* APOLOGIES: THIS TRIP HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO COVID  

Far North Queensland farmers with a track record in soil health improvement are being encouraged to apply to attend a Soil Health Innovation Tour to Tasmania next year.

Nominated as the next innovation destination by participants at the previous event, the Tasmanian edition will tour major agricultural regions near Burnie and Launceston and visit a diverse range of farm industry.

This is the third tour run since 2018, and is being presented by natural resource management organisation Terrain NRM in partnership with Wet Tropics Soilcare and Lower Wet Tropics Soilcare.

Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator for the Wet Tropics Evizel Seymour said it is a great opportunity for farmers to broaden their knowledge about soil health innovation across a range of farming types in another region.

“We know from running innovation tours previously that they’re a powerful learning opportunity with long-lasting benefits, so we’re excited to be able to offer it again for more local farmers who are adopting sustainable farming practices.”

She said the schedule is still being finalised but is expecting it to include mixed regenerative farming, regenerative dairy, native berry, native game, and organic horticulture site visits.

The 5-day tour is supported by Terrain NRM, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

To be eligible, applicants must operate a farm business, be actively working to improve soil health on their farm and be able to show a track record of involvement with either of the hosting soil care groups, or Terrain NRM.

Biological farming practices including paramagnetics have given Wet Tropics farmers food for thought during a soil health innovation tour.

Farmers visited Victoria in early March and one stop-off was a sheep farm where pastures are being improved by applying a mixture of paramagnetic rock dust and home-brewed compost and fertiliser, leading to significant gains in soil health and stocking numbers.

Robbie and Thel Hodges started making their own compost 12 years ago, mostly from stable waste and poultry manure from nearby farms. They added bacteria and fungi, cultured in an aerated brewer, and say the soil started to function a lot better. The Hodges use minimal synthetic fertilisers and sow multiple varieties of perennial grasses into their pastures.

Seven years ago they started investigating paramagnetics for agriculture – the magnetic effects on soil fertility and the beneficial aspects of volcanic rock minerals for soils and plants. They began adding rock dust to their compost and ran trials in the vegetable patch. Now, whenever they spread any material on their pasture, like animal manures or lime, they add the paramagnetic rock dust.

The Hodges now use a four-in-one organic fertiliser mix – part rock dust, part pig or poultry manure, part fly ash from smelters and part compost. They also produce a liquid fertiliser by adding the four-in-one to a compost brewer and topping up with bacteria and fungi.

Mr Hodges said the results had been rewarding. “We could see that the conventional methods of farming were demanding more and more inputs to achieve a decent pasture,’’ he said.

“After 12 years of farming biologically we have had a 100 per cent increase in stock numbers, increases in the soil’s pH from 4.2 to 5.8 and increases in organic matter from 2.4 to 5.8 per cent.

“This method of farming is not just increasing production for us, it is restoring landscape function and appears to be increasing our resilience to climate variability. With an aim originally of lifting the nutrient content of our produce rather than quantity per hectare, we’ve in fact done both by focusing on specific minerals, soil testing and a whole array of management monitoring and fertility practices.”