About us | Edaphos Agronomy

Meet the Edaphos team

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.

Mike Harrington

Director & 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.

Ben Harrington

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.

Ed Trotter

Agronomist

Daniel joined Edaphos in March 2019 after moving away from conventional agricultural practices with an agro chemical distributor after realising that this approach would not be sustainable for the future of the agricultural industry.

Daniel operates in the midlands region of the country and enjoys getting involved in addressing all crop and soil type challenges that may occur during the differing seasons, combating them with a biological and balanced approach.

Daniel Lievesley

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.

Joe Redman

Soil Fertility & Nutritional consultant

Why sustainable agriculture? Why Edaphos?

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.

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.

Complete agronomy services

Our philosophy is to improve soil and plant health, whilst harnessing the soils stored resources to their full potential to achieve a healthy, well balanced system.

Soil fertility and nutritional consultancy

We look in depth at nutrient interactions, crop limitations, nutritional balance, plant health, environmental factors, microbial activity, soil health, soil fertility and the makeup and availability of elements to evaluate nutrient needs and provide you with support and plans to move your business forward.

Stewardship schemes

Countryside Stewardship helps ensure marginal areas work harder; putting them into environmental options often gives a better return than cropping them. Other options, such as cover cropping, may be something the farm is already doing without realising you can get a payment for them!

Testing and analysis

A range of soil tests and analysis ranging from standard audits to highly detailed soil bacteria and fungal analysis packages. These provide a wealth of information so we can create a process to manage and restore biological and nutritional balance.

Focus on sustainable agriculture

Sustainability is about how to balance what goes in with what goes out to maintain an equilibrium. It's the core of Edaphos philosophy.

Best practice representative

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.