SAM1 SFI - Soil Management Plans

What is a soil management plan in agriculture?

A soil management plan is simply a document that records everything you need to know about each parcel of land on your farm and then sets out the management actions you need to take to maximise its potential.

The soil management plan records everything from the soil health, down to the microbiology of the soil, through to risk factors like sloping land that could lead to run-off or the danger of polluting waterways.

The goal of a soil management plan is to help produce crops sustainably while protecting the environment, reducing the effects of climate change and, perhaps most importantly, protecting soil resources for future generations.

The effect of a good soil management plan is that you will improve soil health while reducing run-off, soil erosion and flood risks across your land. The plans are also used to protect any potential historic features that might be on your land.

Soil management plans are seen as particularly important for sloping land or any land that is a risk for run-off and soil erosion, land that is at risk of losing soil carbon or releasing greenhouse gases and land connected to watercourses, ponds or lakes.

Ultimately, you can create a soil management plan for your whole farm or just for the areas that you think need improvement, but a plan that is backed with test data for your soils will help you to boost the soil health and this will quickly turn to rewards in terms of crop yields and livestock performance.

What are the benefits of a soil management plan?

As we’ve said, a soil management plan will not only bring benefits to the environment in the form of reduced pollution and greenhouse gases alongside improved biodiversity but will bring a wealth of benefits to your farm business too.

For your land, soil structure will improve, and this makes for better conditions when working the land. The reduced soil compaction also ensures more water penetrates into the soil, helping to mitigate or prevent drought stress.

The information you collect for the soil management plan also helps to inform your cropping strategy, making sure you plant the crop that’s best suited to the land at that time.

From the farm business perspective, the soil management plan will also save you money. You’ll need less fertiliser as fewer nutrients and organic matter is lost through run-off; you can reduce pesticide use as more natural predators will be present in the local ecosystem.

Plus, you’ll need less seed as the risk of run-off is reduced and all of this adds up to less fuel use too as you’ll be able to cut back on field operations.

SAM1 SFI

Under the Sustainable Farming Incentive, you can be paid for creating a soil management plan. Under the SAM1 action, you will be paid £6/ha and get a further £97 per SFI agreement per year to complete it, providing you test your soil organic matter a minimum of once every five years.

For the SAM1 action, farmers and landowners must assess their soil, test soil organic matter and the produce the management plan. Land eligible for the scheme is arable, temporary grassland, permanent crops and temporary grassland below the moorland line.

This is a static option under the SFI, and you must apply it to the same piece of land for the three-year agreement, but you can run a wide range of other SFI, Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship actions on the same piece of land. As such, there’s great value in taking advantage of SAM1. Not only will it help to increase the revenue of the land, but it will also help you fufil any other actions you are applying.

To meet the requirements of SAM1, you must test every land parcel entered into the action for soil organic matter. If you’ve tested it within the last five years, you can use this data for the action. You can do the tests yourself or use a commercial laboratory, but the results will help you to understand what microorganisms are present too.

You must also assess every land parcel in the action and then produce the soil management plan. If you already have a management plan that has been produced in the past year, this can also be used for SAM1.

The soil management plan must be produced within the first 12 months of the SFI agreement, and you’ll then need to review it each year during the three years, adding any new soil analysis as you go. All soil organic matter testing must have been done within the last five years and you’ll need to test again if this period expires during the SFI agreement.

The management plan can be on paper or kept digitally but you must keep a written record and any test results.

SFI Soil Management Plan Template

To create the soil management plan, its best to have a simple table that identifies each parcel of land, records the details and risks of that land, lists any problems and then includes the planned management actions.

When recording the parcel of land, break it up by field and, if a single field has different aspects such as different soils of slopes, split them up and record them as individual elements on the plan.

For the details of each piece of land, record the soil type and structure, include the gradient and length of any slopes, consider the run-off and soil erosion risk, explain how you currently manage the land and make note of any sensitive elements like nearby watercourses, wildlife habitats or historic features.

In another column, identify any problems that will need addressing. This could include compacted soil or areas of poor crop growth, existing issues with run-off and erosion, low earthworm activity or issues like capping, where a hard surface crust has formed on bare soil.

Make sure you also attach your soil testing results. These will record the soil organic matter information but should also provide other valuable data such as, pH levels, the depth of your topsoil, texture and drainage information and earthworm numbers.

When you have all of this information, you can then start to include what management actions you plan to take to improve the health of your soil and to mitigate any risks to the landscape and environment.

Soil Management Actions for SFI

Soil management plans will not only differ from farm to farm, but will differ across each plot of land across the farm depending on soil types and the other risks we’ve already discussed.

The management actions will consider how the current management of the land is affecting the soil, what you want to achieve, what is achievable and ultimately, the risks and issues you need to address.

Make sure the plan considers how to prevent pollution and run-off from getting into water and protects any historic features on the land too.

Here we look at some of the top-level actions you should consider for different soil types.

Soil Management Plan: Light, Sandy and Silty Soils

The primary risks associated with light, sandy and silty soils are run-off and soil erosion and the associated nutrient leaching. These types of soils can also be at risk of drought and groundwater pesticide contamination.

One of the best ways to overcome these issues in this type of soil is to boost the soil organic matter by using green manures, cover crops and organic fertilisers coupled with a min-till or no-till approach. This will help to improve soil structure and stability, helping to prevent erosion and capping.

If the ground is sloping, consider cultivating and drilling across the slope or use maize to combat run-off and avoid bare ground over winter. If its an extreme slope, look at growing whole crop cereals or even convert the land to permanent grassland.

Soil Management Plan: Medium, Loamy Soils

With medium, loamy soils the key risks include nutrient leaching, compaction and organic matter loss. This type of land can also be prone to drought if the soil is shallow, over other substrates like chalk.

By opting for things like herbal leys and a min-till or no-till farming approach on this type of land you can improve soil structure, soil organic matter and drainage and this will also help to encourage earthworms while increasing natural predators to combat pest issues.

To tackle soil compaction, control farm traffic and reduce livestock numbers and grassland management activity near to water and sensitive habitats.

Green manures will also help to combat nutrient leaching in areas of shallow soil. If you have areas with low nutrients, consider taking advantage of the SFI scheme to create species rich grassland to help boost biodiversity.

Soil Management Plan: Heavy Soils

The primary risks for heavy soils, like clay, are compaction, increased emissions from the need for additional fertiliser and carbon loss through cultivation.

Again, compaction will need to be tackled by carefully controlling traffic and livestock, but you can overcome many issues by working to improve soil organic matter with green manures, cover crops and organic fertilisers.

By improving the organic matter, you will improve the soil structure, boost carbon storage and biodiversity and combat run-off and cracking of the clay when it is dry.

If the soil structure is good, you can also use a min-till or a no-till approach that will help to tackle issues with run-off and erosion.

Summary

A soil management plan should be a key component of any farmers toolkit. Successful and productive farming operations know exactly what their soil has to offer and they develop growing strategies and livestock management plans that are tailored exactly to that.

By knowing the state of your soil, you can drive efficiencies across the farm and ensure you are only applying the inputs you need with the minimum of waste.

A soil management plan will not only provide the information you need now to properly understand your soil but will also create a clear road map that allows you to improve your soil.

This improvement will be key to the future profitability of your farm, ensuring you have healthy soils that produce abundant yields and livestock performance while needing fewer inputs.

The SFI scheme is just another added incentive to create a plan that will help to protect the future of your farm. If you’d like to know more about soil management plans or would like advice on creating your own, get in touch with your Agrii representative.