02 November 2018
Council and Tweed Landcare Inc. are collaborating with Green Cauldron Farm at Pumpenbil to offer a free soils field day for local farmers and anyone interested in managing this fragile resource.
The field day is part of the Sustainable Agriculture workshop series and will be held at Green Cauldron Farm on Tuesday 27 November from 10am to 2pm.
Program Leader – Sustainable Agriculture Eli Szandala said participants would be given the tools to better understand their soils and provide practical ways to improve soil health.
“The workshop will explore the soil landscapes of the Tweed and their capability for sustaining different land use,” Mr Szandala said.
“We will demonstrate the Northern Rivers Soil Health Card, which is a simple yet effective tool for assessing the physical and biological properties of soils.
“We will also review soil mineral test results for Green Cauldron Farm, provide advice on how to interpret these results and what they mean for crop selection and soil management.”
Green Cauldron founder James Geralds said that understanding the range of soil types and their characteristics has been an essential part of developing their farm plan and vision for a productive and viable agricultural enterprise.
The field day will be facilitated by Dr David Morand – Office of Environment and Heritage, Graham Lancaster – Environmental Analysis Laboratory and Dave Forrest of Forrest Organics.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Places are limited and registration is essential by calling the Program Leader – Sustainable Agriculture on (02) 6670 2400 or email eszandala@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
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Caption: The soil workshop will cover solutions such as dung beetles which improve soil structure and pasture productivity while significantly reducing nutrient and soil runoff into waterways.