Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms <p>Compared to other countries and its overall land mass, Australia has a relatively small amount of productive, arable land. Many of our soils are ancient and prone to erosion, structural decline, sodicity and&nbsp;acidity.</p> <p>The net benefits to Australian farmers treating soil sodicity and acidity, could be more than $11 billion. It is therefore comforting to know that remarkable and rapid improvement in soil structure, organic content and nutrient performance is possible through changed management&nbsp;practices.</p> <div class="pullbox"><p>The achievements of the program, its outcomes and summaries of each project, can be found in the <a href="/products/pn20960">Final Report.</a></p></div> <h2>What is Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms</h2> <p>The Healthy Soils for sustainable Farms Program was a wide-ranging, $5 million program that covers a variety of agricultural sectors across almost all the states of&nbsp;Australia.</p> <p>Healthy soils: <ul> <li>Optimise farm management, meaning greater&nbsp;cost-effectiveness</li> <li>add value to&nbsp;property</li> <li>benefit Australia&rsquo;s food and fibre&nbsp;exports</li> <li>soils boost our national environmental credibility</li> </ul> </p> <p>The range of agricultural industries that where involved in the Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms Program included: <ul> <li>Grain and&nbsp;crops</li> <li>Cotton</li> <li>Sheep and&nbsp;wool</li> <li>Sugar</li> <li>Vegetables</li> <li>Organics</li> </ul> </p> <p>Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms achieved high participation rates, uncovered significant demand for information about soil health, and successfully delivered a range of products, workshops and forums. This was achieved despite difficult drought conditions.</p> <p>The scale of the projects supported ranges from multi-state projects to catchment-focused&nbsp;initiatives. Some projects are took highly sophisticated, multi-factored approaches. Others delivered simple, kick-the-earth guides. All had a valid role in ensuring the ongoing productivity of Australia&rsquo;s precious soil&nbsp;heritage.</p> <p>We&nbsp;aimed to deliver adoption projects&nbsp;based on research, knowledge management, trial and demonstration sites and strategic projects, to contribute to the program&rsquo;s outcomes and provide context for the Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms&nbsp;Program.</p> <h3>Adoption</h3> <p>Adoption projects&nbsp;include: <ul> <li>Demonstrated agricultural management options based on local scale healthy soil&nbsp;processes</li> <li>Efficient systems for monitoring soil from paddock level to the surrounding catchment&nbsp;level</li> <li>Tools to help producers measure, record, monitor and adaptively manage the health of their&nbsp;soils</li> <li>Opportunities for learning about soils and their&nbsp;management</li> </ul></p> <h3>Strategy</h3> <p>Strategic projects&nbsp;include: <ul> <li>A national soil management learning&nbsp;program</li> <li>A national soil&nbsp;symposium</li> <li>A knowledge&nbsp;base</li> </ul> </p> 2009-05-26T01:19:35Z 2009-10-06T22:24:14Z Soils 2005 2008