We pay respect to the Traditional Owners of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, and acknowledge their continued survival and connection with their land, sea and sky Country that spans millennia.

We acknowledge the many Nations of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, past and present, as the traditional and ongoing owners of their respective countries within Tasmania and the islands.

We pay respect to those who have passed and acknowledge today’s Aboriginal people who are the custodians of this land.

We acknowledge that all land, sea, and sky Country holds cultural values that provide strong and continuing significance to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. We acknowledge that Tasmanian Aboriginal people are part of a continuous culture that holds traditional knowledge about the ecosystems we all depend on. The landscapes of Tasmania have been shaped by Aboriginal management of plants, animals, and water (particularly using fire).

We acknowledge that colonisation and migration has caused injustice for Aboriginal people and impacted the living cultural landscape. This has created a legacy that we seek to improve.

We are working to integrate Aboriginal cultural heritage and knowledge in natural resource management, and to develop better understanding of the cultural, environmental, social and economic dimensions of the region’s natural resources from the perspective of Aboriginal people.

Through our work, we aim to reflect these values by recognising that Tasmanian Aboriginal people determine both the boundaries for the sharing of their cultural heritage and opportunities for participation in NRM activities that embrace and support their aspirations. We pay respect to Tasmanian Aboriginal people’s requirements to own, care and manage Country by aligning our strategic priorities to Tasmanian Aboriginal people’s land, sea and sky Country priorities.

“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

The nutrients in our bodies come from soil and return there when we die. This demands that we respect soil, which requires us to understand its nature, its functions and its differences. I never thought that I would be in a position to write this book as being a pedologist, I prefer to observe soil in the landscape and to make my interpretations and recommendations based on the characteristics that I can see, feel and smell. However, over time I completed a body of research on soil nutrient management in Tasmanian agriculture and this increased my knowledge to a point where I could provide advice on nutrient management, including fertiliser application and organic amendments.

This book collates material written by myself and others that covers nutrient management on Tasmanian farms. I hope that I have referenced contributions by others appropriately. There is a list of references and further reading by chapter at the end of the book. Any errors and omissions are mine. This book is not intended to be a definitive scientific text but rather to be a guide, and advice should be sought from local advisers on best management practices, as applying nutrients should not be done with a recipe but rather individual recommendations tailored to your soil types, your farming system and most importantly your budget.

I have learnt so much about nutrients in soils and fertilisers from Tasmanian farmers and my professional colleagues. I wish to acknowledge and thank the following for contributing to my nutrient knowledge journey: Rachel Brown, Lucy Burkitt, Doris Blaesing, Jess Coad, Peta Davies, Richard Doyle, Seona Findlay, Cameron Gourley, Marcus Hardie, Stephen Ives, Rosemary James, Richard Rawnsley, Leigh Sparrow and Luke Taylor.

I thank Tahlia Kinrade of NRM North for bringing this book to publication and Doris Blaesing and Julie Finnigan for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript.

ISBN: 978 0 6457715 2 7

DISCLAIMER

NRM North, NRM South, Cradle Coast Authority, RMCG, the funding body and its employees have used reasonable means to verify the validity and accuracy of the data contained herein at the date of this publication, however to the extent allowed by law, they do not warrant or represent that the data will be correct, current, fit/suitable for a particular purpose or not misleading. All persons preparing data that has been used in this report, accept no liability for the accuracy of or inferences from material contained in this publication, or for action as a result of any person’s or group’s interpretation, deductions, conclusions or actions in relying on this material.