The widespread adoption of agroforestry and native vegetation management is seen as a means of supporting agricultural productivity; increasing the resilience of farming businesses in the face of increasingly uncertain climate and market conditions; reducing the environmental impacts of agricultural management; and enhancing regional biodiversity, aesthetic and cultural values.
With increasing pressure on primary producers to increase their productivity, irrigation researchers are seeking ways to improve the quality of irrigated soil, given the vital role soil plays in plant health and productivity.
Australian soil structure deteriorates rapidly under irrigation with current management practices, resulting in inefficient water use and low yields. These soils lack the mineral montmorillonite present in those overseas soils which maintain porosity and stability under irrigation. This (more)...
The project is examining issues of water use efficiency (WUE) in the South West Irrigation Area (hereafter called the Harvey Irrigation Area). A significant WUE issue is whether water savings, improved pasture yields and farm productivity can be achieved through sprinkler (centre pivot) irrigation of dairy pasture in comparison with traditional surface bay irrigation (often called flood irrigation).
This project is a case study conducted on (more)...
An open hydroponic system (OHS) is a continuous method of supplying a crop’s water and nutrient needs in a very precise way. Unlike traditional soiless media hydroponic systems, in the open field hydroponic system the soil is used as the medium in which the plant grows and its primary function is to provide the support structure to anchor the plant and accommodate its root system.
All commodity producers suffer from declining terms of trade. This situation has been occurring since the industrial revolution, which provided the catalyst for specialisation across a range of sectors in the economy. Efficiency gains in agriculture have been a trigger for the industrialisation and subsequent urbanisation that is a feature of modern economies
There is no reason to consider that this trend is about to change. It is inexorable. It occurs because productivity gains enable the (more)...
“Talking BiGG - stories from the Biodiversity in Grain & Graze (BiGG) Farmer Forum, January 2008, Hobart, Tasmania” is an eighty minute audio CD developed from a series of interviews conducted at the BiGG Farmer Forum In Hobart, January 2008. The CD includes 13 individual tracks produced from interviews with the national Grain & Graze team, BiGG project (more)...
Thinking BiGG - farming families tell their stories of biodiversity is a 40pp feature case studies booklet which comprises an introduction and seventeen case studies of farmers that have participated in the national Biodiversity in Grain & Graze (BiGG) project. The intent of the case study booklet is to capture the unique, individual experiences of a selection of BiGG collaborating farmers and how biodiversity relates to their farm production and (more)...
Projects featured in this booklet highlight the diversity of the research commissioned by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation and the practical outcomes they offer for irrigation sustainability and productivity.
