Soil testing in England is compulsory under Farming Rules for Water. Farming Rules for Water is a set of regulations introduced in April 2018, which mandates that soil testing must be conducted every 5 years on all fields that have had fertiliser or manure applied in the last 3 years, or land you’ve ploughed, sowed or harvested at least once in the last year.
If you were to have an Environmental Agency inspection, you would be required to provide in date soil test results for all fields that fit this description.
After soil testing your ground, these results should be assessed and used to:
- Keep soil on the land (prevent run-off/ erosion)
- Match nutrients to crop and soil need
- Prevent leaching and nutrient loss to watercourses
The above illustration shows some of the different inspections that CXCS have held records for and in some cases attended since September 2021. The blue hotspots show the EA inspections where we have been asked for records of soil testing carried out on farm, to provide as supporting evidence alongside the client’s nutrient management data.
Soil Protection
You were previously required to fill in the soil protection review (SPR) booklet from 2010-2013 & the soil protection continuation sheet in 2014. This used to form a part of GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions).
When the GAECs were reviewed and updated all paper documentation of soil protection findings were not required. Regulation changed to the following:
GAEC 4 – Minimum soil cover – You must have minimum soil cover. You must take all reasonable steps to protect the soil by having minimum soil cover unless there is an agronomic justification for not doing so, or where establishing cover would conflict with requirements under GAEC 5.
GAEC 5 – Minimum land management reflecting site specific conditions to limit erosion. You must have minimum land management which reflects site specific conditions in order to limit erosion.
In recent EA inspections CXCS have noted that inspectors are asking for documentation relating to soils on the farm, some of the things they are looking for include:
- Field characteristics & features
- Field erosion risks
- Land topography
- Current management techniques
- Proposed management techniques for more vulnerable areas
- Soil types
This documentation should be updated yearly as characteristics such as the field cropping will change a field’s vulnerability.
