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About us

Why Edaphos?

At Edaphos, we provide efficient agronomy services, soil fertility strategies and biological farming advice by testing and analysing every step of the way. We use our very own specialised audits, tissue testing and infield assessments to create a personal nutritional program that can be constantly evaluated and updated.

We understand the personal touch customers look for in agronomy as our agronomists deliver exceptional customer service and work together technically to offer a team approach to creating solutions. This means that when you talk to us, you can be sure you are getting trustworthy, scientific advice from a team of experts dedicated to your requirements.

Why sustainable agriculture?

We cannot really talk about sustainability until we have defined at what evolutionary point within a system that it is best to sustain. Biological systems are always dynamic and as such are depleting or regenerating according to their food source and environment. Many farmed UK soils have been biologically degenerating for decades, they need a drastic change in management and a system approach to ease regeneration before we can begin to consider sustainability.

Farming has always been about managing soil. Nature builds, farming depletes. Nature unhindered, develops complex dynamic systems that are net carbon importers. When the dynamics change the system loses its resilience and with constant intervention systems eventually degenerate.

Sustainability is about how to balance what goes in with what goes out to maintain an equilibrium. This is not just about the chemistry of soil, but about the driving force that funds the biology of soil; carbon. Climatic climax conditions are systems totally in sync with their environment and are described as ‘an ecological community in which populations of plants or animals remain stable and exist in balance with each other and their environment. A climax community is the final stage of succession, remaining relatively unchanged until destroyed by an event such as fire or human interference’. These systems have developed over many hundreds, even thousands of years and are not held in suspension, they are dynamic, constantly ebbing and flowing, depleting or regenerating according to the seasons and the environment. Its resilience and stability build because of its complexity.

Meet the team

Mike Harrington

Director & agronomist

Mike set up Edaphos in 2005 after 30 years in the industry to offer a balanced solution to poor soils, less nutrient exchange and poorer root systems by understanding how a soil works, how it links with a system of growing crops and taking that into account, recommending chemicals and/or fertilisers if necessary. But, having learnt a lot from difficult soils, Mike knows the importance of balancing nutrition and soil health for truly sustainable agriculture. Everything Edaphos does is based around a process of measurement and evaluation to create a programme for clients. Managing soil biology is an efficient way of growing crops and production will be far better in terms of yield and quality.

Ben Harrington

Agronomist

Ben has been with Edaphos since he joined the industry in 2011. Initially he helped Mike to develop the business and gained an understanding in all aspects of the business. From there he got involved with FACTS and BASIS and spent his first few years developing nutri-management plans. Ben has a great interest in plant nutrition and reducing chemical input as much as possible, as well as a keen interest in human health, and has developed his skills and knowledge as an agronomist with this mission in mind. Ben’s clients are mostly arable but half the acreage he ‘farms’ is heavily involved with digesters.

Ed Trotter

Agronomist

Ed joined Edaphos in September 2019 and has had a previous 4 years of experience in farm business consultancy and agronomy. Ed’s background is from the independent agronomy side of things and he focuses heavily on soil fertility and maximising margins for clients. Based in Lincolnshire, Ed also has experience with submitting BPS and stewardship applications for a range of clients.

Joe Redman

Agronomist

Joe joined Edaphos in August 2020 after 5 years working as a No-Till Specialist for the UK’s largest machinery importer and became a FACTS qualified adviser in 2017. Growing up on his family’s farm, Joe has always had a love of all things farming and during his professional career Joe has garnered a wealth of knowledge on No-Till crop establishment techniques, both in the UK and abroad, and is passionate about any farming system that holds soil health and regeneration close to the core of its business.

Ben Arthur

Agronomist

Previously Ben worked within the Infrastructure and Utility sector as a surveyor acting between farmers, rural land managers and commercial clients. Since then Ben has worked hands on for a large-scale grower whilst undertaking BASIS in Crop Production. Ben believes that with the challenges posed by both environmental concerns and changes to BPS, there is a drive to improve on conventional systems and this can be achieved by adopting regenerative principles.

Rob Beaumont

Agronomist

Rob joined Edaphos in August 2021. Alongside his role as an agronomist Rob also runs his own arable farming business in Worcestershire, bringing a first-hand understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by growers. He has a keen interest in managing soil and plant health to maximise margins and ensure long term sustainable production. Rob completed his BASIS qualification in 2017 and also holds a post graduate degree in sustainable agriculture.

Richard Boldan

Agronomist

Richard joined Edaphos in August 2022. After an agriculture degree he took over the running of the family’s East Yorkshire arable farm aged 24.

In 2015 he adopted the principles of regenerative agriculture on the farm after studying the importance and benefits of soil health and was runner up in the Soil Farmer of the Year competition in 2017.

He has extensive experience of managing soil in no till situations as a direct drilling contractor and has worked as an independent agronomist since 2015 with a growing emphasis on farming more sustainably. He believes that successful farming starts, literally, from the ground up.

Tim Ashley

Agronomist

Tom Reynolds

Agronomist

Hannah Bowden

Agronomist

Hannah joined the Edaphos team in September 2023, having previously worked in knowledge exchange across the arable sector. This gave her a passion for sharing the message of sustainable agriculture. Hannah graduated with a degree in plant biology and with a special interest in soils and plant diversity, she feels that regenerative practices will continue to be at the forefront as agriculture continues to evolve under pressure.

Will Steel

Agronomist

Will joined Edaphos in February 2024 coming from a career in hands on diverse farm management with a regenerative approach using crops and livestock together. 

He started implementing direct drilling and cover crops back in 2000 and has been refining his approach to soil health ever since. Runner up in Soil Farmer of the Year in 2018, he’s been driven on ways to reduce farm spend on pesticides and fertilisers whilst maintaining results and margins. As well as being an Edaphos Agronomist he’s running a small Farm Management Consultancy business in Kent, believing the two roles are intrinsically linked for the future of UK Agriculture and helping its farmers. 

A message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Edaphos’s best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Edaphos is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

 

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

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