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Ground cover link to soil carbon explored

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Sustainable Agriculture

Our optimising mixed farming project is working with farmers to increase ground cover across the year. Not only does this provide benefits for livestock feeding and tackling erosion it is expected to improve soil health, demonstrated through the change in soil carbon levels.

Current Wheatbelt NRM Soil Health Champion, Kane Page, is part of this project and his recently finished farm plan has identified several areas of the farm that could be planted to perennials to achieve his ground cover aspirations.

We were out taking soil samples this week in the areas to be planted with perennial forage shrubs and inter-row pastures so we can measure the baseline level of soil carbon (the befores). We will sample again later in the project (the afters) tracking the trend in the soil health.

Bonny and Claire found the hard clay challenging and taking samples to 60cm with a hand auger was definitely a humorous sight. Probably lucky Kane was busy shearing and missed the show. I’m sure he would have found it entertaining

You can follow Kane’s work by joining us. Contact Jacquie Lucas at jlucas@wheatbeltnrm.org.au to find out more.

 

 

This Wheatbelt NRM project is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

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