ORGANIC SOIL IMPROVER: Providing a full nutritional profile for you soil to make it healthier and more productive
Season One of The Sea2Soil Podcast is complete! Across six episodes, we’ve heard from six expert voices and listened to their insights into the future of soil health and regenerative farming.
And what a journey it's been. From conservation agriculture principles to real-world regenerative systems, from microbial activity to amino acid applications, we’ve explored the challenges and opportunities facing modern farming through honest, expert-led conversations.
Hosted by our Business Development Manager, Grant James, each episode brought together leading voices from across the UK and Europe to tackle the questions that matter most to growers, agronomists, and farm advisors working to build healthier, more resilient farming systems.
What we covered
We kicked off with Steve Townsend from Soil First Farming, who set the tone by explaining why chemistry, physics, and biology must work together for truly healthy soils. Steve’s insights into conservation agriculture and the role of BASE-UK in farmer-led knowledge exchange reminded us that sustainable change happens through community and shared learning.
Regen Ben opened the doors to his Herefordshire farm in Episode Two, showing us regenerative farming in action. His candid discussion about profitability, biodiversity gains, and how Sea2Soil fits into his system across cereals, potatoes, and agroforestry proved that regenerative practices and commercial success can go hand-in-hand.
In Episode Three, James Warne from Soil First Farming introduced us to the concept of ‘underground livestock’, exploring how feeding soil microorganisms is just as crucial as feeding the crops above ground. His practical advice on boosting microbial activity gave listeners tangible steps to improve soil health from the ground up.
Joel Williams delivered a masterclass in Episode Four, breaking down the science of amino acids and soil conditioners. His expert knowledge on application timing, particularly heading into autumn, offered invaluable guidance for growers looking to enhance soil fertility and build long-term productivity.
Episode Five took us to Claydon Farms with Simon Revell, where we explored two years of Sea2Soil trials alongside the Claydon Opti-Drill System. Simon’s insights into establishment technology, soil structure, and upcoming Net Zero trial work with Nottingham University showed the exciting direction farm innovation is heading.
We closed the season with Marian Dichevski, who gave us a window into farming in Bulgaria and across Europe. Marian’s perspective on climate challenges, drought conditions, and the growing need for products like Sea2Soil in European markets reminded us that soil health is a global conversation.
The bigger picture
Running through every episode, however, was a commitment to practical, implementable knowledge. These weren’t theoretical discussions. They were field-based insights from people working directly with soils, facing real challenges and finding real solutions that are already working in their fields.
Whether you’re exploring regenerative practices for the first time or fine-tuning an established hybrid system, this podcast season offered something for everyone.
To our guests: thank you for your time, your expertise, and your willingness to share openly about both successes and challenges. Your contributions have created a resource that will support farmers and advisors for seasons to come.
To everyone who listened, subscribed, and shared episodes: thank you for being part of this community. The feedback we’ve received has been genuinely encouraging, and it’s clear these conversations are resonating with people working to farm better, smarter, and more sustainably.
What’s next?
All six episodes remain available to stream on Spotify and watch on YouTube. If you missed any along the way, now’s the perfect time to catch up. Each episode stands alone, so dive in wherever your interests lie.
As for what comes next, watch this space. The conversations around soil health and regenerative farming are far from over, and we’re committed to continuing to bring expert voices and practical insights to the community. 2026 is already looking very exciting…
In Episode six of The Sea2Soil Podcast, Grant sits down with Bulgarian grower and agribusiness expert, Marian Dichevski, to talk about farming through drought, making pragmatically regenerative choices, and where biology‑centred nutrition fits in a modern system.
Across Bulgaria - and much of Eastern Europe - farms often span hundreds to thousands of hectares. In recent years, drought and heat have tightened their grip, putting staple crops like wheat, maize, and sunflower under pressure. It is pushing growers to rethink established practices and look for resilient, biology‑friendly ways to keep crops performing.
Marian’s view is clear: avoid swinging from full conventional to full no‑till overnight. Trial changes field by field. Where soils are tight or stratified, minimum or strip till can open the door for roots and biology without overworking the ground. Cover crops have a role, but only where moisture budgets allow. The brief is simple: choose the right tool, at the right time, for your soil.
Key takeaways:
Post‑war agriculture leaned heavily on synthetic fertilisers. Marian argues that over‑reliance can dilute plant sap, lower brix, and open the door to pests and disease - especially in dry years. A biology‑first approach focuses on feeding microbes and supplying nitrogen in the forms plants can use with less energy cost.
What that means in practice:
Marian highlights the role of fish hydrolysate as a practical, biology‑forward input. Applied in‑furrow at drilling or as a timely foliar, amino acid‑rich nutrition supports early root development, feeds microbial life, and can help reduce the plant’s energy burden compared with nitrate‑heavy programmes.
