil ecosystem results in increased biological activity and organic matter breaking down more quickly.

“It is therefore unsurprising that the data shows the arable sector has the lowest levels of carbon and organic matter, whilst undisturbed natural habitats and grassland has the highest.

“Land used for livestock also benefits from readily available organic manure, which naturally adds to carbon stocks year-on-year.”

Rory suggests introducing cover crops into the rotation to help increase SOM levels.

“Giving the land time to replenish organic matter, carbon, and nitrogen levels will soon improve productivity. You’ll be able to see this happening over time by sending in samples for regular analysis.”

Understanding soil organic matter levels also helps with nutrient management planning.

SOM contains a large proportion of the organic fraction of nutrients, which are steadily processed by the soil biology and converted into a readily available form for crop uptake.

Generally, the higher the content of organic matter, the more fertile a soil is.

Data from a major fertiliser manufacturer suggests that, typically, a 3% organic matter content soil mineralises around 25kg N/ha compared to an organic matter content soil of 8%, which mineralises around 65kg N/ha.

“The aim is to take a scientific approach to soil management,’ Alli continues. ‘Understanding SOM and carbon levels is important because they are such a good measure of soil health.

“So, growers can meet the needs of the SFI and improve productivity at the same time.”

© Cawood Scientific

Qualifying for the SFI

Defra expects 70% of farms and farmland to have signed up to its SFI scheme by 2028.

The SFI is a new incentive introduced by the UK government to reward farmers for producing public goods like sustainable food production, improved water quality, biodiversity, animal health and welfare, and climate change mitigation.

There are currently two standards available with different levels and payments.

To be eligible, farmers must provide evidence of SOM analysis data from the last 5 years, the land must be wholly in England, and they must have management control of the land for the duration of their 3 year SFI standards agreement.

A soil management plan that includes SOM data must also be submitted.

Alli points out that some standards require regular applications of organic matter to help improve soil health. ‘If you’re going to add organic matter by applying livestock manure, it’s important to remember the nutrient benefit of these materials,’ she explains.

“Analysis of livestock manures and organic materials is critical if they are to be used efficiently and the nutrients fully utilised by the crop.

“We can test manures and slurries to help you take them into account when you’re nutrient planning.”

NRM’s SOM analysis services

Rory clarifies that, whilst many farmers carry out soil testing every four years, a lot of standard soil testing does not include the SOM analysis required for SFI eligibility.

“Just because farmers have had soil testing done on their farms in the last four years, doesn’t mean they will qualify for the scheme.

“In fact, only 10% of the soil analysis we have undertaken in the past year has included SOM. We have seen a huge increase in these samples coming in as a result of the Incentive recently, showing that plenty of farmers are ready to take their first or further steps towards sustainable farming practices.”

Sarah Pitcher, Service Support Manager at NRM, asserts that NRM’s expert analysis services provide the accurate and reliable data that is necessary to ensure SFI eligibility.

“NRM has invested in new laboratory equipment to help farmers measure SOM and qualify for the SFI.

Three industry recognised analysis options are available: Loss on Ignition (LOI) and DUMAS, which provide simple assessments of SOM with some interpretation depending on field type, and CarbonCheck, which also includes a full soil carbon audit.”

Sarah concludes, “Any of NRM’s SOM tests will qualify farmers for the SFI, but if they wish to take advantage of voluntary carbon markets, they need up-to-date carbon data.

“We recommend CarbonCheck for most farmers as it gives the broadest analysis package to capitalise on carbon opportunities and submit for the SFI.”