As the year comes to a close, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on everything that’s happened here at Soil Acoustics, and what a year it’s been.
Last week’s World Soil Day brought the announcement that the EU Soil Monitoring Law will come into force on Tuesday 16 December, marking a significant step toward improved soil health measurement across Europe. This law represents the first EU-wide legal framework for monitoring and assessing soil health, aiming for healthy soils across the EU by 2050. It will require member states to monitor soil conditions, support sustainable land management, address contaminated sites, and contribute to a shared soil data portal. With so much momentum building globally, we’re proud to share in this progress.
Since launching the Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM) in July this year, recordings have been arriving faster than we ever imagined. We now have more than 5,000 soil sound recordings from 15 countries, helping to build a uniquely rich dataset helping us to better understand soil health. This year also saw the technology spread even further afield, with our Australian reseller, SaffronAid, showcasing the SAM at acoustics and agri-tech events across the Southern Hemisphere.
We’ve loved seeing the field photos and insights shared through our WhatsApp user group – from perfect “W” sampling patterns to snapshots of autumn turning into winter. And as the cold weather settles in here in the UK, new recordings continue to come in from North America, Africa and Southern Europe, keeping the energy going worldwide.
Our customers continue to push boundaries, using soil acoustics across vineyards, agroforestry, root crops, research projects and more. In the New Year, we’ll be expanding our research and development into species identification and pest detection, as well as undertaking additional side-by-side trials with existing measurement techniques to help build benchmark datasets.
2025 also marked a turning point in soil policy: not only has the EU set actionable soil health targets, but the UK Government’s revised Environmental Improvement Plan now aims to establish a national soil health baseline by 2029, with at least 40% of agricultural soils under sustainable management by 2028. Achieving these goals will require innovation, and we’re committed to helping lead the way with effective, scalable monitoring tools.
We were also delighted to be featured in Wildfarmed’s funky video (again) alongside a host of other agri-tech innovators showcasing the lengths that they will go to, to monitor the resurgence of biodiversity on their farms. More to come on how the sounds of the underground can teach us all something about how the soil is feeling, and why that makes great bread!
Lastly, we’d like to say a big thank you to our customers for their enthusiasm, curiosity and support throughout the year. Whether you’re recording soils in winter or summer right now, we hope you get the chance to enjoy a well-earned break over Christmas. We can’t wait to share what’s coming in 2026!
Contact Us
We’re passionate about transforming soil health monitoring. If you’d like to learn more about this news or the Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM) and how it can support your land management practices, get in touch with us via info@soilacoustics.com or call +44 (0)1629 593 958.
