Release Notes: Sandy Version 5.0 - Arable & Horticulture Emissions Update

What’s Changed?

Behind the scenes:

A fully rebuilt emissions calculation engine now runs for arable and horticulture crops.
These methods more closely match the structure of your onboarded data and support more robust and transparent results.
Significant scientific improvements include better modelling of crop residues, fertiliser emissions, electricity localisation, and cover cropping.

On the front-end:

The calculator interface remains familiar to allow for a seamless user experience, but:
- You’ll see new input options (e.g. for residue management).
- You may notice changes in your emissions results – due to improved methods and cleaner data handling.
- You’ll now see emissions per hectare in your results.

Do I Need to Do Anything?

Yes. There are two important actions you should take:

1. Check your data

Please ensure your onboarding data is complete and up to date — this is essential for accurate emissions results under the new system.

Missing or incomplete data may affect results or field inclusion.
Our Customer Success team is here to support you if anything is unclear or if you need help checking your data.

2. Understand the impact of syncing

If you have made recent changes to your onboarding data and wish to sync this to your current arable footprint, please sync the calculations before the release. The cut off for sync-ing against the current version of Sandy is 12:00 on Wednesday May 7th 2025.

Take a copy of calculations you wish to preserve

Whilst your existing calculations won’t auto-sync to the new version, they are still live and can be updated to the latest version should you wish to do so. We recommend that you run both a pdf report and excel download of any existing calculations you wish to refer back to for reporting and legacy purposes. This is especially important for users who have provided corporate reporting numbers. If you chose to sync these after the new version release they will sync to the Sandy v5.0 methods and may likely change in-line with the update - this cannot be reverted.

You can also choose to enhance your data to take advantage of the new fields (e.g. detailed residue management).

What’s New in Detail?

🟢 Crop Residue Calculations

We’ve refactored how residues (straw, cover crops etc.) are handled:

Better estimates of N₂O from crop residues.
Separate above- and below-ground biomass now modelled.
Straw incorporation, mulching, in-field grazing, and composting now supported.
Methane emissions are now included for anaerobic processing scenarios.

🟢 Enhanced Localisation

We now apply even more hyper-local & regional data to better reflect your farm’s footprint:

Electricity and fertiliser emissions are disaggregated to sub-national level.
Soil carbon and biomass calculations are refined.
Localisation flags/tooltips in the platform indicate where this applies.

🟢 New Result Metrics

A new emissions metric – kg CO₂e per hectare – is now visible in results.
Designed to support benchmarking and low-carbon threshold development.
Future-ready to include additional environmental indicators (e.g. biodiversity).

🟢 Better Cover Crop Handling

Cover crop emissions are now calculated separately.
Only relevant field-level inputs and biophysical processes are allocated to cover crops.

🟢 Improved Reporting

Clearer disaggregation of emissions sources (e.g. diesel vs electricity).
Reports are being enhanced to be more intuitive and insightful.
Scope of emissions and associated uncertainty is now returned.

Will My Results Change?

Yes, it’s expected — and reflects improved methods and data handling. Results may change due to:

Methodology updates: Improved scientific models (e.g. for crop residues, fertiliser emissions).
Data transfer updates: More stable and accurate syncing between your input data and the calculator.

We’ve outlined below the estimated impact ranges of these changes:

Emissions Type	Main Inputs	Method Changes	Estimated Impact
Crop residue emissions	Crop type, yield, cover crop use	Improved residue mapping and methods	±25%
Fertiliser (application)	Operation type and quantity	Some allocation updates	±10%
Fertiliser (embedded)	Region-specific EFs now used	Regionalisation added	±10% UK, ±40% outside UK
Pesticide (embedded)	Operation type	More precise EFs by product	±10%
Soil carbon change	Residue handling, tillage, manure use	Better cover crop and multi-crop handling	±20%
Biomass change	Land use	Minor allocation updates	±10%
Fuel emissions	Usage or estimates	Minor allocation updates	±10%
Electricity emissions	Usage or estimates	Full regional EFs added	±10% UK, ±40% outside UK

Note: These are indicative estimates. Your actual results may vary based on your input data.

Tips for Interpreting Changes

If your results look different, here’s how to troubleshoot:

Field-by-field checks: Focus on one crop or field at a time.
Check specific emission sources: E.g. if residue emissions changed, check your straw yields and residue handling inputs.
Review your data: Ensure nothing is missing and practices are accurately recorded.
Compare against expected ranges (see above).
Still unsure? Contact Customer Success and include:
- The field/crop name.
- The specific emission source you're querying.
- Why the result seems unexpected.
- A brief summary of the data input for that source.

Questions?

If you’re unsure about how these changes affect you or would like help reviewing your data, please reach out to our Customer Success team. We’re here to make sure you get the most accurate, useful, and tailored results possible.