Effect of soil type on cultivation

• Very weakly structured, can slump down over winter
• Leave cultivations until just before drilling
• Plough to loosen the top 20cm of soil
• Use appropriate consolidation to preserve moisture and reduce erosion

• Have an unstable structure, especially if low in organic matter content
• Limit cultivations to avoid creating a fine seedbed which may settle into a compacted state during heavy rain and result in surface ponding and runoff.
• Ploughing may be needed to break up compaction, creating a vicious circle
• Where damage has occurred, consider importing large quantities of an organic material (but don’t break NVZ rules on total organic matter loadings).

• Have few limitations and are easy to cultivate
• Soil structure tends to be weak and damage will occur in wet conditions
• More susceptible to plough pans

• Have a stable soil structure but a narrow window for optimum cultivation, often too wet or too dry to work
• Well suited to shallow cultivation, but the first pass must be shallow enough to avoid bringing up large clods
• Cultivations should be kept to a minimum to reduce moisture loss.  Use a furrow press or roll after each cultivation to retain soil moisture

Source: Think Soils, the Environment Agency

To read about a farmer who is using soil properties to help him manage his farm, please click here.