Environmental monitoring firm Enitial has won a contract from Severn Trent Water to help farms use natural resources in the form of biosolids to improve productivity.
The company is sampling and analysing soil to identify the land most suitable for improvement using biosolids. Samples are taken using technology that records the exact location of every one taken. The information is then used to target specific areas for using biosolids.
Ivor Parry, Enitial’s business development director, said: “Using biosolids on agricultural land has huge benefits for farmers as it can significantly increase production and yields. Our stringent sampling and analysis techniques determine concentrations of certain elements already contained within the field soils before using biosolids to help farmers use the land as productively and efficiently as possible.”
Biosolids are playing an increasingly important role in land regeneration and agricultural improvement and recent improvements in production methods have made them a cost effective alternative to traditional fertilisers.
Tony Martindale at Severn Trent added: “In order to help farmers use biosolids to improve soil quality on the land, we need to identify suitable sites through soil analysis. It’s imperative that all our sampling and analysis comply with the industry agricultural Code of Practice which is why we’ve called in environmental sampling expert Enitial.”
The five-year contract involves Enitial technicians taking soil samples from farms interested in using biosolids on the land as a fertiliser.
Samples will be sent to the National Laboratory Service to be analysed in accordance with the agricultural Code of Practice. Results will be used to determine whether it is beneficial to use biosolids, based on current concentration levels in the soil.
