Soil health strategy

delilah · Sep 11, 2021

Green peer Natalie Bennett has received House of Lords support for an amendment to the Environment Bill, which would require Government to set targets for soil health alongside those already in place for air and water. Proposal supported by some well known figures including Lord (Don) Curry. Implications and opportunities for agriculture.

https://www.endsreport.com/article/...285739&email_subject=can-you-speak-to-your-mp

https://greenworld.org.uk/article/e...285739&email_subject=can-you-speak-to-your-mp

https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords...ribution-AEB688D9-4EF6-4140-8ACC-3F505C4D335D

Yale · Sep 11, 2021

@holwellcourtfarm

wanton dwarf · Sep 11, 2021

delilah said:
Green peer Natalie Bennett has received House of Lords support for an amendment to the Environment Bill, which would require Government to set targets for soil health alongside those already in place for air and water. Proposal supported by some well known figures including Lord (Don) Curry. Implications and opportunities for agriculture.

https://www.endsreport.com/article/...285739&email_subject=can-you-speak-to-your-mp

https://greenworld.org.uk/article/e...285739&email_subject=can-you-speak-to-your-mp

https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords...ribution-AEB688D9-4EF6-4140-8ACC-3F505C4D335D

Lord Deben added that, “soil is crucial because it is getting far less useful—if we only want to look at it from a utilitarian point of view. The second reason is because we need it to be better able to sequester. That means we really have to bring the soil back to the kind of strength that it had before the war.”

What a load of nonesense. The pretense there is any information on the "Strength" of soils before the War - WW1, WW2 or Crusades, War of the Roses ? Agriculture has changed and everything else has changed including the environment - you cannot wind the clock back.

Regardless why would you want to go back to an era where the UK produced far, far less food and I doubt the quality was any good either.

Planting trees in soil definately destroys it's Utilitarian point - whatever that is.

DaveGrohl · Sep 11, 2021

wanton dwarf said:
Lord Deben added that, “soil is crucial because it is getting far less useful—if we only want to look at it from a utilitarian point of view.

Eh? What does that even mean?

wanton dwarf · Sep 11, 2021

DaveGrohl said:
Eh? What does that even mean?

Exactly, it can mean anything or nothing. The guy is nuts.

DrWazzock · Sep 11, 2021

Er well the seasons turn, we harvest and we sow doing as little as possible to damage the soil within the constraints of needing to turn a profit.
End of.

DaveGrohl · Sep 11, 2021

Yes but there is a veritable army of people who have looked on t'internet and are concerned that farmers are fekking up the world. Gotta do something about it. I read two of those articles and the contradictions therein were amazing, couldn't be @rsed to read the third. I'm glad they all know better than us simple peasants who only have a lifetime of trying our best not to fekk up our crucial asset. These are the people who have just told us not to return organic matter to our soil at the end of the summer. Can't make it up.

DrWazzock · Sep 11, 2021

We never remove straw. We chop and incorporate or just direct drill. They don’t want cows or other ruminants so no grass or manure returned. WTF else are we supposed to be doing to please these armchair experts. Pig sick of hearing from them.

DrWazzock · Sep 11, 2021

Ooo don’t they love strategies and management and plans. What a joke. What a bunch of useless plonkers. Would not last five minutes farming. Weather would fork their strategy over before the ink was dry.

delilah · Sep 12, 2021

https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/09/09/soil-health-action-plan-to-be-launched/

Interesting comment at the foot of that article.

In the post war period soil organic matter levels was very high and we have chemically reduced it. Nothing to do with cultivations, it's all chemical. We've applied chemicals which were advertised at "significantly reducing soil OM levels" so what do we expect.

wanton dwarf · Sep 12, 2021

"Following the coverage from Groundswell, there was a lot of discussion and excitement about work done on worms. There is perhaps an argument for the number of worms per square metre being a very good measure. I am not putting that forward entirely as a serious proposal although it is certainly something to look at, but I would point the Minister to the publication last week of a volume entitled Advances in Measuring Soil Health, edited by Professor Wilfred Otten from Cranfield University. It is a real sign of how much this field is moving forward. That brings me back to our discussion on Clause 1, when the Minister, in arguing why soil should not be included in the clause, said that"

Why would you want lots of Earth Worms ? Are we creating a soil Zoo ? If in one year there are too many Earth Worms then the next there will be less as the soil won't be able to support the numbers.

