About us

The Challenge

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 acidity. 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 practices.

The Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms (2005 - 2008) program invested in projects to:

• Optimise farm management, meaning greater cost-effectiveness
• Add value to property through the soil resource
• Benefit Australia's food and fibre exports
• Boost our national environmental credibility in soil research

The range of agricultural industries involved in the Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms Programme included grain and crops, cotton, sheep and wool, sugar, vegetables and organics. The scale of the projects supported ranges from multi-state projects to catchment-focused initiatives with delivery from simple 'know your soils' guides, to on-ground monitoring on a paddock level to catchment level scale and soil benchmarking, and tools to help producers measure, record, monitor and adaptively manage the health of their soils. For detailed information about Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms research see the Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms Program information.

Project Partners contributing to the development of this website

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

Project Partners 

Much of the information presented on this website has been workshopped with project partners and is reflective of state and regional soil health priorities. For more specific regional or industry information on soil health in your area and prior to implementing changes to your farming system - it always advisable to seek advice from your local experts. Project partners include:

• Victorian Resources Online 
• Mid-Loddon Grower Group

Resources used in the development of this website

This website presents information that has in part been sourced from a number of existing websites and information delivery organisations. The intent was to consolidate the huge amount of technical and practical knowledge for the effective delivery of generic soil health information to end users, whilst providing direct links to regional or industry specific information.

Information sources include, but are not restricted to: 

• The Department of Primary Inustries Victoria (www.dpi.vic.gov.au; www.dpi.vic.gov.au/vro)
• The Department of Primary Inustries and Fisheries Queensland (www.dpi.qld.gov.au)
• The Department of Primary Inustries New South Wales (www.dpi.nsw.gov.au)
• The Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (www.agric.wa.gov.au)
• The Department of Primary Industries and Water Tasmania (www.tas.gov.au)
• Soil quality website: Western Australia (www.soilquality.org.au)
• Soil health website: Australian Soil Club (www.soilhealth.com.au)
• Bettersoils website: Agricultural Bureau of South Australia (www.bettersoils.com.au)
• The University of Westen Australia (www.uwa.edu.au)
• Department of Primary Industries and Resources of South Australia (PIRSA; www.pir.sa.gov.au)
• CSIRO Australia (www.csiro.au) 
• Land & Water Australia (www.lwa.gov.au)