Changing funding and policy priorities have left the UK with a diminishing number of practicing soil scientists. If the current situation continues, the number of soil scientists is likely to be inadequate to meet future production challenges.  

Two new initiatives are launching this week, the Brian Chambers Soils Fund (BCSF) will be offering grants to support careers of young scientists to work with soils, nutrient and manure management with activities such as conference attendance or the purchase of field or laboratory equipment. In addition the International Fertiliser Society (IFS) will be sponsoring the Brian Chambers International Award; annual cash prizes for PhD or MSc students who can demonstrate how their work will provide practical benefits to on farm crop nutrition.

Phil Haygarth, Professor of Soil and Water Science at Lancaster University, Past President of the British Society of Soil Science and a member of the BCSF steering group says, “anything we can do to encourage career specialism and help invest in the skills and knowledge needed to manage soils effectively to meet the demands of modern farming systems is essential for the future sustainability of agriculture; especially when a growing population will need more food produced from the same area of land.”

In this International Year of Soils, there has never been a more important time to promote soils, the practice of soil science and its importance in addressing key global issues. Soil science has been the basis for numerous key initiatives to improve agricultural productivity and profitability through better soil, nutrient and manure management.

Seminal guidance documents such as ”The Fertiliser Manual (RB209)” and the series of “Making Better Use of Livestock Manures” booklets have been produced with soil scientists to help farmers save time and money, and reduce their impact on the environment.

Using a recognised fertiliser recommendation system such as RB209 can save costs on an average farm by an estimated £500-£5,000 per year (Defra, 2011). Taking account of the nutrients in organic materials is particularly important:

• Over 100 million tonnes of organic materials (manures) are applied to agricultural land annually in the UK.
• Organic materials recycled to agricultural land are worth in excess of £700 million/year.

Steve Hallam, Secretary of the International Fertiliser Society said, “Professor Brian Chambers was well known in the agricultural industry and worked tirelessly to apply soil science to the complex problems of agriculture. His untimely passing in 2014 reminds us of the need for investment in careers and succession planning.  Brian would have been delighted to know that these initiatives have been set up to recognise his enormous contribution to agriculture.”

The BCSF and IFS will be working over the next months with universities and the UK agricultural industry to raise awareness of the initiatives. For more information on how you or your organisation might get involved see:

The Brian Chambers Soils Fund www.soils.org.uk/bcsf, or email bcsf@soils.org.uk

The Brian Chambers International Award for Young Researchers in Crop Nutrition www.fertiliser-society.org/BrianChambersAward, or email secretary@fertiliser-society.org