Complacency is costing us some of our best soils, says ecologist and educator Nicole Masters.

New Zealand is losing 11 tonnes of topsoil per hectare a year, more than 10 times the global average, she said during a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day held at Claire Parkes and Simon Vincent's farm near Wakefield in the Nelson region, and attended by about 35 farmers.

"We live in one of the most blessed soil environments in the world.

"We are fertile, we have good carbon and beautiful rainfall, but we are losing all this topsoil and it's not sustainable."

Australia, where she did a lot of work attempting to restore soils depleted by sedimentation, was paying the price for a lack of action.

She wants farmers here to be proactive and take a more holistic approach to managing their properties.

Many already knew through keen observation much of what needed to be done and just required help "putting all the pieces of the puzzle together".

Masters, a director of Integrity Soils and spokeswoman for the Association of Biological Farmers, said focusing on soil health was not only good for the environment, but made economic sense.

"If you are not looking after your underground workforce, it will cost you in fertiliser use and retention, erosion control, sedimentation and water quality."

Many animal health and weed problems could be traced back to the soil, she said.

Read more here:
Soil biology is key to saving fertility