The 2026 Soil Science Australia National Conference is just around the corner! The Soil CRC is pleased to be a silver sponsor of this year’s event, which will be held in Perth, Western Australia, from 1 to 5 November. Join us on Tuesday 3 December for a special Soil CRC conference session to hear about our research achievements over the past 9 years or drop in to see us at the conference exhibition.
“This will be the last national soils conference during the lifetime of the Soil CRC, and we are pleased to be able to share our achievements with Australia’s soil science community through this forum,” Soil CRC CEO Dr Michael Crawford said.
“This is also an opportunity for our researchers and PhD students to ‘report back’ to our soil colleagues across Australia.”
Dr Crawford will deliver a plenary address on Tuesday 3 November outlining the achievements of the Soil CRC. This will be followed by a concurrent session focussed specifically on the Soil CRC with Soil CRC Program Leaders Professor Catherine Allan (Charles Sturt University), Associate Professor Nathan Robinson (Federation University), Professor Megh Mallavarapu (University of Newcastle) and Dr Lukas Van Zwieten (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), and our Adoption Manager, Felicity Harrop.
The conference program features several Soil CRC researchers, presenting on a range of topics, from soil stewardship to soil microbial indicators. Presenters include:
- Associate Professor Hanabeth Luke, Murdoch University – Soil stewardship from paddock to policy: a data-driven understanding of decision-drivers, with insights from 5,000 rural landholders
- Dr Kattie Weigh, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – Developing a framework for soil microbial indicators
- Nawarathna Gannawe Bandaralage, University of Newcastle – Mapping the economic evidence on soil amendment technologies for drought resilience: A scoping review with implications for Australian dryland agriculture
- Sundus Saeed Qureshi, Griffith University – PAM-NaPSS with CNC reinforcement hydrogels for soil conditioning and water-efficient agricultural practices
- Associate Professor Mick Rose, Southern Cross University – Predicting herbicide bioavailability and phytotoxicity from soil properties
- Thilakshi Paranavithana, Griffith University – Re-examining the relationship between chemical lability of organic amendments, biological availability of soil organic carbon, and nutrient availability
- Ben Enguwa, Southern Cross University – Soil water infiltration dynamics in Australia’s southern broadacre cropping systems
- Dr Shihab Uddin, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – Residual effects of deep-placed organic and inorganic amendments on wheat productivity in an alkaline dispersive subsoil
- Dr Hassan Sardar, Murdoch University – Soil carbon trends over three cropping seasons under various soil treatments and farming systems in three WA sites
- Evanna McGuinness, Southern Cross University – Soil organic matter retention and turnover in subtropical perennial pasture systems of northeast NSW, Australia
- Dr Aakansha Chadha, Federation University – Towards integrated soil degradation assessment in Australian agriculture
- Dr Abe Gibson, Southern Cross University – Improving soil health through plant diversity in Australian broadacre systems: Hurdles and opportunities.
- Thomas Baumgartl, Federation University – Soil water storage: increased access and tools for assessment.
The Soil CRC is also sponsoring the Welcome Reception on Sunday 1 November, which will be held at the conference venue.
The event will bring together more than 450 delegates across science, policy, industry and community, to explore soils as the foundation of productivity, security, community and resilience. The theme this year is ‘Common Ground: Soils for the Anthropocene’.
“We look forward to hearing from our soil science peers and catching up with collaborators and supporters from across the industry,” Dr Crawford said. “Please come and say hello during the exhibition – you will find us at stand number 8.”
View the conference program at the link below.