Riverine Plains Inc Research and Extension Officer, Dr Cassandra Schefe, says that the soil pit session gives local farmers the opportunity to learn more about their local soil type and how this can affect moisture and nutrient movement across the growing season.

“The soil pit is located next to the on-farm weather station and soil moisture probe at Rand, which was installed through a project supported by Murray Local Land Services and funded through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program,” Dr Schefe said. 

“By looking at the soil pit in conjunction with soil chemistry results, local weather station and soil moisture probe data, we can devlop a better understanding of where soil water and nutrients, such as nitrogen, went last season.

“This in turn can then provide us with useful information when planning fertiliser programs for the coming season.”

The Rand soil pit session will run from 10am – 1pm.

The soil pit site is located at Roy Hamilton’s property “Bogandillan”, Rand (directions can be downloaded with the event flyer at riverineplains.org.au/events/ ).

Signage and light refreshments will be provided on the day. No RSVP is necessary.

This free event is being held as part of the Linking nutrient movement to soil moisture at weather stations in the Murray Region project.

Information from the Rand weather stations and soil moisture probes, along with the entire Riverine Plains Inc weather station network, is available for free public access via the weather page at riverineplains.org.au.

Riverine Plains Inc is an independent farming systems group specialising in farmer driven research and extension across north-east Victoria and southern New South Wales.