A new SoilCare booklet for farmers has been produced by the project partners from France. The booklet titled, 10 common practices and their harmful impact on soil aims to help with 10 common problems that often happen on farm. Management mistakes are identified and solutions are provided that are tested by farmers and researchers as part of the SoilCare project. The handy tips are intended to improve the quality of the soil, save unnecessary expense and develop the sustainability of the farm.

The 10 common practices are summarised as:

• Making observations of your soil at a plot scale exclusively without considering the landscape and the local environment
• Causing involuntary soil compaction by unsuitable agricultural practices
• Not applying lime
• Ploughing the organic matter too deeply
• Storing manure under conditions which allow nutrient leaching
• Leaving soil exposed in a bare uncultivated field
• Ploughing organic matter just before sowing
• Betting on a miraculous soil amendment
• Composting manure: a good solution but best done quickly to avoid nutrient loss
• Your own field-based observations are important – compare these with laboratory results

The booklet can be downloaded HERE