Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH)’s Post

Strategies to build soil health and achieve good yields were in focus at our 'Cropping for plant and soil health' field day yesterday at Will McInnes' farm near Goondiwindi, QLD, and we launched our Biological Seed Treatments Practice Guide, the first of ten upcoming Guides on regenerative cropping practices! Read on for reflections on the day… In partnership with the @macintyre.ag.alliance, over 40 attendees gathered in the shed and the paddock to talk about plant and soil health. Will shared his farming journey and the events that led to him choosing to build up his plant and soil health knowledge. He shared the practices that have been working for him to produce well-yielding grain crops, including: 🌾Seed treatments 🌾Multispecies cover crops 🌾Fine-tuning fertiliser inputs and bolstering plant nutrition as a first line of defence against pests and diseases. The panel session explored topics that ranged from how to find the right information and support when transitioning to new practices, commercial scale on farm trials and emerging ESG and market requirements. Biological agronomist, Marco Giorgio Rego presented on minerals, microbes and management. Alongside Marco, the Soil for Life team took a deep dive into soil health monitoring. Some discussions on this topic included: 🔎 Inspecting the plants and the soil surface can give visual clues for what may be going on below ground 🔎 Aggregate stability tests can be helpful to understand overall soil structural health 🔎 Have you considered the soil variation within and between paddocks? We took soil cores at the high and low points of Will’s melon hole country to investigate the differences. A big thank you to Will McInnes for hosting the day and sharing his knowledge with us. Thank you to Marco Giorgio Rego and Brooke Sauer for coming along to give your expertise. Thank you to event partners @macintyre.ag.alliance for your collaboration and to everyone who came and made the day with their questions and discussion. This event was part of our Cropping Resilience project, funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. Find out more about the project and upcoming activities for growers here: https://loom.ly/PnrGUvY Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Do you measure your ROI on the various enterprises of your operation?  Do you measure ROI on equipment, seed, real estate? How about ROI on education? We frequently have attendees from Soil Health Academy 3-day intensives tell us what they learn AND implement after attending their first SHA pays them back 10:1 on what they spent to attend within the first year of attending. Getting a foundation in the principles drive management decisions. Those management decisions result in cascading, compounding effects that positively affect your bottom line. Register today!

The world’s population depends on drylands. One in three of the world’s population, almost half of its animals and 44% of its food systems reside there. However 20 to 35% of them are degraded. CGIAR, a world leader in agricultural research, has introduced its 2030 Global Strategy for Resilient Drylands (GSRD) with the goal of transforming agriculture in some of the most dry regions on earth. #Drylands #ResilientAgriculture #GlobalStrategy #SustainableFarming #CGIAR #2030Strategy #ClimateResilience #AgriculturalResearch #FoodSecurity #LandDegradation #SustainableDevelopment #DrylandFarming #Agroecology #ClimateChange #WaterConservation #FoodSystems #ResilientFoodSystems #AgricultureInnovation #GlobalChallenges Read on - https://lnkd.in/gcvSYHC8

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) has had some amazing webinars over the past few months, including investing in soil health, harnessing science and knowledge to scale monitoring and actionable data, and creating an enabling environment for soil health post-COP28. If you missed the webinars, key learnings and take-away are captured here: https://lnkd.in/dBZnZidz #action4soilhealth #agriculture #saveoursoils

Nominations are open for weeds threatening environmental, social and agricultural values. 🌱National Weed Biocontrol Prioritisation Framework: 📢 Nomination process now open! Weeds have a major impact on Australia’s environment, livelihood and agricultural productivity, imposing a cost of nearly $5 billion across Australia each year. Weed biocontrol is a powerful tool to help manage this impact. Now is your opportunity to help determine which weeds are impacting on social, environmental and agricultural values, with nominations open for weeds for inclusion in the National Weed Biocontrol Priority List. To nominate a weed for assessment, you should: - Proceed to the nomination form https://lnkd.in/gc4wMcWN - Complete the eligibility check - Fill out the nomination form - Submit the nomination form by 28 June 24 You can learn more about the nomination process and submit your nomination here https://lnkd.in/g-c-S_SE Wild Matters Pty Ltd Centre for Invasive Species Solutions CSIRO

Parker in the field. 🌱 Exciting times in the field! Parker is sharing firsthand insights on the significant increase in yield and the remarkable improvements in soil health. It’s amazing to see how dedicated practices can transform our agricultural landscape for the better! Curious about how these changes can impact your farming practices? What strategies have you found most effective in improving soil health? Share your thoughts below!

