Grounded in accuracy

A family farm has diversified into providing an expert soil sampling and analysis business as an independent alternative to using services provided by large agricultural chemical companies. At the core of their testing process is a cost-effective Trimble GPS system delivering guaranteed accuracy.

Download a formatted version of the story here

Based in Northamptonshire, Agri Soil was established in 2023 to bring independence and expertise to agricultural soil sampling. The company emerged from its founders’ own need for reliable, unbiased soil analysis that was free from the commercial interests of the chemical suppliers who often undertook this work.

Recognising that many local farmers shared the same demand for impartial insight, Agri Soil’s initial offering included a range of soil sampling services from basic analysis looking at pH and levels of key nutrients in the soil through to more specific testing on organic matter and trace elements.

With its core services established, Agri Soil was able to secure government funding to invest in relevant equipment including a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV), enabling them to deliver professional, data-driven soil testing across the region.

Catalyst benefits for Agri Soil:

• Flexibility at a reasonable price – option to buy hours rather than a monthly subscription
• Guaranteed accuracy for peace of mind and client confidence
• Maintains positioning even in areas with weak or no signal,
• No heavy upfront costs (the Catalyst DA2 receiver costs less than £350)
• Portable for easy removal or swapping onto customised UTVs
• Ability to manage multiple licenses from a single account
• Easy set up and intuitive to use
• Responsive support from KOREC

Required accuracies and how to achieve them

Initially, the sampling site locations were recorded using a basic low-cost Garmin GPS linked to an iPad. However, Agri Soil co-founder, Francesca Ashby quickly recognised that as the business expanded, particularly into areas such as carbon testing, greater positional accuracy would be essential.

“Whilst the Garmin served us well for most tasks, offering an accuracy of around +/- 2 metres, this simply wasn’t sufficient for the more demanding carbon testing protocols which required verifiable, consistent, repeatable positioning.”

With a knowledge of precision farming, Francesca was well aware of what advanced GPS technology could offer. She began exploring alternatives that would provide reliable, sub 2-metre accuracy without the high upfront costs of the RTK-grade systems used on tractors. Following a recommendation, she approached KOREC to learn more about Trimble Catalyst, a flexible, subscription-based GNSS solution that offered the guaranteed precision Agri Soil needed at an affordable price.

Agri-Soil Co-founder, Francesca Ashby

Guaranteed accuracy supports new applications

Francesca therefore invested in two cost-effective Trimble DA2 Catalyst receivers, each priced at under £350, and opted for the 60 cm accuracy subscription. By purchasing a usage-based package tailored to their projected daily workload, Agri Soils ensured they would only pay for the hours required for their soil sampling service whilst retaining the flexibility to accommodate additional needs. For example, recording temporary features such as a muck heap not visible on aerial imagery, which might prevent sampling at a particular location.

All collected data can then be seamlessly uploaded to Agri Soils’ GIS platform, clearly displaying which areas have been sampled and which remain outstanding.

Additionally, the subscription’s flexibility has enabled Agri Soils to explore new business opportunities without the need for a major upfront investment. By purchasing additional hours at higher accuracy levels, the company can now offer a precision boundary mapping service allowing farmers to update existing maps and gain a clearer understanding of their land boundaries to support more accurate yield assessments and farm planning. Francesca concludes:

“Our goal is to help farmers understand the health of their soil without selling them any products ensuring they can place complete trust in our independent findings. What we value most about Trimble Catalyst is its guaranteed accuracy and repeatability, which provides peace of mind both for us and for our customers. The flexibility of the subscription model also allows us to explore new applications and opportunities helping our business to continue growing.”