Potential benefits:
When moisture is scarce, every input concentrates faster in the soil. Keeping biology alive and roots exploring is non‑negotiable. That means gentle soil movement, smart residue management, and nutrition that plants can metabolise efficiently.
Practical pointers for dry seasons:
Marian brings grounded, real‑farm context to a challenge many growers share: producing consistent crops when water is the true limiting factor. If you’re weighing up cultivations, cover crops, and biology‑first nutrition, this episode is for you.
Tune in to Episode Six on Spotify and YouTube, launching on Thursday, 23rd October at 10am.
Autumn has arrived in the UK, and with it we’ll no doubt be flooded with all too familiar headlines: fields under water, roads washed out, crops lost to flooding. With extreme weather events becoming more common, farmers are being asked to balance two seemingly opposite threats: drought in summer and waterlogging in autumn and winter.
But the solution to both may lie beneath our feet.
As Simon Revell from Claydon Drills explained in our latest podcast episode, soil health isn’t just about crop nutrition. Healthy, well-structured soils are more resilient:
It sounds like a paradox - how can soil both hold more water and let it in faster? The answer lies in biology and structure.
When soils are left undisturbed and enriched with organic matter, earthworms, microbes, and roots create stable aggregates and natural pore spaces. These improve:
In contrast, compacted or over-cultivated soils lack structure. They crust, repel water, and leave fields vulnerable to both erosion and standing floods.
With the Environment Agency warning of increased flood risk this winter, improving soil health is more urgent than ever. Some proven strategies include:
These practices don’t just prevent crop losses - they also build long-term resilience, reduce input reliance, and contribute to climate adaptation goals.
Whether it’s three weeks of drought at 30°C or three days of relentless rain, farmers across the UK are facing conditions that put soils under pressure. But as Simon put it, “Healthy soil can hold more humidity in the soil, and it can absorb more quickly.”
The farms that invest in soil health today are the ones that will weather tomorrow’s storms - literally.
Hear more insights from Simon Revell of Claydon Drills in our latest Sea2Soil Podcast episode: [Listen now]
In this episode, Grant talks with Simon Revell from Claydon Drills about their expertise and interest in improving soil health for growers through better establishment using the Claydon Opti-Drill System.
Also being discussed and explored is the ongoing trials work with Sea2Soil on Claydon Farms, now coming to the end of its second year, including the latest observations from this season before harvest.
Finally, Simon gives listeners a fascinating insight into soil management, the health of soils and climate challenges faced on farms right across Europe.
The audio and video podcast will give listeners and viewers a great technical understanding of how establishment technology in the Claydon system, incorporating the use of a straw harrow, alongside soil improvers like Sea2Soil, can help improve vital aspects around soil structure, soil organic matter and soil fertility. Leading to better crop nutrition and yields, as well as protecting crops against adverse growing conditions.
Watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify.
In this episode of the Sea2Soil Podcast, we take to the field - literally. Grant James sits down with Simon Revell, Export Manager for Claydon Drills, to discuss over 20 years of innovation, soil-first farming, and the role of natural soil improvers in shaping a sustainable future.
Recorded on a breezy July morning in front of Claydon’s long-running trial plots, the conversation explores the journey from profit-driven direct drilling to the wider environmental benefits now being realised on farms across the UK and Europe.
Simon explains how the Claydon system - refining cultivation without turning the soil - has helped farmers reduce costs, protect soil biology, and build resilience against increasingly extreme weather. He shares insights into cover cropping, straw harrowing, and trials with Sea2Soil that show promising improvements in soil structure and microbial activity.
But it’s not just about machinery. The episode digs into the challenges of farmer mindsets, the slow but steady adoption of regenerative techniques, and the importance of partnerships between businesses, agronomists, and researchers. Together, these collaborations are helping to future-proof food production.
Looking ahead, Simon and Grant consider the bigger questions: What does sustainability really mean? How do we keep soils productive for generations to come? And how do we keep pushing boundaries, through seed breeding, trials, and innovative natural inputs, so that farming can thrive in the face of climate change?
This is a practical, honest, and hopeful discussion about soil health, sustainable farming systems, and why the future of agriculture depends on both innovation and collaboration.
Read all about what to expect from Episode 5 of the Sea2Soil Podcast, coming to YouTube and Spotify on October 9th at 10am.
One of the most common questions we hear from farmers exploring regenerative agriculture is: “How long will it take before I see results?”
The honest answer, as soil educator Joel Williams shares in Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast, is that building soil health is not a quick fix - it’s a journey of continual improvement.
Most soils have reached their current condition after years of intensive management, nutrient offtake, and disturbance. Reversing that trajectory naturally takes time. Joel explains that while some benefits can be seen sooner, meaningful change generally occurs within a three-to-five-year transition period. Think of it less as a destination and more as a new way of farming that steadily pays back year on year.
Early boosts in biology: Adding organic amendments like fish hydrolysates or seaweed extracts can quickly stimulate microbial activity.
