Soil health a highlight for students at Wingham Beef Week

By Felicity Harrop, Soil CRC Adoption Manager

Soil CRC graduate researcher and PhD candidate Evanna McGuinness (Southern Cross University) inspired the next generation of soil managers at the Wingham Beef Week student event held in May.

Evanna emphasised the importance of soil not only for growing nutritious pasture to feed beef cattle, but also for the many ecosystem functions it supports, including water filtration, nutrient and carbon cycling, and biodiversity.

“The soil models allowed me to show students first-hand the effect of organic matter, structure and ground cover on water infiltration and run-off,” Evanna said.

When prompted with a simple question about soil colour or texture, students were able to identify other characteristics, including parent material, vegetation indicators, and where certain soils appear in the landscape, such as black clays on the floodplains.

Students also had the opportunity to get hands-on with soil properties by testing soil pH, hand-texturing soil, and determining colour. Evanna discussed simple ways to better understand soils on farm, using soil health cards to assess water infiltration, soil texture, pH, ground cover and soil biology.

“By providing practical ways to assess soil indicators, I hope students feel inspired to dig a little deeper into the soil properties on their own farms and to see the landscape through a different lens. Understanding soil properties is the first step in learning to better manage our soil resources,” she said.

The practical session left a strong impression on both students and organisers.

Event organiser Joshua Gilbert appreciated the education support from the Soil CRC and said Wingham Beef Week was thrilled to have the Soil CRC at their event.

“We know that great beef starts with healthy soils, so we were excited to share practical research and ideas with the 600 students in attendance,” he said.

“Evanna provided a great display of practical on-farm tools for students to take back to their schools and farms to improve soil health and, in turn, strengthen the resilience of their farming operations.”