Soil Managment for Weather Extremes

back to News

Ellice Hahne (FCG Midwest)

This year and last year couldn’t be more different in terms of weather – while soils were waterlogged and the skies were raining down on us for most of last year, this Spring has been the driest in 50 years in the UK.

With these extremes in mind, it is essential to manage your soil to be as resilient as possible, so it continues growing crops. Here are some ways to do this.

  • Avoid compaction: don’t travel on the soil when wet and if you do, stick to tramlines. If grazing livestock, consider on/off grazing, and giving your stock smaller breaks that are being back fenced to prevent them walking back over areas that have been grazed (and trampled) already. This also allows grass to regenerate faster.
  • Increase soil organic matter: higher organic matter content makes soil more workable and increases water infiltration, but also water retention. This means that rain does not run off the field as easily (taking valuable topsoil and nutrients with it) but also gets stored better for the next dry spell. Ways to increase organic matter content include applying manures, growing cover crops, and leaving crop residues behind to rot.
  • Consider planting diverse swards: monocultures (e.g., perennial ryegrass) are adapted to one specific set of circumstances and have served us well in the past. With changing weather patterns, having a mix of species means your ley is more resilient. Many species also provide benefits for soil structure thanks to their deep tap roots or help reduce the need for N fertiliser (legumes).

These are only some approaches to help increase your soils’ resilience. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please contact Ellice at ellicehahne@fcgagric.com or your local FCG office.

Categories