Improved rooting: Autumn applications of amino acids help winter crops establish stronger root systems.
Signs of resilience: Even within the first couple of seasons, farmers may notice better plant vigour or less stress in dry spells.
Soil structure improvements: As biology gets to work, soils start forming stronger aggregates, improving infiltration and water-holding.
Nutrient cycling kicks in: Locked-up nutrients become more available thanks to increased microbial activity.
Reduced input reliance: Many farmers worldwide report comfortably reducing synthetic nitrogen inputs by 20–30% at this stage, with some pasture systems going further.
Soil regeneration doesn’t stop at year five. With consistent application of soil health principles, minimising disturbance, maintaining cover, integrating livestock, and embracing diversity, farmers can continue to build resilience, fertility, and profitability for decades. Joel describes it as a lifelong journey: each year offering new opportunities to reduce the “baddies” (tillage, overuse of chemicals) and do more of the “goodies” (biology-building practices).
It’s easy to become impatient when trying something new, especially if you’re used to quick responses from synthetic fertilisers. But regenerative farming is about building lasting soil function, not chasing instant results. By framing it as a multi-year transition, you set yourself up to measure progress in seasons and systems, not in weeks.
Hear more from Joel Williams on the timescales of soil regeneration in Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast.
In this interesting and highly topical podcast, Grant James speaks with internationally renowned speaker and soil health expert Joel Williams, who provides a masterclass of insightful knowledge around improving soil health using amino acids, including why and when to apply them, as well as the best types of soil improvers to consider.
Joel also delves deeper into the core principles around managing soils and crops in a better, more sustainable way, shaping the future and providing invaluable advice for growers in this regard.
For more information about Joel’s work, visit www.integratedsoils.com
Watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify.
In Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast, Grant James is joined by Joel Williams, internationally respected soil health educator and founder of Integrated Soils. Together, they explore where soil conditioners fit into regenerative systems, the role of carbon-based inputs like fish hydrolysates, and the long-term gains farmers can expect when feeding both plants and soil biology.
In this conversation, we stumble onto the reawakening of farmers' interest in soil health, with Joel talking about the growing recognition of soil conditioners as a valuable tool. Products such as seaweed extracts and fish-based amendments not only provide nutrients but also stimulate soil biology with amino acids and other carbon-rich compounds - feeding microbes and plants alike.
A key message listeners will find in this episode is how rebuilding soil takes time. Joel emphasises that while farmers may see changes within 3–5 years, regeneration is a lifelong process of continual improvement. Inputs can help speed up the transition, but ultimately it’s about balancing nutrient offtake with sustainable inputs, while unlocking the reserves already stored in the soil.
Much as we have discussed in our recent blog post, timing is everything. When it comes to applying amino acids, Joel notes that living systems are always hungry for them - except during the depths of winter when growth slows. For autumn-sown crops, autumn is a particularly important window, as amino acids support early root establishment before dormancy. Spring and in-season applications also play a role in boosting nitrogen efficiency and protein synthesis.
From his work worldwide, Joel has seen many farmers comfortably reduce nitrogen inputs by 20–30%, with pasture systems sometimes cutting their inputs by up to 50%. The key is replacing reactive inorganic nitrogen with more stable, carbon-based organic forms. These not only reduce losses to leaching and off-gassing but also improve nitrogen use efficiency, allowing plants to produce more biomass per unit of input.
For farmers looking to begin their regenerative journey, Joel recommends starting with the five soil health principles: minimise disturbance, keep soils covered, maintain living roots, integrate livestock, and embrace diversity. Growing plants - whether through cover crops or perennial phases - is central to feeding soil biology. From there, organic amendments and bio-stimulants can be used to kickstart the system, while reducing practices that harm soil life.
As Joel concludes, it’s about “doing less of the baddies and more of the goodies” - a simple but powerful principle for anyone serious about long-term soil health.
Find out more about Episode 4 of The Sea2Soil Podcast with Joel Williams, landing on September 25th.
In this episode, we hear from James Warne, a farmer in Devon and Managing Director of Soil First Farming, a consultancy business providing invaluable advice as well as agronomy packages for farmers looking to improve soil health and cultivation practices on their farms. James gives some great advice around ways to improve the microbial activity in soils and how feeding the ‘underground livestock’ in our soils is crucial to promoting and supporting healthy crops above-ground.
Watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify.
In this episode, we hear from Regen Ben, our host for recording day, at his farm near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire.
With some powerful messages, Ben is a passionate advocate for regenerative farming, and you can listen to his thoughts on soil improvers and how he uses Sea2Soil and other practices on his farm across his cropping in a profitable way, which has significantly improved soil health and biodiversity.
Ben explains how SeaSoil is being successfully utilised right across the farm rotation in multiple crops, including cereals, potatoes and in agroforestry, and how it complements all the other regenerative practices used on the farm.