Climate Smart Ag Program - Nature Services for Ag project 2025-2028

This initiative strengthens agricultural sustainability and resilience within the VicNoTill network and the Goulburn Broken region by promoting regenerative farming practices. By focusing on soil health, biodiversity, and climate change mitigation, it supports sustainable food systems and a connected farming community.
Key activities include communications, field days, and soil testing using Soil Land Food’s Rapid Assessment of Soil Health (RASH).

Healthy soils are critical to long-term crop and pasture productivity. In the Goulburn Broken region, increasing climatic extremes and intensifying dairy practices present significant challenges. Limited knowledge of soil health and management remains a key constraint to productivity and resilience.

This sub-project focuses on a dairy farm demonstration site to identify soil properties, constraints, and management options. Soil specialist Christian Bannon will conduct a soil pit assessment and provide recommendations through a detailed report to guide participating farmers in implementing improvements. Soil properties and paddock performance will be monitored from 2025 to 2028 to measure change.

Activities include soil testing, interpretation workshops to help farmers apply results to business decisions, and engagement through field days and demonstrations.

This project assists grazing farmers in the Gecko CLaN region to make informed land-use decisions through land classing and landscape assessment. These assessments identify areas suited for biodiversity enhancement or increased agricultural productivity by prioritising degraded sites for revegetation and resilient areas for production.

A core component is soil testing and interpretation, enabling farmers to understand soil constraints and opportunities for improving pasture, nutrient management, and groundcover.

By integrating land classing with soil health and landscape function, the project builds farmer capacity to enhance natural capital while supporting long-term productivity and resilience. Activities include a demonstration site, field days, and workshops.

This project aims to build farmer resilience and capacity to manage climate risks by enhancing natural capital and ecosystem services on farms. The Shade, Shelter & Soils initiative will deliver these outcomes through targeted revegetation, landscape restoration, and a series of workshops and field events. These activities promote sustainable practice change and strengthen both environmental and community resilience. Project components include land management practice grants, field days, and workshops.

This project focuses on enhancing natural capital, ecosystem services, soil health, and climate resilience on farms. Key priorities include improving biodiversity, water management, rotational grazing, and carbon sequestration. On-ground actions will be implemented at two strategic sites—located at the northern and southern ends of the South-West Goulburn Landcare Network—to maximize regional impact. Activities include a demonstration site, land management practice grants, field days, and workshops.

This project helps farmers adapt to climate change by showcasing the benefits of multi-species regenerative and rotational grazing systems. In partnership with a local farmer, it will monitor improvements in soil health and pasture productivity as operations transition from traditional cropping (rye, wheat, and canola) to a diverse rotational grazing mix of 18 species, including grasses, legumes, brassicas, and broadleaf varieties.

Through climate-smart practices, the project aims to enhance soil carbon, water retention, and pasture resilience, reducing risks such as drought and soil degradation. These outcomes strengthen natural capital and support long-term farm sustainability.

Key activities include establishing a demonstration site, providing land management practice grants, and delivering field days and workshops.

This project addresses climate change impacts on farming in the Hughes Creek Catchment, where landscape drying poses a significant risk to agriculture and natural assets. High temperatures, low rainfall, flash flooding, and soil movement are degrading soil health in the Strathbogie Ranges and Longwood Plains. In partnership with the Mulloon Institute and ANU Ecologists, the project promotes practical, low-cost interventions to rehydrate the landscape.

Enhancements to dams, spring soaks, and wetlands will slow water flow, improve drought resilience, support primary production, increase habitat availability, and reduce erosion. The project also aims to build farmer capacity through education and engagement, encouraging practice changes that improve soil water retention. Activities include land management practice grants, field days, and workshops.