Sodosol for the stock paddock at Wallace’s family farm, Kilmore, Victoria, Australia
Description: sodosol
Location: sloping paddock on rural fringe of rural town
Values for this soil:
– Paddock soil grows fodder for our goats and sheep – rescue animals: goats from bushfires and orphaned or abandoned lambs
– opportunity for children to learn about stock and caring for them
Challenges for this sodosol in the four dry hottest months:
– Soil surface cracks , during summer, especially if it has become bare
– No feed growth, so grass eaten out is not replaced.
Managements for this parched soil in summer:
– Selective grazing in paddocks using a rotational system, especially in summer
– Feed pellets and lucerne hay for feeding grazing animals decreases soil stress
See more about Sodosols at the VRO website
For more about producing food on this family farm from its sodosols, visit its vegie patch Soil Selfies.
Another soil used for grazing Soil Selfies comes from Werrigar in the Wimmera, Australia
Credits : Amanda Wallace, of Kilmore, gives permission for their photos and information to be used under a (cc) license 2015
Editing and page created by Jeanie Clark, enviroed4all®, Warracknabeal, for use in education under a (cc) licence 2015
Go on to visit other Soil Selfies
page published 18 October 2015, updated 9 January 2016