A transformational, new $55.9 million strategic collaboration is aiming to lift water and nutrient use efficiency in Western Australian grain production and support the state’s growers to achieve crop yield gains of more than 10 per cent.

The Soil Water and Nutrition (SWAN) collaboration is a joint five-year initiative between GRDC and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).

The collaboration was announced today (August 7) by Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis and GRDC Board Chair and Goondiwindi grain grower John Woods at Technology Park in Bentley.

Mr Woods said the collaboration would build on GRDC’s historically strong investment in soil constraints and crop nutrition in WA, through an expanded focus on paddock-scale, readily adoptable machinery and soil amendment strategies that delivered long term productivity and financial gains for growers.

“Over the past 15 years GRDC has invested more than $75 million in soil constraints research in Western Australia and this research has delivered profit gains of up to $100 per hectare for growers,” Mr Woods says.

“Those growers who adopted these soil amelioration practices improved their water use efficiency, which in turn enable them to grow more crop per millimetre of rain. Analysis of farm data by Planfarm and Farmanco shows that for the average WA cropping operation this equated to a significant $3.7 million increase in profit over a decade.

“Now GRDC is building on our investment in this core area, because we believe there are further gains that can be made both in productivity and ultimately in on-farm profitability.”

The SWAN collaboration, which includes $26.6 million in GRDC investment, will focus on providing growers with machinery and soil amendment options to re-engineer soils as part of economically viable management strategies that result in more grain per millimetre of rainfall.

“This is a priority research space for WA growers, with the potential to transform water and nutrient use efficiency across the state’s variable soil types,” Mr Woods says.

“It also represents an important focus area of GRDC’s Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) Plan 2023-28, which aims to reach new frontiers for Australian grain growers by focusing on step changes in water and soil productivity, specifically improving soil water capture and uptake.”

The SWAN strategic collaboration will have three themes focusing on (1) expanding soils reengineering; (2) a more focused approach to nutrition, specifically potassium; and (3) readiness for industry adoption. It will include fertiliser and agronomic strategies for a range of soil types, with trials planned across all WA port zones.

DPIRD SWAN collaboration manager Dr Stephen Davies says research would deliver ‘next step’ soil re-engineering management practices to growers, leading to substantial gains in crop productivity and profitability.

“By removing soil constraints to a depth of 80 centimetres or more and allowing plants better access to nutrients, growers will be able to capture the benefits of other crop management and genetics improvements to fully realise the potential of their farming systems,” Dr Davies says.

“Growers have an incredible track record of adopting new practices and we know that more than 80 per cent of WA grain producers actively manage their soils.

“We now have the opportunity to go further and unlock even more of the soil’s ability to store and deliver water and nutrients to plants and push crop profitability to new heights.”

At a grower level the SWAN initiative aims to deliver:

• Machinery and soil amendment strategies to support the re-engineering of soils to 80cm deep or more.
• Analysis of productivity gains and financial returns to guide the implementation and investment in soil profile re-engineering strategies.
• Guidelines for improved water capture and reduced water loss in heavy-textured soils in low rainfall areas.
• Tools to guide application and improve financial returns for gypsum use.
• An online hub for diagnostic tools, including managing and ameliorating crop soils, and strategies to improve long-term crop nutrient efficiency and availability for grain yield.
• Improved understanding of potassium losses in cropping systems and management strategies.
• Updated guidelines for deep ripping longevity, including frequency and strategies to improve the longevity of deep ripping.

The initiative will include an industry advisory group made up of growers, consultants and researchers and is anticipated to deliver fit-for-purpose engagement approaches to support growers’ knowledge, enabling them to implement key learnings.

Projects under the SWAN strategic collaboration are underway now, with existing trials in crop this year and new trials planned for the 2025 cropping season.