Hi Landcarers,

We had a fantastic turnout for the Compost on the Farm Workshop at Bedgerabong on Tuesday. Over 30 people were in attendance at the workshop in the scenic grounds of the Bedgerabong Showground.

After the downpour on Monday, the fog made way for a reasonable day allowing attendees the chance to have a look at two paddocks on Darren Collier’s property (pictured right) that have been using ANL compost for the past three years.

Darren’s property ‘Roseleigh’ is on red sandy/grey loam river flat country that has been using traditional crop rotation of canola, wheat and barley. Since using the BlackLime mix he has seen an increase in soil biology, health and yield.

Guy Webb from Agriwest has been working with Darren to look at alternative methods of increasing carbon and improve soil health, with ongoing plans to increase the distribution of the BlackLime compost annually.

Since using the BlackLime Darren has found that he has been able to make changes to crop rotation more readily and areas that had been taken out of production have been brought back in due to the increase in soil health.

Virginia Brunton from MRA Consulting gave an overview of soil health indicators and explained that the workshop series is made available free of cost through the Waste Less Recycle More funding program.

Roger Crisp from Australian Native Landscapes (ANL) gave an overview of how large scale compost can increase sustainable production from a chemical, biological and physical level, with food and environmental quality benefits with an increase in organic matter, soil structure, carbon, micro-organisms and water retention.

Guy Webb gave an overview of several trial sites that they have running in the Parkes and Forbes Shire areas. They have been gathering data on soil health and crop production.

CWLL will be commencing the ROL program and would like to hear from landholders who would like to be involved, before September 16.

The next National Parks Association (NPA) walk will be held on Wednesday, 31 August at Black Range, West Cookies Plains National Park. Walkers are to meet at Bushman’s Dam at 0900.

If you are intending to walk, please contact Peter Canon on 02 6866 1225 the evening before the walk.

Walkers are reminded to bring along enough food and water for the entire day as well as suitable clothing, footwear, hat and sunscreen. A pair of good binoculars and a fold up chair is recommended. A $2.00 donation for each walker is appreciated.

Until next week, happy Landcaring!

Pictured left to right: Guy Webb - Agronomist at Forbes Agriwest, Darren Collier - Bederabong landholder, Virginia Brunton - Organics Consultant at MRA Consultancy, Roger Crisp - Sales Agronomist at ANL, Breanna Manks - Sales Agronomist at ANL.