From the ground up: Unleashing the potential of soil
A deliberate and consistent national focus on soil enrichment, driven by national leadership from politicians, farming groups and farmers themselves, will deliver a trifecta of benefits for the farming sector, the economy and the environment.
Human resilience on this challenging but rewarding continent is a story of innovation and investment in the soil.
It starts with the innovation of fire-stick farming, the use of controlled burning to create grasslands on which hunted species could roam and bush foods could be harvested.
It took a new turn with the arrival of European settlers like convict farmer James Ruse who pioneered the use of burnt timber as a source of potash and scavenged for organic matter to create reservoirs of nutrients and water.
The improvements continue to this day with the adoption of no-till farming and the precision application of fertiliser and pesticides which increases the retention of ground cover.
The common thread to those innovations is that they increase the level of soil-carbon. Fire-stick burning at low temperatures produces charcoal which stores carbon in the soil. Plant growth captures atmospheric CO2 which is sequestered into the ground through the process of photosynthesis.
Mechanical innovation, improved crop varieties, selective breeding, biotechnology and precision digital agriculture feature heavily in the story of agricultural progress.
The ultimate constraint to productivity, however, is the fertility of the soil. The size and quality of harvests, proceeds from the sale of livestock and ability to withstand the ravages of the climate are directly related to the level of soil organic carbon (SOC).
In a year when the nation has been buffeted by a series of external shocks unprecedented in most of our lifetimes, a national initiative to raise the carbon content of soils is one of the most effective steps we can take to rebuild our natural capital.
It is an investment that will produce short-term dividends for business, biodiversity and bio-sequestration that will be sustained and enhanced in the long term.
The public and private benefits of improving the health of soil are extensive. Healthier soils foster biodiversity above and below the ground.
Soils feeding a layer of healthy ground cover reduce greenhouse gas emissions as carbon dioxide is drawn out of the atmosphere by plants which transfer carbon into the ground through the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition.
Healthier soils yield richer vegetation cover for livestock and more nutritious food leading to healthier people and happier, more resilient farmers.
The density of SOC is a reliable and consistent measure of soil health. Soil organic carbon is a renewable resource that began accumulating with the arrival of land-based plants almost half a billion years ago. The rate of accumulation can be increased by making relatively simple changes to land management.
This paper assesses the benefits of farming methods that increase the level of soil carbon for farmers, the economy and stewardship of the wider environment.
It considers how government policies can encourage and increase the national reserve of soil carbon and the multiple benefits that would flow.
It anticipates the substantial contribution the farming sector can make to reducing greenhouse emissions once the measurement of soil carbon content becomes cheap and ubiquitous, a breakthrough that we predict will occur well before the end of this decade.
We recommend practical steps the Government can take immediately that can potentially deliver gains in a single season. We recommend a program of peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing, that will harness the wisdom and experience of farmers to encourage the evolution of farming techniques and the adoption of best practice.
This paper is neither a manifesto for revolution nor an instant recipe for perfect farming. Innovation in agriculture, as in every other sector, occurs through evolution and constant improvement.
We do, however, call for a change in thinking, recognising that farming backed by robust agricultural science is the solution, not the cause, of many of the environmental challenges we face today.
We argue that a deliberate and consistent national focus on soil enrichment, driven by national leadership from politicians, farming groups and farmers themselves, will deliver substantial benefits far beyond the farming sector.
We argue too that progress will largely be achieved by commercial incentives, not government spending or regulation. The biggest impediment to progress in agriculture is non-market failure, the limitations and false incentives imposed by poorly calibrated policy.
We should neither underestimate nor overestimate the role of government in the transition to carbon conscious land management on private property. While the heavy lifting will be carried out by the private sector, the Government can smooth the way with relatively small investments in training, targeted grants and contingent loans.
More broadly, politicians have a responsibility to lead a more intelligent debate on environment, agriculture and energy policy that embraces complexity and uncertainty. The current debate is sorely lacking in that regard.
The Government’s chief responsibility is to create a regulatory environment where enterprise can thrive, where risks are taken with an expectation of reward, and to align commercial incentives to farmers with the national interest.
In this report, we do not set out to add to the large volume of international literature arguing the case for what is sometimes referred to as regenerative agriculture. Nor is this an exercise in scientific empiricism.
The underlying scientific assumptions behind the role of soil organic carbon in nature are well established and are barely in dispute.
All that has been missing from this policy discussion up to now is the resolve to raise soil improvement from the nice-to-do tray to the must-do tray in the offices of policy makers, industry groups and farmers in Australia.
Advocates sometimes speak of the need for a call-to-action moment to build political resolve towards action on any given policy matter. The recent east coast drought, the second prolonged dry spell this century, is just such a call.
We applaud the Government for its comprehensive package of drought relief measures. The wisest way to invest these funds is to build the resilience required to cope with the next natural emergency rather than patch up the wounds from the last.
Our report looks specifically at how these committed expenditures should be spent, principally in sponsoring peer-to-peer training led by established groups of agronomists with experience and knowledge in this field. We also canvass other practical steps that could be easily implemented with minimal expenditure by government. They include income-contingent loans to help farmers to take the first step on the journey, a certifiable audit of SOC on their property.
We also attempt to paint the bigger picture that places these practical initiatives in the context of a larger strategy.
The health of our soils is key to the future of farming, our economy and security.
It is key to restoring landscapes and overcoming the perennial problem of providing a consistent water supply.
It is key to restoring balance in the carbon cycle by ensuring that excess carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activity are safely absorbed in the soil by the natural process of photosynthesis.
In the 10 months that we have been working on this policy we have frequently reflected on the ambition of its claims. Sir Humphrey Appleby would no doubt have described a strategy to increase farm productivity, restore our natural landscape and decarbonise the atmosphere as “bold”.
Yet we make this claim based on a solid assessment of the science, the experience of farmers, the wisdom of experienced agronomists and the evidence before our own eyes. The green landscapes, lush paddocks and thriving water courses we saw on our field trips to rural NSW were proof that the concept works.
Nick Cater
Executive Director
Menzies Research Centre