Join us on the 26th July for a free coaching session with renowned agroecologist and coach Nicole Masters from @integrity_soils! Nicole will be digging into the soils of three Australian grain growers to look at how they can improve their soil health. We'll be discussing three soil health indicators (infiltration, rhizosheath score and rooting depth) using the Soilmentor app to understand how their soils are faring. We know that tracking soil health is really important for farmers to understand whether their management decisions are moving their farm in the direction they want. Soilmentor is a tool that can help farmers to identify simple yet powerful indicators of soil health and biodiversity, monitor progress over time and make informed decisions. This webinar is part of our Cropping Resilience project where we have funding for Australian grain growers to use the Soilmentor app. Nicole Masters has 20+ years experience in regenerative farming systems, practices, coaching and community-building across Australasia, North America, and the United Kingdom. She is the author of For the Love of Soil which equips producers with knowledge, skills, and insights to regenerate ecosystem health and grow farm profits. Register to join this free webinar https://loom.ly/z5RYISk #soilmentor #nicolemasters #soilhealth #soilmonitoring

Meister Media Worldwide's Annual Soil Health Report is now available! Our very own Dr. Randy (RM) Huckaba was interviewed for the piece, sharing thoughts on how soil fumigation with TELONE™ can be a vital part of a sustainable pest management plan. Huckaba agrees that sustainability is an important consideration with fumigation. “The increased interest in sustainability and soil health has resulted in extensive testing to determine the potential impacts of fumigation on the soil microbiome. Teleos has contracted with an industry-leading third-party soil testing company called Biome Makers Inc. who conducted tests across diverse soil types and production conditions in multiple crops. The results indicate that TELONE™ does not decimate the soil as previously believed, but rather, has little to no negative impact on biodiversity observed in the soil microbiome,” he says. TELONE™ also contributes a healthy root system by allowing young plants to establish healthy roots free of nematode pressure. This leads to more root exudates which feed soil microorganisms, creating healthier soils and plants that require less water update and less overall inputs. Interested in learning more? Check out the full report online here: https://lnkd.in/gvSXsAXP Remember, there's no coming back from a poor start! #TELONE #thebestdefenseagainstnematodes #alwayslearning #soilhealth #healthysoil #ag #agindustry #Agriculture #integratedpestmanagementplant #sustainablepestmanagementplan #zoneofprotection #sustainability #microbiome

Ensuring a sustainable future for both biodiversity and food systems requires a multifaceted approach that addresses various environmental, social, and economic factors. By being aware of these factors, we can work towards a future where both biodiversity and food systems are resilient, sustainable, and capable of supporting the needs of current and future generations.

🌱 Healthy Soil, Healthy Future 🌱 We all know that healthy plants require healthy soil—it’s the literal foundation for crops to thrive. But maintaining soil health isn’t always straightforward. Factors like extreme weather, increasing regulatory oversight, and growing pressure to adopt environmentally conscious practices add complexity to every grower's challenge. Why is soil health such a hot topic? Because it’s good for business. Sustainable soil management ensures higher yields, better crop quality, and long-term operational success. Proactive planning and evolving processes are key to combating current and future soil threats. This is why World Soil Day on December 5th matters. Established by the United Nations in 2013 and championed by organizations like the FAO and the IUSS - International Union of Soil Sciences, it highlights the critical importance of soil health and promotes sustainable practices worldwide. 🔗 Read more from Meister Media Worldwide Global Insight Series: https://ow.ly/Bz1U50UlHjU How are you preparing your soil to adapt to challenges and drive sustainable success? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #WorldSoilDay #SoilHealth #SustainableAgriculture #HealthySoilHealthyPlants