Resources
Browse our library of the best technical guides, research papers and videos on sustainable agriculture below. You can also filter by topic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31
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Earthworms - Architects of fertile soils
resource Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) Earthworms; their biology, ecology, and multiple services they provide, and what we can do to ensure they thrive and benefit soil fertility.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Soil biology, People & skills, Pollinators & ecological services -
The End is Nigh, The End of Nitrogen
resource Footage of a discussion held at Groundswell 2022, organised by Agricology, about the impacts of reduced nitrogen use and ways in which farmers are moving...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Weeds, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Business management, People & skills -
Organic Amendments
resource Organic Growers Alliance (OGA) Video footage of a session that formed part of the Organic Growers Alliance's Organic Matters conference held in October 2021. It focuses on improving soil...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Organic matter, Soil biology, Weeds, Roots & horticulture, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Natural resources & waste, People & skills, Climate -
Herbal Leys Virtual Field Day: Parts 1 & 2
resource This is part 1 and 2 of a collaborative 2-part series of virtual events exploring establishment, management, soil health, grazing and ensiling in relation to herbal leys.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Weeds, Animal health & welfare, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building, People & skills, Pollinators & ecological services, Biodiversity -
Good agricultural practice in irrigation management
resource Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) This FiBL guide will help farmers, growers and agricultural consultants improve irrigation practices and manage water sustainably.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Business management, Natural resources & waste, People & skills, Pollinators & ecological services, Climate -
Improving water quality on the River Wensum
resource Norfolk Rivers Trust A case study describing the process of installing silt traps to capture soil and water run-off on a farm near the Blackwater, Norfolk, and the...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Natural resources & waste, Pollinators & ecological services -
Testing the soil health scorecard (On-farm soil monitoring 2018–2019)
resource Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) - produced as part of the AHDB-BBRO Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership (ahdb.org.uk/greatsoils) A Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership case study expaining the scorecard that has been developed to help farmers measure and manage soil health and...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, People & skills -
Testing the effect of organic material additions on soil health
resource Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) - produced as part of the AHDB-BBRO Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership (ahdb.org.uk/greatsoils) A Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership case study explaining the scorecard that has been developed to help farmers measure and manage soil health, and...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, People & skills -
Ley of the Land: Integrating Leys in the Cropping System - Lydia Smith, NIAB
resource Agricology / Oxford Real Farming Conference Video footage filmed at the ORFC 2019 of Lydia Smith from NIAB explaining a project helping to explore soil quality through re-integration of leys and...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Organic matter, Soil biology, Beef cattle & sheep, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Markets & food systems, People & skills -
Know your Soils #10: Soil Test Calendar
resource Soilmentor app Which soil tests to do, when to do them, which fields and where on the fields to test to get a representative sample.Integrated farming, Conservation agriculture, Organic farming, Biodynamic farming, Permaculture, Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Grasslands & forage crops, Roots & horticulture, Crop nutrition & fertility building -
Know your Soils #9: The plate meter
resource Soilmentor app Alex Heffron uses a plate meter to monitor the volume of forage available in fields across his farm allowing him to improve grass growth and...Integrated farming, Conservation agriculture, Organic farming, Biodynamic farming, Permaculture, Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building -
Know your soils #8: 3 key soil tests to understand your soil health
resource Soilmentor app Spring and autumn are the best times to do soil tests. Try the three most important and easy soil tests you can do yourself on...Integrated farming, Conservation agriculture, Organic farming, Biodynamic farming, Permaculture, Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Soil biology, Crop nutrition & fertility building -
Know your Soils #6: Soil Health Reading List
resource Soilmentor app Read these books to get up to speed on soil health and how to build it for your land.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, People & skills -
Use of green waste compost
resource ORC / GWCT / LEAF / OF&G / Soil Association / SRUC / Agricology - as part of Defra Project OF03111 Organic Management Techniques Using green waste compost to help manage reductions in soil organic matter in arable soils; reducing fertiliser use, improving soil health, and reducing landfillType, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Soil biology, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Regulations, standards & policy, Buildings & machinery, Natural resources & waste -
Know your Soils #5: How well can your soil hold onto nutrients?
