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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.

17 December 2021
  • UK Food Security Report 
  • Agribusinesses lobbying for weaker EU policies
  • Ownership of data in farming
  • Environment Agency video on River Axe catchment
  • Success of city allotments
10 December 2021
  • UK Food Security Report 
  • Agribusinesses lobbying for weaker EU policies
  • Ownership of data in farming
  • Environment Agency video on River Axe catchment
  • Success of city allotments
03 December 2021
  • New details on Defra’s SFI
  • SSA Soil in the Supply Chain report 
  • FAO announcements for World Soil Day
  • Calls for soil carbon code
  • Mapping fungi
26 November 2021
  • Reforms to EU CAP
  • Peatlands in National Parks
  • Handheld soil test sensor
  • Antibiotics impact on soil microbes
  • Soil erosion and regenerative agriculture
19 November 2021
  • EU soil strategy for 2030
  • Office for Environment Protection
  • UK Farm Soil Carbon Code stakeholder event 
  • New Soil Carbon Guide
  • Nitrous oxide emissions
12 November 2021
  • COP26
  • England’s Environment Act
  • Scotland joins 4 per 1000
  • WWF Retailer Commitment for Nature
  • UNCCD on Sustainable Land Management
05 November 2021
  • COP26
  • Soil Nutrient Health Scheme for Northern Ireland
  • BSSS on soil carbon 
  • IUCN UK Peatland booklet series
  • Soil health for Net Zero farming
29 October 2021
  • Soil amendment rejected from Environment Bill
  • EFRA concerns over direct farm payments
  • 20-50% of soils too salty to be fertile
  • Farmer-focused supply chains 
  • Government agencies buying peat compost
21 October 2021
  • Environment Bill in the Commons
  • More on England’s Soil Health Action Plan
  • Government response to Climate Change Committee
  • Soils and greenhouse gas removal
  • EUSO stakeholder forum
14 October 2021
  • Environment Agency Climate Adaptation report 
  • Soil Amendment to England’s Environment Bill
  • Natural England on woodland creation
  • Farmers trust in ‘experts’
  • SSA is hiring!
08 October 2021
  • Recommendations to improve UK’s water quality
  • Benefits of Agroforestry
  • Documentaries on farming with nature
  • Farming on Marxian soil
  • Studying deep soil
01 October 2021
  • Soil’s role in UK’s climate change mitigation
  • UK’s impact on global biodiversity
  • Northern Ireland’s future farming
  • Saline soils in Bangladesh
  • Volcanic soil bacteria
24 September 2021
  • UK’s regulatory bodies call for action
  • Lead up to COP26
  • Sustainable barley trials
  • Chelsea Flower Show winners
  • Plastic impact on soil health
17 September 2021
  • ELM’s lacking farmer support
  • Global impact of agricultural subsidies
  • Delay’s to England’s Environment Bill
  • Saving our Soils report
  • Soil health in Chelsea Flower Show
10 September 2021
  • Soils in England’s Environment Bill
  • Soil loss to increase 13–22.5 % in EU and UK
  • CPRE report on Hedgerows
  • FAO resources on soil organic carbon
  • IUCN World Conservation Congress
03 September 2021
  • Amendments to Environment Bill
  • Inflating figures on nature conservation
  • Soil biodiversity outcome document
  • Diverse landscapes increasing yields
  • Earthworms and soil quality
27 August 2021
  • EA’s regulatory statement on applying organic manure
  • Scotlands ‘New Vision for Land Use’ report 
  • RHS survey on British gardeners peat use 
  • UN Biodiversity Conference delayed
  • Farming systems that promote ecosystem benefit
13 August 2021
  • 6th IPCC report 
  • Local Nature Recovery Strategies consultation
  • Implications of net zero targets for land and food equity
  • Barriers to soil testing for beef and sheep farming
  • Increase in regenerative farming
06 August 2021
  • Expansion of Catchment Sensitive Farming
  • New guidance for Farming Rules for Water
  • German agricultural soils to help flood mitigation
  • Soil moisture driving Africa’s severe floods
  • Petition to ban synthetic pesticides in public areas
30 July 2021
  • Welsh regulations challenged by NFU Cymru
  • Soil loss by water erosion in EU and UK to increase
  • Review of carbon credit protocols 
  • Extreme weather prompts sustainable rotations on pilot farm
  • Irish soil monitoring app
23 July 2021
  • Environment Agency hiring farm inspectors
  • Concerns over biodiversity metric 
  • New York State’s Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Act
  • New buzzword ‘regenerative agriculture’
  • Glossary of farming and environmental jargon
16 July 2021
  • The National Food Strategy
  • Grant awarded to develop and pilot a UK Farm Soil Carbon Code
  • Microsoft requests proposals for CDR tonnage
  • Stakeholder event on the UK soil carbon marketplace
  • Prince of Wales on sustainable agriculture
09 July 2021
  • Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan
  • EAC calls for urgent shadow target for soil health
  • Soil amendments debated in the House of Lords
  • UN call to restore degraded land
  • Joint NGO letter on peat compost sales
02 July 2021
  • Defra’s Agricultural Transition Plan
  • EAC calls for urgent shadow target for soil health
  • Soil amendments debated in the House of Lords
  • UN call to restore degraded land
  • Joint NGO letter on peat compost sales
25 June 2021
  • Groundswell 2021
  • Environment Bill enters Committee Stage
  • EU CAP failing to support climate-friendly farming
  • Soil farmer of the year
  • Waitrose banning peat compost
18 June 2021
  • The CCC’s Third Climate Change Risk Assessment
  • UK government responds to the Dasgupta Review
  • Defra’s updates to the OIF
  • G7 legacy nature project
  • China’s soil erosion decreases
11 June 2021
  • Updates on Defra’s Sustainable Farming Initiative
  • 2nd annual progress report on Climate Ready Scotland
  • Costs for welsh farmers to comply to river pollution regulations
  • Soil pollution makes headlines
  • McCain’s regenerative agriculture pledge
03 June 2021
  • Failure to protect agricultural pollution of England’s rivers
  • Institute of Government report on post-Brexit regulations
  • Call for Welsh government to ban peat use
  • FAO Soil Pollution report
  • Environment Agency net zero road map