Mount Alexander Sustainability Group\u2019s Healthy Soils team is seeking to assist commercial farmers with soil issues within a 50-60km radius from Castlemaine.<\/p>\n
The Healthy Soils project offers the opportunity for 20 participating farms to receive free soil constraint assessments and soil testing, as well as assistance with developing a soil health management and monitoring plan.<\/p>\n
Participating farmers will also be invited to help road-test planning tools and information resources developed under the project.<\/p>\n
The focus of the project is to provide farmers with practical ways to benchmark current soil health constraints and plan and monitor how their soil is responding to farm practices aimed at building and maintaining soil health and farm productivity.<\/p>\n
Over the next two years, field days will be held on local farms already working to build and maintain healthy functioning soil. Dates and locations for field days in September will be announced soon.<\/p>\n
This project is funded by the federal government\u2019s Smart Farms Small Grants: Soil Extension Activities program through Mount Alexander Sustainability Group and Federation University.<\/p>\n
Bill Grant, research fellow at Federation University, will head the project, along with MASG\u2019s newly appointed Healthy Soils project officer, Mikaela Beckley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re focusing on how farmers can cost-effectively benchmark their current soil constraints, plan practical and cost-effective ways to rectify these constraints, and then monitor changes in soil performance without the need for frequent laboratory testing of soils,\u201d Mr Grant said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaboratory tests are useful and should be undertaken as needed, but there are fairly simple field and \u2018kitchen table laboratory\u2019 tests, as well as precision farming and nutrient management tools, that can help farmers monitor and manage their soil all year round.\u201d<\/p>\n
The aim is to have a diverse range of participating commercial farms within the region including grazing, cropping, orchards, groves and vineyards, market gardens, \u2018conventional\u2019, \u2018regenerative\u2019, and \u2018organic\u2019.<\/p>\n
A small landowners network for those farming for some income on smaller more \u2018lifestyle\u2019 properties will also be supported by the project.<\/p>\n
If you are a farmer interested in learning more, participating in the project, or attending the upcoming field days, contact Bill Grant via email: b.grant@federation.edu.au or phone: 0407 882 070.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mount Alexander Sustainability Group\u2019s Healthy Soils team is seeking to assist commercial farmers with soil issues within a 50-60km radius…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":11947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,8],"tags":[4443,1285,4444],"ppma_author":[5225],"class_list":["post-11945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farming","category-featured","tag-healthy-soils-project","tag-mount-alexander-sustainability-group","tag-smart-farms-small-grants-soil-extension-activities-program"],"yoast_head":"\n