Bacteria and fungi maintain soil structure. They glue and weave soil particles together to create aggregates and pore spaces.

Water holding capacity and infiltration rates improve as a result of microbial action on soil structure.

Active and diverse microbes are the base for a healthy soil food web which will cycle nutrients to increase the availability of nutrients. Most nutrient absorption is microbially mediated.

Fertilisers can be more damaging to soil biology than cultivations.

In transition, reduce applications gradually over time, using soil and plant testing as guides.

Fertilisers should match crop requirements, calculated using biomass and tissue data.

Additional foliar dressings should be applied based on crop needs, calculated using tissue and sap analyses.

Consideration should be given to fertiliser formulations, with soil biology “friendly” formulations preferred over toxic ones, e.g. urea vs. ammonium nitrate or potassium sulphate instead of potassium chloride..

Microbes and the whole soil food web are vulnerable to disturbance. Cultivations, fertilisers and agrochemicals all create disturbance.

Aim to decrease or eliminate the necessity for anything beyond shallow cultivations through traffic and harvest management.

Restrict heavy equipment to headlands only; keep trailers off the fields.

Standardise equipment and use specified lanes for heavy machinery, such as “flower mix” dead beds or a single wheeling per bed.

Develop multi-year and multi-crop controlled traffic system.

Aim for in-field traffic axle weights of less than six tonnes and tyre pressures below 0.7 bar, either on tracks or with tyres.

Preserve soil structure and protect fungal networks from disturbance whilst avoiding aeration below the microbially active surface layer.

Use appropriate tillage for the immediate context.

Use shallow cultivation as your preferred method to manage cover crop and crop residue.

Reserve deep cultivations for cases where significant damage has occurred and always remove compaction where it presents.

Preserve the ‘middle zone’ undisturbed whenever possible.

Explore strip till and permaculture options as they are currently in development.

Feed the soil a balanced and supplemented diet (carbon and minerals). Use non-harmful fertilisers and a balance of nutrients.

Agro chemicals can be more damaging to soil microbes, especially fungi, than cultivation.

Limit or remove use of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides by focusing on building healthy plants from healthy soil through regenerative practices

Use rotation, variety selection, barrier materials and beneficial insects as pest and disease controls to reduce dependence on chemistry.

Where absolutely necessary, use limited herbicide for target weed species and localised field populations.

Photosynthesis captures light energy and transforms it into biological energy in the form of simple sugars.

These photosynthates are converted into other carbon compounds: starches, proteins, cellulose, fats and oils.

Between 20% and 90% of photosynthetic output can be released as exudates through roots.

95% of life on land occurs in the soil, fed by plant derived carbon. Exudates from living roots are the most energy rich of these sources.

Soil formation can occur when carbon flows from plant roots into soil, and soil degradation occurs in the absence of plant liquid carbon, i.e. soil carbon is consumed.

In order for carbon to flow to soil there has to be a partnership between plant roots and the recipient soil microbes.

Keeping living roots and green leaves in the ground for as many days a year as possible, and feeding plants to maximise the rate of photosynthesis is key.

Aim to capture sunlight on as many days a year as possible, more leaf types and more ground cover.

Cover crops should be multi species where possible with a mix of plant families to give varied plant exudates to build and feed a diverse microbiome.

In dry conditions, rapid sowing will allow germination in residual cash crop moisture.

For short windows of opportunity, use short life catch crops; just get roots into the ground to feed microbes and build aggregates.

Maximise cover in field during cash crops by incorporating companion crops and green wheelings.

Every plant exudes its own unique blend of sugars, enzymes, phenols, amino acids, auxins, gibberelins and other biological compounds.

Every plant type recruits its own specific microbiome which may vary with maturity, season and conditions.

Develop wide rotations and spread cash crops out over time.

Build rotations that allow for the inclusion of cover crops.

Cover crops should be ideally mixed species, with different mixes at different times. The additive effect of multi-species covers on the soil microbiome are multiplied versus single species covers.

Include companion crops with cash crops, either in crop or in green lanes between planted beds.

The greater the diversity of plants, the greater the diversity of microbes and the more resilient the soil ecosystem.

Above and below ground diversity creates healthy ecosystems which are resilient to pest and disease pressure.

Use headlands and sprayways or beetle banks to produce rich and diverse habitats between and within fields; multispecies (e.g. 12+) flower strips, can improve biodiversity through attracting fauna, including insects, and birds.

Build on landscape and farm wildlife corridors.

Diverse and complex ecosystems increase the number of predator-prey interactions, resulting in fewer and less severe pest infestations.

Where pests / diseases do occur, use monitoring and threshold  data to determine appropriate action.

Multiple microbiomes mean crowded and active soils where microbes and microbiomes will interact symbiotically. Plant nutrient absorption improves and water holding capacity increases.

The ratio between beneficial and pathogenic microbes is between 1200 and 1500 to 1. Crowded soils restict the activity and impact of pathogens.

Bare soil is more susceptible to physical damage, UV degradation and temperature changes.

Covered soil stays:

• cooler and dehydrates less in hot weather,
• warmer in cold weather.
• Is less vulnerable to erosion.

The aggregate is the fundamental unit of soil function; a great deal of biological activity takes place within aggregates.

Aggregation is vital for water infiltration and retention.

The only way to create aggregates is through microbial activity.

Moisture content is higher inside an aggregate than outside, and oxygen partial pressure is lower. This combination allows for example free living nitrogen fixing bacteria to function.

Stable soil conditions maintains microbe populations and activity levels.

Aim to retain biomass from cash, catch, companion and cover crops on the soil surface as mulch or incorporate them into the soil.

Maximise the benefit of cover crops by identifying appropriate timings and maturity of crop destruction to match agronomic need.

Use destruction methods and timing to manage C : N ratios; turn crops in green and immature to avoid locking up nitrogen.

Constituents of the microbiome and the whole soil food web are our soil livestock. Driving their recovery allows nutrients to cycle through every trophic level, allowing natural processes to work.

Springtails, Collembola and Tardigrades in the soil are as important livestock as sheep above it.

Livestock such as sheep can be introduced to graze off cover crops and cash crop residues. Integration can have many benefits to soil health, however careful management is necessary to avoid damage. Use on salad rotations is not always possible.

Worms are fertiliser factories, increasing nitrogen availability x5, phosphorous availability x7 and potassium availability x11.

Fungi and bacteria can be actively fed with liquid carbon sources such as plant root exudates, fish oil and molasses.

Embed the production and use of Johnson-Su as standard practice to add diversity and higher trophic level species.

Actively develop local fermentation of bio-stimulants for crops and plants.

Examples of context

• Soil type
• Local climate
• Rotation
• Business and financial
• Ecological
• Regulatory
• Recent weather

No two farms or operations are identical, constraints and opportunities will vary.

In transition, do first what is easiest for you. Worry in stages. Make a start with the changes that are easiest and lowest risk to make. Focus on the low hanging fruit.

Build over time on the actions consistent with the principles and work on reducing actions that conflict.