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The Week in Soil

Our weekly blog features the main scientific, political and cultural soil-related stories of interest from across the web over the previous seven days, available on our website and through our Twitter account every Friday morning.

23 December 2022
  • Livestock river pollution
  • UK agricultural land use 
  • Earthworms decline
  • Brussel sprouts
  • Dark chocolate, soils and heavy metals
16 December 2022
  • Land Use Framework
  • Clarity on ELMS 
  • COP15 
  • Inquiry into soil health
  • US soil erosion
09 December 2022
  • World Soil Day
  • Soil in COP15
  • UK Farm Soil Carbon report
  • Plant your pants campaign
  • Cycling for soil
02 December 2022
  • Nature key to food security
  • Nitrogen pollution from farms
  • US Farm Bill 
  • COP27 agreement
  • Less grazing improving soils
25 November 2022
  • Environment targets
  • Fertiliser profits rise
  • Soil carbon in Kenya
  • UNEP Peatland Report
  • Cycling for Soils
18 November 2022
  • Future of ELMS 
  • COP27 on soil
  • EU law on carbon removal
  • Rewarding organic farming
  • Sustainable rice
11 November 2022
  • COP27 and soils 
  • WWF Basket Report
  • Soil carbon market myths
  • Crises drive regen transition
  • Growing food in Mars soil
04 November 2022
  • Fast-track nature farm reforms
  • Soils, farming and the climate report
  • ELMS protect water from soil
  • Compostable packaging not composting
  • Martian soil samples
28 October 2022
  • New Defra ministers
  • Soil carbon schemes
  • UK crop yields and climate change 
  • Microplastics in Soil- UN reports
  • New technologies for soil health
21 October 2022
  • Drought persisting to 2023
  • Tenant farmers Review
  • Natural England chair on ELMS
  • WWF on protecting nature
  • Good Food Good Farming march
14 October 2022
  • UK Soils Awareness Week 
  • Good Food Good Farming March
  • European Environment Agency on nitrogen
  • Pesticides in soils impact ancient buried metals
  • Economics of agroecological transition
07 October 2022
  • Conservative Party conference
  • George Eustice argues for ELMs
  • Welsh Agriculture Bill
  • EU consulting on Soil Health Law
  • UK Soils Awareness Week
30 September 2022
  • Concerns for ELMS
  • $1.9 trillion biodiversity loss-risk
  • Soil health in US farm bill
  • World Soil Day 2023
  • Soil moisture and crop yields
23 September 2022
  • Organic September
  • GMOs in Argentina
  • US sewage sludge
  • Soil health and potatoes
  • Rock dust and peat soils
16 September 2022
  • Dry soils and winter food shortages
  • Climate change and multi-breadbasket failures
  • Task force on construction and soil
  • Warm soils help crop pests
  • Perennial wheats and soil health
09 September 2022
  • New Defra secretary
  • Regenerative farming resilience
  • Dry soils impact railways
  • Forever chemicals in groundwater
  • Property and sustainable food
02 September 2022
  • Ban peat for gardening by 2024
  • Drought in South West
  • Post-Brexit UK soil policy
  • Young people and soil health
  • Healthy soils needed for wine
26 August 2022
  • Soil carbon benefits for poor farms
  • Costs preventing farm climate actions
  • Oilseed rape not solution to soil compaction
  • Soil microbiomes and our health
  • Alfalfa and Martian soil
19 August 2022
  • Defra drought support
  • Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme Survey
  • Farmers seek more reservoirs
  • Soil contamination in war in Ukraine
  • Research on microplastics in soil
12 August 2022
  • Drought impacting soils
  • China national soil survey
  • Australian firms making soil carbon money
  • Soil bacteria reducing fertiliser use
  • Electrocuting soils to deal with forever chemicals
05 August 2022
  • World Congress of Soil Science
  • Defra farmer survey
  • UN on microplastics in soil
  • New approach to soil health 
  • Peatlands in Congo
29 July 2022
  • UK drought to affect soils
  • Action on peat paused
  • Nature-Friendly Farming Network report
  • Earth’s topsoil at risk
  • Australia’s soils ‘poor’
22 July 2022
  • 25 Year Environment Plan Progress
  • CPRE report
  • Heat affecting soils and crops
  • Action needed on microplastics in soils 
  • New Fungi species
15 July 2022
  • EA Working with Nature
  • NFU report on soil health
  • International soil carbon credits
  • Soil quality key for heat stress
  • Biodynamic wine and soils
08 July 2022
  • Wales farming scheme proposal
  • Peatland burnings
  • Tesco and River Wye
  • WWF Feeding the Future
  • Soil pollution and heart disease
