Projects

Soil and plant health are key components of the profitability and sustainability of all farms. This project, supported by funding from AgriFutures Australia’s Producer Technology Uptake Program, aims to provide support to producers that want to improve the health of their soil. COBWA is doing this these ways:

Workshops
COBWA delivered two workshops in 2023, with two more running in August 2024 (Registrations now open - see details). These workshops showcase a selection of soil and plant health tools that are currently available, give producers the information needed to decide what tools are most appropriate and support them to make a soil health monitoring plan. 

Soil and plant health tools and test grant

The first round of funding closed in November 2023 and saw seven producers accessing over $12,000 worth of tools and tests. Round 2 closed 19 May 2024 and is currently being assessed. A third round is likely to be made available later in 2024 (~August). A list of tools and test made available through this grant is shown below.

Peer to peer learning

Producers that receive grant for tools and tests through this project are required to share information about how they use the tools and tests and whether they find them useful. Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook posts for these valuable insights and to contribute to the conversation. Snapshots of these posts will be reproduced here on our website for future reference (scroll down).

List of tools available through this grant:
· Apera EC meter
· Apera pH meter
· Brix refractometer
· Hanna Instruments CaCo3 water hardness test kit
· Hydraulic plant sap press and extractor
· LAQUAtwin sap and soil nitrate meter
· LAQUAtwin sap calcium meter
· LAQUAtwin sap conductivity meter
· LAQUAtwin sap pH meter
· LAQUAtwin sap potassium meter
· LAQUAtwin sap sodium meter
· Manutec pH test kit
· MicroBIOMETER® - starter kit
· MicroBIOMETER® - refill kit
· Penetrometer
· Sap extractor - vice grip style
· SWEP CT-1 Complete Soil Balance Analysis
· Plant sap analysis

Get in touch on info@cobwa.com.au to find out more.

Collected grape leaf samples and sent them to Nova Crop Control in the Netherlands for leaf sap analysis. I took young and old leaf samples from our four varieties. Excited to get the results from this new technique that will tell us about the vines nutritional needs. This is a follow up to the COBWA Plant and Soil Health Monitoring Workshop held recently at our place. Hopefully our COBWA application is successful and we get a 70% discount on the cost of the tests. Thanks to @c.o.b.w.a for making this generous offer available and Mark from @productiveecology who helped with all the necessary paperwork required.