A new Soil CRC tool co-developed by our grower group participants is helping to improve how research findings are communicated to farmers, by showing both the risks and rewards of adopting new practices in a clear and consistent style.

West Midlands Group Project Communications Officer and project participant, Simon Kruger, said farmers are faced with increasingly complex decisions when adopting new practices, often relying on fragmented and inconsistent information.

“The project identified the need for a better way to communicate the full range of benefits and trade-offs involved in adopting new technologies or innovations,” he said.

“We set out to create a tool that would present research findings in a clear, consistent format — one that farmers could use to make informed, confident decisions at the paddock level.”

Between 2022 and 2024, the project team developed a Risk/Reward Tool to help grower groups communicate research outcomes more effectively to farmers. The work was a collaboration between Charles Sturt University and three grower groups: West Midlands Group and Corrigin Farm Improvement Group (CFIG) in Western Australia, and Central West Farming Systems in New South Wales.

Simon expressed the importance of the research being driven by the Soil CRC’s grower group participants and guided by farmer input.

“Farmers and grower group staff were involved in each stage of development, including surveys, workshops, matrix exercises, and repeated rounds of testing and refinement,” he said.

“The grower groups trialled the tool on completed projects and gathered feedback from farmers and staff using process diaries and interviews, which was critical to the tool’s usefulness.”

About the Risk/Reward Tool

The Risk/Reward Tool provides a consistent framework for presenting research in a way that supports on-farm decision-making. To suit different decision-making styles and time constraints, the tool uses a tiered reporting structure:

  • Awareness – A one-page infographic for quick, visual communication
  • Evaluation – A four-page synthesis report for moderately detailed summaries.
  • Trialling – A full report template for comprehensive analysis.

Each format presents key findings across financial, environmental, social and governance dimensions, helping farmers assess the full range of trade-offs and decide whether a new practice is right for them.

The tool is accompanied by a ‘Writing for Purpose’ guide, which provides templates and guidance for translating technical content into accessible, decision-oriented material. It also helps extension staff apply the tool consistently.

Showcasing the Risk/Reward Tool a recent Soil CRC webinar, Simon emphasised that the infographic, synthesis report and full report templates can be adapted to suit the organisation, the subject matter and the audience’s preferences.

“The Risk/Reward Tool is not prescriptive. It’s a flexible framework that slots into whatever system your group already works with, and it’s something we hope to keep evolving as different groups use it,” he said.

User testing with the three participating grower groups showed that farmers found the infographic and synthesis report particularly helpful for quickly understanding trial results and assessing relevance to their own operations. Staff reported that the tool helped to streamline reporting processes and reduced the need to create new report formats.

CFIG Chief Executive Joy Valle was a key collaborator on the project and said the CFIG team now use the three components of the Risk/Reward Tool in their day-to-day work to target different audiences effectively.

“Seventy percent of our farmers might prefer to have a look at an infographic, and they can directly see what the risks and the rewards of the project are, what the economic outcomes are, what the production outcomes are, and then they can weigh up whether or not they want to go and look at the four-pager,” she said.

CFIG is also using the tool to help staff – from new employees to agricultural scientists – identify the most appropriate information and format to suit their farmers.

“We’re targeting the different audiences that we want, but our whole team is actually benefiting from the process and procedure.”

Next steps

The Risk/Reward Tool has shown strong potential to improve how research findings are communicated and continues to be used by the Soil CRC’s grower group members.

The Soil CRC is sharing the tool to enable other grower groups and extension staff to trial its use within their own organisations.

Testing the tool across more regions, farming systems and enterprise types will help confirm its adaptability and relevance beyond the initial trial sites. There is also strong potential to develop a digital version, enabling interactive, region-specific reporting and integration with existing farm management software.

There is also scope to expand the tool’s use, for example, in comparing different enterprise types, assessing natural capital, or supporting sustainability reporting. Continued feedback from users will help keep the tool aligned with changing industry needs.

Get in touch

If you would like more information about the Risk/Reward Tool, please reach out to Soil CRC Soil Knowledge Broker, Felicity Harrop (felicity.harrop@soilcrc.com.au), or West Midlands Group Project Communications Officer, Simon Kruger (extension@wmgroup.org.au).

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