ORGANIC SOIL IMPROVER: Providing a full nutritional profile for you soil to make it healthier and more productive
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]
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.
Tillage with Intention: How to Balance Cultivation and Regeneration
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