resource Soilmentor (featuring video by Catchment Sensitive Farming & Innovation for Agriculture) Find out how good your soil is at preventing precious nutrients from washing away with the rain and what you can do to reduce nutrient...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Crop nutrition & fertility building -
Great Soils: Soil management for horticulture
resource AHDB Horticulture Good soil management can save you time and money. This leaflet gives you a practical overview of what to do.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Roots & horticulture -
Know Your Soils #4: How to capture carbon in your soil
resource Soilmentor app consortium Know Your Soils #4: “If you want to capture carbon, you have to think like carbon!” hear from Napa RCD soil scientist & farmer Charles...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Natural resources & waste -
Know Your Soils #3: Monitor the impact of water run-off
resource Soilmentor app consortium (featuring video by Catchment Sensitive Farming & Innovation for Agriculture) How much topsoil and nutrients do you lose with rainwater run-off? This resource explains a test you can do to understand how much is running...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter -
No-till for growers: Part 2 - Soil health practices for growers
resource Organic Growers Alliance Part two of two detailed informal articles looking at the practicalities of applying a no-till system in an organic horticultural operation and how it relates...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, Weeds -
Soil Summary 2016-2017
resource NRM Laboratories A useful summary from NRM Laboratories on soil sampling and data collected on soil nutrients over the course of a year.Type, texture & structure, Crop nutrition & fertility building -
The contributions of organic additions on soil quality
resource Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust A useful report to help increase understanding of when and how to use organic matter to help improve soil quality on your farm.Type, texture & structure, Organic matter, Soil biology -
Economic and ecological benefits of reduced tillage in the UK
resource Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust A guide to potential benefits and implications of integrating reduced tillage into your farm management system.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter -
The Spade Test
resource Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) as part of the Fertilcrop project A useful video with a detailed description of how to take a soil sample and interpret it using the spade test.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Soil biology -
The Basics of Soil Fertility
resource FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL booklet offering a view on soil fertility from different angles to stimulate new thinking about a sustainable relationship to the soil.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Rotations, Organic matter, Soil biology, People & skills -
Manure use efficiency
resource Duchy College A SWARM Hub webpage to help you maximise on available nutrients in organic manures, make savings and reduce environmental losses.Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Organic matter, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Regulations, standards & policy -
Above and below the ground: building resilient, productive and profitable soils
resource Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust This Nuffield Report is the result of arable farmer David Walston's explorations of why some soils are more productive than others and the best ways...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Rotations, Organic matter, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Grasslands & forage crops, Crop nutrition & fertility building, People & skills -
Working with Soil
resource An article published in Star & Furrow exploring the biodynamic approach to working with soil... “With what and how do we feed this soil life?”Biodynamic farming, Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Organic matter, Soil biology, Crop nutrition & fertility building, People & skills -
Reduced tillage trials aim to improve soil sustainability
resource University of East Anglia / Wensum Alliance Interesting results from a 5-year reduced cultivation trial that took place at the Salle Park Estate, Norfolk, to assess the impact of contrasting tillage regimes...Type, texture & structure, Compaction & cultivation, Drainage, Organic matter, Soil biology, Cereals, oil seeds & pulses, Crop nutrition & fertility building, Buildings & machinery, People & skills, Pollinators & ecological services -
Measuring and managing soil organic matter
resource Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) - produced as part of the AHDB-BBRO Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership (ahdb.org.uk/greatsoils) This GREATSoils factsheet explores different ways in which organic matter can be added to soil and how you can measure how much organic matter is...Type, texture & structure, Organic matter, Soil biology, People & skills -
Short-term green manures for intensively cultivated horticultural soils
resource AHDB Horticulture A GREATsoils factsheet detailing the main green manure species suitable for use in high value vegetable and salad rotations and summarising benefits they can bringType, texture & structure, Rotations, Organic matter, Roots & horticulture, Crop nutrition & fertility building, People & skills