A consortium of southern NSW farmers will use a $2.5 million government grant to pioneer a new soil modelling system, which has the potential to dramatically boost on- farm sustainability and productivity.
The Temora-based Farmlink Research Ltd’s soil future-proofing project will receive funding under the second round of the $57.5 million Smart Farming Partnerships program.
“We’re excited by this project’s potential to prevent the spread of sub-soil acidification across other agricultural areas of Australia,” said Member for Riverina, and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.
Michael said current acid soil management practices were based on outdated models which failed to prevent the wide-spread development of subsurface acidity in many cropping and pasture systems.
“Our government is ready to help agriculture become a $100 billion industry by 2030 and we’ll do that in part through in- vesting in innovations such as these.”
“It also aligns well with National Landcare Program priorities and those of the National Soil Research and Development Strategy.”
The Minister for Agriculture, Senator Bridget McKenzie, said that with acidity and declining organic carbon levels impacting half of agricultural soils in southern and central NSW, this project could be a game changer for farmers in those areas.
For more details visit https://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/natural-resources/landcare/national-landcare-program/australian-government-investment-in-landcare