Michael Russo

Michael Russo is leading soil health innovation at Marlin Blue by integrating natural farming systems into a large-scale banana enterprise. It started on a quest 15 years ago to unlock soil minerals for the plant, which led down the path of biological agriculture and soil health. After attending a variety of workshops and a Central American Farming tour with Regenag, Michael was keen to implement the tools and techniques he saw other farmers having success with. This came largely in the form of composting, which he does using a mix of banana waste scraps and manures. He’s also exploring the use of biofertilisers on farm where he’s seeing great results. Michael firmly believes biology is key, and that it’s about closing nutrient loops where possible, and building more resilient, soil-focused farming systems. He stresses it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive and references a simple mixed species cover crop as one of the cheapest and most beneficial things you can do for your soil. A simple place for those new to the arena to start perhaps?