60–70% of EU soils are unhealthy – AI4SoilHealth puts testing in the field

An estimated 60–70% of European Union soils are classed as unhealthy, and the EU-funded AI4SoilHealth project is responding by moving soil assessment out of the laboratory and onto the farm. The Horizon Europe project, which supports the EU Soil Health Mission for 2030, has built a set of digital tools that let farmers evaluate and predict soil health without sending samples away for lab testing.

The stakes are regulatory as well as agronomic. A new European soil monitoring framework and law requires EU Member States to build national systems to monitor, assess and report on soil health. A central challenge for those programmes is agreeing which indicators define healthy, resilient soil. AI4SoilHealth combines scientific evidence with real-world field testing, and its output has already helped shape the robust indicator framework behind future national soil monitoring schemes.

What does the soil health viewer do?

The project's headline deliverable is a soil health viewer, a platform that uses predictive artificial intelligence (the training of computer models on data to make forecasts) and earth observation to assess field scenarios in real time. Farmers take sample points in the field; the platform then interpolates those measurements into a map covering the whole field. Accuracy improves as users add their own data points to the model.

The design logic mirrors a tool growers already use daily. Just as farmers check microclimate weather apps to time field operations, the viewer is intended to run predictive checks on soil status — modelling how soil will respond to changing climatic conditions and to management interventions such as cultivation changes. That gives a clearer picture of key soil sustainability markers before decisions are made.

A built-in chatbot lets users ask questions about soil health in plain language, interpret trends and understand how the platform supports both practical and policy-related work. The viewer is also a shared workspace where scientists, soil advisers, land managers, farmers and policymakers collaborate towards Europe's stated ambition of healthier soil by 2050.

Which measurements can farmers take in-field?

The second arm of the project tackles measurement itself. Researchers across Europe have tested portable, rapid techniques for assessing physical, chemical and biological indicators directly in farming environments. The rapid-assessment tools are designed for use in or near the field and cover:

• soil condition and structure
• aggregate stability (how well soil crumbs hold together)
• water infiltration
• salinity
• biological indicators, including soil fungi-to-bacteria ratios and enzyme activity

The aim is to cut sampling costs and speed up decision-making. Farmers have always judged soil by looking at it and feeling it in their hands; the new tools build on that practice to give quick, reliable answers without waiting for a lab result.

AI4SoilHealth has also published open-access training and knowledge resources explaining how the technologies work and how the resulting data translates into management decisions. The project's stated goal is to build skills and confidence across the sector so more land managers actually adopt digital soil monitoring rather than leave it on the shelf.

What is happening in December 2026?

From 7 to 10 December 2026, the project hosts the 2026 Soil Health Now! conference, gathering agronomists, researchers, farmers, policymakers and ag-tech innovators both in person and online. The programme includes live technical demonstrations of the AI-powered soil health viewer alongside keynotes, discussion forums, oral talks, workshops and hands-on sessions.

Panel sessions cover pan-European soil health indicators and monitoring frameworks, carbon farming and regenerative agriculture, AI-powered soil monitoring and digital infrastructure, soil biodiversity, soil carbon and climate resilience, and new tools supporting evidence-based decision-making. The event promises practical guidance on simplifying on-farm soil monitoring and clarity on how emerging EU soil policy will affect farm management.

In-person tickets are sold out, but virtual access passes remain available. Online participants can follow the livestream, switch freely between parallel sessions and put questions directly to speakers during each session's dedicated Q&A. Farmers weighing up digital soil monitoring should watch the conference demonstrations — and the accuracy gains from the viewer as user-contributed data accumulates — as the signal for when these tools become decision-grade on their own farms.