Is there a role for soil testing by farmers in soil health management?

Abstract

Soil health is an essential requirement of a well-functioning agroecosystem. Our premise is that with good quality, local soil information, including identification of soil types and their soil health status (here using available soil testing as a proxy) farmers can determine the best course of action to either improve or maintain soil health as well as identify soil health threats such as soil acidity, soil carbon decline, nutrient imbalances and salinity. We examined farmers' participation in gathering soil information at the farm and paddock scale over the last two decades in Australia, by reviewing national-level reporting of soil testing by farmers. However, the level of farmer participation in soil testing has remained stable in the last two decades, with only 25% of landholders participating each year. Data from national-level reporting has a number of limitations in understanding farmers' soil testing practice, and in particular, it was unable to indicate the nature of soil testing, in terms of frequency and intensity, and more importantly why farmers undertook the practice, and what they did with the soil information.