Hands-on soil specialist shares his knowledge
16th June 2011
Staff at Cherbourg Fresh were treated to a unique opportunity when Adam Willson of Soil Systems Australia spent the day studying their soils and sharing knowledge with them last week.
The visit was made possible by BIEDO’s (Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation) ‘Next Gen Farmers’ program which aims to develop young farmers into 'Champions' who share their learnings and experience with their own local communities, industry and other groups.
Scott Jones, Produce Manager at Cherbourg Fresh, said their base crew of four staff spent the day with Adam and the experience was invaluable.
“The group who attended the special session with Adam also attended a two day soil biology workshop with him in May where they learnt a lot of theory about how to look after the soil. They came back with a hunger for even more knowledge and this follow up day has really helped put that theory into practice to see first hand how certain techniques will work at Cherbourg Fresh,” Scott said.
“It’s important for us at the moment as our paddocks sustained a lot of microbial damage during the floods earlier in the year. We’re basically starting from scratch to bring our soils back into good condition. With Adam’s insights we can assess where we’re at and plan a better way forward to grow the high quality produce we’re aiming for,” he said.
Duncan Hegarty, Cherbourg Fresh Supervisor, says he found the day very informative and really enjoyed the opportunity.
“I got so much out of the time spent with Adam. He’s helped us understand a lot more about how our soils work and how plants react to different conditions. We’re trying to move away from fertilisers and pesticides and go totally organic, so this is has helped us towards this goal,”Duncansaid.
BIEDO’s Next Gen Farmers project is funded through the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under “Australia’s Farming Future”
