A Soil CRC project led by Associate Professor Nathan Robinson from Federation University is digging into the science of soil indicators to develop a guiding resource for farmers and others working in the agriculture industry.

Our earlier research has shown that there is no universal suite of indicators that can measure soil performance, but rather that indicators should be matched to their intended purpose.

“Land managers use a range of indicators and observations to assess soil performance and limitations to agricultural production systems,” A/Prof Robinson said.

“Previous Soil CRC research (project 2.1.006) identified that locally relevant indicators work best for different farming systems and regions. This project will now create an enduring resource on key soil indicators that can be used and adopted by advisors, growers, grower groups, researchers and government.”

The research aims to better define critical target values for key soil performance indicators across a range of agricultural settings. It is exploring what these indicator values mean for users and the sustainable management of different soils and production systems.

“The soil indicators will be linked to corrective actions and management options. Co-design with farmer groups and domain experts will ensure that the research outputs – including relevant interpretations – are fit-for-purpose and fulfill users’ needs,” A/Prof Robinson said.

“We are working with regional experts to develop relevant metrics for indicators that matter to land managers. This process will help identify combinations of soil type, climate and land use and link these to locally relevant management practice information for soil performance.”

Project update

A/Prof Robinson said each of the grower group partners – West Midlands Group, Southern Farming Systems, Holbrook Landcare Network, Central West Farming Systems and Agricultural Innovation and Research Eyre Peninsula – have now participated in a co-design workshop to confirm and prioritise soil indicators that are of interest to them.

“The workshops highlighted the vast array of soil issues and performance considerations growers and advisors face in their respective regions. While there is commonality in soil indicators of preference (e.g. pH, available phosphorous), there is also considerable divergence in chemical, physical and biological indicators of interest between the different agro-ecological systems and farming practices.”

Project participant Simon Kruger from West Midlands Group helped to deliver the workshop held in Dandaragan, Western Australia, and said it reinforced that producers are looking for soil health measures that are practical, interpretable and directly linked to management options.

“By contributing farmer perspectives to this national project, we’re helping to ensure that soil health indicators remain grounded in local realities and useful for decision-making across mixed farming systems,” Simon said.

Two of the project team members assist a small group of farmers and advisors who are sitting around a table and working through activities.
West Midlands Group’s Simon Kruger and A/Prof Robinson guide growers through a land use and management practices activity during the co-design workshop in Dandaragan, Western Australia, in 2025.

The project team has been working with domain experts in soil chemistry, physics, hydrology and biology to adapt and define critical thresholds for soil indicators relevant to the soils and farming systems of the participating grower group regions.

Work is also underway to develop a spatial framework, which will be used by the project team to link indicators to relevant farming systems and soils, and a database to manage implementation of soil indicators and linked spatial frameworks.

Next steps

Future activities will confirm the finalisation of the spatial framework for the soil indicators and their local refinement to fit farming system needs in providing farmers with management options to optimise their soil performance.

Project partners and grower groups will review tailored interpretations and identify options to share this information, either as an online resource or hardcopy manual for local use.

Next month, A/Prof Robinson will join with Soil CRC researchers A/Prof Nicholas Pawsey and Dr Aakansha Chadha and Program 1 Leader Professor Catherine Allan to deliver a presentation on ‘The soil indicator dichotomy’ at the 23rd World Congress of Soil Science in Nanjing, China.

“Our presentation bridges concepts in Program 1 of the Soil CRC and research in Program 2 on soil indicators, and proposes a ‘Strategic Performance of Soil Management (SPSM) Reporting System’ to support agriculture in Australia,” A/Prof Robinson said.

The research findings and related resources will be shared after the project concludes at the end of 2026.

Project participants

  • Federation University Australia
  • NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • University of Newcastle
  • Charles Sturt University
  • Primary Industries and Regions South Australia
  • Agricultural Innovation and Research Eyre Peninsula
  • Central West Farming Systems
  • Holbrook Landcare Network
  • Southern Farming Systems
  • West Midlands Group
  • NSW Soil Knowledge Network

More information

Related resources can be found on the ‘Matching soil performance indicators to farming systems’ (2.1.006) project webpage.

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