The Invest in a Test project aimed to enable farmers to confidently invest in soil testing regimes, appropriate to their production system, by demonstrating the tangible benefits and value. This helped landholders to be well-placed to use this information to inform management decisions that are both profitable for their business and sustainable through enhanced resource condition.

The project encouraged and support landholders to incorporate routine soil testing into their management to inform management practices, to monitor the impact of any changes made and adjust practices accordingly.

This project was supported by Burnett Catchment Care Association, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

The focus was diverse Inland Burnett region of Qld (North Burnett Regional Council & South Burnett Regional Council areas). The project focused on beef cattle grazing, dryland & irrigated grain, pulse and hay cropping including many mixed farming enterprises

The Invest in a Test project worked with inland Burnett landholders to generate local soils data and practical examples of using soil testing & associated interpretation for improved soils management. Forty-two landholders, managing more than 16,200 ha receive soil testing on 84 paddocks totaling over 713ha and averaging 9 ha each.  Farmers were provided with lab analysis and basic soil morphology and interpretation and recommendations by agronomic consultants. The farms were geographically spread right across the inland Burnett and incorporated both grazing and cropping industries.

The most significant outcome of this project is the enhancement of skills and knowledge of 84 producers from right across the inland Burnett region on the importance of soil testing and saw an increase of 70% in producers desire to undertake soil testing as part of their management practices into the future. Our extension activities and ongoing support created a better understanding of soil and the need to monitor its health over time as a means to better manage it now and into the future.

Workshops were held in Mondure, Kumbia, Murgon, Coalstoun Lakes and Mundubbera; bringing 63 landholders together in a comfortable environment to discuss the soils data & what it means in their production system including management options as well as peer-to-peer discussion & learning supported by soils expertise.

Resources can be found on the Burnett Ag Hub.