$3.94M for drought research

The Soil CRC has received a $3.94 million grant from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund to help Australia’s farmers prepare for future drought.

Prime Minister Albanese and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, last month announced $38 million in funding for six new projects under the Future Drought Fund’s Long-Term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Program.

Soil CRC CEO Dr Michael Crawford was excited by the announcement and said the grant will enable the CRC to extend our long-term trials beyond our CRC’s funded lifetime of June 2027.

“With this funding, we will continue to evaluate drought resilience in different farming systems and soils through an established network of long-term trials across multiple sites in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria,” he said.

“Our research is investigating novel products and approaches to alleviate subsoil constraints and increase water use efficiency, soil health and soil carbon. We will now be able to extend data collection for up to eight years on a range of soil types and constraints with varying risk of drought.

“This long-term research will improve our understanding of the role of these approaches and products on drought resilience, which will better equip farmers with the knowledge they need to prepare for future drought.”

The Soil CRC research will be led Dr Richard Bell from Murdoch University in collaboration with our participant grower groups: Facey Group, Corrigin Farm Improvement Group and West Midlands Group in Western Australia, Riverine Plains and Central West Farming Systems in New South Wales and Birchip Cropping Group in Victoria.

It will also involve researchers from Murdoch University, the University of Southern Queensland, Southern Cross University, the University of Newcastle and the University of Tasmania.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to continue working with our research partners and participant grower groups to create a legacy for Soil CRC to deliver additional soil knowledge and science for Australian farmers and farming communities,” Dr Crawford concluded.