Archive: August 2023
Soil CRC receives drought research grant
The Soil CRC is the proud recipient of a $3.94 million grant from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund to help evaluate drought resilience in varying farming systems and soils. Prime Minister Albanese and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, today announced $38...
Improving soils with plant-based solutions
Professor Terry Rose from Southern Cross University led a recently completed Soil CRC project to uncover how soil performance is affected by increased crop diversity, with promising results. “Major cropping systems in Australia tend to have a low diversity of crop species in their rotations, which...
Knowledge sharing for good soil stewardship
Dr Hanabeth Luke of Southern Cross University is leading the Soil CRC’s research effort to address the challenges and opportunities associated with sharing soil knowledge, with the aim of increasing farmer uptake of new research outputs. “Effective knowledge sharing processes between farmers, sc...
VIDEOS: Improving decision support systems
Soil CRC’s Improving decision support systems project wrapped up in 2022, helping address soil constraints by improving the tools growers, agronomists and researchers use to inform their decision-making. This project tackled the issue that most computer simulation models and decision support syste...
OPINION: Soil reporting deserves greater priority
Unlocking financial investment in soils is the focus of the ‘Rewarding soil stewardship’ project led by Dr Nicholas Pawsey from Charles Sturt University. Dr Pawsey argues not enough financial investment is made to protect this finite resource coming at the expense of farmers, investors and, in t...
Spotlight on emerging soil technologies
Presenting at the Soil Science Australia conference last month, project leader Dr Marcus Hardie from the University of Tasmania outlined some of Soil CRC’s emerging technologies and spoke about their genesis and development. “The Soil CRC has invested around $4.9M in its partners to help develop...
Bhavya’s war on biowaste
Soil CRC PhD student Bhavya Mod is enrolled at the University of Newcastle and was recently announced as a finalist in the Early Career Researchers Competition run by Cooperative Research Australia. Read about Bhavya’s PhD research into soil carbon storage and find out what motivates him. What is ...
Soil science conference wrap-up
Soil CRC projects took centre stage at the 2023 Soil Science Australia Conference last month, with over 20 of our researchers and PhD students presenting to over 300 delegates. The conference kicked off with an opening address by Soil CRC Patron and National Soils Advocate, the Hon Penny Wensley, wh...
Natural materials to retain soil moisture
Drought is an enduring feature of the agricultural landscape across Australia. The inability of soils to supply sufficient water reduces crop productivity. Retaining soil moisture in these harsh environments is key to maintaining soil and crop health. Professor Chengrong Chen of Griffith University ...
Meet our new Soil Knowledge Broker
We caught up with the Soil CRC’s new Soil Knowledge Broker, Felicity Harrop, to find out what inspires her and how she is helping connect our research scientists and grower groups. Tasmanian born and bred, Felicity spent a large part of her childhood connecting with nature—from camping in Tassie...
Grower groups lead the way to adoption
While profitability is often the driving force behind adoption of new farming practices, there are many other factors at play. Emotional, social, community, environmental and other emerging risk factors can also impact adoption. A Soil CRC project led by Dr Nathan Craig of West Midlands Group in Wes...
New book: Soil Constraints and Productivity
Soil Constraints and Productivity is a new book aimed at helping scientists and advisors identify, understand and manage multiple soil constraints. It is published with the support of the Soil CRC and focuses on farm management practices to alleviate the problems caused by these constraints and thei...