How can better soil health support more profitable, productive and resilient farming, and what support do farmers need to get there?
A new BOFIN report, Putting soil at the heart of farm performance, explores these questions, drawing on discussions between farmers, researchers and other experts at a BOFIN Inspiration Day workshop hosted by a farm involved in the TRUTH project.
The report considers how better-functioning soils could benefit the farm business, from improving water management and nutrient availability to widening working windows and supporting more consistent crop performance. It also explores how those improvements could be measured, demonstrated and recognised through policy and investment.
Turning measurement into action
A clear message from the workshop was that measuring soil health is only the starting point. Farmers need practical ways to interpret the findings, identify opportunities for improvement and understand what changes could mean for their business.
The report identifies priorities including:
- Establishing a meaningful baseline and comparing performance between soils with similar characteristics.
- Building evidence through farmer-led trials, linking soil management with productivity, input use, resilience and whole-rotation profitability.
- Supporting farmers through change, with trusted advice, farmer-to-farmer learning, equipment sharing and consistent financial support.
- Recognising and rewarding improvement, exploring how public support and private investment could help farmers invest in their soils.
It also introduces ideas raised during the workshop, including a ‘soil prism’ to build a fuller picture of soil condition and function, and a ‘soil personal trainer’ to provide ongoing, farm-specific support. These are concepts for further exploration, with farmer involvement essential to understanding whether they could work in practice.
Throughout, the emphasis is on giving farmers the evidence, tools and confidence to make decisions suited to their own soils and farming systems.
Tom Allen-Stevens, managing director of BOFIN, said: “Soil is an asset worth investing in. The next challenge is proving what that investment is worth.”
Download the report
Read Putting soil at the heart of farm performance to explore the workshop findings, ideas and priorities for future soil policy.
About TRUTH
Thriving Roots Underpinning Total soil Health (TRUTH) is a three-year, £1 million research programme led by BOFIN alongside four partners. Working with farmers, it is developing new ways to measure and understand soil and root health, including on-farm assessment tools and novel sensor technology.
TRUTH is funded by the Farming Futures R&D fund, part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. Project number: 10085980.