England
In England the Farming Rules for Water require all farmers to have in date soil tests (dated within the last 5 years) for all fields that have been cultivated (chemically or physically) and/or received any fertiliser and/or manure in the past three years. This includes both grassland and arable land. These soil test results must then be used to form part of the farm’s nutrient management planning (soil tests must be dated in the last 5 years).
If you want to look further into the health of your soils, you could also test for soil organic matter, which can be funded under option CSAM1 as part of SFI 24.
Wales
Although soil testing is not part of base line Welsh regulation, to complete a comprehensive Nutrient Plan is part of the CoAP Regulations 2021. To produce an accurate NMP has been part of the legislation since 1st January 2023. The first stage of completing an accurate NMP is to assess what nutrients are already in your soils. This allows you to plan your ‘balance’ nutrient applications and utilise any organics manures produced on farm.
Soil analysis
The type of soil analysis required should be a test to include Phosphate (P),Potassium (K), Magnesium (Mg) and potential Hydrogen (pH) levels. Your farm should establish a soil testing routine, to ensure all fields are tested on at least a 5 yearly basis to provide an insight into your farm’s soil health and provide up to date data on the nutrient requirements for all crops grown.
Successfully managing soils will not only meet regulation but also benefit farm profits. Better soil health will improve crop resilience, increase water and nutrient infiltration rates, lower compaction in the soil and overall improve crop yields. Correct management of soils can mean drastic savings on fertiliser costs.
Below is a brief snapshot of what to look for when assessing your soil test results:
| pH | The pH of the soil affects the availability of nutrients to the crop. Target pH varies between soil types and cropping, but for a mineral grassland soil, the target would be a pH of 6.0-6.2. Being out of optimum range will mean nutrient availability is not maximised. |
| P | Phosphate is vital for plant growth. Too little available P will mean stunted growth and too high levels of P could result in nutrients leaching from the soil. For most crops target index is 2. |
| K | Potassium like Phosphate is key in plant growth, it is a key part in the movement of water and nutrient within plant tissues. Where K levels are too low, it can result in poor root development and poor overall growth. Whereas too much K will affect the uptake of other nutrients such as Magnesium and Sulphur along with other vital micronutrients, overall affecting the levels of other needed elements. Target Index is 2-. |
| Mg | Magnesium is important for the conversion of carbon dioxide into glucose, plant food. Too little Mg will cause stunted growth and too much can cause compaction in the soil particles. Target Index is 2. |
When planning nutrient applications, the soil results should be the foundation of the plan. They should be used alongside RB209 to make appropriate and efficient decisions and applications.
For further help and advice, please contact our Agricultural Compliance team on 01981 590514.
