Comments from Andrew Jeeves

A few years ago I developed a sustainability audit and benchmarking system for farms. Of all the issues it covered, the one that consistently returned the lowest score across all farms was “Soil Management” – less than 1 in 3 farmers had even had a soil test.

In order to help farmers become more sustainable and more profitable I spent a year investigating the keys to sustainable soil management. The result was a 3-day workshop for farmers called the “Sustainable Soils Master Class”. To date, more than 430 farmers and landholders have completed this workshop across Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

My aim is, firstly, to teach farmers the importance of the balance of the Biological, Physical and Nutritional aspects of their soil. Secondly, I train farmers to work out for themselves what this balance means for their particular soils and assist them to develop a 3-5 year soil development plan for their farm. In effect farmers can become their own independent agronomist.

Of course, to complete this Master Class requires a good soil test. I recommend the SWEP soil test to my students for the following reasons:

• Australian – SWEP tests are based on Australian research. Unfortunately many other Australian Labs use an American model, which virtually doubles the recommended fertiliser application.
• Independence – SWEP only sells their technical expertise, rather than soil testing as a way of selling fertiliser or other products.
• Detail – SWEP is one of the few Labs to offer a cation balance that includes hydrogen (critical to accurately analysing the impact of the major cations on soil structure and biological activity).
• Accuracy – SWEP uses industry standard tests/technology and is certified with the Australasian Soil & Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC).
• Ease of understanding – The SWEP report layout and graphics make understanding the complexities of soil nutrition easier.
• Value – SWEP includes the major nutrients, trace nutrients, cation balance and other key indicators (according to the ‘Mikhail System’), in their basic test.
• 3-for-1 – SWEP reports can include information on up to three different land uses for the price of a single test.

If you would like to learn more about my Master Classes, please visit my website: