Soil Biology in Agriculture workshop in August

Growers intrigued by the life in their soils will be fascinated by a Soil Biology in Agriculture workshop to be held in Tamworth in August.

NSW Agriculture has teamed with GRDC's Soil Biology Initiative to present cutting edge research from some of Australia's leading soil biology researchers.

'The presenters will help people understand what is living in their soil, and how the activities of those billions of organisms contribute to agricultural productivity,' says Dr David Herridge of Tamworth Agricultural Institute. 

'Farmers want to look after the life in their soil, but they want specific, rather than generic, guidelines.

'There is a large gap between what farmers could be doing to manage their soil biology, and what they are currently doing because of lack of information specific to their soils.

'The workshop will help bridge this gap by bringing together farmers, GRDC and NSW Agriculture soil researchers, and agricultural advisors to build a common understanding of current knowledge about soil biology.

The two days of presentations will outline the soil food web, the impact of soil management practices on soil biota, and the development, use and effectiveness of soil biological products.

Farmers are exposed to a large range of soil biological products in the market place,' says Dr Herridge 'But they are generally unsure of the claims of effectiveness of marketed products and are desperate for unbiased evaluation.

'The workshop will outline some of the products and testing protocols being developed through the Soil Biology Initiative.'

Presentations will be given by some of Australia's leading soil biology researchers, including Lyn Abbott and Dan Murphy from the University of Western Australia, Gupta Vadakattu from CSIRO Adelaide, and Mike Bell from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.

NSW Agriculture speakers include Graeme Schwenke, Tamworth, Yin Chan, Richmond, Lukas Van Zwieten, Wollongbar, and Kaara Klepper, Cowra.

The Soil Biology in Agriculture workshop will be held at Tamworth Agricultural Institute's state of the art training centre, opened earlier this year.   Seating is limited to 150, so people interested in attending are advised to register as soon as possible. 

Cost for participants is $220 (GST inclusive), which covers catering over the two days and a proceedings.

If you would like to attend this workshop, you can obtain a registration brochure from Rebecca Lines-Kelly on 02 6626 1319 or email rebecca.lines-kelly@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Issued by: Rebecca Lines-Kelly, NSW Agriculture Wollongbar, telephone 6628 3264 or mobile 0411 128 461