Soil is one of the world’s most precious resources, but is often overlooked. The soil does many important tasks. It provides food and energy, keeps water clean, acts as a place to store carbon in the fight against climate change, and maintains biodiversity.
But some modern farming and countryside management practices have been degrading our soil, causing erosion and causing other issues in the surrounding landscape.
Now soil is at the centre of a recently announced UK government policy that will pay farmers to improve the environment by growing plants in fields through winter. It could transform how some of England’s countryside looks in the winter months and may lead to a more sustainable future for England’s agriculture.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive will replace existing payments that were part of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy.
The new policy aims to establish new standards for arable and horticultural soils (grassland and moorland standards were also published). While the policy, due to be rolled out in 2022, is light on detail, the fact that these initial standards aim to promote soil health is a promising step towards providing and securing these essential ecosystem services on which society relies.
Changing countryside
The plans to encourage the planting of more winter crops will mean that visitors will see legumes such as vetch and grasses such as rye, sometimes planted together. This “cover” is designed to protect the soil from erosion caused by winter rains falling on bare soil by ensuring early establishment of a dense vegetation cover that persists through the winter months. This is a well-known erosion control strategy, protecting soil that is usually left bare and therefore threatens the production of food and pollutes water.
( source: https://theconversation.com/au )
