Soil compaction

Using heavy agricultural equipment often leads to compaction in the soil. This is problematic because fertile soil is loose and contains spaces for air. Loose soil has cavities and pores that contain more oxygen and water. This gives roots room to grow and absorb the water. This way, the plant has more nutrition and is able to grow better. Moreover, compact soil allows less water to pass through which means that water will stay at surface during heavy rainfall. This can mean that the whole yield of the land goes to waste.

That is why there is a lot of experimentation on the Farm of the Future with light machinery to decrease soil compaction. However, this is not always currently possible, due to crops that require large equipment. Therefore machines are developed that do the heavy lifting while always staying on the same lane. By means of advanced GPS systems, the heavy agricultural machines move along the determined paths and the soil compaction is reduced to only these paths.

Here in Flevoland, the soil is very fertile, and it is our goal to keep it that way.  And with these innovations we can!