Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

Accelerated Adoption Project

To develop and validate a framework that accelerates the translation of Soil CRC research into practical on-ground adoption by farmers.

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Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

Improved decision making for climate-smart flock management

A multi‑region initiative led by CWFS with six regional partners to engage more than 500 sheep producers across NSW and Victoria through demonstration sites, workshops/field days, case studies and extension. Producers will trial precision livestock technologies (e.g. OptiWeigh, CiboLabs) and adaptive grazing/nutrition strategies to reduce methane emissions, improve soil health and water retention, boost productivity and resilience, and build confidence in decision‑making for low‑emissions flock management.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Soil Carbon Capacity Building

The Soil CRC’s free Soil Carbon Capacity Building webinar series helps NSW farmers, landholders, and advisors understand and manage soil carbon on-farm.

Across seven webinars — six already delivered and available to view — the series covers soil data access, interpretation, and region-specific practices for improving soil carbon.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Evaluating novel approaches for drought resilience through capitalising on an established network of long-term trials

This project uses long-term trial sites and advanced crop modelling to compare innovative and conventional soil and farm management practices, assessing their impact on soil water, productivity, and resilience under current and future climate scenarios.

Its goal is to build drought-resilient farming systems across Australia by identifying practices that strengthen productivity, profitability, and recovery in dryland, grazing, and mixed farming environments.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Organic-Based N Fertilisers

This project is testing three new slow-release organic-based nitrogen fertilisers—made from peanut shell biochar, cow manure, and green waste compost—to determine whether they can improve nitrogen use efficiency, crop performance, and soil health compared with conventional urea.

Trials in NSW, VIC, and QLD will measure crop uptake, yield, and soil function across multiple farming systems to assess their potential as more sustainable, cost-effective fertiliser options.

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Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

De-risking the seeding program

This project supports growers to adopt strategic dry and early sowing practices that better suit their local conditions, helping them manage increasingly unreliable season-opening rainfall across southern Australia.

By working with 15 farming systems groups, including CWFS, the program aims to accelerate knowledge, confidence, and adoption of improved seeding strategies that reduce risk and enhance resilience.

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Carbon Farming Outreach Program Cristy Houghton Carbon Farming Outreach Program Cristy Houghton

National Industry-led Carbon Farming Outreach Program

This national program brings together 40 grower and land-management groups to deliver carbon farming training to more than 3,500 farming enterprises, helping producers reduce emissions, build carbon literacy, and explore carbon farming opportunities.

Through workshops, train-the-trainer programs, and ongoing advisor support, the initiative aims to build long-term capability across Australia’s broadacre and pastoral industries.

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RiskWi$e

RiskWi$e is a national five-year, $30 million GRDC initiative helping grain growers better understand and manage production and financial risks by improving their knowledge of risk–reward trade-offs in key on-farm decisions.

Through participatory action research across Australia, the program engages growers directly in analysing nitrogen, sowing, agronomic, financial and natural resource decisions so they can make more confident, resilient and profitable choices in an increasingly unpredictable climate.

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Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

CSIRO Mouse Monitoring

This project conducts rapid mouse-monitoring across multiple Central West NSW sites to track population size, breeding activity and seasonal trends using chew cards and active burrow counts.

By generating consistent, long-term data, CSIRO and CWFS can improve outbreak forecasting models and support growers with earlier, more accurate predictions of mouse population surges.

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Southern NSW Innovation Hub Cristy Houghton Southern NSW Innovation Hub Cristy Houghton

Mixed Farming Systems Long-term Field Trials – CWFS Drought Resilient Farming Practices Long-term Lucerne Project

This long-term project is trialling multiple lucerne cultivars under variable seasonal and drought conditions to help producers in low-rainfall zones better understand lucerne growth, soil moisture use and management strategies that improve resilience.

Through a replicated trial at the CWFS Fettell Centre and a community-of-practice model, the project uses field measurements and ag-tech data to support evidence-based decision-making in mixed farming systems.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Building resilient soils and enhancing carbon stocks in cropping systems through plant diversity

This project is examining how greater plant diversity—through cover crops, intercropping and varied crop rotations—can improve soil resilience, boost carbon dynamics and maintain or lift productivity in Australian cropping systems.

Using long-term trials at CWFS and partner sites, researchers are measuring impacts on soil carbon, microbial communities, soil structure and system performance to identify practical agronomic strategies that build healthier, more resilient soils.

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Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

Visualising Australia’s Soils

This project is expanding Australia’s national soil data federation to allow researchers, farming groups and producers to access, share and visualise detailed soil and agricultural data through an online portal that supports better on-farm decisions and future research.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Rhizobial Carriers

This project is developing and testing new organic and inorganic carriers for rhizobial inoculants to improve rhizobia survival, nitrogen fixation and crop performance, addressing the limitations of peat-based carriers and heat- and moisture-related losses.

By evaluating biochars, biopolymers and other low-cost materials across diverse regions and soils, the research aims to deliver practical, cost-effective alternatives that boost legume productivity and soil health in Australian farming systems.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Soil water storage

This project is measuring how different soil management and amelioration strategies influence soil water infiltration, storage and crop use, while also assessing water competition in mixed-species cover crops.

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Cristy Houghton Cristy Houghton

Robust Weather Stations

This project is assessing how a unified network of 80 on-farm weather stations across NSW and Victoria can provide more localised, reliable climate data to improve bushfire and flood preparedness for farmers, emergency services and communities.

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Soil CRC Cristy Houghton Soil CRC Cristy Houghton

Soil Microbial Indicators

This project is investigating how plant diversity in rotations, intercropping and cover crops influences soil microbial processes, nutrient cycling and overall soil function across different farming systems and environments.

By testing a wide range of soil biology indicators at multiple sites and seasons, the research aims to identify which microbial measures are most useful for guiding on-farm decisions that improve productivity, soil health and resilience to stresses like drought.

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