Soil

Tens of thousands of Australian farmers have shown adaptability and sustainability this National Agriculture Day by taking part in programs under the Future Drought Fund (FDF) that are helping stock, pasture and native wildlife … provides an opportunity to celebrate the efforts of farmers like Cindy and Steven Scott from the NSW Riverina, who are looking at new ways to manage drought...

Thousands of grain producers will be put under unnecessary pressure to rethink sustainable farming practices that benefit the environment if proposed changes to the use of two key herbicides are approved. This is according to Grain Producers Australia Southern Region Director Mark Schilling, who is just one of thousands of grain producers who rely on timed applications of paraquat and diquat in their programs to ensure a strong harvest result.

Matthew Harrison, uTas. A webinar was held relating to how planting trees on farm impacts on biodiversity and natural capital. A range of models were used to examine spatially-explicit carbon sequestration and changes in biodiversity over time.

Researchers at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, are leading the five-year ‘Landscapes’ program, looking at the health and function of Australia’s natural and managed ecosystems. Administered through the innovative TERN project (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network), the team will deliver important soil and landscape environmental data to support sustainable ecosystem management. 

How does planting native tree species impact on farm-level biodiversity? With funding from MLA, AWI and several other partners, the "Sustainable Pathways to CN30" project team are examining this question via co-development of farm systems interventions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while improving productivity, profitability and biodiversity.

Shaun Ossinger. The world biochar market is estimated to reach $5 billion dollars by next year more than 100 people were told at the recent South Coast Biochar Forum. Key speaker Professor Stephen Joseph told the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee forum that biochar had huge potential to sequester carbon, improve plant and animal health and manage a host of waste streams in the process.

Matthew Harrison. With global temperature rise likely to exceed 1.5oC by 2050, interest in the development of skills, practices and technologies for removing carbon dioxide to avoid dangerous climate change abounds. One way to do this is via improved storage of soil organic carbon (SOC), as incremental gains in soil carbon at scale can have massive effect on residual CO2 circulating in the atmosphere.

Northern Slopes Landcare Association and Tamworth Regional Landcare are running a series of events for farming communities across the North West to inspire conversations about the importance of soil health and understanding water in our landscapes to build more resilient and profitable farms and communities. The events also feature the screening of new Australian short documentary Thankful for Soil...

Land managers across the Murraylands and Riverland are invited to attend a free workshop to find how biochar can be used to improve soil health. The event will be held on-farm at Lameroo ... and include live demonstration of a biochar kiln, weather permitting. Operated by Maccy Biochar, the kiln will be used to burn organic, on-farm waste at a high temperature in a low oxygen environment.

The Grassland Society of Southern Australia (GSSA) is looking to rebuild by engaging with a new generation of farmers and agricultural consultants. The society has connected farmers, scientists and consultants for 65 years and members gave its future a big vote of confidence at the annual conference in Bendigo on July 17-18.

Last week, local farmers, investors and Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) celebrated the next step in their Murray Inland Delta Landscape Impact Project. With the financial world falling over themselves to get a piece of the carbon trading arena, an ambitious project has been initiated to ensure that meaningful, tangible environmental benefits can be achieved while delivering financial benefits to landholders.

Patricia Gill. A biochar project of over three and a half years at the Shire Waste Transfer Station has the potential to develop a world-first industry for Denmark. Through a pyrolysis unit, which heats waste in low oxygen, green waste, silage wrap and food organics would potentially be converted into a carbon-rich product capable of improving soils and animal health.

A new farming systems project is set to shed light on how farm management decisions affect profitability and sustainability to help southern region grain growers understand the upside and downside of their decisions. The five-year project involves nine field sites … covering different soil types and rainfall zones in South Australia and Victoria, as well as biophysical modelling and economic evaluation.

TASC Carbon Australia Pty Ltd is looking to collaborate with landowners to facilitate access to carbon project registration opportunities. TASC allows farmers to be the project proponent (if they choose) and pays for all project costs (depending on financial viability). Australian Rural & Regional News found out more from Marc Bezuidenhout from TASC.

Better than expected summer rain across key winter crop growing areas has set up a favourable window for 2024 winter crop planting ... Incitec Pivot Fertilisers (IPF) technical agronomist Clint Sheather explains while the last thing growers want to do when applying fertiliser at planting is delay or reduce plant emergence, there is potential for seed damage when fertiliser is placed with the seed.  

One of the most invasive Australian weeds is being touted as a potential economic crop, with benefits for the construction, mining and forestry industries, and potentially many First Nations communities. The prickly paddy melon weed, which costs the agricultural industry around $100 million a year in lost grain yields, cattle deaths, and control measures, could turn into an unlikely money spinner...

Local landholders will once again be able to tap into specialist support to ensure their soil is at its productive best. "What is a healthy soil?" was the question discussed by participants of the Upper Murray Landcare Network’s two four-day Soil Health courses which ran over four months in 2023.

David Thompson is a farmer but he’s also a cultivator of change. David runs a 3000 hectare property just outside Katanning in WA and like thousands of farmers he’s seeing the effects of man-made soil salinity first hand ... Several years ago David decided to diversify his business (from solely grain crops and sheep) and start to grow sustainable, saline-infused food products. His business, Moojepin Foods, now produces saline greens that have won numerous awards and accolades.

Wine and grape growers need to break with tradition in production methods as new studies identify yield and quality improvements can be achieved through changes which focus on soil health ... “It’s like a dead zone when you create that space of exposed bare earth between rows of vines,” says AgTech specialist and Bactivate CEO Mark Gabsch.

Denmark cattle farmers Michael and Laura Sinclair will make their operations more sustainable and profi table through carbon farming. They are among 43 landowners, including three Aboriginal enterprise properties, seeking Carbon for Farmers Vouchers of up to $15,000 so they can gain advice and develop carbon-farming plans.

The thing that should be worrying farmers is not just the fact that the government has claimed the credit (and credits) for itself of not allowing landholders to clear land to help make the 2030 target, but they are now banking on farmers burying the emissions of the rest of the nation in their soil to help reach the unachievable 2050 target ... don’t sign up to any soil carbon contract until you are sure you won’t need those credits yourself when the inevitable carbon taxes arrive.

This World Soil Day, Kellanova ANZ, parent company of Kellogg’s, is shining a light on how farmers are preparing for the upcoming El Niño summer season, with soil health at the very heart ... New research reveals that 9 in 10 Aussie farmers already have a plan in place to deal with drier weather; Almost a third are confident the practices they use will help them prepare for potential drought.