Mallee farmers are encouraged to take advantage of Agriculture Victoria’s new online resources and upcoming paddock walks to learn how to reduce erosion and make their soil more productive.
Agriculture Victoria Mixed Farming Development Officer Roger Harrower said the project ‘Building drought resilience of vulnerable soils in low rainfall cropping and grazing systems’ has been running since 2022 across multiple on-farm demonstration sites in the Mallee.
‘Demonstration trials have been set up on farms at Hopetoun, Ouyen and Murrayville,’ said Mr Harrower.
‘Retaining groundcover is a critical step in reducing the impact of wind erosion, improving soil productivity and helping farms to be more resilient during droughts.
‘Different methods for preserving groundcover are being trialled on-farm, including applying bentonite clay, changing sowing directions, spreading straw and using biosolids.’