I fail to understand what their aim is other than wasting farmers time and money creating another hurdle to jump over whilst importers don't have to do anything.

If the EA flood farming land then all those worms will die. Same if Beavers raise the water table. We seem to have an Asylum in Westminster.

wanton dwarf · Sep 12, 2021

delilah said:
https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/09/09/soil-health-action-plan-to-be-launched/

Interesting comment at the foot of that article.

In the post war period soil organic matter levels was very high and we have chemically reduced it. Nothing to do with cultivations, it's all chemical. We've applied chemicals which were advertised at "significantly reducing soil OM levels" so what do we expect.

Well it has me stumped, I don't know of any chemicals that Significantly reduce soil Organic Matter levels nor have I seen anyone ever advertising such.

I've seen burn off chems for potato's, but that is not in the soil.

7610 super q · Sep 12, 2021

The latest bandwagon to jump on........kicking shite out of farmers.
That annoying advert on TV gets my goat...... " Sustainable farming....it's a thing now ". No it isn't, it's a load of pretentious bollllocks.
I can't think of any other industry that has to put up with this daily meddling and bad publicity.

It'll just reach the stage where I trundle back and forth across my fields with classic Fords for my own pleasure. Can't be arsed whether I bother actually producing food any more TBH.

wanton dwarf · Sep 12, 2021

7610 super q said:
Sustainable farming

The "Environment Agency" have just kicked the shyte out of "Sustainability" by banning manure and human waste application.

melted welly · Sep 12, 2021

delilah said:
https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/09/09/soil-health-action-plan-to-be-launched/

Interesting comment at the foot of that article.

In the post war period soil organic matter levels was very high and we have chemically reduced it. Nothing to do with cultivations, it's all chemical. We've applied chemicals which were advertised at "significantly reducing soil OM levels" so what do we expect.

Don’t think he’s worded it very well, it reads as though common practice has been to purposely chemically reduce organic matter, hope that’s not what’s insinuated.

wanton dwarf · Sep 12, 2021

melted welly said:
Don’t think he’s worded it very well, it reads as though common practice has been to purposely chemically reduce organic matter, hope that’s not what’s insinuated.

Seriously, how would you reduce organic matter using chemicals ?

som farmer · Sep 12, 2021

7610 super q said:
The latest bandwagon to jump on........kicking shite out of farmers.
That annoying advert on TV gets my goat...... " Sustainable farming....it's a thing now ". No it isn't, it's a load of pretentious bollllocks.
I can't think of any other industry that has to put up with this daily meddling and bad publicity.

It'll just reach the stage where I trundle back and forth across my fields with classic Fords for my own pleasure. Can't be arsed whether I bother actually producing food any more TBH.

And l cant think of any other industry that maintains such a beautiful environment, and, they will find it, a little bit difficult, to live without us. I do think a lot of the 'bad publicity' is envy, if you live in a cramped housing estate, or a block of flats, our surroundings, must seem magical, compared theirs. Chuck in the alleged £1,000's we get paid, in so called subs, cant really say, their envy, is misplaced. Tell them the truth, they wouldn't believe it.

som farmer · Sep 12, 2021

wanton dwarf said:
Seriously, how would you reduce organic matter using chemicals ?

organic matter, is removed by constant ploughing, that kills 50% of worms, and soil microbes, it is those that help create new organic matter. Insecticides and pesticides certainly don't help, but really, sprays only indirectly reduce OM, by stopping new OM being created. That's why min-til and d/d work on SOME soils, very well, but not for all.

jh. · Sep 12, 2021

wanton dwarf said:
Seriously, how would you reduce organic matter using chemicals ?

Growth regs maybe?

Yale · Sep 12, 2021

wanton dwarf said:
Seriously, how would you reduce organic matter using chemicals ?

If minute traces of ag chems interfere with fungal mycelium then indeed there could be a serious long term detriment on the balance of soil health.

The bigger question is how do you actually know for sure what you are applying will not affect soil health.

If fungicides are applied to crops do they magically stop at ground level and not have an effect on soil life?

Soil health strategy

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