Soil health has been a focus of far-north Queensland vegetable grower Jamie Jurgens and his family since they established Jurgens Produce in Bowen in 1975.

According to Jamie, Bowen isn’t renowned for great soil – therefore, to be sustainable and keep businesses financially viable in the long-term, growers have to be smart when it comes to what they are putting in the ground.

Through his involvement in the project Soil condition management – Extension and capacity building (VG13076), a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund, Jamie has been able to quantify the biological improvement in the soil health of his crops, which include green beans, pumpkin, capsicum, eggplant and tomatoes, over a number of years.

During the project, Jamie hosted on-farm demonstrations which proved beneficial for both himself and those who attended.

It provided an open platform to share information and allow other growers to see the benefits of soil health R&D in action.

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