A two day soil management workshop is being held in Cromwell

A two-day soil management workshop taking place in Cromwell at the end of June will be the biggest event of its type in the South Island in recent times.

Co-organiser Cherryle Prew of the SoilFoodWeb Institute said it was a coup for the South Island to secure key note speaker Dr Christine Jones, an internationally renowned soils ecologist and founder of the Australian Soil Carbon Accreditation Scheme reports Scoop.“Dr Jones is booked years in advance, so having her speak for a whole morning at the ”Farming Soils – Starting Today” workshop is a real honour,” she said. “She will be talking about the big picture; how the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles are intrinsically linked.  I think farmers will respect her years of experience working with landholders to restore water balance, increase biological activity and improve productivity”.

Ms Prew said all the speakers at the two-day conference are well versed in sustainable farming, including farmers who had made the switch to innovative soil-based production. “The aim of the workshop is to empower the farmer with enough knowledge to make the best decision to suit his own farming system. Integrity Soils will be giving a farmer-friendly, in-depth explanation of the simple on-farm score-card system for assessing soils. Landcare Research will be talking about greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon issues.”

 Co-organiser Ray Annan, from Sustainable Growing Solutions, said he had been working with different farming industries for seven years in Otago and Southland. “I’ve seen outstanding results in my work with dairy farmers, beef and sheep farmers and vineyards. Once you get the soil working for you, everything else starts falling into place. Stock temperament and health improves, fertiliser use is enhanced, and soil structure and depth is improved. The water holding capacity of the soil is also increased, reducing water run-off and taking the pressure off rivers and streams.”