Summary

In addition to the farm at Rothamsted, there is a further contrasting site at Woburn, Bedfordshire, 40 km North of Rothamsted. Experiments at Woburn began in 1876 under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. The principal aim was to test the residual manurial value to crops of two contrasted feedstuffs fed to animals in covered yards or on the land. Rothamsted took over the management of the farm in the 1920s. In contrast to the silty clay loam at Rothamsted, which typically contains 20-40% clay, the soil at Woburn is principally a sandy loam containing about 8-14% clay. It is much more difficult to maintain or increase Soil Organic Matter (SOM) in this soil, and several long-term experiments at Woburn were established to study the effects of management on SOM and yield.

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