Welsh Soil Project Project Update December 2024

An additional 24 farms were sampled in February 2024 within a three-week period as part of the Welsh Soil Project, following the same methodology as that of the previous Autumn. The farms that were part of this sampling group included a proportion from Farming Connect’s Our Farms Network (red meat, dairy and mixed farms) and those participating in the Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme.

The results for this group of farms were collated, with the key findings summarised below.

Soil Organic Matter Results

The average soil organic matter for the top 50cm of soil for each of the field categories was as follows:- Field 1 (high intensity) = 6.4%, Field 2 (medium intensity) = 6.4%, Field 3 (low intensity) = 7.5%.

The average soil organic matter for each sampling depth (0-10cm, 10-30cm, 30-50cm) are displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Average Soil Organic Matter content (%) of each sampling depth within each field type for all farms (data by the hedges are not included in the figures).

Soil Organic Carbon Stock Results

The Organic Matter results were converted to Soil Organic Carbon (which is the main constituent of Soil Organic Matter). These figures were then used, along with bulk density data (the weight of dry soil within a known volume), to estimate the organic carbon stock of the sampled soils, expressed in tonnes per hectare. The results are presented in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Average Soil Organic Carbon Stock (t/ha) of each sampling depth within each field type (data from within the field and by the hedges presented independently of one another).

Next steps

• Organise the soil sampling data alongside the information provided by the farmers on the land’s management

• Carry out statistical analysis to identify patterns and trends in the data

• Produce a comprehensive project report summarising the main conclusions