The Soil Wealth ICP team recently hosted a group of New Zealand vegetable and potato growers as part of a Vegetables New Zealand study tour to Victoria in May 2026.
The event follows previous Trans-Tasman collaboration with a New Zealand delegation visiting Queensland vegetable growing regions and Hort Connections 2025, and a group of Australian growers travelling to New Zealand as part of a Soil Wealth ICP international study tour in 2024.
The group visited Schreurs & Sons at Tarwin Lower, where they met grower Adam Schreurs at the Soil Wealth ICP demonstration site.
Soil Wealth ICP team members Carl Larsen and Jedidiah Clark shared how the trial site is improving and maintaining soil carbon, with a focus on the role of cover crops in supporting soil structure, nutrient cycling and biological activity, as well as minimum tillage and compost. The discussion also covered how cover crops can fit within commercial vegetable production systems and the practicalities of adopting these practices at a commercial scale.
In the field, the group witnessed the results from the cover crop trial and discussed how practices such as minimum tillage and compost application are being used to further support soil health. Over the last growing season there have been significant benefits at the site with reductions in labour costs, fuel use and irrigation demand. The group also had the opportunity to watch a trial of the Azaneo electric weeder before it was showcased at the Victorian Vegetable Innovation Days (VicVID).
Later in the week, the New Zealand growers also attended VicVID, where the Soil Wealth ICP team hosted a cover crop showcase and marquee with resources from the project.
Across each day of VicVID, Soil Wealth ICP team members walked attendees through the showcase of six monoculture cover crops, and two mixed-species cover crops. Attendees were able to compare differences in biomass, weed competition, groundcover, root structure, termination method and overall fit within different production systems.
