Independent evidence ledger · Arable systems

See what biologicals actually do on working farms.

Proof is an independent evidence ledger for arable systems. It records what was tested, against what control, under what conditions, and what happened. We're starting with biological and biostimulant trials.

Apply to contribute Explore sample records

§ I

Biological evidence is everywhere. Comparable evidence is rare.

Biological and biostimulant products are advertised in every catalogue, presentation and email signature. The trials behind the claims sit in private folders, rarely structured the same way twice. Decisions get made on fragments.

Claims travel. Trials don't.

Marketing material moves freely between farms, conferences and inboxes. The underlying trial, what was tested, against what control, on what soil, in what season, usually doesn't.

Comparable means same shape, not same answer.

A trial in Lincolnshire on heavy clay against an untreated control is not the same record as a trial in California on sandy loam against another biological. Without a shared structure, two trials that look similar cannot be read together.

The record is shaped by what gets shown.

Positive trials get printed. Null, negative and mixed trials sit in private folders, get re-run until the number moves, or quietly disappear. The public picture of biological performance is the picture of what was kept, not what happened.

§ II

From field trial to permanent public record.

Five stages. Each one is structural, not editorial.

Step 01
Capture
A draft record is created for a real treatment-and-control trial. Crop, season, farm, field, product category, application.
Step 02
Structure
The record is built around a defined comparison: treatment arm, control arm, same-management declaration, known confounders, primary outcome, measurement method.
Step 03
Lock
Once required fields and evidence are in place, the record is locked. A canonical hash is written. The record is append-only from that point forward.
Step 04
Publish a redacted public record
A public projection of the locked record goes live. It shows broad region ( Lincolnshire), soil, season, comparison design, outcome, evidence state, conflicts and hash. Exact farm identity, field boundaries and raw files stay in the private envelope.
Step 05
Addenda and Evidence Queries
Corrections, clarifications and structured questions are added on top of the locked record. The history is visible. Nothing is overwritten.

§ III

Public evidence preserved. Private farm data protected.

A locked Proof Record produces two artefacts. A public redacted record carries enough context for a serious reader to inspect the evidence. A private envelope holds what cannot be public, the exact farm, the field boundary, the raw files, the commercial documents, visible only to the contributor and authorised parties.

Public projection

What anyone can see

Crop and season
Broad region and soil class
Product category
Treatment, control, application
Recorded outcome and method
Evidence Manifest with file hashes
Conflicts, addenda, queries
Canonical hash and lock timestamp

Private envelope

What stays controlled

Farm identity and farm name
Exact field boundary
Raw GPS and EXIF
Raw evidence files
Invoices and commercial documents
Client-specific notes
Personal contact details
Contributor legal identity

Public where the evidence belongs. Private where the farm does.

A founding principle

Failed results stay.

A null trial is not a public-relations problem. It is evidence. So is a negative trial, a mixed trial, a trial whose protocol unravelled in the third week of June. Proof preserves these records with the same care as positive ones, the same field schema, the same evidence requirements, the same permanence.

A trustworthy evidence base cannot be built from positive outcomes alone.

§ IV

Every record carries the same parts.

A Proof Record holds the elements needed to read a trial in context, and to compare it with others. Below is the anatomy.

Crop and season: What was grown, when.
Broad region and soil class: Where, on what.
Product category: What kind of product was tested.
Treatment and control: What was applied, against what.
Application: Rate, timing, method.
Outcome: What was measured, and what changed, including when nothing changed.
Evidence manifest: Application photo, yield file, protocol, lab report, weighbridge ticket.
Conflicts: Declared commercial relationships. A conflict changes interpretation; it does not invalidate the record.
Addenda: Corrections and clarifications, append-only.
Canonical hash: The fingerprint of the locked record.

Proof Records are records of what happened under stated conditions. They are not product endorsements, product rankings or guarantees of future performance.

§ V

Four kinds of contributor.

Proof is opening to people who run, support or use treatment-and-control trials in arable systems. Agronomists are the sharpest first wedge; the work makes sense for several others.

Agronomists

You already run treatment and control trials across multiple farms each season. Proof gives those trials a common structure, protects client privacy by default, and turns each season's work into a permanent evidence base, and into Client Evidence Packs you can share with a farm without exposing what should stay private.

Farmers and farm managers

Your own trials on your own land are evidence. Record them to the same standard as commissioned work. Operational data stays in the private envelope; the structured outcome contributes to the public record under your chosen attribution.

Researchers and institutions

On-farm trials, with real-world variability, are difficult to place through formal publication channels. Proof records them properly: protocol, evidence, comparison, outcome, and preserves them alongside everyone else's contributions.

Trial partners and manufacturers

Sponsored, supported or commissioned trials are welcome, with conflicts declared up front. A declared conflict changes how a record is read. It does not invalidate it.

Apply to contribute

Apply

The founding cohort sets the standard.

The records entered in Proof's first seasons will define what serious arable evidence looks like. Apply now to record real treatment and control trials, build a credible evidence base over seasons, and shape the conventions later contributors will work to.

Apply to contribute Explore sample records