The Sustainable Soil Management Events are the latest in a series of Farm Family Key Skills workshops for farmers, family members and employees.

Extreme weather events over the last year have taken their toll on soil conditions across the province. Poaching, machinery damage, flooding, snow and drought have all impacted on sward quality.

The events will take place on Tuesday, July 31, at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Greenmount Campus and on Thursday, August 2 at its Enniskillen Campus.

Advice

At the Sustainable Soil Management event attendees will learn about the importance of soil structure and how to assess it.

There will also be talks on managing soils to avoid compaction through appropriate tyre selection and pressure settings.

Improving soil fertility, particularly by making the best use of slurry through careful timing and methods of application will be addressed.

The correct choice, timing and use of subsoilers will also be featured. Methods of reseeding and choice of seeds mixtures will also be discussed.

In addition to the main tour, there will also be a number of trade exhibits to visit and a panel of CAFRE advisers will be on hand to deal with specific queries. Refreshments will be available to purchase on the day.

Tours will last for approximately two hours and commence at 11:00am at each venue and continue every 20 minutes, with the last session starting at 6:30pm.

For further information, contact CAFRE on: 028 9442 6790; or email: [email protected].

Farm Family Key Skills (FFKS) is a scheme under the Farm Business Improvement Scheme (FBIS) which is part of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020.

The programme receives co-financing from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.