The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has selected Agricarbon, a specialist in soil carbon measurement, to lead deep soil sampling across Northern Ireland’s farmland.
The work forms a key part of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS), a landmark initiative funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to assess soil nutrient and carbon stocks across every active agricultural field in the region.
The SNHS is one of the most ambitious soil mapping programmes globally, designed to help farmers optimise nutrient use, improve yields, and increase profitability – while also laying the groundwork for low-carbon farming practices.
Carbon baselines for climate action
Agricarbon will conduct deep soil sampling to a depth of one metre across 250 field sites, generating high-integrity data on carbon stocks in grassland soils and under hedgerows. This data will contribute to a baseline understanding of Northern Ireland’s carbon sequestration potential and support national climate goals, including net zero by 2050.
“Agricarbon’s work will reveal the amount of carbon stored at different soil depths, helping us model total carbon storage and identify optimal management strategies for grasslands,” explained Dr Selva Dhandapani, AFBI’s carbon lead on SNHS.
Empowering farmers with soil data
Agricarbon’s CEO and co-founder Annie Leeson described the partnership as a “critical step in empowering farmers with data that unlocks environmental gains and long-term sustainability.”
She said: “Redefining how soil health and carbon are measured across agricultural landscapes is a vital climate tool. We’re increasingly contributing our expertise to projects like these, looking for robust carbon baselining that produces high-integrity soil data to help meet climate goals, in Europe and beyond.”
The company’s approach combines deep sampling with advanced lab analysis to uncover carbon data that traditional methods often miss.
This work builds on the success of the ArcZero NI project, which first demonstrated the vast carbon stocks managed by farmers across soil, pasture, crops, trees and livestock – highlighting agriculture’s vital role in climate mitigation.
Supporting policy and practice
The final datasets from Agricarbon’s work will be integrated with AFBI’s broader carbon research programme, informing future farming policies and resilience strategies. With over 18,600 farm businesses already engaged in SNHS, the initiative is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s sustainable agriculture roadmap.
DAERA’s continued investment in soil carbon assessment underscores the growing recognition of soil health as a climate asset – and the importance of robust data in shaping the future of farming.
Agricarbon raised £9 million in Series A funding from climate, agri-tech, and financial investors in 2023 and has also partnered with Nestlé UK & Ireland to provide consistent and reliable evidence of carbon removed into soils in support of the food giant’s Net Zero target.
