Soil management for resilient farm businesses in Northants

The weather extremes of the past few years have been very challenging for farmers, as the agricultural sector is arguably one of the most exposed to direct impacts from severe weather.

For a year now, Climate East Midlands has been supporting farmers and land managers to increase their business resilience to severe weather and the changing climate, with a focus on improving soil management.

One way that this support is being delivered is through soil management workshops for farmers, the most recent of which has been held near Moulton in Northamptonshire, on 30th April 2014. Richard Harris, NFU County Chairman, kindly hosted the workshop on his farm. The workshop was facilitated by Helen Baxter (Farming Advice Service) and supported by Northamptonshire County Council.

Around 20 farmers attended the workshop, firstly hearing a couple of presentations:

• Anna Simpson (NFU Environment Policy Advisor) set the scene regarding the importance of good soil management for farm profitability and ensuring sustainable production into the future. She highlighted soil's vital contribution to food, water and energy security, and its ability to mitigate biodiversity loss and climate change. She gave an overview of effects of poor soil management, and an update on how the Soil Protection Review is changing.
• Dr Robin Field (River Nene Regional Park) gave a presentation on Catchment Sensitive Farming and the local issues faced in the Nene catchment: phosphates getting into the water; sediments (run off / soil erosion); and metaldehyde (slug poison) getting into drinking water. He then ran through a range of potential solutions with an emphasis on tackling the problems at source.

Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day, as the workshop then moved outside to three soil pits dug in different fields on the farm, which soil expert Philip Wright used to demonstrate how to assess soil structure, how to diagnose problems and implement solutions. The three pits were not that far apart, yet they evidenced very different soil structures. The first, dug in an buffer strip, showed very well structured soil, which drained well and had a good texture, with roots and worms creating routes for water and air to circulate deep into the soil. The second showed evidence of compaction due to previously being under a muck heap, and the third showed evidence of compaction due to the land being worked while it was very wet (during winter 2013-14, the wettest since records began). Wet soil is less well able to withstand pressure from heavy machinery.

Philip Wright talked about the three key factors affecting healthy soil structure:

• Drainage - healthy soil can store water, whereas compacted soil will often cause run-off, potentially leading to flooding and soil erosion. Planting a cover crop can help to prevent soil from getting waterlogged, as the plants naturally absorb water from the soil, and their roots also help to structure the soil and prevent soil erosion.
• Organic matter - soil with a higher percentage of organic matter is better able to absorb water and withstand the weight of heavy machinery. It also provides a welcoming environment for worms, which help farmers for free by improving the soil structure.
• Heavy machinery - over the years farm machinery has got bigger and heavier, increasing the risk of compaction. 75-80% of a field can come under the wheels of heavy machinery at some point during planting, growing and harvesting a crop, making compaction a real problem. Reducing axle load, and adopting practices such as "controlled traffic" (where farmers use GPS to stick to exactly the same tram lines each time they traverse a field) can help to reduce the risk of compacting soil.

For more information about the key messages from our soil management workshops, please see our Resources page, where you can also download our Weathering the Storm guide for farmers and land managers.