Rural skills learnt by participants in nationally-accredited training courses funded by Disaster Recovery Funding will now flow into the wider community.

That's according to Palmina Bonaventura from the Australian Agricultural College Corporation (AACC), which provided the training in association with CQUniversity.

Community members and presenters who took part in the fertigation course

The free training in soil management and fertigation (fertilisation through irrigation) was made available, thanks to funding from the Queensland Rural Industry Training Council.

This accredited training was provided through a partnership between the AACC and CQUniversity's Centre for Plant & Water Science. There was an on-campus component in Rockhampton and field trips in the local district.

The soil management training helped participants learn how to design, construct, install and maintain effective erosion and sediment control measures. This course started with the basics of soil characteristics and worked through to cropping, irrigation and drainage strategies.

The fertigation training helped participants become familiar with pressurised irrigation systems and troubleshooting, incorporating the latest technology for delivering fertiliser via irrigation.

Training was presented by Sam Birrell from Netafim Australia, Lance Perdergast from the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation in Emerald, and CQUniversity specialists Dr Surya Bhattarai, Professor Kerry Walsh and Dr Melinda Mchenry.

"Everyone enjoyed the expertise of all the presenters, both the University staff and also the industry experts. We cannot thank these people enough for giving us their time and making this experience so enriched," Ms Bonaventura said.

"The field trips were a highlight for the training as it was hands on; so was the practical aspects of the lab work analysing soils etc. The growers who were visited on the field trips were very welcoming and happy to share their knowledge and experiences.

"The people who attended these two courses did so as part of the effort to help rebuild Queensland after Cyclone Yasi and the recent flood disasters. These skills are now within the community and will be put to good use through volunteer efforts."

Ms Bonaventura said the nine fertigation participants came from within Rockhampton, such as the community gardens, as well as travelling from Clermont. There were 10 soil management participants who came from Emerald, Clermont and within Rockhampton.