Talkin’ Soil Health Conference

Soil CRC participant Wheatbelt NRM held their Talkin’ Soil Health Conference in August at York in Western Australia. The two-day event drew over 200 delegates from across Western Australia and has been growing larger every year.

This year, two Soil CRC researchers presented in the main session, Dr Lukas Van Zwieten and Dr Mick Rose. Lukas’ presentation focused on resilient soil systems and how the Soil CRC are addressing resilience in agriculture systems.

“I asked the questions – What is resistance? What is resilience? What can farmers do to make their systems more resilient?” Lukas said.

Some ideas put forward included increasing organic carbon content, diversification of soil systems, cover cropping, improved management of water and weeds, and the use of  organic amendments, including those developed in the Soil CRC, to improve soil condition.

Soil CRC Project Leader Dr Mick Rose from NSW Department of Primary Industries presented on his Soil CRC Project, Measuring soil microbes. He spoke about the research he is leading in soil biology metrics, how can it be measured and how to assess its relevance to agronomic or environmental outcomes.

Soil CRC researchers have presented at each of the Talkin’ Soil Health Conferences since 2018 and this is a good example of how the Soil CRC is working through its participant organisations to take the results of research to the farmers.