01 July 2022
  • SFI opens 
  • Climate Change Commission reports
  • Investigation of water regulations
  • UK joins global food coalition
  • Nature-based farming and fertiliser
24 June 2022
  • Scottish farm payments move earlier 
  • EU halving pesticides 
  • Groundswell 2022
  • World Rainforest Day and food security 
  • Wetter farm seeking to help peat
17 June 2022
  • Government Food Strategy
  • Feeding Britain Report
  • Nestle Wheat Plan
  • Biochar buried in farm soils
  • Weeds good for soil
10 June 2022
  • Defra slurry storage grants
  • NFU and Nitrate Vulnerable Zones
  • Illegal peat burning
  • Soils in food and farming revolution
  • Soil art in Scotland
27 May 2022
  • Defra action for pollinators
  • UN global action on soil
  • Monbiot’s new book, Regenesis
  • Agrochemical microplastics in soil
  • Chelsea Flower Show
20 May 2022
  • Major decline in UK insects
  • Imported soils damage UK soil
  • Sadhguru calls for Global treaty for soil
  • Yeo Valley seeks increase in soil carbon
  • Plants grown in moon soil
13 May 2022
  • UK environmental tipping point
  • Basic payments forwarded to farmers
  • Food education at farms
  • Ben and Jerry’s regenerative farming
  • Soil pollution in churchyards
06 May 2022
  • Scotland's Sustainable Farming
  • Nutrient pollution law and housebuilding
  • Ireland funds EU soil research
  • Role of soil carbon in climate mitigation
  • Best British Beans
29 April 2022
  • Violations of the Farming Rules for Water
  • NFU and Green Alliance on ELMS
  • Levelling up Englands rural economy
  • 40% of worlds land degraded
  • Rock dust can help soils
22 April 2022
  • Climate change education
  • Politics of protein and soils
  • Communities connecting with family farms
  • Forest edges growth
  • Soil pores
15 April 2022
  • SFI not paying enough 
  • EU supports carbon farming
  • Food system not climate change ready
  • US Midwest losses 57.6trn tons of topsoil
  • The farmers behind Easter eggs
08 April 2022
  • IPCC on soil carbon
  • NFU warn food crisis
  • SFT on green hydrogen fertiliser
  • Soils under concrete
  • Soil and veganism
01 April 2022
  • Defra fertiliser support
  • SFI update
  • Peat in the horticulture industry
  • Riverford launch planet fund
  • Soil minerals and Covid-19
25 March 2022
  • Northern Ireland soil health scheme opens
  • UK Agriculture Partnership on soil
  • IfG reports on post-Brexit agriculture
  • EU halts Nature Protection package
  • Soil governance reviewed
18 March 2022
  • Fertiliser prices impact on soil health
  • Defra Environmental Targets
  • Red Tractor Standards and pesticides
  • Soil crusts prevent erosion
  • Guinness focus on soil health
11 March 2022
  • DAERA soil health advice
  • Soil food web
  • Eat insects help soils
  • Save Soils Campaign
  • Soils in Spring planting
04 March 2022
  • IPCC Report
  • Call to ban peat sales
  • Soil health impacts on nutrition
  • The sound of soil
  • Veganism and soil
25 February 2022
  • Research on peat ban
  • Construction soil specialists needed
  • Birch trees help soil plastic
  • Weeds show soil health
  • Fashion for healthy soil
18 February 2022
  • Defra learning as it goes with ELMs
  • $675bn subsidies harm soils
  • Peat soils in £10m landscape recovery research project
  • soils resilience strategy
  • Grasslands help soils and plants connect
11 February 2022
  • Defra raises peat grassland water levels
  • WWF farm soils net-zero role
  • Garden centre peat-free training
  • Fringe farms need soil
  • Grassland wildfire carbon sinks
04 February 2022
  • Rothamsted show climate risks soil
  • Defra opens landscape recovery scheme
  • Welsh govt farm carbon offset fears
  • Regenerative forestry helps soil
  • Soils lose, profit wins with big tractors
28 January 2022
  • Lords’ report on nature-based solutions
  • Defra drive woodland creation
  • Global Forum focused on soil
  • Soil under hedgerows capture CO2
  • Drying peat risk buried treasure
21 January 2022
  • Govt Climate Change Risk Assessment 
  • Commons Committee report on water quality
  • Research funding for soils
  • Chemical pollution beyond safe limit
  • Earthworms damaged by microplastics
14 January 2022
  • House of Commons Committee on Defra’s ELM
  • Scottish funds for biodiversity 
  • Carbon farming in the EU
  • Microplastics in tropical soils
  • Urban worms mission
07 January 2022
  • Oxford Farming Conference
  • Oxford Real Farming Conference
  • Northern Ireland and Defra consultations
  • FAO state of land and water
  • EU call for proposals