Improving advisory services for better soil health on dairy farms: visual knowledge transfer tools to promote good soil management

Abstract: Soil is the vital medium on which we rely for food production and ultimately the population is putting it under severe pressure. Soil is one of the most precious resources the planet has and the degradation of it would be catastrophic for food production across the world. As such it is up to food producers and stakeholders to preserve this resource and ensure it thrives to sustain ecosystem services. It is imperative that soil health and fertility be improved. While many are aware of how to improve their soil fertility, many are not aware of how to improve their soil health and what even the concept of soil health is. In recent years extreme weather events such as rainfall and drought conditions are putting Irish farmers under pressure. This pressure is felt keenly in particular by intensive dairy farms as they need to provide forage for their cows to ensure high yields. The issue of damaging their soil has a direct impact on the growth of grass. The aim of this study was to improve advisory services for better knowledge transfer in relation to soil health for dairy farmers. By involving both advisors and farmers in the study it was possible to get insights into what both parties want to learn about soil health and what they currently know. The study was carried out in the Kilkenny/Waterford advisory region with 20 intensive dairy farmers participating along with input from Teagasc advisors in the region and nationally. The objectives of this study were to 1) assess advisors’ level of interest in soil health, and the need for visual knowledge transfer tools for soil health; 2) to assess the level of importance intensive dairy farmers, attach to soil health, and their interest and need for better knowledge transfer; 3) to test the use of 3 specific soil health tools with 20 farmers and use these to develop a bespoke visual soil health plan; and finally (4) to create a tool kit for advisors that will help them facilitate discussion groups on soil health. It is intended that this study’s output will support the process of effective knowledge transfer of soil health. Findings showed 80% of advisors feel they don’t receive enough training on soil health, and they have a need for adequate resources through visual soil health tools. Farmers participating in the study had an interest in soil health and preferred visual learning in their discussion groups. The discussion group package was deemed to be useful for advisors and allowed for plenty of discussion. Recommendations are to allocate more time to training of advisors on soil health, more information being released to farmers about the topic, the creation of a soil health specialist in the advisory service and soil health not only examined on dairy farms.