Graham Shepherd: Managing nitrogen and carbon to maximise farm performance

Take away points

Graham’s keynote presentation, Managing N and C to maximise farm performance, truly resonated with the audience. Many of the farmers in attendance are already in transition towards sustainable farming while others are not quite there yet. In his very lively, energising session, Graham gave clear tips, and most importantly, actionable suggestions on how to implement valuable strategies that will help improve overall farm performance. The strategies he placed emphasis on include:

• Reduce fertiliser applications, particularly N fertiliser, as it has negative impacts on the soil biology viz,
  • disruption of mycorrhizal colonisation of roots and therefore the microbiological bridge between plant roots and the soil
  • Creates lazy plants encouraging a shallow root system
  • Reduces the mineralisation and release of plant available N
  • Reduces nitrogen fixation by clover nodules
• Build soil carbon
  • Plays a key role in maintaining cation exchange capacity and buffering capacity of the soil including the build-up of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium
  • Helps stabilise the soil structure
  • Promotes water infiltration and storage

By combining humour, practical examples, and an informal but highly focused presentation, he demonstrated his knowledge of soil health principles and gave the audience immediate and long-term useful takeaways. True learning took place. The audience left feeling excited and motivated.

In-field Visual Soil Assessment

The infield assessment was one of the biggest highlights of the day. Farmers were taught practical management tips which they can use to assess the health of their soils and pastures.

It is not often that one finds a book that fully acknowledges the science while at the same time provides technical information in a simplified manner which does not necessarily need an expert to interpret. That is what Graham’s VSA book provides, a tool which a farmer can use in the field. The book was used in the field and farmers enjoyed the insight it provided them with.

Watch Graham’s full talk on the day here: Managing nitrogen and carbon to maximise farm performance