Course in healthy soil / plant / food is eye-opener for Dutch growers

The four-day course in Healthy soil / plant / food, organized by Soiltech and HortiNova, was received very enthusiastically last week. Some 170 growers from all sectors attended the event to learn how to produce healthy products and to be less dependent on crop protection and fertilizers. Although intensive, the course was seen as diverse and experienced by many as an eye-opener.

The course is unique in its kind, and highlighted the relationship between soil health, plant health, nutrition and human health. This broad approach pretty much guaranteed a varied program; pest and disease control, the usefulness of micro-organisms and mineral management were interspersed with lessons on how to create humus in the soil, climate change and human health.

Graeme Sait, founder of the Australian company Nutri-Tech Solutions (NTS), nutritionist and inspiring speaker, together with co-teacher Joel Williams, biological agronomist, introduced solutions for the problems facing the agricultural sector, and discussed the impact of these solutions on the environment and human health. Judging by the reactions, both the content and organization of the course were very well received.

Due to its success, the course will likely be repeated in 2015. Please visit www.soiltech.nl and the twitter-account @soil_tech for regular updates.