Understanding and improving soil health is critical

“Understanding and improving soil health is critical,” says organic fertiliser producer SoilWorx

Soil health is declining across UK farms, leaving crops more vulnerable to weather extremes and increasing input costs.
Improving soil health means addressing physical, chemical and biological function — not just NPK nutrition.
Access to organic matter is now available to all farm types, enabling practical, long-term improvements in soil resilience and productivity.

Across UK farms, a consistent pattern is emerging in soil health: declining organic matter and carbon levels, increasing compaction, and crops struggling to cope with extreme weather events. These issues can be attributed to not monitoring your soil health.

Recognising the signs of poor soil health – and having the right solutions to improve and maintain it – can help make farms more resilient. Yet many farmers still think about soil health in narrow nutritional terms, like NPK values.

For Dr Paul O’Hora, Sales Director at SoilWorx, the reality goes much deeper. Which is why SoilWorx is committed to making the organic matter and complete nutrition needed to build healthier, more productive soils available to every farmer through its range of organic and organo-mineral fertilisers.

Soil: a farm’s biggest asset

Understanding how soil functions isn’t a luxury for organic purists. It’s practical agronomy that every farmer and grower needs to understand.

“Without adequate soil maintenance the consequences are there for everyone to see in the fields,” says Dr Paul O’Hora. “Areas that underperform year after year. Crops struggling in drought whilst maybe neighbouring fields cope. Waterlogging after heavy rain. Increasing reliance on inputs for the same yields. These are all symptoms of declining soil function – and every farmer already knows which parts of their farm are affected.”

Soil health encompasses three interconnected pillars: chemical (nutrient availability and pH), physical (structure and water management), and biological (the living organisms that make soil work).

“When farmers understand how these interact, they can see why their soil behaves the way it does – and what needs to change,” explains Paul.

“Having the wrong pH locks up nutrients even when they’re abundant. Micronutrient deficiencies –limit yields regardless of adequate NPK. Physical health determines whether water infiltrates or runs off, whether roots can penetrate or hit compaction. Biological health – the microbes and earthworms working in your soil – determines whether organic matter breaks down and releases nutrients, or whether it sits inactive,” he says.

Critically, all these pillars work together. Good structure supports biology. Healthy biology improves nutrient availability. You can’t optimise one whilst ignoring the others – which is why SoilWorx believes NPK-only programmes increasingly fall short.

The limitations of NPK-only thinking

“Synthetic fertilisers deliver exactly what’s on the bag – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. What they don’t deliver is organic matter, micronutrients, or any support for soil structure or biology. They do nothing to improve your soil’s ability to hold water, resist compaction, or cycle nutrients naturally,” Paul says.

When soil biology is weak, the soil can’t unlock nutrients already present. Soil bacteria mineralise organic matter, converting stable nutrients into plant-available forms. Without active biology, this natural process stalls. Farmers end up applying more synthetic fertiliser to compensate for what the soil should be providing – increasing costs whilst doing nothing to solve the underlying problem.

“Research demonstrates the physical impact dramatically: a raindrop hitting exposed soil can send particles flying a few feet away, blocking surface pours accelerating erosion and surface runoff. The same raindrop hitting well-structured soil with a cover crop with good organic matter barely disturbs the surface and drains. That difference – between soil that works for you and soil that works against you – comes down to organic matter and structure, things synthetic NPK alone cannot provide,” Paul explains.

Giving every farmer access to improved soil health

For years, easy access to organic matter has been limited to certain farm types, like those with their own livestock. SoilWorx is committed to changing that by giving every farmer, regardless of system or scale, access to the organic matter their soil needs.

For example, SoilWorx Dynamo organic pellets deliver approximately 75% organic matter in pelleted form that spreads with conventional equipment. This is complete nutrition: NPK, essential micronutrients and substantial organic matter in one product. SoilWorx organo-mineral fertiliser combines organic matter with synthetic nutrients in a single pellet for immediate nutrient availability plus long-term organic benefits.

“Plants need more than NPK, and SoilWorx Dynamo products deliver the full nutrient spectrum including micronutrients that synthetic programmes miss. This eliminates hidden deficiencies that limit yield potential. The 75% organic matter builds structure, improves water-holding capacity, reduces the risk of compaction and creates the porous framework that helps nutrients bind rather than leach. This is physical soil health that synthetic fertilisers cannot provide,” Paul enthuses.

The importance of soil testing

February and March represent ideal times for soil testing as it provides an accurate snapshot of what the crop will encounter when it’s ready to grow. This timing allows informed decisions for the coming season’s nutrient management plan.

Comprehensive soil profiling, including biological assessment, establishes baselines and enables meaningful comparison over time.

“When you understand your starting point, you can measure the impact of your organic interventions and demonstrate return on investment,” says Paul.

“When soil biology starts functioning well, multiple benefits emerge. Healthier crops that require fewer inputs. Better soil structure and field conditions. Improved monitoring indicators including increased earthworm counts – a simple but effective measure any farmer can conduct simply by digging down with a spade.”

Independent laboratory testing shows a single application of SoilWorx natural fertilisers can increase the Soil Health Index by 19% – measuring microbial activity and respiration. More active biology means better nutrient cycling, more earthworms, and soil that increasingly works itself. Unlike synthetic fertilisers delivering one spike and risking leaching if not immediately used, organic matter breaks down progressively. Plants take what they need when they need it which is a more efficient use of investment.

Soil health a primary climate change defence

Soils buffering capacity is declining just when UK farmers most need it. The 2024 season saw abnormal rainfall and flooding. The 2025 season brought drought. These swings are becoming more common – and soil health is the primary defence.

“Soil with good organic matter has genuine resilience. In drought, improved water-holding extends time before stress. In heavy rainfall, better infiltration reduces runoff and waterlogging. Deeper root systems – enabled by better structure – access water and nutrients shallow roots cannot reach. The result is yield stability across varying conditions. Not necessarily higher peaks, but consistent performance year after year. In unpredictable weather with tight margins, that consistency has real economic value,” explains Paul.

There’s no better time to improve soil health

SoilWorx products like Dynamo and Organo-Mineral fertilisers integrate into existing programmes using spreading equipment farmers already own. For crop nutrition, early March applications work well – ploughed in or drilled with seed, giving organic matter time to break down whilst making nutrients immediately available. For soil conditioning, post-harvest applications offer advantages such as accessible fields without compaction risks and time for integration before next season.

Year-on-year applications create cumulative benefits. Over time, soil organic matter builds, progressively reducing reliance on synthetic input. Eventually farmers reach maintenance phase where smaller applications protect the gains made.

Understanding realistic timeframes is important: meaningful soil health improvements typically emerge over three to ten years of consistent organic matter additions. Some benefits appear quickly, but structural and biological changes take time. However, farmers can track progress against their baseline to provide evidence that investment is working.

“Your soil is your biggest asset. Understand it. Feed it. Support it. And it will deliver – not just this season, but for seasons to come,” concludes Paul. “The traditional barrier to soil health was access to organic matter. That barrier no longer exists. Every farmer, regardless of their system, scale, or location, can now access the organic matter they need for complete nutrition, conditioning and better soil health.”

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