Professor Crawford, Chair of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Sydney, has outlined how the world’s food-producing soil is under threat and how that which remains “is the most precious resource that we have got”.   Quite so!

Citing soil loss in Australia at 5 times the rate at which it is being replenished, he warned that building soil carbon to enhance soil water storage capacity was critical for the future.  His research also indicates that China and Europe are losing even more top soil, some 57 and 17 times respectively compared to the rate of natural replacement.

The Liverpool Plains has tremendous soil reserves with premium water holding capacity and, as Professor Crawford goes on to say, “we need to be really careful [with our soil] and what ever we do to it has to be informed.”  We trust our new Minister for Agriculture is listening carefully.