Soil health collaboration looks to cut synthetic fertiliser use

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A collaboration between SoilPoint and Cefetra is aiming to help growers replace a proportion of their use of synthetic fertilisers.

Over 30 farmers will use SoilPoint’s Soil Booster and measure its impact on yield and crop quality, soil health and carbon emissions and sequestration potential

SoilPoint’s Soil Booster is a UK Soil Association-certified soil conditioner that mirrors natural soil formation processes. Soilpoint suggests it was developed to help farmers restore depleted topsoil bolstering crop yields and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The initiative follows a successful independent testing of SoilPoint Soil Booster and will run for a full crop cycle. Farmers participating in the initiative will be selected by Cefetra, based on their commitment to adopting regenerative approaches to soil management. The initiative also forms a key part of Cefetra Ecosystem Services, aimed at supporting growers in transitioning to more sustainable, resilient farming systems.

This programme marks the first phase of a long-term commercial partnership, through which Cefetra will offer SoilPoint’s Soil Booster to UK farmers as part of its product portfolio. The partnership reflects Cefetra Ecosystem Services’ mission to enable the supply of reduced-carbon grains and promote ‘Just Good Practice’ soil management.

Addressing the UK’s soil health challenge, Alan Forrester, CEO of SoilPoint, comments: “Our data suggests that, if the UK continues to lose soil at current rates, it may face significant threats to future harvests. SoilPoint Soil Booster offers a natural and proven way to rejuvenate soils, supporting productivity and environmental improvements at the same time.

“We are delighted to partner with Cefetra and the first 36 farmers in this initiative. Together, we are showing that better soils and reduced nitrogen use can go hand in hand with maintaining productive and profitable farming, which is essential for the future of UK agriculture.”

Simon Borthwick, head of grain origination at Cefetra, adds: “Through Cefetra Ecosystem Services, we are committed to helping farmers adopt scalable, practical solutions that deliver real value on-farm. Improving soil health is fundamental to building more resilient farming systems, but it must also make commercial sense for growers.

 

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