Just a teaspoon of soil boasts more living organisms than there are people on earth, and now they are to be judged at your local show - just like other prized farm livestock.
To cultivate greater understanding of the value of those microorganisms and their untapped potential, agricultural show societies are about to combine their efforts to grow youth awareness of our soils.
Funding for a new soils learning and competition program will soon be available at every agricultural show in Australia.
The Grains, Oilseeds, Pulses and Soils Learning Program will use competitions to give young people aged up to 25 the opportunity to understand more about soil quality and its importance to the entire rural sector.
The program has been developed by Agricultural Shows Australia, the peak body overseeing 572 shows around the nation.
Agricultural shows attract six million visitors annually and contribute nearly $1 billion to the national economy.
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The ASA will urge local shows to host the competitions within the newly developed guidelines and provide "how to guides", and also help Royal shows and state bodies host finals.
"It's very easy for a local show to run, so we're hoping all local shows hold a competition in 2023," said ASA executive officer, Katie Stanley.
A successful competition trial was run at the Royal Adelaide Show in September 2022.
The competition format will again be tested as part of the ASA's National Young Judges finals at the 2023 Royal Launceston Show in October.
Big plans are in place for the learning program's long term future.
Joint initiative
The project is being jointly funded through Agricultural Shows Australia, and the Australian Government's National Landcare Program.
The Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia has also partnered with the initiative as it is rolled out nationally.
A $3000 grant will also be available from ASA to Royal shows and state entities to kick start statewide competitions.
Instructional videos, online guides, handbooks and factsheets developed by ASA will equip show organisers with all the information they need to run a successful contest.
"From the regulations and checklists, to judge's markups, it's all covered," Ms Staley said.
The competition format runs for 40 minutes, requiring entrants to use a variety of techniques to determine a soil type and its key features.
They deliver their verdict during two minute presentations, with the winner's title presented to the competitor who comes the closest to the official soil classification.
"It went really well at the Royal Adelaide Show and the national group has committed to a national young judges competition in 2024 focussing on grains," Ms Stanley said.
"We have a lot of resources now available that are there to help young people understand what we're trying to achieve with these competitions and how they can participate in a really easy manner."
The Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia will help deliver a host of educational resources, from soil statistics, to recipes involving grains, pulses and oilseed and quizzes via QR codes.
To learn more about the grains and soils competition, and the funding opportunities, visit agshowsaustralia.org.au
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Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
