Soil in spotlight at farming masterclass in Newtown
The role hedges play in capturing carbon and storing it in soils is being investigated.
Farming Connect is gathering soil samples in an initiative which will provide important benchmarking data for farmers.
And the organisation will discuss the topic at a workshop in mid-Wales in February.
Data collection for the second year of the Welsh Soil Project is under way, and this time soil samples have also been taken from land within a metre from field hedges, in addition to within-field samples.
Dr Non Williams, Farming Connect’s Carbon Specialist Officer, said the aim is to compare soil carbon stocks within fields and under woody vegetation.
“We often get questions from farmers about this, and we hope that the results of this project will provide them with the answers,’’ she said.
“Estimating the soil carbon levels by hedges will help to highlight their importance for climate change mitigation.’’
Farmers have a key role to play in tackling climate change and soils can play an important part in that.
More than 1,000 samples were taken from farms that are a part of Farming Connect’s Our Farms Network, which were then analysed for organic matter content and bulk density, as well as other measurements.
For uniformity, all samples were collected within the same period this autumn and from grass fields including permanent pasture, hay and silage fields, and reseeds.
Soil was taken from multiple depths, from the top 10cm layer to a depth of 50cm.
A Farming Connect Masterclass takes place at Elephant and Castle, Newtown, on February 8 from 7.30pm to 9pm.
Dr Williams, who will lead these workshops, said it will give farmers an opportunity to improve their understanding of the basics of carbon footprinting prior to carrying out a carbon audit for their farms.
Further details are available at businesswales.gov.wales/farmingconnect/news-and-events
