Soil Health – What is it and how do we get there?

Whether you’re a small landholder or an established livestock farmer, this workshop’s for you. For our land to thrive we need to boost our soils, and in this one-day workshop you’ll have the chance to really get your hands dirty. What does ‘soil health’ actually mean?

Presented by Kevin Elmy, a third generation Canadian farmer, agronomist, cover cropping specialist and author. After buying highly degraded “dirt” in 1999, Kevin spent over two decades rebuilding soil function using cover crops, diverse rotations and well-managed livestock. He is now a Regenerative Agriculture coach in Canada and around the world. He’s a long-term visitor to the south-west, and has recognised many surprising similarities between our soils and the soils in Canada.

This full-day workshop will give you practical insights into what healthy soil really is, how to assess this on your own property, and practical, tested strategies to building healthy soils.

We’ll also cover:

• What is healthy soil? What should we look for? How do we identify causes vs symptoms of soil health? And what are clear, achievable pathways towards improved soil health?
• How to measure soil health: we’ll have the chance to analyse and measure soil health out in the field and get recommendations for laboratory analysis
• The biological and physical processes that drive fertile, functional soils
• Fertiliser management for soil health
• What are the problems you need to tackle? Kevin will coach participants through practical ways to approach improving your own soil health and addressing the challenges on your farm
• How to incorporate and manage livestock to turbocharge building healthy soil
• Cover cropping strategies, designing cover crop blends and how “functional plant diversity” can boost soil health

Will this workshop benefit me?

This workshop is designed for small-scale, new landholders as well as established larger scale farmers who want clear, practical guidance without the jargon. You’ll leave with a solid foundation of the processes that go into building resilient soils and the confidence to put that knowledge into action on your own land.

Event Logistics

When? Thursday February 12, 9.30am to 3.00pm

Where? Margaret River Senior High School (access via Boodjidup Road)

Cost? $50 (incl GST)

What Else? Morning Tea & Lunch provided

BYO refillable water bottle, wear appropriate farm footwear, and dress for the weather (please bring a hat as it may be hot).

This event forms part of a collaborative project with RegenWA called ‘Make Your Hectare Count’. The project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program (State Natural Resource Management Program). It is also supported by the Shire of Augusta Margaret River’s Environmental Management Fund with additional funding from the Perth NRM and RegenWA’s Accelerating Regenerative Agriculture Adoption Project.