This is one of my favourite producer’s stories SFS wrote for MLA as part of our “Healthy Soils” project. It is about liming of course!

Sandy Middleton agronomist and producer at Holbrook, NSW talks through his liming program and how it has changed with his increased understanding of his farm’s soil acidity.

What I found particularly interesting was Sandy Middleton’s take on investing in lime to improve productivity rather than re-sowing new pasture and losing the ability to graze it while waiting for it to establish.

Also, just how much aluminium is in the Riverina soils. Aluminium varies with soil type and some clays contain considerably more aluminium compared to our Southwest Victorian soils. Aluminium in the clay becomes soluble when pH falls below 4.8 and is toxic to plant roots. Levels can be as high as 30% at a soil pH of 4.7. We tend not to see those levels of aluminium until pH falls to 4.3.

Find the link to the MLA story on our “Healthy Soils” project page and much more useful resources.