Arable crops – LandWISE – Promoting sustainable land management

Soil Health for Profit – Charlie White

Dan Bloomer — Fri, 08 May 2026 01:00:45 +0000

Lessons Learned from Twenty Years of Cover Crop and Soil Health Research and Extension

Dr. Charlie White is a faculty member at Penn State University, specializing in soil nutrient behavior and management.

He has taught various courses, including Soil Nutrient Behavior and Management, Internship, Independent Studies, Thesis Research, and Supervised Experience in College Teaching.

His research focuses on sustainable agricultural systems, biogeochemical cycles, and nutrient management to promote productive and efficient nutrient use in cropping systems.

In this presentation, Charlie will share some of the key insights into managing cover crops for nutrient management and soil health that he has learned through twenty years of research, much of it conducted in partnership with farmers in the temperate, humid climate of the Mid-Atlantic USA.

These lessons include the importance of measuring and managing cover crop and soil organic matter carbon, nitrogen, and C:N ratios to balance nitrogen retention and supply; that a little bit of grass in a cover crop mixture goes a long way to reducing N leaching; and that a cover crop mixture with balanced species proportions will be the most multifunctional, but achieving evenness in the biomass is easier said than done.

Finally, Charlie will return to his roots in reflecting on the importance of mycorrhizal fungi to the phosphorus nutrition of crops, and why P stratification in no-till system may not be as much of a problem as we think because of these symbiotic organisms.

Soil Health for Profit – John Evans

Dan Bloomer — Thu, 07 May 2026 02:07:16 +0000

A career in cropping – soil health, strip-till and biodiversity

Past Chair of LandWISE, John Evans will discuss his farming career at “Soil Health for Profit” in May. Over more than four decades active farming, he’s seen a number of farming systems arrive and be replaced.

John was exposed to soil improvement at a young age as his parent’s developed half of the property from Gorse Broom Blackberry and Willows into a highly productive irrigated mixed system. After returning from Lincoln College and helping with the irrigation development the farm was sold, and another larger rundown property was purchased in Dorie.

Over the next 36 years John continued his soils interest and converted the property to intensive cropping with irrigation. Pivoting the operation and taking up the opportunities that came along, he finished with a highly productive arable livestock farm with a high quality, productive specialist seed operation.

He was and is always active in his own research and hosting and supporting Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) projects. Looking back, has asks, “Have I always been a regenerative farmer?”

Soil Health for Profit – Sally Anderson

Dan Bloomer — Thu, 07 May 2026 00:40:37 +0000

Summary from the Cyclone Gabrielle Research Symposium

Soil Health for Profit – Uttam Floray

Dan Bloomer — Wed, 06 May 2026 21:39:48 +0000

Do all nitrogen amendments have the same footprint?

Uttam Floray works at the intersection of climate science, primary industry, and real-world delivery. With a background in the wine sector across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, he has led production, compliance, and commercial operations while embedding environmental performance into the core of the business. At Toitū Envirocare, he leads work supporting organisations across the primary industry, manufacturing, and transport sectors to measure, manage, and reduce emissions. Uttam’s focus is on guiding clients through the right climate impact programmes — ensuring they add real value, align with credible standards, and translate into practical, implementable action. He works closely with organisations navigating complex requirements, helping them move beyond compliance toward meaningful, science-aligned outcomes.

Uttam has a range of qualifications including a BSc in Biotechnology and a Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science from EIT. Uttam is now involved in a lead role with Electrify Hawke’s Bay, a regional group promoting adoption of low carbon alternative energy sources including solar. In this presentation, he will discuss the environmental footprints of alternative nitrogen amendments, providing information for those focused on reducing their carbon emissions to meet market expectations.

Soil Health for Profit – Simon White

Dan Bloomer — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:46:03 +0000

Minimising cultivation impacts in broadacre cropping

Simon White is a farmer and entrepreneur based in Otane, Hawke’s Bay. He and his wife, Lou, have built a diverse operation with soil health at its core. They have a mix of arable cropping and sheep and beef finishing across 1100 hectares which has been in their family for three generations. Simon and Lou won the regional supreme title at the 2025 East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards, which recognised their focus on sustainability and business success built on diversification and innovation.

Simon is a long-time user of direct drilling and strip tilling on his farm. He sees major benefits in time saving, fuel economy and soil health. He will describe his use of these techniques in his arable, seed production and process vegetable systems.

Soil Health for Profit – Rene Van Tilberg

Dan Bloomer — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:15:19 +0000

Strip-till and under-sowing cover crops in maize

Rene Van Tilburg is the Senior Maize Researcher at FAR, leading the development of the maize research strategy and overseeing a range of trials. He focuses on identifying the constraints that limit yield and productivity, with a particular interest in moving beyond simple comparisons to understanding the mechanisms that drive system performance. His work emphasises understanding how and why systems respond, creating opportunities to better manipulate them to a grower’s advantage. This approach underpins the current research strategy and trial programme, which reflects a shift toward mechanism-driven research to improve on-farm outcomes. Rene will discuss his observations from trial work with strip-till and with establishing cover crops into standing maize.