By Felicity Harrop, Soil CRC Adoption Manager

The Soil CRC Adoption Plan implementation is accelerating the uptake of research into practice, connecting participants, growers, researchers and advisers with practical insights and tools through webinars, field walks, fact sheets, podcasts and upcoming grower group events.

Unlocking the value of soil data, soil water and regenerative agriculture with the Soil CRC

The Victoria branch of Soil Science Australia hosted an in-person and online event exploring how better soil data, deeper understanding of soil water, and clearer insights into regenerative agriculture can support more informed decisions on farms and across the agricultural sector.

Key highlights and takeaways

  • A/Professor Peter Dahlhaus (Federation University) presented outputs from the ‘Visualising Australasia’s Soils’ project, including tools and standard protocols for collecting, managing and interpreting soil data to make informed, data-driven management decisions on-farm.
  • Hydrologist Sam North (formerly NSW DPIRD) shared insights from the ‘Assessing soil water storage’ project for measuring and managing soil moisture, improving water infiltration, and optimising water-use efficiency to build resilience against variable climate conditions.
  • Dr Christine Storer (Charles Sturt University) presented outcomes from the ‘Defining the benefits of regenerative agriculture’ project, comparing the economic, environmental and social outcomes of regenerative farming systems with modern conventional agricultural systems.

Thanks to Soil CRC Program 2 leader A/Professor Nathan Robinson (Federation University) and the Victoria branch committee for hosting, and to Soil CRC project leader Dr Alice Melland (University of Southern Queensland) for facilitating the discussion.

Watch the SSA Vic Branch Soil CRC webinar recording to view the full presentation and hear the detailed discussion: SSA Vic Branch Soil CRC webinar recording.

Out and about in the Victorian Mallee

Soil CRC participants Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) and Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF) recently hosted Soil CRC project leaders Richard Bell (Murdoch University), Terry Rose and Mick Rose (Southern Cross University) in the Victorian Mallee.

The visit included a BCG field walk at the ‘Evaluating novel approaches for drought resilience through long-term trials’ site, managed as part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund Long-Term Trials of Drought Resilient Farming Practices Program. Richard Bell introduced the research and explained why identifying practices that improve the productivity of constrained soils is important for the Birchip area.

Terry Rose outlined the summer cover crop treatments, aiming to protect soil and potentially increase soil organic matter and aggregation. Despite high rainfall this year (Decile 8), treatment effects were visible, with lower winter crop biomass in the summer cover crop plots, likely due to nutrient use by the summer crop.

Mick Rose discussed the soil biological indicators used to measure treatment impacts on soil health, including the ACE (autoclaved citrate extractable) protein test, and shared outcomes from the herbicide residue management project.

Soil resources from Wheatbelt NRM

With support from the Soil CRC Adoption Plan implementation, Wheatbelt NRM has published a fact sheet on building and testing resilient soils, with insights on ecosystem processes, plant-based systems and soil microbial indicators. View the fact sheet on the Soil CRC Knowledge Hub: Building and testing resilient soils – Wheatbelt NRM fact sheet.

Soil CRC researcher Professor Terry Rose (Southern Cross University) also shared outcomes from the ‘Increasing nutrient efficiency with new organic amendments’ project on Wheatbelt NRM’s ‘Get the Dirt’ podcast. The project investigated how new nutrient-balanced organic amendment products affect nutrient use efficiency in the field compared with traditional fertiliser inputs.

The podcast can be found on the Soil CRC’s Knowledge Hub: Get the Dirt on Soil Amendments with Professor Terry Rose – Wheatbelt NRM podcast.

Thanks to our Soil CRC participants for taking the time to generously share these research outcomes with agricultural communities far and wide.

Soil CRC participant events coming up

Field day season is in full swing, with Soil CRC researchers presenting at Central West Farming Systems, Southern Farming Systems, Birchip Cropping Group, AIR EP SARDI Minnipa and FarmLink field days. Topics include drought resilience, organic-based nitrogen fertilisers, biological indicators, herbicide residue management, and the agronomic benefits of biosolids biochar.

  • Professor Terry Rose (Southern Cross University) will discuss the ‘Plant diversity for drought resilience’ trial.
  • Dr Yunying Fang (Griffith University) will provide an update on the ‘Organic-based nitrogen fertiliser’ project.
  • Associate Professor Mick Rose (Southern Cross University) will present research outcomes from the ‘Measuring soil microbes’ and ‘Managing herbicide residues in soil’ projects.
  • Dr Santosh Paul (University of Newcastle) will present a research update at the ‘Evaluating the agronomic benefits of biosolids biochar’ trial site.

  • Research Hydrologist Sam North (formerly of NSW DPIRD), will discuss how soil properties and management affect crop water availability, based on findings from the Soil CRC’s ‘Assessing soil water storage’ project.

  • Dr Shihab Uddin (NSW DPIRD), Sam North (formerly of NSW DPIRD), and Hayden Thompson (Southern Cross University) will discuss how integrated soil management strategies are being applied at the Soil CRC’s long-term trial site in Lockhart, NSW.

Visit the Soil CRC events webpage for dates, locations and registration details.

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