NUTRIGROW

Joanne Coates

What is NUTRIGROW

NUTRIGROW is a three-year research project designed to help farmers make the most of healthy, living soils. By bringing together science, technology and real-life farm experience, NUTRIGROW aims to show how understanding soil biology can improve crop performance, reduce reliance on chemical inputs, and support more nature-friendly farming.

The programme is funded by Innovate UK and led by agri-tech start-up Elaniti, working in partnership with AgAnalyst, the University of Lincoln, and NFFN. NUTRIGROW was launched in January 2025.

Why soil biology matters

Soil isn’t just dirt - it’s a living ecosystem. Billions of microbes beneath our feet support healthy crops. They regulate how nutrients move through the soil, how carbon is stored and how plants cope with stress and disease.

Most soil tests look at structure, drainage, and key nutrients like nitrogen or phosphorus. But there’s much more happening beneath the surface. The biology of soil - the living bacteria, fungi, and other microbes - is still largely unexplored. Understanding this hidden side can help farmers make better decisions about nutrient use, input choices, and long-term soil health.

Download our factsheet on soil biology.

What NUTRIGROW is doing

NUTRIGROW is exploring how the living organisms in the soil interact with nutrients, crops and management practices. The research combines biological, chemical and physical soil data with real-world information from farms, like management techniques and weather conditions, to identify what really drives crop performance and highlight farming practices associated with improved soil function.

Ultimately, we hope this knowledge will help farmers:

  • Improve yields and soil resilience

  • Use fertilisers and other inputs more efficiently

  • Reduce and even replace some chemical inputs with natural, biological alternatives

Ten arable farms across England are taking part in the project through on-farm trials. Soil and grain samples from their winter cereals are collected and analysed by the University of Lincoln, measuring nutrient levels, biological activity, and wider soil properties.

The results are used to build new data models showing how soil biology, chemistry, physical properties and management practices interact - and which factors have the greatest influence on crop health and performance. Throughout the three years, farmers receive regular updates on findings. Working with their agronomists, they can review a functional assessment of their soil and decide which actions, if any, to take. 

Each cycle of testing and modelling builds on the last, creating a clearer picture of what works best.

FAQ

  • NUTRIGROW is a three-year project working with winter cereal farmers across England to understand how soil biology - the microbes and organisms in the soil - affects nutrients and crop performance. By analysing the soil’s biology alongside its chemistry, structure and management history, the project aims to help farmers use fertiliser more efficiently, cut unnecessary costs and improve long-term soil health. 

  • NUTRIGROW helps farmers understand how well their soil supplies nutrients, how efficiently crops use fertiliser, and how to balance inputs to improve economic efficiency. 

  • Ten farmers are taking part in the trials, with fields that will grow winter wheat at least once during the three-year project. These fields represent a range of soil types and management systems across England. Fields are divided into zones based on productivity maps using satellite imagery and historic field boundaries. Each zone is monitored throughout the project: soil samples are collected annually, and where a cereal crop is grown, grain samples and combine yield data are also analysed. Farmers receive a clear summary of what’s driving nutrient efficiency in their fields, along with practical information to discuss with their agronomist.

  • Yes, that’s one of the aims of the project. By identifying where soil biology is already supplying nutrients, NUTRIGROW can support lower fertiliser rates whilst maintaining yield. In the longer term, the work may support the development of new, environmentally friendly products that reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers.

  • Biological testing can identify soil-borne pathogens that may influence nutrient uptake but also crop health. The first phase focuses primarily on nutrient efficiency in winter cereals, but future phases may expand to provide disease-related insights where relevant.

  • NUTRIGROW uses advanced biological testing, machine-learning models and a ‘Knowledge Graph’ that maps how microbial communities interact with soil conditions, management practices, and crop performance. This helps identify the biological and environmental factors that most affect nutrient use efficiency. 

  • The project will deliver a digital decision-support tool that brings together biological, chemical, physical and management data. It will help farmers plan and optimise nutrients more precisely, highlighting where the soil can naturally supply more - and where targeted applications are still needed. Over time, the tool will become more powerful as more data and farmer feedback are added.

  • It is designed for arable systems, especially winter wheat, but findings will also be relevant to other crops and rotations.

  • The trial farmer group for this phase is now full, but additional opportunities may open if the project expands.

  • Contact nutrigrow@elaniti.com or follow updates through NFFN’s website, newsletter and social channels.

Keep a look out for updates as the project continues.

For more information on the programme, contact nutrigrow@elaniti.com.

Download the NUTRIGROW factsheet.