Maintaining soil health in an arable rotation

Farming Connects Arable discussion group members are working with Mabis Amaeth on a vital new project: "Maintaining Soil Health in an Arable Rotation." This project is specifically designed for cereal, oilseed rape, and potato producers looking to boost their on-farm productivity, sustainability, and profitability by truly understanding and improving their soil.
In arable systems, where regular cultivation is a necessity and organic matter inputs can be a challenge, proactive soil management is more critical than ever. This project goes beyond basic testing, providing a comprehensive framework to measure, monitor, and ultimately enhance the health of your most valuable asset.

What Will the Project Involve?

This hands-on project is built around detailed soil analysis and collaborative learning:

  • Comprehensive Soil Testing: Focusing on in-depth soil health assessments. A single, comprehensive soil sample from each selected field will be submitted for analysis, providing a holistic view of its chemical, physical, and biological characteristics. This data, combined with the farm's cropping history and visual assessments, will form the basis of a tailored soil management plan.
  • Targeted Field Selection: Participants will select up to 10 fields each for sampling. These fields will represent a range of management practices and historical contexts, allowing for valuable comparisons. Categories include different cultivation methods (ploughed vs. min-till), current and past crops (potatoes, cereals, grass leys), yield performance, and manure application history.

The project aims to provide Welsh arable farms the knowledge to make informed decisions that improve their soil health. As part of the project's evaluation, participating farmers will complete a questionnaire detailing the specific actions they plan to take on their farm as a direct result of the insights gained.

The project will also contribute to the Sustainable Land Management outcomes including:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • Maximise carbon storage
  • Mitigate flood and drought risk
  • Resilient ecosystems
  • Resource efficient