Inverness-shire Soil & Nutrient Network: Final meeting – Event summary

At the last of three Soil and Nutrient Network meetings on the Black Isle local farmers came along to participate with Agricultural Consultants Gillian McKnight, Christine Watson and Bryan Griffiths.

Christine Watson’s talk covered the need to look after soil and outlined the many benefits of using legumes which have mycorrhizal associations which help improve soil nitrogen, soil carbon and overall soil health.

Paul Hargreaves covered a compaction research project in grassland systems undertaken on soils at Crichton Royal farm which showed the significant impact of cattle and sheep on surface compaction.

The field visit looked at various soils in arable rotation, comparing different parts of the field, and how to assess soil structure & texture using the VESS guide., and how this can help identify compaction within the surface layers. There was discussion on how to rectify localised compaction issues, with weight given to the importance of understanding the depth of compaction before deciding which type of machinery should be used for remediation.

Please use the links below to download information available at the event and related documents to the topics discussed.