https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/create-and-use-a-soil-management-plan/
Create and use a soil management plan
The guidance on this page is for SFI pilot participants only. Please visit GOV.UK for the official Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme guidance.
The guidance on this page is for SFI pilot participants only. Please visit GOV.UK for the official Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme guidance.
Find out how land managers can use a soil management plan to benefit the environment, reduce soil risks and improve crop yields.
If you’re completing this action as part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot, how you do it is up to you.
The advice on this page can help you get better environmental and business benefits, but you do not have to follow it to get paid.
About soil management plans
Creating a soil management plan can help you:
- improve soil health
- reduce runoff, soil erosion and flood risks
- protect historic features
- improve crop yields
- grow food sustainably, protecting soil resources for the future
- reduce the effects of climate change
You’ll use it to set out the steps you’ll take to manage soils, depending on their properties.
It’s particularly important for land:
- at risk of runoff and soil erosion
- at risk of losing soil carbon or releasing greenhouse gases
- connected to water bodies and watercourses
- with historic features, to protect them from damage
You can create a soil management plan to cover your whole farm. You can create it at any time, but it’s best before a cropping or grazing season.
Benefits of using a soil management plan
Benefits to your business include:
- better ground conditions for field operations, as you improve soil structure
- less soil compaction so more water goes into the soil, reducing drought stress
- more information to plan cropping
Your business could save money. This is because you could use less:
- fertiliser, as you do not need to replace nutrients and organic matter lost through runoff
- pesticide, as you get more natural predators of pests and diseases
- seed, as less washes away through runoff
- fuel, as you can reduce field operations
Benefits to the environment include:
- less water pollution
- fewer greenhouse gases released by soils
- improved biodiversity in habitats that receive runoff
- protection of historic features
Before you create a soil management plan
You must do a soil risk assessment, including field assessments and soil analysis. This will give you the details you need to create a soil management plan.
To help you create a soil management plan, you can get advice from:
- a soil and water engineer
- an adviser with a BASIS soil and water qualification - find an adviser on the BASIS website
You’ll also need to assess either:
- what microorganisms the soil contains
- the amount of carbon dioxide the microorganisms produce, known as soil respiration
You can do tests yourself or use a commercial laboratory. Read more about biological tests for soil health.
How to create a soil management plan
Record the plan either on paper or digitally. You can use tables or headings to break up the plan by field or part field. Split fields into separate units where soils and slopes differ.
Use information from your soil risk assessment. For each field or part field, record:
- runoff and soil erosion risk level
- how you currently manage the area
- soil type and structure
- gradient and length of slopes
- any scheduled and non-scheduled historic features – what and where they are
- any sensitive features nearby, like a watercourse or wildlife habitat
Record any problems like:
- existing runoff and soil erosion
- soil compaction
- poor crop growth
- capping, where a hard surface crust forms on bare soil
- low earthworm activity
Attach the soil risk assessment and lab analysis results to the soil management plan. This will record:
- soil acidity (pH)
- topsoil depth
- drainage
- earthworm numbers
- organic matter content
- soil texture
You need to choose and record what management actions you’ll use.
This table is an example of how to record a soil management plan:
| Field or part field reference | Field details | Problems | Proposed management actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field 1, part 1 ST0000 0000 | Lower risk of runoff and erosion. Medium textured well-drained stable soil in combinable crop rotation. Slopes under 3 degrees. Soil structure good, no signs of runoff or erosion. | None identified | Maintain current management. Reconsider if cropping changes. |
| Field 2 SY0000 0000 | High runoff and erosion risk. Erodible light sandy soil in combinable crop rotation. Slopes over 7 degrees. Buried remains of Roman Villa. Next to road and watercourse. | Soil/sediment deposition. Risk of compaction increasing runoff and erosion | Include cover crop in rotation to improve soil organic matter content. Use minimum tillage to establish cereals. |
Choose management actions
To choose management actions, you should think about:
- the risks and problems that you need to address
- how current management affects the soil
- what is achievable, depending on your soils
- what benefits you want to achieve
You must follow the farming rules for water. These require you to take steps to stop manure, fertiliser or soil getting into water bodies.
You should protect any historic features. On light and medium soils you can use min-till or no-till farming on historic features.
Management actions for light, sandy and silty soils
Risks to these soils include:
- capping on steep or long slopes, causing runoff and soil erosion
- drought in summer
- groundwater pesticide contamination
- nutrient leaching
- wind erosion
Organic matter helps light soils hold more water. It stabilises soil structure, protecting it from capping and erosion. To improve soil organic matter, you can use:
- green manures or cover crops, which also reduce nutrient leaching
- min-till or no-till farming, which concentrate organic matter in topsoil
- organic fertilisers
How you reduce runoff and soil erosion depends on slope steepness. On slopes of 7 degrees and less, you can:
- cultivate and drill across the slope
- manage maize to reduce runoff and soil erosion, avoiding bare ground over winter
On slopes over 7 degrees, or long slopes, you can:
- grow whole crop cereals instead of maize
- convert arable land to permanent grassland
Management actions for medium, loamy soils
Risks to these soils include:
- drought on shallow soils, like over chalk
- compaction when wet, causing runoff on slopes, pollution and flooding
- nutrient leaching
- organic matter loss
To reduce soil compaction and runoff you can:
- use controlled traffic farming
- reduce grassland management intensity next to water
- reduce livestock numbers near sensitive habitats and water
You can create herbal leys and use min-till or no-till farming to:
- encourage earthworms and natural predators of pests
- improve drainage
- improve soil structure
- improve soil organic matter
- reduce fuel use
You can use green manures or cover crops to reduce nutrient leaching on shallow soils.
You can revert low nutrient sites to species rich grassland to increase biodiversity.
Management actions for heavy soils like clay
Risks to these soils include:
- compaction when wet, increasing runoff on slopes
- nitrous oxide emissions from adding fertiliser
- runoff on steep or long slopes, causing pollution and flooding
- carbon loss, if the soil is drained or cultivated
To reduce soil compaction and runoff you can:
- use controlled traffic farming
- reduce grassland management intensity next to water
- reduce livestock numbers near sensitive habitats and water
You can use green manures or cover crops or organic fertilisers to help:
- increase soil organic matter
- improve soil structure
- increase carbon storage
- increase biological activity.
- stop clay soils cracking when dry
Where soil structure is good, you can min-till or no-till farming to maintain earthworm activity and water infiltration.
You can reduce runoff and soil erosion on slopes over 7 degrees or long slopes. You could:
If you grow maize you can:
- manage it to reduce runoff and soil erosion
- grow whole crop cereals instead
Maintain the soil management plan
Record any new or continuing problems. You can do this in a new version of the plan.
Revise the plan at least every two years. You can do it sooner to work out how to resolve any problems.
Reassess field details and problems each time you revise the plan. Do this at the same time of year or rotation, so you can compare how soils have changed.
