The principal aim after rain should be to establish either pasture or crop as a groundcover on your bare paddocks as quickly as possible. This is especially important on the red soils, but is also important for the clays.

After drought, many soils will be in a different condition to what is considered to be their 'normal' condition. Some will be bare and powdery on the surface, some will be further eroded by wind or water, and some will have higher levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) than expected.

Loss of effective ground cover (due to grazing or cultivation) leaves the soil highly prone to erosion by wind and water. This Primefact looks at:

• soil structure and erosion
• soil nutrition
• long-term soil management.