{"id":11465,"date":"2026-07-14T12:04:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T02:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/?p=11465"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:20:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:20:54","slug":"case-study-50-shades-of-clay-harden-ladies-on-the-land-explore-soil-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/case-study-50-shades-of-clay-harden-ladies-on-the-land-explore-soil-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: 50 Shades of Clay – Harden Ladies on the Land Explore Soil Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The workshop name \u201c50 Shades of Clay\u201d was inspired by an idea from the Tamworth Landcare group. The one-day \u201cSoil Health for Farm Wealth\u201d course gave local farming women the opportunity to assess their soil health, identify which soil health \u201cpillars\u201d were missing in their cropped and grazing paddocks, and plan practical next steps for their farms. This course was organised by Julie Roberts (Local Landcare Co-ordinator for Murrumbidgee Hilltops area) and funded by Riverina LLS Agriwomen Connect Program under Climate Smart Agriculture Program.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The issue<\/h2>\n

The Harden Ladies on the Land group had not received recent education on soil health, and members were eager to learn in a setting where they felt comfortable asking questions and\u00a0<\/span>participating<\/span>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>hands-on<\/span>\u00a0activities. Improving soil health is essential for productive and sustainable primary industries, as well as for\u00a0<\/span>maintaining<\/span>\u00a0the broader resilience of the landscape. By building their understanding of soil function, management practices, and\u00a0<\/span>long<\/span><\/span>\u2011<\/span>term<\/span>\u00a0impacts, participants can make more informed decisions that support both agricultural productivity and environmental wellbeing.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The solution<\/h2>\n

The workshop, led by Dr\u202fAurelie Quade from Soil Resilience, explored soil biology and structure, soil chemistry management, how to compare soil constraints, and the use of soil charts for ongoing assessment. Dr\u202fQuade proved to be an engaging and effective presenter, clearly explaining nutrient forms, soil biology, and\u00a0<\/span>water holding<\/span>\u00a0capacity through memorable, relatable analogies that helped demystify complex interactions. After lunch, the group visited a local farm to apply their new knowledge, comparing soil qualities in cropping and grazing areas. Participants left with greater confidence to assess their soils and make informed decisions about inputs to improve soil health and productivity.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The impact<\/h2>\n

The 12 participants left the workshop highly motivated, and after sharing their experience with others in their farming businesses, interest quickly spread. As a result, there is now strong demand for Dr\u202fAurelie Quade to return to Harden to deliver the workshop again for a wider audience, as well as to expand the series with\u00a0additional\u00a0soil focused\u00a0topics and practical sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project Partners<\/h2>\n

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50 Shades of Clay – Harden Ladies on the Land Explore Soil Health \u2014 NSW Landcare Gateway<\/a><\/p>\n

Capacity building\u00a0–\u00a0LEP23_036_LLC5_5
\nAuthor: Julie Roberts<\/em><\/p>\n

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[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The workshop name \u201c50 Shades of Clay\u201d was inspired by an idea from the Tamworth Landcare group. The one-day \u201cSoil Health for Farm Wealth\u201d course gave local farming women the opportunity to assess their soil health, identify which soil health \u201cpillars\u201d were missing in their cropped and grazing paddocks, and plan practical next steps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":11474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[341],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lep-case-studies","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11465"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11467,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11465\/revisions\/11467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}