TerraTactics
Soil, understood.
Summary
Across the earlier seasons at Wirraway — Narromine, NSW, TerraProbe screens on Wirraway West, River Flat and Top Ridge move together with the seasons and sit in a commercially sensible band for Central West dryland country. Old Stockyard already reads a little more acidic than its neighbours, but the step is gentle in this window. Holding off on chemistry and laboratory call-outs while cover, residue and matched-moisture monitoring stay in place is a cost-conscious way to protect soil capital.
Observations
Neighbour paddocks track together
Finding. Wirraway West and River Flat screening pH stay near neutral across comparable dates, while Old Stockyard sits lower without a sharp crash in this earlier window.
Evidence
- Wirraway West and River Flat pH screens remain close to 6.3–6.9 on matched seasonal visits.
- Old Stockyard screens sit around the mid-5s in this earlier period without an abrupt step-change.
- Wirraway West baseline laboratory suite (pH CaCl2 6.1) supports the idea of a steadier home paddock — supporting context only.
Interpretation. A mild paddock difference is useful for where you walk next season. It is not, by itself, grounds for lime or amendment decisions.
Ridge EC without an alarm yet
Finding. Top Ridge conductivity screens higher than River Flat, consistent with a drier crest versus a wetter flat — the gap is present but not racing away in this period.
Evidence
- Top Ridge EC sits above River Flat on matched sample dates.
- Moisture at Top Ridge is consistently lower than River Flat over the same window.
Interpretation. Field EC moves with moisture. Keep stubble and cover on the crest, re-screen after similar rainfall, and treat any salinity story as a monitoring question until a lab extract says otherwise.
Nutrient screens stay triage-only
Finding. N, P and K vary by paddock with season and do not show one paddock collapsing relative to the others.
Evidence
- River Flat tends higher for moisture and nutrient screens than Top Ridge on the same dates.
- No paddock shows an isolated crash across two consecutive seasons in this window.
Interpretation. Portable N-P-K helps decide where a laboratory sample might eventually go. It does not support fertiliser rates or product choices.
Compaction still looks like traffic, not a whole-paddock pan
Finding. Where penetrometer tests sit on file, gateways and wheel tracks already read harder than named mid-paddock points — a pattern worth keeping on the farm record rather than ripping on a single visit.
Evidence
- Stockyard gateway later sits near 2,850 kPa at 10 cm against about 1,450 kPa beside the soil point.
- Wirraway West wheel track sits near 2,700 kPa versus about 1,600 kPa mid-paddock on the same day.
Interpretation. Named compaction points next to soil screens are useful context. They are not a cultivation prescription; moisture and operator method still dominate resistance.
Suggested next steps
| Priority | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| low | Keep the same witness points and 10 cm depth next season; note rainfall and cover at each visit. | A second comparable season protects soil capital better than a one-off laboratory invoice while screens stay steady. |
| low | Favour residue retention and living cover on Top Ridge and Wirraway West; avoid unnecessary bare fallow. | Natural armouring and biology are low-cost levers while conductivity and pH screens are still watch-items rather than decisions. |
| low | Mention the Wirraway screening series at your next routine agronomist catch-up — no urgent paid paddock walk is indicated from this window alone. | A short briefing keeps your adviser informed without buying chemistry on screening alone. |
Professional escalation
Stated limitations
- TerraProbe screens are decision-support, not accredited laboratory chemistry.
- Laboratory reports on file for Wirraway West are supporting context only and do not prescribe rates.
- No fertiliser rates, chemical prescriptions or yield claims are implied.
- Hold-off advice applies to this reading window only; reassess if screens change sharply.
Reference readings
22 readings used for this analysis. Screening indicators only.
| Date | Paddock | Sample | Moisture (%) | EC (µS/cm) | Temp (°C) | pH | N (mg/kg) | P (mg/kg) | K (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-15 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 04 | 28.9 | 258 | 22.0 | 6.06 | 21 | 28 | 110 |
| 2026-02-14 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 03 | 27.7 | 318 | 23.4 | 5.18 | 18 | 24 | 94 |
| 2026-02-14 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 03 | 30.8 | 272 | 22.9 | 6.18 | 23 | 29 | 115 |
| 2026-02-13 | Top Ridge | Top Ridge 02 | 23.9 | 512 | 25.7 | 7.28 | 17 | 22 | 91 |
| 2026-02-13 | River Flat | River Flat 02 | 46.6 | 218 | 22.8 | 7.06 | 34 | 40 | 148 |
| 2026-02-13 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 02 | 29.6 | 332 | 24.3 | 5.30 | 20 | 25 | 99 |
| 2026-02-13 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 02 | 32.7 | 286 | 23.8 | 6.30 | 24 | 31 | 120 |
| 2026-02-12 | Top Ridge | Top Ridge 01 | 20.6 | 487 | 24.1 | 7.07 | 14 | 20 | 82 |
| 2026-02-12 | River Flat | River Flat 01 | 43.3 | 193 | 21.2 | 6.85 | 30 | 37 | 139 |
| 2026-02-12 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 01 | 26.3 | 307 | 22.7 | 5.09 | 17 | 23 | 90 |
| 2026-02-12 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 01 | 29.4 | 261 | 22.2 | 6.09 | 21 | 28 | 111 |
| 2025-08-15 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 04 | 33.0 | 243 | 22.1 | 6.24 | 23 | 29 | 116 |
| 2025-08-14 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 03 | 30.5 | 317 | 23.5 | 5.46 | 20 | 25 | 98 |
| 2025-08-14 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 03 | 35.0 | 257 | 22.9 | 6.36 | 25 | 31 | 120 |
| 2025-08-13 | Top Ridge | Top Ridge 02 | 22.2 | 402 | 23.1 | 6.95 | 14 | 19 | 82 |
| 2025-08-13 | River Flat | River Flat 02 | 44.4 | 180 | 20.3 | 6.75 | 29 | 36 | 136 |
| 2025-08-13 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 02 | 27.1 | 292 | 22.0 | 5.25 | 17 | 22 | 90 |
| 2025-08-13 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 02 | 31.6 | 232 | 21.4 | 6.15 | 22 | 28 | 112 |
| 2025-08-12 | Top Ridge | Top Ridge 01 | 24.1 | 416 | 24.0 | 7.07 | 16 | 21 | 87 |
| 2025-08-12 | River Flat | River Flat 01 | 46.3 | 194 | 21.2 | 6.87 | 31 | 38 | 141 |
| 2025-08-12 | Old Stockyard | Old Stockyard 01 | 29.0 | 306 | 22.9 | 5.37 | 19 | 24 | 95 |
| 2025-08-12 | Wirraway West | Wirraway West 01 | 33.5 | 246 | 22.3 | 6.27 | 24 | 30 | 117 |