Today is World Soil Day and we're celebrating at GroundCover online with a selection of your most-read soil-related articles from 2019.
World Soil Day is held annually on December 5 as a way to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources.
In Australia, farming land is an investment - and invariably an expensive one. So it is fitting that improving land - or more specifically soil - adds value in the long-term and increases the potential for improved productivity and in turn profitability.
Outside of land and machinery, investing in soil health can be a major spend in any grain growing business.
With the now well-known benefits of liming to improve acidic soils, plus soil amelioration to alleviate water repellency and compaction, more growers are investing in lime and strategic tillage to ultimately improve crop yields.
It comes as the northern region soil research received a ground-breaking GRDC investment in 2018, with a four-year funding program of more than $5 million aimed at better understanding subsoil constraints.
Meanwhile, a multi-million-dollar suite of projects investigating innovative solutions to Western Australia's challenging and yield-limiting soils is coming to a close after five years of intensive research.
WA Forum
In Western Australia, a forum has been scheduled around World Soil Day to highlight local endeavours to protect and enhance the soil resource throughout the State, many with GRDC investments.
The State of Soil Science WA conference, from Dec 4-6, will outline local research, technical resources and strategies to address local soils issues.
Landholders, consultants, scientists, community groups and other interested parties are invited to attend the event, to be held at The University of Western Australia.
NSW Celebrates
If you are near Nimmitabel Bowling Club, call into the Monaro Farming Systems and Local Land Services World Soil Day 2019 Forum from 12 noon. This is supported by the NSW Government.
Speakers will discuss the seasonal outlook for summer, sulphur project results, soil carbon monitoring R&D and 2019 soils club results.