ORGANIC SOIL IMPROVER: Providing a full nutritional profile for you soil to make it healthier and more productive
In the far north of Scotland, near Halkirk in Caithness, John Mackay runs a mixed arable and livestock farm across several sites spanning more than 300 acres. With a background that spans engineering, the nuclear industry, and now an offshore career, John has always returned to farming whenever he’s home. That mix of experiences has shaped his perspective on how to best manage the land.
“Because I’m away offshore for long stretches, I’ve had to rethink how we farm,” John explains. “It’s about making the system work smarter, not harder. Improving soil health while reducing synthetic inputs is the way forward for us.”
Today, the farm grows barley (and previously oats) and runs livestock across rough grazing ground. John is also exploring ways to expand into more crop production over summer while increasing livestock numbers through winter grazing, whether by utilising forage crops or bringing in store lambs and cast ewes.
With plenty of late nights spent researching alternative farming processes and systems, John has built his knowledge. “After shifts, I’ll sit down and dig into regenerative practices, foliar nutrient systems, and biological inputs. That’s how I came across Sea2Soil,” he says.
After reaching out to Liz here at Sea2Soil for more information, John began trialling our product alongside foliar-applied urea, Epsotop, and molasses. And even without compound fertilisers, the results were encouraging.
“Our crops held their colour, rooted well, and bulked up nicely - even through dry spells,” John recalls. Demonstrating how Sea2Soil can be used in a very practical way to improve overall crop resilience in a changing climate, especially in drier seasons like we’ve seen in 2025.
The impact hasn’t been limited to arable ground. Grassland has also shown noticeable improvement.
“We’ve got older fields that sheep used to avoid,” John explains. “Since applying Sea2Soil, they’re now grazing those fields evenly. One field in particular was always strip-grazed for cattle, but the sheep would never touch the aftermath. Now they graze the whole lot without hesitation. That tells me something in the biology has shifted - it’s making the forage more palatable or healthier.”
John is also working with other partners, including Jenna Ballantine at NewGen Agri and Andy Cheetham at Hybrid Farming Systems, to build a longer-term foliar and biological-based nutrient plan. The aim is to reduce inputs and costs while steadily improving soil health.
“We’re realistic that yields might dip slightly as soils correct themselves,” John says, “but in the long run, this will be more sustainable and profitable.”
Balancing full-time offshore work with part-time farming has given John a pragmatic perspective.
“It’s not about doing things the old way,” he says. “It’s about doing them better. With Sea2Soil and the systems we’re putting in place, I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction. I know this isn’t a quick fix, but I want to work to correct some of the damage that has been done to the land here without manmade fertiliser where I can. It’s a big step for me, but I know I’m only just scratching the surface of what’s possible.”
Want to know more about how Sea2Soil can fit into your farming system? Talk to the team today to see how they can support you - get in touch.
Healthy soil equals healthy crops. That’s the core message of The Sea2Soil Podcast – and it’s never more relevant than when we talk about soil cultivation. In Episode 1, host Grant James speaks with Steve Townsend of Soil First Farming about why excessive soil movement is one of the most damaging – and costly – practices in modern agriculture.
In this companion blog, we dig deeper into the points Steve raised and explore why reducing cultivation could be the most profitable decision a farmer makes.
Cultivation, or soil movement, has long been a cornerstone of conventional farming. It includes ploughing, harrowing, discing – all designed to prepare seedbeds, manage weeds, and “refresh” the soil.
But while these techniques might give short-term gains, they often come with long-term costs that aren’t always obvious. As Steve puts it: “Cultivations are the things that damage our soil. If you damage the soil, you damage the biology – and then you spend more money on inputs like fertiliser.”
Soil isn’t just the ground we walk upon – it’s alive. Beneath our feet lies a complex food web of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microscopic life forms. These organisms recycle nutrients, build soil structure, and support plant health.
Frequent cultivation disrupts this balance:
Over time, this biological decline forces farmers to rely more heavily on synthetic fertilisers and chemicals, increasing costs and reducing soil’s natural productivity.
Disturbed soil is fragile soil. Once aggregates are broken, they’re more prone to erosion – washed away by rain or blown away by wind. And it’s often the most fertile topsoil that goes first. As Steve points out: “We are letting too much of our soil go down the river. And it’s not the worst bit of soil that goes – it’s the best bit of soil that goes.”
Cultivation can also lead to compaction. Repeated passes with heavy machinery press soils into hard layers, reducing water infiltration and root growth. This creates a vicious cycle where fields become harder to manage and require even more energy to work.
The biological and physical damage caused by cultivation leads to direct economic costs:
Reducing soil movement flips this on its head: healthier soils mean fewer inputs, lower costs, and more resilient yields.
Conservation agriculture – the approach Steve champions – is built around three key principles:
This shift won’t happen overnight. Farmers need to plan rotations, consider new equipment, and learn to “trust” the soil biology they’re building. But as more UK farmers join networks like BASE UK, they’re proving that profitability and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.
Products like Sea2Soil can support this transition. By adding readily digestible proteins and carbohydrates, Sea2Soil feeds soil microbes at key stages of regeneration, helping rebuild biology faster and strengthen the soil food web.
Ongoing trials – including research with Nottingham University – aim to quantify this boost, but the logic is simple: feed the biology, and it will feed your crops.
Thinking about moving towards less soil disturbance? Here are some first steps:
Steve Townsend’s conversation with Grant James in Episode 1 of The Sea2Soil Podcast brings these ideas to life, with practical insights from decades of on-farm experience.
Listen to Episode 1: Why chemistry, physics, and biology must all work together for healthier soils, with Steve Townsend.
Want updates on future episodes, trial results, and practical soil health tips? Sign up for the Sea2Soil newsletter and join the journey towards healthier soils and healthier crops.
Boosting Protein from the Ground Up: Organic Trial Results with Sea2Soil
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Tillage with Intention: How to Balance Cultivation and Regeneration
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