Exploiting HGCA-funded R&D on soil management for profit and GAEC compliance

The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy has created a new set of circumstances. Failure to meet environmental requirements in particular soil management will lead to loss of subsidy. The circumstances in which such a loss may occur could include the use of minimum tillage on heavy soils in a wet season. The projects reviewed in this study predated CAP reform and therefore do not specifically address this area. A number of circumstances exist which could lead to a loss of subsidy.

The projects covered in this review are as follows:

1. Reduced cultivations: Research, development and advisory needs under changing economic circumstances. Research Review No. 48.
2. Factors affecting cereal establishment and its prediction. Research Review No. 51.
3. Effects of establishment technique and number of management passes on winter wheat production costs. Project Report No. 311.
4. Non-tillage management of Oilseed Rape using the “autocast” technique. Project Report No. 55.
5. Trash distribution and cultivation depth in minimal tillage and direct establishment systems. On going project No. 2799.
6. Influence of green manuring in wheat rotations under different cultivation systems. On going project No. 2800.
7. Improving crop profitability by using minimum cultivation and exploiting grass weed ecology. Project No. 2469.
8. Developing a cost effective procedure for investigating within field variation of soil conditions. Project Report No. 296.
9. Evaluation of non-intrusive sensors for measuring soil physical properties. Project Report No 302.
10. Description of spatial variation in soil to optimize cereal management (2004). Project Report No 330.
11. Developing methods to improve sampling efficiency for automated soil mapping (2005). Project Report No. 36

The financial farm business models used in the course of the review incorporate the Single Farm Payment and Entry Level Scheme monies and estimate likely reduction of this payment as a consequence of the failure to comply with Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC). The models indicate that whilst the loss of subsidy is important, the reduction in crop output as a result of poor establishment can lead to a larger financial loss.

Minimum tillage, direct drilling and autocast can provide significant benefits however it is vital to carefully select the soil type and season in which such techniques are used. Failure to do this can result in a worse result both economically and environmentally.

Further work on soil spatial variation may potentially provide information to allow Farmers to both optimise nutrient use and also meet their environmental obligations. However the work to date has not yet provided any tangible benefits to Farmers. At the time of the original report only Electro Magnetic Induction (EMI) was commercially available to Farmers and appeared to provide the most useful information relating to yield and soil properties.

A number of topics within the work reviewed may warrant further research. These can be found in section 2 and at the end of the individual project reviews in section 5. The design of this research needs to consider the requirement of Farmers to take account of Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC), including physical soil properties.

Farmers are continuing to seek practical guidance. Whilst it would be sensible for further research work to consider this, it may also be sensible to exploit existing work in light of the new demands placed upon Farmers.