Our soil scientists ranked among nation's best

A team from South Australia’s landscape boards ventured to WA last month for the Australian Soil Judging Competition and came a very close second in the early careers category. The winners by one point were another SA team - Young in Soil and Earth Science Society SA.

Run by Soil Science Australia, the competition brings together around 200 university students, early career professionals and experienced soil scientists from around Australia to test their soil classification skills.

Our team included Bonnie Armour from Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, Cassandra Douglas-Hill from Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board’s Barrie Willams, and Limestone Coast’s Nick Bassett. They received great support from super coach Michael Brown, also from the Limestone Coast, who went above and beyond to share his soil knowledge and settle the nerves on the big day.

While this year’s competition was held in WA’s picturesque Mandurah region, participants spent most of their time below ground and heads down in soil pits.

Barrie Williams says there’s much to learn from literally digging deeper. “You can see so much in a pit, like the soil constraints, how the roots grow and the depths they get to, and the way the water runs.” It also reinforced that significant soil differences can occur over short distances.

Across the state, SA’s landscape boards provide practical guidance to support resilient and sustainable primary production.

All eight regional boards employ soil extension officers, agriculture specialists or sustainable agriculture facilitators who connect farmers with practical, science-based advice on soil health, climate resilience and farm productivity.