By Saro Rengaraj, Trials & Validation Coordinator, UK Agri-Tech Centre
Every growing season brings new decisions for arable farmers.
When to apply nitrogen, how much to use and how changing weather conditions will affect nutrient availability are all critical questions. Add rising fertiliser costs and increasing environmental expectations, and every decision matters.
That’s why I’m excited to be involved in the SMART (Soil Monitoring for Adaptive Resource Targeting) project. Funded through Innovate UK’s Farming Innovation Programme: ADOPT, this farmer-led initiative is exploring how real-time soil monitoring can help growers make more informed nutrient management decisions.
Farmers at the heart of the project
One of SMART’s greatest strengths is that it starts with commercial farming. Working alongside three Yorkshire farming businesses – Potter & Sons, Harrison Farms and R H Leonard Limited – the project is testing innovative technology in real farming conditions, ensuring the findings are practical, relevant and scalable.
The project reflects what ADOPT is all about: giving farmers the opportunity to evaluate new technologies on farm and generate evidence that others across the industry can trust. Future Food Solutions will facilitate farmer engagement and knowledge exchange throughout the programme, helping to translate research findings into actionable farm management decisions.
Better information for better decisions 
Nitrogen management often relies on periodic soil testing, but soil conditions change constantly throughout the season. Rainfall, crop growth and temperature all influence nutrient availability.
Using Paul-Tech’s in-field sensors, SMART will continuously monitor nitrate levels and soil moisture within the crop rooting zone. Rather than simply collecting more data, the aim is to provide growers with timely insights that help them make better fertiliser decisions, improve nitrogen use efficiency and support both productivity and environmental outcomes.
Building confidence through independent evidence
At UK Agri-Tech Centre, our role is to provide independent trials support and validation. Farmers need confidence that new technologies deliver genuine value before investing, and generating robust evidence is essential for wider adoption.
The project will also compare nutrient dynamics under different management approaches, including regenerative farming practices, helping improve our understanding of how soil health and nutrient availability interact across different systems.
Looking ahead
Agriculture is becoming increasingly data-driven, but technology should support, not replace, farmer expertise. Real-time monitoring has the potential to help growers move from reactive to proactive decision-making, applying nutrients more precisely and improving the return on every fertiliser investment.
As SMART progresses over the next two years, we’ll work closely with our farming partners to generate practical evidence that benefits the wider sector. By keeping farmers at the centre of the project and combining innovative technology with independent validation, we’re helping build the knowledge needed to support smarter nitrogen management across UK arable farming.
