November 6, 2023
The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has begun a national campaign to recruit at least 60 growers for a new research project.
The GRDC is seeking growers who use a range of farming practices to assist in exploring current cropping methods, with a focus on regenerative agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture has become a topical issue in Australia in recent years, however, there is no regulatory or widely accepted definition of it.
GRDC’s investment aims to gain a better understanding of the relevant objectives and how they might be changing soil, land and business management practices.
Using this knowledge, the project team will establish ways to monitor the potential benefits or disadvantages of regenerative agriculture in cropping systems across a range of agronomic, soil health, ecological, social and economic indicators.
GRDC spokesperson Dr Giacomo Betti says a balance of viewpoints was essential for the project’s success.
“It is very important for us to have a broad range of growers involved, whether they see the type of farming they are doing as regenerative, sustainable or something in between,” he said.
“Studying a comprehensive range of practices is needed to develop a balanced dataset and draw meaningful conclusions.”
GRDC has appointed a multi-disciplinary team from the Southern Cross University Faculty of Science and Engineering to provide independent scientific rigour.
The Southern Cross University team includes experts in soil health, agronomy, ecology, cultural geography and natural capital accounting.
Along with helping to define the terms of the project, growers must be willing to provide some access to their land so measurements can be taken, and share relevant economic data.
GRDC will establish privacy protocols to protect the participants and ensure data is de-identified before publication.
- Interested growers can contact Dr Adam Canning by email
