Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms Program Report

Product Information

The Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms (HSSF) Program was an Australian Government initiative funded through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) was a major co-funder, and the HSSF Program was managed by Land & Water Australia.

The HSSF Program operated from 2005 to 2008, and its prime purpose was to get:

“more farmers moving to practices that maintain and restore our soils; which will, in turn, contribute to healthy catchments and sustainable agricultural enterprises”.

The HSSF Program 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.

The HSSF Program produced new guides about the key principles of healthy soil management that brought together and collated knowledge that was formerly scattered and difficult to access.

The Program also developed and demonstrated new methods for assessing soil health, including aspects of soil biology, and new soil health indicators.

Overall HSSF has been successful in putting the topic of soil health at the forefront of rural science investment, and in establishing effective collaboration between State departments, rural industries, and farming systems groups through regional based projects.