SoilsWest reaches 10 years of industry impact

AGRICULTURAL industry alliance SoilsWest is celebrating its 10th anniversary with $40 million in project funding, over 5000 Western Australian grower engagements and an expanding catalogue of soil knowledge resources among its achievements.

Established in September 2016 between The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the former Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (now Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development | DPIRD), SoilsWest has been based at Murdoch University (MU) since 2021.

Although an independent entity, SoilsWest continues to represent a core partnership between MU and DPIRD, and a reach that extends to soil scientists and researchers at UWA, Curtin University and CSIRO.

SoilsWest’s purpose has been to integrate institutional capabilities within WA soil science and research, build collaborative research and industry networks, and develop and deliver strategic projects to ultimately support WA grain growers. Connecting fundamental discovery science to applied and developmental science in the field, with the purpose of translating research outcomes to help inform grower decisions, has been a primary focus.

Its translational project work started with the first of 10 Soil Quality ebooks, Constraints to Plant Production, which aligned with gaps SoilsWest had identified in industry RD&E activities, and initiated co-investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) in further publications.

SoilsWest Director and co-founder Dr Fran Hoyle said that the Soil Quality ebooks – which have amassed 14,500 downloads – demonstrated the strength of research collaboration when addressing industry priorities related to soil management and its areas of constraints, biology, organic carbon and nutrition. Authors contributed expertise from across organisations.

“The first ebook set the tone and standard for what Professor Daniel Murphy, Chris Gazey and I believed SoilsWest could facilitate and deliver, which perhaps others weren’t able to as separate organisations,” Dr Hoyle said.

“Chris was with DAFWA, as they were known at the time, and I had left the department to join Daniel at UWA’s School of Earth and Environment, where we had strong support from Professor Tony O’Donnell, Executive Dean for the UWA Faculty of Science, in the formation of the SoilsWest alliance.

“In developing that first ebook, we were able to take the critical work of multiple soil researchers, translate it in a way that could be understood and adopted by different audiences, and produce content that was evidence-based, engaging and, where possible, timeless.

“Even beyond the ebooks, our focus has been on building capacity and connection within our industry – whether it’s through connecting people with people, people with funding bodies, or people with information.”