The Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC) was inaugurated in 1990, and incorporated in 1991 in Victoria as a charitable society.
Objectives
ASPACs objectives are to:
- Provide a national and international focus for promoting excellence in all aspects of soil and plant tissue analysis.
- Encourage and promote the adoption of preferred methods and protocols used in soil and plant tissue analysis within Australasia.
- Facilitate national and international communication
- Stimulate training, research and development in soil and plant tissue analysis.
ASPAC activities include:
- Conducting regular National Quality Assurance Programs to enhance standards of analysis and assist standardisation of soil and plant analytical methods across laboratories. The Council provides certificates of proficiency to those laboratories which achieve satisfactory performance standards.
- Promoting the need for soil and plant analysis to end-users such as farmers, graziers, foresters and horticulturists.
- Publishing a newsletter regularly. From time to time, ASPAC commissions the preparation and publication of handbooks, reviews and bibliographies relevant to field sampling, laboratory analysis, interpretation of test data, and the provision of nutritional advice and pollution guidelines to clients. The Council also promotes the adoption of uniform technology and terminology in soil and plant analysis.
- Conducting conferences, workshops, training courses and seminars on soil and plant testing and encourages wider participation of the public in understanding the need for soil and plant analysis.
- Supporting relevant research, and encouraging collaborative research amongst its members.