The complexities around managing soil health will soon become easier to identify and control for Australian farmers, thanks to a new collaborative project between Food Agility CRC, Precision Agriculture P/L, and the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University.
Soil science in agriculture requires advanced intelligence. Precision Agriculture will take this to the next level by improving and optimising information collected through its platform, SOLI™️.
The research team at CeRDI, aided with data supplied by Precision Agriculture, will provide new analytical insights previously unavailable to the industry.
The goal of this $750,000 project, according to Precision Agriculture’s Principal Scientist, Dr. Kirsten Barlow, is to create data-driven recommendations ranging from how to improve the health of soil, to the farm’s potential for carbon storage.
“We have accumulated a lot of soil data over the last decade, but at this point have very little ability to compare it with grower data in the local region,” Dr Barlow said. “By the completion of this project, the aim is to be able to offer growers in-depth regional insights and compare their soil data against local benchmarks. We will also be able to offer a year-on-year comparison of soil data, because of repeated soil testing.
“By adding this functionality and evidence-based knowledge to SOLI™️ we will not only be able to provide the soil nutrient and carbon data in a timely manner, but also enable all agronomists and growers to access the SOLI™️ platform as and when they require.”
Food Agility’s Chief Scientist, Professor David Lamb, said Australian farmers are keen to help sequester more carbon and understand that improving soil health and biodiversity will increase the resilience and sustainability of their production systems.
“Farmers are seeing the potential of the emerging carbon market, and this project can help them understand if and how they can take advantage of the opportunities ahead,” said Lamb.
