Main

Mixed cover cropping for sustainable farming systems in south eastern Australia

Date:
By MFMG Admin

Project code: 4-60A5VY4

Project manager: Dr Mel Fraser

Project duration: November 2018 to March 2022

About the project

Benefits of cover crops include improving soil organic carbon, structure and health, while decreasing weed and disease levels for following crops. Many potential cover crops exist and while growers are beginning to investigate these, they lack basic local knowledge to make informed decisions.

In this project, a consortium of grower groups and the CSIRO will identify and demonstrate suitable cover crops across south eastern Australia. The impacts of cover cropping on soil health, nutrient cycling, organic carbon, and soil moisture will be measured, and the optimum timing and method to terminate the cover crops will be determined.

The cover crop project will result in:

  • Improved soil fertility across south eastern Australia for improved farm resilience and profitability

  • Efficient knowledge transfer to growers facilitating optimum cover crop choice suited to their farming system and environment

  • Improved nutrient cycling and reduced fertiliser and chemical inputs through integration of livestock into the farming system and the use of novel termination methods.

The project has a mix of farm demonstrations, field trials and extension activities.

 

Project resources

Mixed Cover Crops project website

This project is funded by:

This project is supported by Ag Excellence Alliance through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program, Grains Research and Development Corporation and the South Australian Department for Environment and Water.

nlp2-logoGRDC Logo Stacked RGBGoSA DEW logo

This project is delivered in partnership with:

Agex-Logo-Landscape-RGB-72dpiCSIRO_Grad_RGB_hr-1SANTFA caia cmyk 10cm