A farm’s most important asset is soil

Using an Internet based service called Megalab, Yara Analytical Services in Pocklington provides more than 200,000 analyses of plant, soil and fruit for customers mainly in the UK, but also around the world. Altogether, Pocklington has well over a million soil analysis data points.

A UK-based farmer can send in leaf samples one day, and get a recommendation for fertilizer application the same or the next day, enabling them to quickly add the right fertilizer for their crops.

In the 3 minutes and 16 seconds it takes you to watch this video above, Yara will send nine more recommendations to farmers around the world.

“Soil is the most important asset on a farm and managing that soil has a big impact on the crops you produce and the profitability of the farm,” says Simon Pogson, Business Manager in Pocklington.

“But soils aren’t static, soils change over time depending on the crops that are grown and the way it’s been managed and it’s critical that Yara understands that.”

Real-time information

James Price, a farmer from Woodstock UK depends on the advice he gets from Pocklington.

“The value of the knowledge of the soil is vital in what we do every day,” he says.

“The ability to have technology in the palm of your hand has been a big change. Rather than have to go back to the office to do things, everything is available. We have tools in the field and we get instant results – real time information is very important for us.”

Pogson says that in the past Yara’s suite of tools and services were used in isolation. “Now we’re bringing them together to integrate the power of those tools,” he says.

“There’s no better feeling than giving a recommendation to a farmer and getting feedback that it really helped on the farm,” Pogson concludes.