Renowned soil health educator Joel Williams visited Muresk Institute in Northam on March 28 to present a soil health lecture to farmers and industry representatives. He presented alongside Kevin Elmy from Cover Crops Canada, on the topic, “The Nexus between Nitrogen Carbon and Biodiversity.”

Joel and Kevin were joined by Nick and Lucy Kelly from Newdegate, who provided a real life case study of their journey with regenerative agriculture. Nick and Lucy Kelly are regenerative agriculture pioneers who have turned their farming operation around within a variety of practices including cover cropping and livestock integration.

Nitrogen, Carbon and Biodiversity

Nitrogen, Carbon and Biodiversity are all hot topics within agricultural circles. The day-long educational event, hosted by Carbon Sync, enabled farmers and agronomists to learn more about the microbial contribution to building soil organic matter, the impacts of imbalanced nitrogen on plant health and the nutritional drivers of plant immunity.

Other specific topics included building soil carbon with shoots, roots and exudates. The microbial contribution to building soil organic matter the impact of the use of foliar nitrogen versus nitrogen in the soil and redesigning production systems with legumes and multi species cropping.

Locals in attendance

Joc Dwyer from Bindoon Cattle attended the event and was impressed by the depth and breadth of the presenters’ knowledge. “I was particularly interested in the information regarding combining livestock with cropping operations. The contribution of livestock to soil health was another important topic that was raised,” he said.

Joc continued, “I was also impressed by the level of engagement from industry participants at the event. Some of WA’s fertiliser companies are developing products that are at the cutting edge, worldwide, in terms of soil health and plant nutrition,” he said.

“Another valuable message I heard is that some farmers such as Nick and Lucy Kelly economically produce their own liquid fertilisers from compost, or vermicast to inoculate the seeds, then foliar spray their crops or pasture to grow with increased margins of profit,” he added.

About the presenters

Joel Williams has an international reputation for providing lectures, workshops and consultation on soil management, plant nutrition and integrated approaches to sustainable food production. He can be contacted through his website, www.integrated soils.com/contact.

Kevin is a professional agriculturalists a third generation cereal cropper, cover crop seed producer and author who adopted soil health principles on his farm to great success. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge ready to help WA farmers benefit from carbon farming. He can be contacted through his website, www.covercrops.ca