Agricultural social benchmarking surveys

Farmers and their on-farm management strategies are critical to the ongoing health of Australia’s soils, economy, and environment. Continuing on from the Soil CRC’s previous research into what drives farm management decisions, this project will help develop a longitudinal understanding of farmer practices, aspirations and motivations. It will consider the actual and intended practice of a broad base of farmers across Australian farming systems.

In this phase of the research, the project team will conduct three follow-up social benchmarking surveys of land managers in North Central Victoria, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and in the northern West Australian Wheatbelt.

Co-developed with local Soil CRC partners, the surveys will address regional and industry nuances of different farming group regions, while also providing a means to evaluate the impact of the CRC. Workshops will be used to ensure the ongoing relevance of the surveys for local groups.

Improved understanding of farmers’ needs, intentions and practices will help the CRC (and the farming groups) to better target our innovations and communications. This will increase end-user engagement and adoption with the aim of improving soil management and productivity.

Charles Sturt University’s analytics team will further help to identify avenues for data application.