NRM has published its annual soil summary report for 2020-2021, with consolidated data from thousands of soil samples across the UK. Results show that two thirds of most soils are deficient in the key nutrients of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, continuing a trend of almost 30 years.
As the UK’s leading provider of soil analysis, NRM has been gathering soil analysis data since 1995. This year’s soil summary includes data from soil samples collected between June 2020 and May 2021, allowing farmers and their advisors to understand current nutrients status across the UK, to benchmark against other farms with up-to-date data, and to consider how to improve soil health to optimise crop production.
For the first time, NRM has also published consolidated data on soil carbon, following the launch earlier this year of its CarbonCheck service. With almost 1,500 farms sampled to date, early analysis of the data supports the idea that different types of farms and different soil management practices influence the amount of organic carbon within the soil.
‘We’re using our summarised data to help farmers and their advisors understand more about soil carbon and which farming practices build carbon levels,’ said Alli Grundy, Agronomy Manager at NRM. ‘There is not only a productivity benefit to improving soil organic carbon, but also an environmental benefit. We will continue to add to the data as we sample more farms, which will enable us to paint an accurate picture of the soil carbon landscape across the country over time.’
Developed by NRM following consultation with industry experts, agronomists, and government advisors, CarbonCheck measures organic carbon as part of a comprehensive analysis suite, providing a benchmark for carbon markets and enabling farmers to monitor their soil health. Click here for our advice sheet on CarbonCheck.
‘There are some fascinating trends already, and these truly demonstrate the importance of measuring soil carbon levels,’ continued Alli. ‘For example, cultivated land generally contains lower carbon stocks and less organic matter because of the introduction of air into the soil as it is moved.’
‘Supporting sustainable food production and a safer, healthier planet is a core focus of Cawood,’ said Simon Parrington, Chief Executive Officer at Cawood. ‘As the leading provider of soil analysis services in the UK, Cawood is in a unique position to gather a large amount of data for representative results. We’re delighted to share this information with the industry to help farmers meet their goals.’
Marchwood has developed a new method for monitoring low level acrolein using GC/QQQ, increasing the division’s testing capability and improving the accuracy of results.
‘Our ability to develop new methods reflects our position as the UK’s leading specialist laboratory for independent occupational hygiene analysis,’ said Jenny Wraith, Business Development Manager at Marchwood. ‘With a short-term exposure limit of 0.05mg/m3 and a long-term exposure limit of 0.12mg/m3, acrolein poses a real challenge when compared with other aldehydes. Our expertise in the occupational hygiene sector has enabled us to solve this issue using GC/QQQ, which is up to 1000 times more sensitive than standard single quadrupole GC/MS.’
By using an XAD tube treated with 2-hydroxymethyl piperadine (SKC part no: 226-118), a stable derivative can be measured at levels equivalent to 0.017mg/m3 on a 3L sample, and 0.001mg/m3 on a 48L sample. This extra capability facilitated by the more sensitive GC/QQQ instrumentation means that results are more accurate at lower exposure levels, enabling our customers to protect their people more thoroughly.
‘Ultimately, this new method helps workplaces and occupational hygienists to remain compliant whilst safeguarding employees and customers,’ continued Jenny. ‘Cawood is always focussed on finding new and improved ways to meet customer requirements. This new method is the latest in a long list of recent innovations designed to enhance our services while supporting a safer, healthier planet.’
View a full list of our occupational hygiene services here.
Sciantec has added shelf life analysis to its list of expert services. The tests help animal feed and commodities manufacturers in the aquaculture, equine, farming, zoo, pet, and specialist animal feed sectors maintain compliance with relevant industry guidelines and meet animal welfare standards.
‘Putting accurate shelf life dates on packaging means the customer can be certain that the quality of the food is the same from the day the pack is opened until the last morsel is consumed,’ said Rachel Rawson, Business Development Executive at Sciantec. ‘This makes animals happy, healthy and thriving. It also minimises the risk of customer complaints, or even legal action due to products becoming unpleasant or unsafe. So, finding a balance between selecting a shorter shelf life, which can result in throwing away products earlier than needed, or a longer shelf life, which can lead to disappointed customers, is key. Our specialist, reliable service helps manufacturers reduce wastage and build customer satisfaction.’
The service tests the safety and quality of all kinds of feeds and raw materials and the deterioration of their quality over time. This includes tracking the development of dangerous bacteria in specified conditions. Storage options include a range of temperature and relative humidity conditions, study duration, and analyses. The durability and sustainability of packaging products can also be tracked using photography to see how they behave over time and in specified conditions.
‘With more environmentally-conscious consumers than ever before, we are seeing a lot more requests to record changes to different types of packaging,’ continued Rachel. ‘This has been useful in helping manufacturers meet their customers’ constantly evolving demands. We look at the appearance of features like bags, glues, seals, and printing media to see how packaging behaves over time, which in turn could affect its contents. Supporting the use of greener packaging also helps us align with Cawood’s mission to support a safer, healthier planet.’
Sciantec’s shelf life package includes a 1-1 consultation and bespoke design to suit analysis parameters for full visibility throughout the study. A Certificate of Analysis is provided at every time point as well as a comprehensive final report.
Quality indicator tests are also available to check the quality of a product by observing its deterioration in certain conditions. Tests include:
- Quality Indicator Tests
- Pepsin digestible protein
- Anisidine value, peroxide value, or TOTOX
- Biogenic amines
- Free fatty acids
- Impurities in oil
- Starch gelatinisation
- Water activity
For more details, read part 1 of Rachel’s blog on shelf life here.
Cawood is growing its soil testing team to meet unprecedented customer demand, creating 45 new jobs in rural Norfolk.
Cawood is significantly expanding its existing soil testing laboratory in Swaffham, Norfolk, with technically advanced instrumentation, enhanced facilities, and additional team members at all levels. This provides a fantastic opportunity for those in the local area looking to start their career in agricultural testing, take the next step, or lead a team at a state-of-the-art laboratory at the forefront of its sector.
As the UK’s largest agricultural soil testing facility, NRM, based in Swaffham and Bracknell, analyses hundreds of thousands of soil samples every year. Its services help farmers and advisors benchmark soil health and tailor fertiliser requirements to optimise crop production.
‘Increasing our capabilities for our customers to help them unlock the value of their data is one of our key strategies,’ said Sean Stevenson, Commercial Director at Cawood. ‘This extra capacity will allow us to meet our customers’ needs even more efficiently and effectively than before, as well as open up a large number of job opportunities in the local area as we recruit.’
As well as soil fertility, demand for benchmarking baseline soil carbon levels to help guide future farming activities and carbon sequestration has also soared. The company’s CarbonCheck service, developed by NRM following consultation with industry experts, agronomists, and government advisors, measures organic carbon as part of a comprehensive analysis suite, providing a benchmark for carbon markets and enabling farmers to monitor their soil health.
‘Since its development a couple of years ago, CarbonCheck has been key to helping farmers throughout the UK along the journey towards more sustainable farming practices,’ said Simon Parrington, Chief Executive Officer at Cawood. ‘Supporting sustainable food production and a safer, healthier planet is a core focus of Cawood. We’re delighted to help support the sustainable future of farming as well as the local economy.’
Cawood is hiring new laboratory colleagues for a variety of roles, from entry level to experienced analysts. Anyone who is interested should visit our careers page to see what working for Cawood is like, and email HR@cawood.co.uk with their CV.