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Welcome from the Director
Last week’s GGA Forum23 was a fantastic opportunity to speak with hub Consortium Partners, stakeholders and producers about the SW WA Hub’s unique and impactful activities.
I was joined on stage by leaders of three of the 29 projects worth $23m that are aligned with the hub program in WA. It was great to get an update on those three valuable projects.
They included the ‘WaterSmart Dams’ project led by Nik Callow, of the University of WA; ‘Modern soil moisture monitoring to improve irrigation management’ led by Neil Lantzke, of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; and ‘Agtech decoded’, led by Chris O’Callaghan of Liebe Group, who was joined by Phil Honey, from project participant group Stirlings to Coast Farmers.
The hub was a proud sponsor of GGA Forum23, and I was pleased to talk about what the hub is doing to enhance the drought resilience of farmers in our region and to accelerate innovation and adoption.
Team members and I explained we are facilitating diverse views to form a consensus list of drought resilience priorities, and that the collaborative hub model is proving effective in getting those priorities addressed and funded.
Some of our other recent activities have included facilitating meetings with our four Regional Advisory Committees.
I appreciated their valuable input reviewing drought resilience priorities and discussing projects that had been funded since they last met.
Looking to the weeks ahead, I’m excited at the ideas that will flow when the SW WA Hub launches a collaborative ‘transformational projects’ grant round for its Consortium Partners. Stay tuned.
Please also read on to find out how you can express your interest in a study tour.
We look forward to engaging with stakeholders during the Dowerin Machinery Field Days – you can find us, along with our GGA colleagues, in the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) marquee.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues, friends or clients.
Mark Holland | Hub Director
South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
Hub addressing ‘wicked problem’ of climate change
The drying and heating climate presents a ‘wicked problem’ for producers and there is a continuing need to accelerate innovation and practice change to stay ahead of the negative effects of climate change.
This was the message from SW WA Hub Director Mark Holland to GGA Forum23 – the GGA’s (GGA) flagship biennial event.
He stressed that, in its short life, the SW WA Hub had leveraged Australian Government Future Drought Fund (FDF) investment to deliver real results for farmers and industry in Western Australia.
Growers - express your interest in hub study tour
Are you a grower interested in thinking 'outside the box' while viewing new approaches to soil and water productivity, different ways of unlocking plant potential and examples of efficient input use?
Then you are invited to express your interest in joining a five-day grower study tour organised by the SW WA Hub - looking at innovation in South Australian broadacre agriculture - from Sunday, September 17, to Friday, September 22.
Keep eyes peeled for transformational program
SW WA Hub Consortium Partners are urged to keep their eyes open for an opportunity to drive transformational change of agricultural systems and improve resilience to drought and climate change.
The hub will be in contact with Partners this month seeking Expressions of Interest for project ideas.
Collaborative projects will be encouraged, and end-user involvement will be required in the design and management of projects.
Biodegradable mulch shows promise
Spray-on biodegradable mulch is being put to the test in WA horticultural trials with the aim of assessing its potential to improve water efficiency, influence soil temperature and control weeds while contributing to overall soil health.
Science to Practice presentations now live
Video recordings of the Future Drought Fund’s 2023 Science to Practice Forum, held 6 - 8 June, are now available online.
The online forum brings together farmers, researchers, government, industry, and the community to explore innovative tools and practices helping our farmers and regions prepare for future drought.
For those who missed the forum, view the Wattleseed enterprise in WA, Soil moisture monitoring in WA and Filling the feed gaps with saltbush in WA videos, as well as all of the recorded video sessions and transcripts from the forum here.
Caption: The SW WA Hub's Southern Rangelands Regional Advisory Committee which met in-person and online from Kalgoorlie in July.
Drought resilience priorities reviewed
Local drought resilience priorities were reviewed during recent meetings of the SW WA Hub's four Regional Advisory Committees (RACs).
The committees also discussed FDF-funded projects and identified the 'gaps' for new projects.
The RACs comprise skills-based representatives of agricultural industries for each of four agro-ecological zones covered by the hub and represent the agro-ecological zones Southern Rangelands, Mid West & Gascoyne Coastal, South West and Wheatbelt.
If you have ideas for drought resilience initiatives in the region, contact the SW WA Hub staff, or your local RAC member Regional Node Lead organisation.
See the SW WA Hub webpages for a list of contacts.
Technology in spotlight during station visit
While in the Southern Rangelands for the recent Regional Advisory Committee meeting, SW WA Hub team members visited Yerilla Station which is hosting the ‘cross-hub’ project ‘Managing Rangelands for drought resilience’.
Part of a national collaboration and funded by the FDF, the project is testing the use of drones to build a photographic library across multiple observation points of various landscapes and vegetation.
Complete survey to have your say on soils
Are you working with growers, managing land, or have an interest in the future of WA soils?
SW WA Hub Regional Soil Coordinator Jenni Clausen encourages you to represent what you see as missing in soil research, development and extension in your region by completing a national survey.
The funding for the survey is through the Regional Soil Coordinator project, from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) National Landcare Program. It is anonymous, has 24 questions and takes about 20 minutes to complete.
Results will be used to provide a report to the Australian Government on regional priorities for improved soil management in support of the National Soil Strategy and for WA, the WA Soil Health Strategy.
Anyone wanting help, or more information about the survey, is encouraged to contact Ms Clausen via jenni.clausen@murdoch.edu.au or 0419 816 127.
Participate in Farm to Port survey
Grain growers are encouraged to complete a survey that will assist research aimed at optimising grain supply chains.
The ‘Farm to Port’ study is led by The University of WA and supported by the SW WA Hub through its student bursary program.
UWA PhD student Garima, who recently received an extension and adoption bursary from the SW WA Hub, said the aim of the study was to produce a framework, based on simulations, that could assist growers to optimise decisions during and after harvest.
“This could include decisions relating to transportation, storage, packaging and marketing of crops,” she said.
Bureau of Meteorology long-range forecast
The July 27 Climate Outlook issued by the Bureau of Meteorology states:
- For August to October, below median rainfall is likely to very likely (60 per cent to greater than 80 per cent chance) for large parts of southern and eastern Australia.
- For August to October, above median maximum temperatures are very likely (greater than 80 per cent chance) for almost all of Australia.
- For August to October, minimum temperatures are likely to very likely (60 per cent to greater than 80 per cent chance) to be above median for almost all of Australia.
- For August to October, the forecast is influenced by several factors, including likely El Niño development, potential positive Indian Ocean Dipole development, and record warm oceans globally.
New name and website for climate tool
The Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) program has a new name and website for its farmer-focused climate information tool.
My Climate View is a free online climate information tool helping farmers understand what the future climate might mean for their location, down to a 5km2 resolution, to inform decision-making and build climate resilience.
It presents agriculturally relevant historical and future climate information in one place so farmers can explore climate trends for specific commodities at a local scale.
Along with the new name and website, other updates to the My Climate View tool include the addition of climate information for avocados, cherries and chickpeas, significant improvements to how users can access and view their local and commodity-specific climate information, and insight into how climate information is calculated.
CSA is a collaboration between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology and part of the FDF's investment in better climate information for Australia's agriculture sector.
Find out about Future Drought Fund
The Future Drought Fund (FDF) provides secure, continuous funding for drought resilience initiatives and will help Australian farmers and communities prepare for the impacts of drought.
