Soil Sampling Requirements for the Whole Farm Plan

The WFP is a new requirement to qualify for your single farm payment. The WFP consists of five separate reports or audits, which combined make up the WFP. This year every business must have completed at least two of the five components. While there are no financial penalties for non-compliance this year, you will not be eligible to apply for any new schemes in 2025. Each year while submitting the Single Application Form (SAF) you will need to declare which parts you have completed, and by 2028 all five components must be completed.

Soils Sampling Requirements

Soil sampling to test the chemical composition and nutrient content of the soil is one of the five components of the WFP. However, not all fields will need tested. There are three questions that you should ask yourself about a field to assess whether it needs sampled or not. These questions are as follows:

1. Is the field permanently managed (owned or tenanted)?
2. Is the field classed as region 1 (improved grassland or better)?
3. Does the field receive an input (is fertiliser and/or any organic manure applied)?

The answers to questions one and two can be found on your SAF or on your farm map online. If the answer to all three questions is yes, then the field needs to be sampled every five years.

You can achieve this in many ways; you can soil sample all eligible fields in one year and forget about it for four years. Alternatively you could split the eligible fields into five blocks and sample a different block each year, ensuring that all eligible fields are sampled every five years. Splitting your eligible fields into five blocks has the advantage of spreading the sampling cost and more importantly the cost of correcting deficiencies found across the years. However, all eligible fields need to have been sampled at least once in the previous five years by the 15^th of May 2028.

For a soil sample to be eligible, as a minimum, the tests conducted must include pH level, phosphate (P), potash (K) and soil carbon. There are two tests for soil carbon which are acceptable, and they are the Dumas test and Loss on Ignition (LOI).

Soil analysis must be carried out by an analysis lab and soil testing kits which you can buy online are not valid for the purposes of the WFP. Businesses must maintain records of soil analysis taken and actions taken in response to the analysis.

The standards outlined above are the minimum standards. It is recommended that businesses also test the soil for minerals and trace elements, seek advice from a FACTS qualified advisor and produce a nutrient management plan. Nutrient management plans will be a mandatory requirement from 2028.

Funding

At the time of writing there are two sources of funding available to farmers to help with the cost of soil sampling. These are outlined below and links to further information on these schemes are included in the further information section.

Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF)

The PSF scheme provides grant funding for soil sampling 20% of your region 1 land. However, to be eligible to apply for this funding a carbon audit must have been completed within the previous three years.

FAS Specialist Advice – Soil and Nutrient Management

Up to £1,600 of funding is available through the Scottish Farm Advisory Service for businesses to access specialist soil advice and this can cover soil testing. However, the advisor you want to receive the advice from must be an FBAASS accredited advisor.

James Orr, SAC Consulting