Groundswell Field Day - Goulburn District

Topic:
Agronomic evaluation of the use of composted urban waste in agriculture.

The Project:    
The Groundswell project aims to have farmers and Councils working together to pull urban organic waste out of the cities and back onto agricultural land, reducing organic waste going into landfill and improving agricultural soils.

Background:
Through the City to Soil process residents in Goulburn Mulwaree Shire have been provided with a combined food scrap and garden waste collection which is composted at the Goulburn Waste Management Depot. Compost made through the project has been made available for three on-farm trials in the Goulburn district. See www.groundswellproject.blogspot.com for more information.

The trials:
The agronomic evaluation has been carried out by Chris Houghton Agricultural from Crookwell. The aim is to determine how the end product can be best used:

• What happens when it is applied at various rates to agricultural land?
• Is it as a fertiliser or does it have a role as a soil conditioner?
• Does it restore soil carbon levels and/or lift moisture holding capacity or have any other unexpected     benefits.
• What types of enterprises (pastures, crops, horticulture) is the compost best suited to?
• Are there any problems with its use?
• How available is the compost and where can you get it from?

Why should you attend:   
You will be able to see for yourself and discuss the trial outcomes of the agronomy evaluation to date. You will also be able to speak with the people involved in the project.

DETAILS

• Date:  Friday 15th October.
• Start time:  8.30am at Strathmere, Federal Highway, Yarra
• Finish: 12.30pm – 1pm at Andrew Divall’s property with a barbecue lunch provided by Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
• Travel: By private vehicles.
• RSVP: By 12 October via email on: leanne@chrishoughtonag.com.au or call/text Chris on 0409 816 433.

What the day will involve:    
The day will start at Andrew Sieler’s property “Strathmere” (A on map below), at Yarra on the Federal Highway just south of the Hume Highway to the west of Goulburn. There will then be a visit to a cropping trial at Forest Lodge (B) on the Middle Arm Road, and then to the GMC Waste Depot (C) to see the compost being made. Finally we will visit another grazing trial and have lunch at Andrew Divall’s property “Narrambulla” (D), to the east of Goulburn.





Directions:
To get to Andrew Sieler’s property (A) on the Federal Highway, travel about 1.5 km south towards Canberra, and the gate is just before the Yarra “Rest Area”. Here will be a sign to get your attention.