We are pleased that the Government is developing a set of soil health indicators and a soil health baseline. Data, and a common approach to measuring soil health, is essential for setting targets, tracking progress, evaluating the ELM schemes and understanding the merits of different interventions. The Government should develop these as soon as possible, particularly the soil health indicators which will underpin future policy development. Soil monitoring must also not be a “one-off exercise”: soils will always be a vital natural asset and changes to soil health can take place over many years.