Why Sandy is the gold standard software for measuring and improving water quality
Water quality is high on the Environment Agency’s agenda and farmers are in a powerful position to make a real difference.
In his final official statement, the Environment Agency's Chief Executive Sir James Bevan, points to farmers as one of the main polluters of rivers, and calls for 'more facts not assertions', encouraging everyone to play their part in protecting water quality.
Equipped with Sandy -new generation software to help navigate natural capital - farmers can confidently and credibly monitor water quality, make better on-farm decisions and evidence improvements, helping to democratise the opportunity around water quality for everyone within the industry.
Evidencing data and support for decision making is key to showcasing farmers’ efforts on water protection
As stewards of the land, farmers play a key role in protecting water courses, and represent one of the few industries with the ability to take direct action to mitigate their environmental impacts.
While we all agree with Sir James’ sentiment that data, not assumptions is needed to evidence water protection, farmers are thoughtfully embracing change and are already working to adapt their farming practices to protect the environment and their farm businesses for future generations e.
We know that farmers recognise the beneficial aspects of working alongside water companies to keep inputs on the field and improve soil health on-farm, but one of the key challenges has to date been to confidently and credibly monitor and evidence the steps being taken, planning for long-term decisions relating to soil-water dynamics and fertiliser application.
Farmers should be recognised and rewarded for gains resulting from a change in water management practices. With Sandy's extensive water protection features, farmers can confidently and credibly take action now to get ahead of the curve and maximise their efficiency in this area.
A gold-standard module for water protection
A key part of being able to confidently and credibly measure the improvements we are making as an industry is having the correct tools to do so. With a gold standard water protection module, Trinity AgTech's smart natural capital navigator, Sandy, enables farmers to monitor their impact on water quality.
Sandy’s water protection module is fit for all farm systems and enables farmers to credibly evaluate the impact of their farming practices on water protection objectives in real-time, assess nitrogen uptake efficiency, and plan the most effective management scenarios to protect water and increase return on nitrogen investments.
Six distinct features of Sandy’s water protection module
Minimal data-entry
The Environment Agency’s tool (NLT) suggests that it will take on average three to four hours for farmers to enter their data to calculate their average leaching state. Sandy integrates with leading farm management software to collect all necessary inputs for these calculations, including weather and soil data, and does this in seconds.A dynamic model, working in real-time
Where other tools only evaluate the average leaching state on an annual basis, Sandy considers daily changes in inputs, such as weather forecasts and planned operation data, to evaluate water pollution in real-time. Sandy also reports the pollution state at three levels: enterprise, field, and crop levels.
Credible and scientific analysis
Sandy uses a field and farm-scale nitrate leaching and uptake modelling framework, in line with the latest European scientific peer-reviewed publications. It also displays the impact of previous crops and management practices on nitrate leaching, crop nitrogen uptake efficiency, and soil organic matter. This gives farmers the confidence that they are meeting the compliance requirements of nitrate vulnerable zones (NVZ) at all times.
Tracking the cost of nitrogen loss through leaching
Demystifying what nitrogen leaching means and translating its effect into loss of money encourages farmers to focus on a key input area that has a direct effect on their business productivity.Tailored solutions and support for on-farm decision making
Not only does Sandy assess the financial impact of previous practices, Sandy allows users to perform scenario analysis to identify the best farm-management decisions to reduce water pollution such as fertiliser plans, cover crop usage and establishment methods.Suitable for all farm types and enterprises
Sandy can be used for both conventional and organic farming systems, covering all major arable crops, soil and fertiliser characteristics in its database.
Why take action on water protection now?
The Environment Agency is strengthening its stance on enforcing the Farming Rules for Water Legislation.
While the Environment Agency is keen to stress that its inspectors are there to provide advice and work with farmers, rather than against them, farmers should take control of their natural capital now and not wait for policy or regulation to catch up, this includes water protection.
We firmly believe that farmers should be recognised and rewarded for gains resulting from a change in water management practices. With Sandy's extensive water protection features, farmers can confidently and credibly take action now to get ahead of the curve and maximise their efficiency in this area.
Helping farmers to plan effective fertiliser application, reduce nitrogen leaching and increase uptake efficiency, also improves other sustainability metrics like carbon equivalent emissions. This ultimately helps in keeping costs down and inputs on the field, improving soil health and nutrient management - all while ensuring compliance with regulations and building greater financial resilience.