Soil management: the precious resource under your feet

Soil Association Scotland training event

Friday 16 November, 9.30am-4pm, Echt Village Hall, Aberdeen

An opportunity to learn more about soil, the precious resource under your feet: what it is, how it works and how to nurture it, in order to improve yields and reduce the need for inputs and energy use.

Horticulturist Iain Tolhurst will talk about practical aspects of soil management, ways of looking after the soil and building fertility, and how soil responds to different methods of cultivation and cropping patterns. He will also be looking at common mistakes to avoid.

Experts from the Scottish Agriculture College (SAC) will cover basic composting, nutrient budgeting and "knowing your soil".

Speakers include:

Iain Tolhurst, Tolhurst Organic Produce, has been a Soil Association licensee since 1976. He is a leading expert on stock-free organic horticulture. His farm was the first to attain the Organic Stock-free symbol in 2004, which means there have been no grazing animals or animal inputs on any part of the farm for the past ten years. He operates a successful box scheme using 95% of his own produce from 75 different crops, and is also a part-time advisor for many horticultural farms, nationally and internationally.

Dr Bruce Ball, senior researcher in Soil Science at SAC, specialises in tillage, compaction, soil structure and greenhouse gas emissions. His research interests are nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from soils, soil quality and soil resilience. To help promote soil conservation, he has recently developed a visual assessment of soil structural quality for field use.

The event will cost £34.00 plus VAT per person. For further information please contact Lyn Matheson, Soil Association Scotland's agricultural development officer, on 0131 666 0847