Making Soil Amelioration Pay in the Mallee
The Precinct, Loxton | Friday 26 June 2026 | 9.00am – 4.00pm
Soil amelioration can deliver significant productivity gains, but success starts with making the right paddock decision.
Join Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF), leading researchers and experienced growers for a practical one-day workshop focused on the lessons, opportunities and realities of improving sandy soils in low-rainfall Mallee farming systems.
This workshop brings together the latest research, local monitoring results, farmer experience, soil nutrition, practical diagnostics, spatial paddock tools and risk-reward decision-making to help growers determine where, when and how soil amelioration may fit within their business.
The core message is simple: diagnose the constraint first, match the treatment to the soil and season, protect groundcover, feed the crop to capture yield potential, and monitor the response over more than one season.
What you’ll learn
✅ How to identify the main soil constraints limiting production
✅ Matching soil amelioration treatments to soil type and seasonal conditions
✅ Managing establishment and erosion risk
✅ Understanding the economics and logistics of implementation
✅ Feeding the crop to capture yield responses following amelioration
✅ Using spatial tools and paddock zoning to improve decision-making
✅ Practical lessons from growers who have already undertaken soil amelioration
Featured Speakers
🎙️ Emeritus Professor Richard Bell
What have we learned about improving sandy soils?
A national perspective on sandy-soil constraints, amendments, soil water, crop response and where amelioration is most likely to deliver long-term benefits. Includes audience Q&A.
🎙️ Mel Fraser (Soil Function Consulting)
Setting up for success –reaching and sustaining yield potentials in ameliorated sands
Key learning from the Sandy Soils Project in terms of closing the yield gap and addressing nutritional requirements due to higher yield potential.
🎙️ Amanda Schapel (SARDI)
Facilitating the farmer panel and audience discussion, helping connect research findings with practical paddock decision-making.
🎙️ Penny Roberts (MSF)
Presenting local monitoring results from Lowbank, Bowhill, Paruna and Millewa, including establishment, biomass, yield and groundcover outcomes.
🎙️ Chris McDonough (MSF)
Sharing visual insights from demonstration sites and demonstrating how AgriSolve can assist with paddock targeting and treatment decisions.
🎙️ Farmer Experience Panel
Hear directly from growers who have implemented soil amelioration on their farms:
- Jock McNeil
- James Stephens
- Wade Nickolls
- Tim Paschke
This practical session will explore:
- Paddock selection
- Machinery choice
- Cost and logistics
- Establishment and erosion risk
- Seasonal impacts
- Multi-season learning
- What worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently next time
Bring your questions and join the discussion!
Why attend?
Whether you’re considering deep ripping, addressing non-wetting sands, improving crop nutrition following amelioration, or simply trying to determine where to start, this workshop is designed to help you make more informed, evidence-based paddock decisions.
You’ll leave with practical take-home actions and a clearer understanding of the risks, rewards and opportunities associated with soil amelioration in Mallee farming systems.
🎫 This event is free to attend
📩 Let us know you’re joining us HERE!
🍽 Fully Catered – please email kylie@msfp.org.au for any dietary requirements
