Agricultural production from the region is of major national economic significance but the region’s soil asset faces a range of threatening processes, a result of the susceptibility of the soild and the impact of land use practices.
The crop yields in many shires within Western Australia yield below expectation. Often, this is due to soil contraints. So in order to better-manage soil resources, the severity and extend of underlying soil health problems must first be identified.
Landholders do not normally have the tools readily at hand to routinely and inexpensively undertake tests to characterise and improve soil health/quality.
>p>However, they do have an in-depth knowledge of how their own fields perform under particular circumstances.
Interpretation is a key element for managing change and sustaining productivity. There was a need to combine farmer, advisor and researcher knowledge to develop qualitative soil health scorecards and quantitive (more)...
Traditional agricultural practices in northern NSW and Queensland extensive cropping industries have generally resulted in a decline in soil health leading to lower potential yiedls and increased production costs.
Faced with climate variability and declining land quality, farmers are looking for alternative environmental management models to ensure the sustainability of their enterprises. The application of biological soil health principles is considered a possible input into any new management regime.
Recent surveys of landowner attitudes to environmental management across several agricultural sectors show that any initiatives must satisfy the join criteria of effectiveness and cost-efficiency in (more)...
Acidity, salinity, nutrient deline, erosion have major production and environmental impacts in NSW. An estimated 16-20m hectares in the state are affected to water erosion and 200,000 hectares are affected by salinity.
Most cotton farms are situated on riparian flood plains and best management practice (BMP) of soils is imperative to the sustainability of these landscapes.
One of the best ways to improve water management and to optimise nutrition inputs to reduce the impact of rising fertiliser costs to improve soil health and management.
A 2005 study of Australia’s cotton industry examined farmers’ current knowledge and understanding of soil health. It (more)...
