Farmers in Mallee will get practical assistance to improve soil health and testing with a new Regional Soil Coordinators now based at the local Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
Member for Mallee, Anne Webster said the hub allows organisations to work together to respond to the needs of farmers, agribusiness and communities in their region.
“This particular program gives our local farmers access to the best soil science and tools available, so they can maximise this year’s returns and better plan for the future,” Dr Webster said.
Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said this $3 million initiative, which sees $375,000 shared between eight drought hubs, will deliver down to earth support to Aussie farmers.
“We are giving farmers and land managers the tools and information they need to protect and improve the foundation of Australian agriculture, our soils,” Minister Littleproud said.
“It’s on top of a national, $13.8 million Soil Extension Activities program that helps farmers to better understand soil health, better access the latest training and testing techniques, and make better decisions for future growing seasons based on real data.”
The Regional Soil Coordinators will work with Soil Science Australia to form a National Community of Practice.
The National Soil Strategy will help deliver collaborative and coordinated on-ground
action, research, education and monitoring to help care for and improve this valuable
resource.
Eight Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs will host Regional Soil
Coordinators to help farmers and land managers improve soil management and increase
productivity, profitability and sustainability.
The Hubs cover eight regions including:
Southern NSW
Southern Queensland/Northern NSW
South-West WA
Victoria
Northern WA/NT
Tropical North Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania