As the recently-appointed Regional Soil Coordinator, based in the Northern Hub, my focus is on engaging with the agriculture industry across all of the Northern Territory and a big chunk of northern Western Australia.

I am a long-term Territorian, with experience working in horticulture, agriculture, and sustainability across both rural and urban settings. My biggest passion is soil health, propagated by great university educators who showed me the importance of healthy soil in plant performance.

I’ve worked as a university lecturer, in agricultural extension roles, as a climate project officer, and as a horticultural consultant. One of the most rewarding aspects of my past roles was educating others on the importance of soils. A highlight for me is when my students no longer referred to soil as simply dirt and argued that healthy soil is much more important than the plant itself!

I am passionate about the NT’s unique landscapes and productive rangelands, and the soils that support them. In these regions, our agricultural activities are dominated by rangelands pastoral production. Soils are not amended in many cases, and management of these soils is done predominantly in conjunction with the natural environment, local conditions and careful stock management.

Listening to the agricultural community about the issues and gaps in knowledge and resources for soil management and improvement is a high priority for me. For the horticultural regions, a key emphasis will be promoting proven soil management practices that can make a production system more efficient, economical and resilient.

Through partnering with regional stakeholders, land managers, local champions—and also with other Regional Soil Coordinators through the Smart Soils Community of Practice—my aim is to equip people in our region with the knowledge they require to increase the uptake of sustainable soil management practices.