Unveiled by European agri-tech firm ABACO Group and crop science organisation NIAB, the Soil Well being Scorecard (SHSC) goals to help farmers and growers to raised handle the well being and productiveness of their soil and the evaluation of soil high quality throughout the UK. This resolution supplies a database to report and analyse soil pattern outcomes and gives tangible recommendation to farmers on methods to enhance the standard of their soil.
The partnership arrives in a difficult interval for the agricultural and farming sectors. As rising prices and soil degradation are creating an more and more difficult surroundings for the UK’s agricultural sector, companions are leveraging know-how and innovation to enhance soil high quality, productiveness and in flip, sustainability in meals manufacturing over the long-term. This collaboration will now be utilized by ASDA, Tesco, and McCain inside their very own provide chains.
The scorecard establishes an open, accessible, and data-driven resolution that helps knowledge assortment and benchmarking for soil well being. The applying supplies a strategy to measure the success of particular administration practices and gives tailor-made recommendation to farmers on methods to enhance soil well being.
The Scorecard will enable provide chain companions to fast-track the know-how transition in agriculture and innovatively tackle key points in meals manufacturing. By way of AI analytics, the scorecard is anticipated to rework the way in which farmers strategy soil well being administration, and the collaboration amongst completely different gamers is a big step towards sustainable and modern farming practices.
Chris Brown, Senior Director of Sustainable Provide Chains at ASDA. “This platform is the primary of its type and can allow key stakeholders to watch and enhance soil throughout the UK. We imagine it’s a step in the correct route in direction of extra sustainable farming practices.”
The digital resolution will assist farmers enhance the focused and environment friendly use of vitamins, enhance yield resilience, scale back the necessity for fertilisers, and supply higher help for biodiversity. It’ll additionally present a cutting-edge enterprise view and benchmarking of soil well being inside the Agri provide chain.
“That is the end result of a few years of analysis,” revealed Elizabeth Stockdale, Head of Farming Programs Analysis for NIAB. “We can not overstate the significance of defending the soil for generations to come back, and the Soil Well being Scorecard will assist make sure that we do exactly that.”
Natalie Smith, Head of Agriculture at Tesco, mentioned: “Soils play a vital function in our pure surroundings, not only for meals manufacturing, however for shielding and selling biodiversity, bettering resilience to flood and drought, and lowering our affect on water sources. By way of current initiatives such because the planting of canopy crops and natural leys, we and our provider companions have made progress in bettering soil well being, however we have to do extra. This modern new platform will assist farmers and the broader meals business monitor and enhance the well being of our soils, and we’re trying ahead to trialling it in our provide chain.”
James Younger, VP of Agriculture at McCain GB&I, mentioned: “Given the challenges British agriculture is at present dealing with, the shift in direction of regenerative farming is significant to futureproof the business. At McCain, alongside our farmers, we’re dedicated to implementing regenerative agriculture practices throughout 100% of our potato acreage by 2030. To realize this aim, we’ve created a Regenerative Agriculture Framework, with minimising soil disturbance as one in every of its core rules. We’re delighted to be trialling the ground-breaking Soil Well being Scorecard app, which we imagine will probably be an essential instrument to help development on this space and help the adoption of extra sustainable practices.”
