58. Soil Benchmark For farmers drowning under paperwork, Soil Benchmark helps to simplify management planning to let them thrive. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founder: Tom Scrope and Dr Ben ButlerYear founded: 2022Website: soilbenchmark.comSoil Benchmark reaches thousands of farms across the UK, saving them money and time by simplifying farm management plans. Co-founder Tom Scrope grew up on a small farm on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. After a spell as a chartered accountant in London, he found himself drawn back to the farming world. But, while working as a sales rep selling bio-fertilisers to farmers, he felt that there was a better relationship to be forged.“After spending hours trying to convince a farmer to buy a product he didn’t really want, it hit me that there had to be a better way. What really interested him wasn’t the product, but what our other customers were doing on their farms,” he says.Working with soil scientist Dr Ben Butler, Scrope set out to build the ultimate soil database for UK farmers. Soil Benchmark uses the data that agronomists collect to help independent farmers improve their decision making. After spending hours trying to convince a farmer to buy a product he didn’t really want, it hit me that there had to be a better way. What really interested him wasn’t the product, but what our other customers were doing on their farms, As a result, customers can cut through mountains of regulatory paperwork to create soil, manure and nutrient management plans efficiently. The easily-navigable, map-based platform pre-populates this information, which “cuts compliance from hours to minutes and makes it easier to manage land in a profitable, sustainable way,” says the business.The product has now scaled to be used on more than 11% of English farmland in less than 18 months. Future steps include spray plans and continuing to foster relationships with large-scale water companies, where the team says, “there’s growing demand for tools that improve nutrient management and water quality outcomes”. The software also continues to attract investment from “large farms with the balance sheet to invest”, showing the impact it is making. there’s growing demand for tools that improve nutrient management and water quality outcomes The challenge now is what to build first, say the co-founders, who doubled the size of their team after their last seed round. “In five years, we want to be the go-to platform for UK farm management, used on the majority of farmland and expanding internationally,” the team says.Food companies, policymakers and environmental groups are also in their sights, in what has become a blooming venture.View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.