Healthy Soils Connected @ FarmED

Join FWAG SouthWest and Hutchinsons for a hands-on soil management course, covering everything from the building blocks of soil structure to the best management practice for long-term soil health on your farm. 

The course is for farmers in the Thames Water catchment fund area and is funded by Thames Water's catchment farming department. Sessions run from 9.30am to 3pm on each date. It is free to attend, and lunch and refreshments are provided.

Participants are expected to attend all 5 sessions.

Your ticket for the first date will be valid for all 5; you don't need to book separately.

Course Content

Fundamentals of Soil Health 9th September 

• The basics of soil structure: Chemical, Physical and Biological. 
• For the practical side we will visit the soil pit and cover visual soil assessments.

Practicalities of Soil Health 28th September

• What do different soil types mean for your farm? Restrictions and practicalities of farming different soil types, rotations and management systems. 
• The practical will look at performing slake and bubble tests.
  

Soil & Plant Nutrition 19th October

• How can you influence nutrition for yield and financial gain? 
• The practical will investigate root depth and water pH.

Soil food web & plant biology 10th November 

• How does soil biology impact your farming system, and how can we influence it? 
• The practical will look at organisms in the field and in participant's own samples.

Farm Management Actions 24th November

• A roundup of the topics discussed, identifying the key areas individuals can focus on to best impact their farm business. 
• Practical to look at various field trials. 

Please ensure you can attend all course dates.

For more information, please contact George: george.brock@fwagsw.org.uk

If you are looking to book the equivalent course based at Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, please click here.