The microbes in SlurryForSoil were specifically chosen for their abilities to support plant health and resilience. One of the many benefits of the different rhizobacteria and fungi is that they can improve soil health, including its structure.
WHAT IS A HEALTHY SOIL STRUCTURE?
The definition of a ‘healthy soil’ very much depends on where it is and what we’d like it to do. In the UK we have over 700 soil types, each with its own balance of sand, silt, clay and organic matter. Each has different properties and structure.
We often consider a ‘healthy’ soil to be one that is optimised for its purpose. Increasingly we’re demanding more from our soils. In the context of dairy production, it’s primarily about the soil’s ability to grow high quantities of good quality grass for forage, and an ability to withstand the wear and tear of hooves and machinery.
With a changing climate, we are wanting our soils to cope with both weather extremes – flood and drought – and sequester carbon too.
So, in production, a healthy soil structure is one that grows large quantities of high-quality forage, remains open for water infiltration, has water holding capacity for times of drought and isn’t prone to compaction.
Infiltration is largely about soil aggregation – the arrangement of soil particles and how they are stuck together. With better aggregated soils having a larger surface area, it also influences water holding capacity too.
EFFECTS OF POOR SOIL STRUCTURE
In recent years, we’ve seen how the challenges associated with poor soil health are exacerbated by extreme wet weather. It has also been evident that healthier soils cope better, recover quicker and can contribute to profitability.
Both 2023 and 2024 saw prolonged periods of rainfall throughout the autumn, winter and spring. Where soils had good soil structure, this water was able to infiltrate the soil’s profile and was retained for periods of drought. Grass recovered more quickly, and cows were able to graze for longer – saving producers the significant costs associated with housing cattle.
Where soil structure was poor, the rain either ran off (taking precious nutrients with it) or accumulated on the soil surface. Exposed soil, with little or no grass cover, is particularly prone to erosion and standing water. And soils with poor soil structure tend to have weaker plant and root growth and coverage – further exacerbating the issue. It is a vicious cycle.
Water is surprisingly heavy and will further compact soils, compounding the effects of poor soil structure. In addition, waterlogged soils are prone to further damage by cows and machinery, take longer to recover and are less productive when they do.
Historically we have used cultivations ahead of re-seeding to optimise the physical aspects of soil health. While they continue to be useful tools for remedial work, mechanical interventions do destroy the hyphae network (see why that’s important in the next section) and can leave soils exposed to erosion. Looking ahead we could mitigate some of the need for mechanical interventions by focusing on supporting the microbes that live in our soils.
HOW DO MICROBES BUILD AND MAINTAIN SOIL STRUCTURE?
Microbes help soil to aggregate. In digestion soil microbes excrete various enzymes and metabolites – substances that break down their food and function similarly to stomach acid. Many of these enzymes and metabolites are ‘sticky’ so they chemically pull and hold extremely small soil particles together.
Fungi produce long strands and threads, known as hyphae. As the hyphae penetrate the soil, they physically pull those micro aggregates together into bigger, or macro, aggregates. Eventually, together with plant roots, they form a mesh around the soil aggregates.
While soil microbes are, as the name suggests, microscopic, they can be abundant in soils and the combined effect can be significant.
As the foundation of the soil food web, their benefits can be amplified by the organisms that feed on them. Protozoa, nematodes and earthworms, for example will all contribute to the creation and maintenance of spaces between aggregates and a healthy soil structure.
In addition, these organisms trap water and nutrients within their ‘bodies’, becoming a key component of the ‘organic matter’ that we know is a key indicator of soil health.
HOW SLURRYFORSOIL CONTRIBUTES TO SOIL STRUCTURE?
Many of the microbes in SlurryForSoil have been selected, in part, for their abilities to help build and maintain soil health.
By adding SlurryForSoil to slurry, you’re inoculating it with soil-born bacteria and fungi. At first, the microbes use the organic matter within the slurry as a food source, breaking it down in the same way that it would be broken down in the soil (as opposed to ‘rotting’ as it would without the facultative anaerobes in SlurryForSoil, more on that here).
The resulting biologically enhanced slurry delivers organic matter and nutrients in a way that the existing soil biology can use effectively, as well as inoculating the soil with microbes that can improve soil aggregation.
Long term, their contribution to good soil structure helps grass roots have better access to air, water, and nutrients, as well as be more resilient to weather extremes.
FIND OUT MORE
Farmer, Marcus Ferraro, has been using SlurryForSoil since 2022. As a result, he has had an enormous grass growth rate and seen first-hand how it improves soil absorption. For more detail on Marcus’ review of SlurryForSoil, read the full article here. You can also find other farmer testimonials here.