LEFT: Aurelie Quade assists Rebecca Parkes, Olivia Atkinson, Lucy Cook and Emily Fryett to assess soil in the field, assisted by RHAMP Coordinator Gabrielle Schultz.
Tessa Ponder, Kate Kiss, Rebecca Parkes and Olivia Atkinson test their new skills on their own soil samples while Susie Wright and Lindy Carney supervise.
ON A Friday’s chilly and wet winter day 25 local ladies gathered on a hillside to ‘Talk Dirty’ with each other.
This new Landcare initiative brought farming women together to learn how to assess soil health in the paddock and help them understand the flow on impacts to farm production and family health.
Dr Aurelie Quade from Soil Resilience in Mudgee led the workshop and emphasised the importance of soil health as it underpins everything for agricultural businesses.
“Don’t worry at night if it’s going to rain,” she explained to the group “be sleepless over the state of your aggregates.
“Because your aggregate health will determine how well you can utilise the rain when it falls.”
Local Landcare Coordinator Deb Cooke said it was great to be out with a group of women who wanted to skill up in this area.
“We want women to feel confident being part of the conversation when they are at the table and decisions are being made about paddock management.”
Mid Macquarie Landcare and Little River Landcare groups are also currently offering subsidised soil testing for local producers and assistance with soil test interpretation as well as pasture grazing management training before the end of the year (part of the NSW Landcare Enabling Program, a collaboration between Local Land Services and Landcare NSW supported by the NSW Goernment).
To take part in these and other great Landcare projects you can reach out via info@mml.org.au, 0457 115 525 or via the @MidMacLandcare Facebook page.