Soil is our life support system. About 95% of our healthy foods come from soil and soil organisms. Soil anchors plant roots, holds water and stores nutrients. It is home to earthworms, termites and a myriad of microorganisms that fix nitrogen and decompose organic matter.

Soil plays a vital role in the Earth’s ecosystem and our existence wouldn’t be possible without soil. Soil science is critical because it’s only through study and research, we better understand how crucial soil is and how best to manage this precious natural resource.

I am a qualified agricultural scientist with nearly 40 years of experience working in India, New Zealand and Australia. I work in the fields of crop production, crop protection and agronomy. I specialise in promoting soil health by balancing soil’s chemical, physical and biological health requirements for cost-effective production in horticultural and pasture crops.

While working in New Zealand for 13 years, I used my in-depth knowledge and practical experience in soil health and the use of specific beneficial microbes to successfully control soil-borne diseases such as Sclerotinia minor (Bacillus spp.) in lettuce crops.

Similarly, as an agronomist for Donovan Avocados at Bundaberg for 5 years, I successfully controlled phytophthora root rot diseases and optimised moisture retention resulting in increased fruit size and quality. I minimised fruit dropping by improving soil health by increasing soil organic matter, carbon and beneficial microbes.

As the Regional Soil Coordinator for the Tropical North Queensland region, my extensive practical experience and knowledge of soil health and crop agronomy is proving to be beneficial when understanding local issues such as the impact of prolonged drought, excessive runoff and soil erosion. Soil health is critical in addressing these and other emerging issues. My goal is to strengthen the capacity and knowledge of primary producers and other land managers about soil health, soil testing and test interpretation.

Based in Cairns at the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub led by James Cook University, I work closely with the 6 natural resource management groups and other local organisations across the region to deliver soils management activities which will help build drought and climate resilience.

I regularly attend and present at field days, workshops and conferences to help educate and provide information to land managers. I am currently presenting a series of soil health workshops which enable participants to learn about the importance of soil biology and how to test and interpret the biological soil health of their soil samples. I’ve found that land managers are very interested in learning about the health of their soil and how to use test results to make informed decisions about management