Results from one of Western Australia’s largest rural landholder surveys have revealed that sustainable soil management practices have become mainstream across the State’s farming sector.
The 2025 Soil CRC WA Rural Landholder Survey received feedback from 481 landholders across the Wheatbelt and south-west, with responses showing that farmers undertaking sustainable soil management have more than doubled since the Northern Wheatbelt Soil CRC survey in 2020.
Soil health was a leading priority for both regions, viewed as fundamental to environmental stewardship and long-term farm profitability. Farmers demonstrated strong knowledge and adoption of core soil management practices, reflecting a sector that is actively investing in soil condition and resilience.
“What really stands out is that WA farmers don’t see productivity and environmental stewardship as separate issues. Whether they’re managing soil and nutrient constraints, responding to weather extremes or protecting waterways, they’re looking for ways to keep their farms productive and profitable while looking after the land for the long term,” Project Lead Associate Professor Hanabeth Luke from Murdoch University said.
“What we have found is that farmers who say they are implementing ‘practices they consider to be regenerative’ are typically embracing regenerative practices such as planting legumes, perennial pastures and multi-species mixes, on top of more established agronomic practices such as minimum-till and fertiliser planning, indicating that what we are seeing is a ‘yes, and’ situation rather than an ‘either-or’ approach to agriculture.
“WA farmers have the highest rates of soil-testing in the country, and regardless of acceptance of the ‘regen ag’ terminology, many farmers are already implementing commonly associated practices.”
Two thirds of farmers reported maintaining more than 70 per cent groundcover, with three-quarters adopting minimum or no-till systems. Implementation of cell or holistic grazing rose from a quarter to a third of farmers since the 2020 Wheatbelt study. With this came similarly high adoption of multi-species pasture or cropping systems, with more than half of farmers implementing integrated pest management.
In the Wheatbelt, profitability was strongly linked to knowledge-based management, including soil testing, nutrient management, precision agriculture and whole-farm planning. In the south-west, profitability was closely associated with whole-farm planning, soil testing, nutrient management and maintaining groundcover.
West Midlands Group Project Communications Officer, Simon Kruger, thanked all participating farmers, and said the survey findings will help to inform their funding priorities.
“The research also brings to light other topics or focal areas from across the region, that we may not have heard from the people we work closely with,” he said.
“Working together to design the survey and get a good response is a real strength of this survey.”
Soil CRC CEO Dr Michael Crawford said these results solidified research as a critical tool for keeping farms across Australia healthy and thriving.
“The WA Survey is part of a larger Soil CRC program across seven regions in Australia investigating farmer attitudes to a range of soil related issues,” Dr Crawford said.
“The results support the research the Soil CRC is doing to help farmers improve their soil management, productivity and profitability.”
A/Prof Hanabeth Luke emphasises that “the impact of our innovation and knowledge-system relies on trusted local networks such as grower groups and NRM/catchment groups, to ensure that the science meets the soil.”
A/Prof Luke will be presenting on the Soil CRC Rural Landholder Survey project at the Soil Science Australia National Conference, which will be held in Perth from 1 to 5 Novemember 2026.