RRND4P - Mixed Farming - Scoping and Support

Summary

Mixed farming operations contribute significantly to both grain and red meat production in southern Australia. Due to the complexity of these systems, better integration of cropping, pasture and livestock enterprises has the potential to improve productivity. However, there is currently a large need for extension messages to be placed in the context of the whole-farm, particularly on mixed livestock/cropping farms where there may be unintended consequences of change.

MLA recently funded a multidisciplinary mixed farming RD&A review (L.LSM.0006), led by Charles Sturt University, which identified several areas where further investment in either research or extension/adoption activities would be likely to have a significant impact on productivity from livestock/cropping farms. One of the key findings was that poor adoption by producers of past research was likely due to limited understanding of the complexity of mixed farming systems by both producers and advisors, with resultant failure to understand risks and impacts of management changes. Benchmarking data from this project suggests that if the current financial performance of the top 20% of mixed farmers could be emulated by the middle 60% across the entire mixed farming region in Southern and Western Australia, then the additional farm profit would be worth $2.8 billion per year, demonstrating a large opportunity.  An investment plan was developed, recommending $39.3m of investment over 10 years.

The purpose of the current project was to enable the engagement of a consultant, Cam Nicolson of Nicon Rural Services, to identify the core research questions suitable for a 3 year investment timeframe, and with stakeholder consultation, develop and submit an application for a Rural R&D for Profit (RRNDfP) grant.

Using the previous L.LSM.0006 review as a base, four key areas were identified for inclusion in the application:Enhancing the delivery structures so farmers can learn from each other (peer learning).Using communities of practice for independent advisors to research how to optimise their influence at the whole farm level.Discovering new insights around recurring farming questions through data capture and analysis from operational mixed farms.Filling specific research gaps.

Participants involved in the consultation and subsequently included in the submission were Charles Sturt University, University of Adelaide, University of Melbourne, Primary Industries Research SA (PIRSA), Federation University,  Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA), and 19 producer groups.  Meat and Livestock Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation and Australian Wool Innovation also committed to involvement in the proposal, along with the participants.

If successful, the outcome of the RRNDfP will be a number of multidisciplinary collaborative activities which lead to greater adoption of management changes. These management changes will increase productivity and profit on mixed farms across southern Australia. It will include a legacy of improved structures and knowledge of superior methods for achieving producer adoption of mixed farming improvements.