Soil management guides
What is soil health?
Soil health is a concept where all aspects of soil, that is, physical structure, chemical components and biological life are considered together. A soil does not have to be agriculturally productive to be healthy. However, many agricultural practices can make soils less healthy than they were in their natural state.
By managing structure, nutrients and biology in the soil, farmers can use soils within their capability so that the soils can be used productively without being degraded.
To maintain and improve soil health, farmers need to manage their production system so that it doesn’t degrade the soil by;
- maintaining soil structure
- controlling erosion
- maintaining or improving soil organic matter levels
- maintaining or improving nutrient levels and water holding capacity of the soil
- fostering beneficial soil biological activity
What are some of the soils issues facing NSW?
Soil issues are those things that impact soil functions, reducing its health. The department has information on soil health and several of the soil issues facing agriculture today.
- Understanding soil pH (PDF, 181.8 KB)
- The causes of soil acidity (PDF, 142.2 KB)
- Are my soils acid? (PDF, 115.6 KB)
- Don't let nitrogen acidify your soil
- Acid soil management in low rainfall farming systems of central western NSW (PDF, 454.5 KB)
- Planning on liming (PDF, 134.6 KB)
- Which liming material is best?
- Soil acidity and liming 2021 AC.19
- Management strategies for soil acidity and phosphorus deficiency for the Northern Tablelands of NSW (PDF, 260.8 KB)
- Pastures and acid soils (PDF, 169.9 KB)
- Managing subsoil acidity
- Managing acid soil through effective rotations
- Soil acidity has an effect beyond the paddock (PDF, 102.9 KB)
- Soil acidity videos
- Farmer's guide: Soil organic carbon
- Biochar basics
- Increasing soil organic carbon of agricultural land
- Key soil carbon messages
- Soil carbon in the Monaro region
- Soil organic matter in cropping systems
- Regenerative Agriculture
- Soil carbon videos
- Using compost in macadamia orchards
- Soil organic matter
- How to manage soil for citrus
- Using compost in macadamia orchards
- Better fertiliser decisions for cropping systems in Australia
- Cation exchange capacity
- Cycling of phosphorus in grazing systems
- Fertigation equipment for use in orchard
- Fertiliser calculations
- How to compost on farm
- Fertilisers and the environment
- Fertilisers for pastures
- Interpreting soil tests for calcium, magnesium and Ca:Mg ratios
- Molybdenum deficiency in plants
- Phosphorus nutrition for winter crops
- Soil solution analysis
- Using recycled organics and manures in grain cropping systems
- Why phosphorus is important
- Humic products
- Best practice guidelines for using poultry litter on pastures
